One Tiny Secret - By Adam Kunz Page 0,27
motioning over to me.
“Yeah, don’t remind me,” I mumble.
A memory of me and Parker sitting alone in this office sweeps into my mind. This was where we first kissed, right here at this very desk. Not only our first kiss, but mine. I remember it like it was yesterday. The butterflies return in the pit of my stomach, as I think about the anticipation of his lips against mine. He was a seasoned pro and I was this little meek flower just ready to be plucked. He was the reason I joined the paper in the first place.
Mr. Whitman’s voice floats into my head, taking me away from my daydream. “Parker’s going to be filling in for me when I can’t be here to assist you with the paper. He’s a journalism major at Blackburn University, and is very experienced in this field. Any questions that you have for me can easily be answered by him, as well.”
Parker just stands there, all smiles, but I notice him glancing over at me every once in a while. I can’t deny that I still have feelings for him, but can I trust him? That is the question of the century.
“Dani,” Mr. Whitman says, startling me out of my thoughts. “I want you to bring Mr. Reed here up to speed on how we run the paper now. Things have changed a little since he was the editor-in-chief, and I think it’s only fitting that the current one does the honor.”
Shit, really? Well, there goes that idea of trying to avoid him.
“Sure, sounds great,” I reply, trying to suppress the angst bubbling up inside me.
“Why don’t you start by showing him around campus? I’m sure he’ll want to see how the old school has been spruced up a bit,” Mr. Whitman says.
“But what about the mock-up?” I ask, holding it up.
“I’ll walk everyone through it, don’t worry. You should get used to working with Parker one-on-one, anyway, since I want you to be his go-to person on the staff,” he replies with a smile.
Oh, joy of joys. Mr. Whitman is lucky I like him, because right now it’s taking every muscle in my body not to just smack him upside the head and yell out no. And Parker’s comment of, “I look forward to it,” doesn’t help matters much, either.
When I approach the door to leave the office, Parker grabs the handle and opens it before I can. He can be a gentleman sometimes, I guess. I hear the door close behind me and turn to face Parker to give him a piece of my mind away from prying ears.
I collide with his highly-toned chest, and he grabs hold of me. My face floats mere inches from his. His cologne is so enticing. Consider that three senses completely ensnared right there.
“If you wanted to make out, all you had to do was ask,” he jokes, talking closely to my mouth, teasing my lips.
I push away from him and he lets out a chuckle.
“Thanks for abandoning me Sunday,” I say resentfully.
“Oh…sorry about that. When I saw the deputy’s car, I split to avoid confrontation,” he replies. “I wanted to stay and wait for you—”
“But you didn’t,” I interrupt.
As I turn to walk down the hall, he takes my arm and drags me gently back to face him. “Hey, I’m not finished with you yet,” he says with a grin. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
“We do, do we? I thought we were pretty much caught up the moment you did what you typically do in stressful situations: leave me,” I snap back.
“I told you I was sorry about that. There’s not much more I can say.”
“Oh, really? Well, I guess this tour is over then,” I reply, heading back toward the office door.
I hear Parker say, “We really do need to talk,” but I just ignore him. I wrench open the door, which seems to surprise Mr. Whitman, who’s right in the middle of a discussion.
“Finished so soon?” he asks as I enter the office.
“Turns out not much has changed,” I reply, passing him on the way to my desk.
After the meeting is over, I find myself still fixing the margins on the sports section. It’s only Parker, Mr. Whitman, and me left in the office.
“I’ve got to run, Dani. The Mrs. is making dinner and I get in trouble when I’m late,” Mr. Whitman laughs. “You better get home soon too. Dedication should not always lead to obsession.”
“I’m almost done here. Just