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As I walked towards the school gym, the stress of the day finally started to ebb from my shoulders. Parents were thankfully retreating, and I only had to deal with one irritating parent. The mayor's obnoxious son Randall had approached me about making sure that his precious angel received only the "best."
I know he shouldn't irritate me, but every one of my students deserved the best education equally, and I refused to allow him to make me feel guilty about it.
Glancing towards the utility closet in the gym, I spied Mrs. Dalton wrangling the five remaining 5-year-olds in her charge. Two of which were my twins, John and Katie. It appeared that Katie had made a new friend, a little girl her age with thick brown wavy hair.
The two girls were currently chatting with who I can only assume was the little girl's mother as I approached. As soon as Katie saw me, her face lit up, and she grabbed the little girl's hand and squealed, "Mazie, Mazie now you get to meet my daddy! Daddy, this is my new best friend Mazie, and we are going to be friends FOR-EVER!"
Just as I squatted to shake Mazie's hand, her mother turned, and it was like I'd been gut-punched.
"Kelly?" I croaked.
"Katie's Daddy, do you know my mommy?" Mazie asked quizzically.
"Yay, now maybe we can have a sleepover, Mazie! My Daddy says that I can only stay the night if he knows the daddy, " Katie announced with a matter of fact tone.
My policy regarding sleepovers was one that I strictly stuck to if there was a father in the home. Being an educator for 13 years had taught me that just because the mom was trustworthy did not guarantee that the father was as well.
"Daddy, do you know Mazie's daddy too?" Katie continued.
Nudged from the fog in my brain brought on by Kelly’s presence, I refocused my attention to Katie and her new friend.
"I don't know Mazie's daddy. Is he here?" I asked while looking to see if Kelly was wearing a wedding band.
Please don't let her be married, please don't let her married!!!
Finally finding her voice, Kelly cleared her throat and curtly said, "He, unfortunately, doesn't live in Danville and was unable to make it."
It was at this point she gave me what can only be called a "stink" eye, which meant that she knew that I was looking at her hands to see if there was indeed a husband.
Ignorant to our complicated history, the kids were thankfully too busy talking about a potential sleepover that they were oblivious to what was going on between Kelly and I. With the children lost in their conversation, I took a quick second to mouth the words, "I'm sorry" to Kelly. The last thing I wanted to do was to offend her. What I wanted was to take her to my office and have my way with her, which would have been hard to explain to the school board since the installation of the new security cameras.
My memories of her face when I had first thrusted inside of her a week ago, had me shifting awkwardly to avoid an instant hard on. Considering that I was currently at work in an elementary school. I needed to refocus.
Thinking of my grandfather's chew habit usually did the trick.
I can't count how many times I picked up one of his glass soda bottles as a kid only to find it filled with green slime instead of the refreshing flavor of Sunkist.
Yep, that did it!
Awakening once again to my surroundings, I suddenly realized that we were the only ones left in the gymnasium. Well, aside for Mrs. Dalton who was helping to occupy the kids.
Thinking quickly, I excused myself and asked Mrs. Dalton if she wouldn't mind watching John, Katie, and Mazie for another 10 min so that I could speak with Kelly in private.
"Kelly, do you mind if I have a word with you?"
"Ummm, I'm not sure. I think Mrs. Dalton would probably like to go home," she said while eyeing Mrs. Dalton with the obvious hope that she would agree with Kelly's assessment of the situation.
"Oh, I'm fine honey," the older woman said. "I like when Dale asks for favors because then I can talk him into accompanying me on field trips during the school year,” she said. Then when Kelly was turned towards Mazie telling her that she would be back in a minute, Mrs. Dalton gave me a conspiratory smile.
Laura Dalton had been a teacher at Danville Elementary for years and was not only my mother's best friend, but was also my best friend Kevin’s mom. Her loyalty was such a blessing during my divorce last year. I couldn't tell you how many times I confided in her, knowing that she wasn't prone to gossiping.
Following me into the coach's office, Kelly quickly closed the door. Unable to resist the feel of her, my mouth was on hers, and we were kissing like teenagers at a basement party.
How was it that this woman disabled my usually excellent control?
I usually had phenomenal impulse control; after all, I had gone two years without sex, one of those years I was even married. As my marriage started failing, I still had plenty of opportunities to have an affair with several of the school's moms who had always viewed me as an object to conquer.
However, I was not now nor would I ever be a cheater. That title I like to reserve for my ex-wife Maggie.
Before we could continue our kiss, I reluctantly separated from her invitingly warm lips, weaving my fingers through her hair and tilting her head back so that we could look into each other's eyes.
"How is it possible that you are here, Kelly?" I asked breathlessly.
"Well, I moved here a year ago to live with my mother when my divorce was finalized. How about you? You work here, but I thought you were from New York."
"No, I was visiting my friend Kevin for a week. He lives in New York and was the one who set me up with his cousin Shelly, who by the way, was pretty pissed when I was a no show that night." I then chuckled deeply at the craziness of this situation. "Kevin was hoping that my date with Shelly would help me ease back into dating again, but instead I found you."
"I'm sorry Shelly was disappointed. Admittedly, I was pretty shocked myself when my friend Rane told me that my date Dale said that I had stood him up. His ego may never recover," she said beaming at me like I was her Prince Charming.
"But, seriously, what are the odds of TWO Dales being in a bar. That's one of the reasons I didn't ask her to show me a picture of him beforehand. I figured a general description and his name would have been all that was needed."
"Well, though I'm sad at their losses, I'm pleased it was you, Kelly. All I thought as you walked out of the hotel room was that I wished I could see you again and for an actual second date." The chemistry we had was undeniable.
A sobering look came over Kelly's features bursting the bubble created by our privacy. "Dale, I want to see you again, but I don't know when I'll have another night off for a date. I'm an insurance agent, and Open Enrollment is about to start. My job requires that I stay focused on my clients through the end of the year. Don't you think that would hurt any chances we have of building a new relationship?"
Though this was disappointing to my sex drive, which was ready to take her against the door, my mind told me that there was something between us that was worth delaying my own personal gratification for. Plus, I'm about to start the school year next week and would probably be almost as busy as her.
"Kelly, I'm going to be busy as well. How about this: Since the girls are crazy about each other, we could try a few play-dates with the kids until December. Since we will be present for those play dates, we can use that time to talk over coffee as they play. Then, in December, if the chemistry is still there, we'll reevaluate.
"You were the first woman I've wanted to have sex with in two years, and I have no interest in getting to know anyone else at this time."
I know that I was coming across a little intensely, but when you have a connection like ours, you don't want to throw it away.
My confession must have shocked her because I had to strain to hear her squeaking response of, "sure."