Next to me, Garrett chuckled. “Maybe take a little bit.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, and he winked. Of course, he’d agree with her. Glancing back again, I saw Jamie eyeing all of us like we were a band of unruly marsupials.
“Can I just have fun?”
I rubbed my hands together, trying to keep warm. In the last week the temperature had taken a turn, but I swore it’d dropped even further in the last hour. I needed to remember to bring a blanket to the next game, or at least follow-through with purchasing a new coat. A large Thermos of coffee wouldn’t hurt either.
Bringing my hands to my face, I cupped them and blew hot air between them. This game was taking forever, caffeine actually sounded like a great idea.
“Hey, I’m going to go grab some coffee, would either of you like some?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?” Layla didn’t even bother looking over at me, eyes riveted to the game, her thighs in a permanent state of half squat over the bench.
I stood, looking down at Garrett and pointing at him, but he shook his head. “I’m fine. Do you want me to walk over there with you?”
“No, it’s okay. Enjoy the game, I’ll be quick.”
I shuffled down the bleachers, thankful the audience was fairly sparse today, and I didn’t have to squeeze by anyone. The concessions were on the far side of the field, but it’d be nice to move my limbs and get the blood pumping.
When I approached, a line had already formed of other parents with the same idea, but at least I could still see the field. I took my place, turning to watch as I bounced from side to side.
“Today turned out to be a cold one, didn’t it?”
I nodded to myself, still watching the game, agreeing with whoever was talking.
“The boys sitting on the bench must be freezing.”
I absently nodded again. I’d already thought the same thing. Most of the boys were wearing layers under their uniforms, but I was cold under a long sleeve and a sweater, so I’m sure their thin undershirts weren’t helping much.
“You’re Jamie’s mom, right?”
Startled, I darted my eyes over to find a man standing behind me, looking at me. “God, sorry, I thought you were talking to someone else. Yes, he’s mine.”
“Oh good, glad I didn’t make a fool of myself then.” He laughed, and his smile showed off a line of perfectly straight, white teeth. “I saw your group walk over before the game started, and it was hard to tell which of you were his parents.”
I waved a hand back and forth, “Yeah, we get that a lot. The other woman is his aunt of sorts, a close family friend.”
He bobbed his head, glancing at the line and moving up with me. I’d never seen him before, but he was an attractive man. He wasn’t quite as tall as Garrett, but he stood a few inches above me and was sporting perfectly styled, blond hair. Relaxed brows sat over a pair of strikingly blue eyes, and a trimmed beard covered his jaw.
“I’m Michael.” He held out his hand, and I hesitantly took it, unsure why he was being friendly with me. No one at school events was ever friendly to me.
“Madison.”
He held onto my hand a second longer and smiled again, crinkling his eyes. “Nice to meet you, Madison. My son has nothing but good things to say about Jamie. He seems like a great kid.”
That had me thawing, and I couldn’t help but return his smile. “I’m glad to hear that. He’s definitely a good kid, although I might be biased.” I glanced to the side, noticing the line had moved up, and shuffled forward.
“We’re fairly new to the area and new to the school. My son, Ian, is incredibly shy and doesn’t make friends easily, but he came home talking about Jamie on day one. Jamie kind of took him under his wing, I guess.”
My heart warmed. “We’ve moved around a bit, so he knows what it’s like to be new. I’m glad to hear they’re hitting it off.”
“Maybe we can get the boys together sometime so they can hang out outside of class.”
I certainly wasn’t against the idea of Jamie having a friend outside of school. I opened my mouth to agree when something was yanked over my face. I jolted, whipping back and bumping into something firm.
Hands brushed along my arms, pulling the item farther down until it encased me. I was two seconds from shooting out an elbow when I smelled it. That familiar, musky smell I’d know anywhere.
For the second time in my life, my head was forcibly shoved through the neck hole of a man’s hoodie, and I could see again. Michael was still there and was looking at me with an amused grin.
I turned to look over my shoulder and sucked in a breath. Garrett stood directly behind me, his eyes hard and heated as they locked with my own.
“Hi,” I whispered.
His full lips twitched. I could feel how tense he was as he looked up at Michael, but he nodded at him in greeting.
“Michael, this is my neighbor, Garrett. Garrett, this is Michael. His son goes to school with Jamie.”
Garrett’s eyes snapped to mine, and the look he sent me before he extended his hand to Michael had me rolling in my lips like a child caught in a lie.
Pulling the proffered limb back, he wrapped both hands around my arms and turned me, moving me forward. I’d been next and hadn’t noticed, and the woman working the stand stared at me, waiting.
“She’d like a coffee with one sugar and three creams.”
I looked up at him in surprise, but his hands on my arms kept me from turning around. “Make that two, please.”
He nodded, handing the woman cash and taking the cups from her outstretched hand.
He transferred one to me, and I wrapped both hands around it, stepping out of the way. I looked over my shoulder to bid Michael goodbye, but firm pressure on my back had me throwing out a quick wave and walking toward the bleachers instead.
I narrowed my eyes at the man beside me, the feel of his hand hot against my lower back. “We could have invited him where we’re at, I don’t think he knows anyone here.”
“He’ll live.” With the lack of concern in his tone, we might as well have been discussing the weather or the branches of government.
I grumbled. I knew Garrett naturally wasn’t talkative, especially to strangers, but being new sucked. It wouldn’t have killed him to be friendlier.
Garrett sighed, and I swore his fingers glided an inch up my back. “I’m sorry, I’ll look for him next time.”
I let him guide me back up to our seats, pointedly rolling my eyes when Layla wiggled her brows at me, accepting the second coffee from Garrett. I’m sure watching Garrett potato sack me with a hoodie was the highlight of her day.
I settled next to her, holding my cup near my face, and basking in the steam. Garrett dropped down next to me, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he was sitting a little closer than he had been before.
The boys lost the game. I wanted to be able to pat Jamie on the back and say something like, “It was so close!” But it wasn’t. They got creamed. He was eight, so I couldn’t care less who won. I just didn’t want to see him upset.
Layla, on the other hand, hadn’t shut up about it. Garrett and I were currently suffering through the tail-end of her rant as we stood to the side of the field and waited for the boys to be dismissed.
“I mean, honestly, if they would’ve just—” She stopped, nudging my arm. “Never mind. Incoming.”
I glanced over, expecting to see Jamie, but what I saw was the mutts of my own personal hell descending on us. Otherwise known as Tristan and her gang.
Her face was pinched like she’d eaten something sour, and Carolyn and Lara—I still wasn’t sure if those were their names—both looked uncomfortable. Tristan was looking directly at me until Garrett’s body shifted a half-step closer. Her eyes darted to him, and she swallowed, turning and transforming her features into a mega-watt smile.
“Hello, Madison. How are you?”