Yes, the universe is really doing this to me right now. He stands there in pretty much what he wore the first time I met him. Except I know what he looks like naked, and my body reacts to it like the traitor it is. The only different thing is the leather jacket, which just makes him even hotter, if that is possible. He looks at me up and down, and when his eyes land on my stomach, the only thing he can say is, “What the hell?”
What the hell, indeed, I think to myself, along with other things that I can’t say in the presence of my students. The last thing I need is to get fired right before I have a baby.
“Miss Jillian,” Mia says, looking at me. “That Uncle Michael.” She points over at him, getting off her chair and running to him. His face goes into a full smile when he sees her running to him. He bends and picks her up and kisses her neck.
“Hi, you,” he says softly, and she hugs his neck and lays her head on his shoulder for a second. His arms bulge from holding her, and I wonder if he got bigger. The memories from that night come crashing back, making me angrier with him. I want to yell at him and kick him in the balls, but instead, I put on a brave face. The same brave face I’ve worn since I found out I was pregnant and most likely going to be a single mom.
“Did you bring me candy?” she asks, and the smile fills my face even though I don’t want it to. When I look at him, my heart speeds up just like it did the first time, but then my hand goes to my stomach, and the sorrow and anger come in.
“I did not,” he says, looking at Mia and then at me. His eyes travel down to the hand on my stomach.
“Can we get McDonald’s?” Emma asks, and he looks down at her.
“Why don’t we call Dad when we get in the car, and we can see,” he suggests. “Go get your things, and I’m going to talk to Miss Jillian.”
“Oh, no.” I shake my head. “There will be no talking to Miss Jillian.” I put on a fake smile. “Because Miss Jillian has been waiting, and she needs to leave.” I walk over to my desk.
“I’m sure Miss Jillian can spare a minute,” he says, putting Mia down, and Emma comes over and grabs her bag.
“I assure you she probably can, but she doesn’t want to,” I say, and I feel like one of my students when they fight with each other. I need to stomp my foot, fold my arms over my chest, and pout.
I watch her walk over to me. “Thank you for the snacks.” Emma hugs my waist, and I bend a bit to hug her back.
Looking down at her, I smile. “It was my pleasure,” I say and look over to see that he’s stepped more into the classroom. I can smell him, and my nipples perk up. I look down and am thankful that my padding doesn’t show it.
“Miss Jillian,” Mia says to me. “Can I bring home this book?” She holds up the book I was helping her read.
“Only if you promise to bring it back,” I agree, and she smiles so big and nods. “Then you can borrow it from me.” I squat down in front of her. “If you practice, maybe tomorrow you can lead storytime.” She gives me a hug, then turns to tuck it in her bag.
“Jillian.” I hear him say my name, and even though I’m angry, the tears come, but I blink them away. All I can remember is the way he said my name all night long. The night that I held on to for the past five months. Racking my brain for clues as to why he did what he did.
“If you don’t mind, I need to head out,” I say, getting up and walking over to my desk. He’s about to say something else when there is a knock on my door, and I look up to see Sharon, my co-worker, standing there.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she says and then looks at Michael and walks in, swaying her hips. I almost roll my eyes.
“You are not interrupting anything. See you girls tomorrow,” I say, giving him the hint to get the hell out of here.
He looks at me, and I avoid looking into his eyes because there is no need to go down that road. The last thing I want is for him to see how much he hurt me. “Let’s go, girls,” he says, holding his hand out to them. They slip their hands in his, and he looks back at me one last time, and I make the mistake of looking into his eyes. I can tell that he’s trying to tell me something, but I hope he sees in mine that I don’t ever want to see him again.