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1d1195 · 2 days ago

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Under Construction II

Read Under Construction here | ~7.1k

From Me: a bit of a slow burn

Warning: a little angsty mayhaps. otherwise fluffy

Summary: “Interesting,” she practically sang. “He seems... friendly.”

“M-hmm.”

“Attractive,” Eleanor continued.

“Yup,” she nodded and scooped some dip onto her plate and grabbed a handful of chips. “What?” She asked, finally.

“Can I be maid of honor? Are you gonna invite your class to be part of your wedding? Do you want a summer wedding because it will be easier to plan around school?”

She sighed and ate her buffalo chicken dip as Eleanor rambled on about it. “It’s not happening.”

Louis and Eleanor were already sitting in their regular booth when she arrived. Her eyes were half closed despite the coffee she drank. “Oh, come on, babe, rally please,” Louis frowned at her approach. She sighed. She wanted to go home. As much as she loved her friends she was just drained and wanted to be alone.

“I love this dress,” Eleanor smiled excitedly.

She grinned weakly and dropped into the booth before putting her head on the table. “What did you order?” She asked.

“Buffalo chicken dip.”

“God Bless,” she sighed. “Did you order me a drink?”

“You sure you can drink in your condition?” Louis asked, lifting her arm and letting it flop lazily on the table.

“I’m rallying,” she mumbled into the wood.

“You can tell,” Eleanor patted the back of her hair. “How was your day?”

Her day was wonderful. She was sure she was going to get a cold any minute. The kids were behind in math because of a fire drill and there had been indoor recess for three days straight due to rain. It was madness and this Friday was the first reprieve in ages.

Plus, Harry came back around for the second week in a row to look at stuff around her classroom.

She hadn’t told Louis and Eleanor about the cute guy working next to her school. She knew Eleanor would be bursting at the seams and Louis would make one too many jokes about Harry and his tool(s).

She sat up and shook her head a bit before answering. Trying to perk herself up. Perhaps she should have ordered an espresso martini. Something with caffeine would have helped. “It was good, the kids are doing really well,” she nodded. “I’m a little worried about Milo socially, but overall, they’re a great group,” she said proudly. “I love them so much.”

“You always do,” Louis grinned almost as proudly as she did. He too thought his best friend was a superhero teaching little ones. Having grown up with a host of younger siblings, he knew how important teachers were. He couldn’t believe how kind, compassionate, and patient she was in every facet of her life. Watching his best friend do this made him more appreciative.

“Do you get to rest this weekend?” Eleanor asked.

But Louis also knew she devoted so much of her time in and out of the classroom to these sweet kids.

In theory, she would rest. But even on weekends she had a pretty packed schedule. There were errands, cleaning, laundry, and hopefully getting outside to enjoy the fall weather. “Yes,” she nodded. “One of my kids asked me to go to their soccer game tomorrow though, it’s at the school, so I figured I could swing by.”

“That’s kind of you,” Eleanor grinned. “Any dates in your future?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

She sighed. The thought of dating the handsome construction worker crossed her mind. But after her previous relationships, it just made more sense to be alone for the time being. Until she got her footing and found a balance that worked for her. It wouldn’t be long now; she was getting there. But these kids were her whole world, and she loved being there for them. They were young, adorable, and they valued those who showed up—especially if people in their lives weren’t showing up. “No dates.”

“None?” Eleanor pouted. “Babe, it’s been...forever.”

“Don’t remind me,” she sighed. “I’ve just been busy.”

“But it’s good for you. You don’t have to sleep with every guy, and you don’t have to marry the first guy you find,” El continued. “I know you love those kids and they’re your whole life; I get that. But the right guy will let you have that.”

“It’s hard,” she explained. “I don’t want it to be like last time,” she shrugged. It was so casual. As if it wasn’t the worst break up in the history of the world. If she pushed it down and didn’t think about it, it wouldn’t bother her like it used to. She wouldn’t worry about it.

“Bird?”

She nearly broke her neck with the way it snapped to the voice before she could stop it. Eleanor’s gaze turned to the sound as well. Her jaw dropping as Harry approached. He smiled that sweet, sexy way with the pretty dimples. He was wearing a polo shirt instead of his company’s T-shirt and his dark pants replaced the ever-present work ones he wore on the job site. His work boots were now just a pair of casual trainers. It was clear Harry would look hot in a trash bag, but part of her missed the construction outfit.

“Harry,” she said softly and standing outside the booth to greet him. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi, Bird,” he grinned a little brighter. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Um,” she shook her head. “These are my best friends: Louis and Eleanor,” she gestured. “This is Harry,” she said to them.

“Hi,” he waved briefly. “Did y’come right from school?” He asked, glancing at the dress he saw her in only hours before.

Well, yeah. She hadn’t anticipated anyone from work seeing her in the same outfit. “Um...yeah. I stopped at my sister’s house to help her with something. Didn’t leave time to change.”

“Y’look beautiful,” he said reassuringly, his smile unmoving from his face. She felt her face warm at the compliment knowing Eleanor was eating it up. “Jus’ wanted t’make sure y’weren’t there for hours and hours on your own.”

She bit the inside of her lip knowing that Louis and Eleanor were going to give her an earful as soon as he left. If he left. Fortunately, at that moment, the waitress came by and placed the buffalo chicken dip on the center of their table. Her stomach growled at the sight of it. “Do you two want to order a drink?” She asked of herself and Harry.

“Oh, I need another minute to look over the—” She started hoping it would give her a moment to rid her space of Harry. Not that she really wanted him to leave. But she didn’t want the first time seeing him outside her classroom to be overshadowed by her faux parental figures eating buffalo chicken dip with her who at any moment were going to go at it about the guy she was hiding from them.

“Harry, please sit,” Eleanor begged. “We never finish this with the three of us,” she continued.

Harry looked at her and noted the uneasiness clearly on her face as her two little worlds collided. “S’okay, thank you. M’here with m’friend Niall. Jus’ coming back from the bathroom and thought I saw you in y’pretty dress,” he winked. Her face felt hot, and she wondered if she was going to start sweating. She needed to have a bite of the dip in hopes of playing off the heat she felt spreading through her body. “I’ll see you Monday?” He pressed a hand to her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze before he said goodbye to her friends. As soon as he was out of ear and eye shot, she turned toward her booth with her friends and waited for the onslaught of questions.

“Who’s Harry?” Eleanor began crunching on a chip.

“Uh... he’s a construction worker. He’s the foreman on the job site next to the school.”

“How’d you meet?” Louis smiled excitedly.

“I had to show the kids all the scary noises, or I was never going to get anything done.”

“Oh,” Eleanor brightened. “When did you meet him?”

“Last week,” she admitted.

“Interesting,” she practically sang. “He seems... friendly.”

“M-hmm.”

“Attractive,” Eleanor continued.

“Yup,” she nodded and scooped some dip onto her plate and grabbed a handful of chips.

“How did he know you would be in your classroom for hours on end?” Louis asked. It was ridiculous she was making them practically beg for details, but she didn’t want to get their hopes up.

“Uh...” she sighed. “Janie may have told him that my desk was crooked, and if he could fix it that would be nice.” Louis and Eleanor grinned liked maniacs as they continued eating. She knew it was coming but she did her best to ignore their stares and insinuating smiles. “What?” She asked, finally.

“Can I be maid of honor? Are you gonna invite your class to be part of your wedding? Do you want a summer wedding because it will be easier to plan around school?”

She sighed and ate her buffalo chicken dip as Eleanor rambled on about it. “It’s not happening.”

“Why not?” She frowned.

For about ten thousand reasons. The main one being she wasn’t going to be in a relationship when she didn’t feel she could devote her time to it the way she needed to. Neither her nor whomever she decided to date deserved that. “You know why.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Louis rolled his eyes. “You spend a lot of time on your students, yes. But it’s no worse than a hobby like knitting or video games,” he said pointedly. She knew where it was headed because they had been having the same conversation since her breakup almost two years ago. “Evan wanted your attention when he had time for you, it’s no different. You shouldn’t let his stupid behavior or ideas get to you and dictate your dating life.”

She frowned around her next bite of chip and dip. Louis was right, to a degree, but Evan had some pretty decent points. She did spend a lot of time and energy on her kids to the point of ad nauseum. There was only so much someone probably wanted to hear about in a group of twenty random five- and six-year-olds.

When the waitress returned, she ordered her drink and finally felt her stomach pain relieved once the food settled in. She liked the music that was playing around the room. Nothing over the top, but people were dancing. This was one of her favorite spots. Not too casual, not too fancy. Not too clubby, but not too hole-in-the-wall either.

But she didn’t dare look around to find the handsome foreman roaming about the room.

After a few more questions about Harry, a conversation about dinner plans for the following week, family chat, a second drink (and a third), along with another app (this time fried pickles that she was pretty sure Eleanor and Louis only got two of total before she devoured them) and more chatter about her cute kids, the night seemed longer than she imagined she could last. The bill was placed on their table, and she frowned almost immediately.

“My drinks are missing,” she told the waitress.

“Oh, the gentleman that was here earlier insisted your drinks go on his tab,” she explained with a kind smile.

Her face warmed again, and she could feel Eleanor and Louis positively beaming. “Oh,” she mumbled. “That was very nice of him,” handing her card over.

“Go thank him!” El smiled. “Please! It’s obvious he likes you.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t know how insane I am about the kids.”

“I could kill Evan,” Louis mumbled sipping the last of his drink. “Just go thank the cute guy for Christ’s sake. It’ll give him something to think about tonight.”

She scratched her eyebrow with her middle finger while glaring at Louis. As casually as she could, glanced around the place looking for signs of the hot guy. “I wouldn’t have had three drinks,” she mumbled.

“Go tell him that! I’ll guard your credit card. Just go find him, please!” Eleanor begged. “You deserve a cute guy buying you drinks.”

“I’m not going to go find him. I’ll just see him on Monday and thank him then,” she offered. “But I do have to pee; even the teacher bladder can’t hold all this in,” she explained sliding out of the booth once more.

“Please run into him, please run into him, please run into him,” Eleanor murmured to herself, miming a praying motion as she walked away. She rolled her eyes and headed across the room to the bathroom.

As soon as she turned the corner to the bathroom, Eleanor’s prayers were answered. His profile was in view as he hung at the bar watching the game while he and Niall sipped their drinks. They had smiles on their faces, laughing at something, and enjoying the moment. She seriously hated that she was going to have to walk right by them to get to the bathroom.

Taking a deep breath, she headed their way. When she was close enough that she could hear his voice and his intoxicating laugh, he did a double take as she approached. “Hi Bird,” he grinned so sweetly she could feel her cheeks warm.

“Hi,” she smiled in return. “Thanks for getting my drinks... I wouldn’t have gotten that many if I knew you were paying,” she frowned.

He shook his head brushing her off quickly. “S’why I did it,” he said reassuringly. “And three is not that many after the week y’had,” he reminded her with that smile that could light up a black hole. Fuck he’s pretty. “This is m’friend, Niall. He’s also on the crew. This is Miss Bird, Miss Bee for short,” he explained, her heart skipping a beat as he remembered what the little ones said. “She was in charge of the cute kids last week.”

“Nice to officially meet you, Miss Bird,” he held his hand out to shake it. “I heard you have a lovely classroom.”

She blushed darting her eyes to Harry’s ever-present smile. and then returning to Niall. “Thank you,” she said appreciatively. “It’s kind of a work in progress.”

“You don’t have to explain that to us,” Niall chuckled making her grin.

While she interacted with Niall, her body felt the warmth and weight of Harry’s stare on her skin. That smile of his was doing things to her—none of which were what she would call healthy. It was like goosebumps, a flutter of her stomach, her heart was flying. It felt like her little ones explaining their tummy aches and she was suffering every second of it.

“Well, I won’t keep you both... I was heading to the bathroom, anyway. But... thank you again,” she said appreciatively to Harry.

“Course, bird,” he nodded politely. “See you Monday?” He asked.

She nodded. “Monday,” she agreed.

“She’s cute,” Niall grinned. “I can see why you like her.”

Harry smiled at the glass in front of him like a love-sick fool. He was doting after her every Friday doing little repairs. He had massive plans for things she mentioned she wanted once he gained more of her trust. It seemed too grand of a gesture to do it all after only setting foot in her classroom three times.

She was so pretty. The kind of pretty that Harry would have blushed over when he was young. Like when he first learned that he was allowed to like girls and that they were supposed to put butterflies in his stomach. He liked the bright colors she wore and the way she spoke to her students. He was overwhelmed by her. Each time she smiled, he swore he heard music. Her laugh rivaled the sound of symphonies. He liked everything she did, the way she wore her hair, how she pursed her lips when she was doing her planning for the coming week—all of it. He could admit he was a little obsessed. He wasn’t too proud to say it. She was lovely from every angle. The way she thanked him for silly little things. How she was so meticulous in her cleaning or even the cutting of paper for her students’ projects.

“She’s so sweet,” Harry sighed. “M’lucky I can talk around her.”

“Why don’t you ask her out?”

“Did y’not jus’ hear me say m’lucky I can even talk around her?”

He smirked into his drink. “Well, you better find some luck; she’s coming back.”

Harry turned to her approaching again. She looked a bit frazzled, her cheeks a cute shade of red that matched the pants she wore the first time he saw her. She took a deep breath. “Hi again, I’m sorry to bother you guys,” she sounded sincere and embarrassed.

“Not at all, Bird, everything alright?” Harry was quick to ask.

“Here, you sit,” Niall offered. “I was going to use the restroom myself,” he clapped Harry on the back and walked away before he could say anything else. Harry turned his full attention towards her.

“I’m fine... My friends... they’re kind of the... pranking type. They knew you were here so... they kind of left me... and took all my stuff,” she rolled her eyes. “Could I use your phone to order a ride?”

He chuckled. “These are your best friends?” But he could see Niall doing something like that. Maybe she did like him but was too shy to do something about it. He was surprised Niall didn’t think of doing the very same thing before her pair of friends did. The best Harry thought he could do was buy her drinks but instead he would get an extra fifteen minutes, outside her classroom, alone with her. This would be extra lovely.

“Well, not anymore,” she grumbled.

Harry laughed again. “I can take y’home?” He offered. “Or wherever your stuff is.”

She shook her head quickly. “Thank you, but I don’t want to put you out. Louis and Eleanor live across town and I’m just a five-minute drive so I can just call a ride.”

Harry paused briefly as he looked her over, assessing if she would really hate him for insisting on helping her out. “I really don’t mind, Miss Bird. Told you I was at y’service,” he reminded her gently.

Her heart skipped several beats. Not just one. He threw her heart totally out of sync. Her ex-boyfriend never visited her classroom and yet this stranger was happy to be there. Happy to help her. Wanted to help her. “I appreciate it, not that you need to do the other stuff for me either, but this is really above and beyond.”

“Think society should go above and beyond for the teachers that go above and beyond all the time,” he shrugged and finished the last of his drink. “I also don’t want you t’get in a car with a stranger without any of your stuff.”

She knew that Harry wouldn’t let her do it, probably just the same as Eleanor and Louis knew he wouldn’t either. She didn’t really want to go alone, but she also knew that Eleanor wouldn’t come back unless she was desperate. But El must have known that Harry wouldn’t let her find her own ride home alone late in the evening. Even from the few interactions she had with him, it was evident that Harry was a good person. As a kindergarten teacher, she believed she was an excellent judge of character. It was important when on field trips to know if people were going to be good to her little ones or not. It made her wary of people walking by the playground at recess. Of course, it also helped on parent night figuring out if a parent was going to be a headache or not throughout the year.

There was no way Harry was going to let her get into a car with a complete stranger to drive her home late in the night without her belongings. For safety purposes first and foremost.

Also, because he was fairly certain he was in love with her, but that truly was secondary. Maybe.

“I’m not going to hold you and Niall up?” She asked.

“M’pretty sure Niall left,” he admitted signing the receipt for all the drinks he had bought this evening. Niall was long gone; he waved at Harry when he exited the bathroom making obscene gestures with his fingers and a waggle of his eyebrows as he left. Harry obviously ignored him.

She smiled. “Some friends we have,” she joked.

But they were. For making them spend time with one another. “The very best,” he nodded in agreement.

Harry opened the passenger door of his car for her to get inside. The small gesture didn’t go unnoticed. The chivalry was something she wasn’t completely used to. She was more of a DIY kind of girl, yard sale and paint it kind of vibe. Fix her skirt with a safety pin before giving up on it. Doors weren’t held open for her, people couldn’t get there fast enough. But she didn’t need it either. She didn’t need doors opened for her or a knight and shining armor to come to her rescue. One of the many things her mentors taught her was to be resourceful.

But Harry opened her door anyway and she thought that maybe it wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world to be a little less resourceful. “Thanks,” she mumbled quietly.

He winked at her. Winked. Then headed to his side of the car. “Y’can play with the temperature and music if y’feel so inclined,” he told her as the car started.

“I’m comfortable right now, thank you,” she said softly.

In the creepiest of ways, he wanted to know where she lived. Maybe he would surprise her with flowers or something equally stalker-ish or serial killer-like. Therefore, it was probably for the best he was taking her to Louis and Eleanor’s. She put the address into his GPS, so she didn’t have to give him directions (bad ones at that). It felt a little awkward in the car for about two minutes as she tried to think of what to say. Her whole life revolved around six-year-olds and from previous experience it felt like a bad idea to talk about them to a new guy who knew very little about her.

Fortunately, Harry broke the ice quickly. “What do y’have planned for your class this week?” He asked.

She blinked wondering if he could hear her thoughts. But despite his question, she wasn’t going to bombard him. “Oh, just the normal kindergarten things,” she summarized.

He chuckled. “Y’can chat ‘bout the more specifics if y’want,” he said following the GPS to the right.

Her heart felt so excited and heavy all the same. He was going to make her fall in love with him so quickly it was embarrassing. “Um...” she thought of the weekly planner on her now evenly laid desk that didn’t wobble when she wrote on the surface. “We’re going to start our shapes unit in math,” she started. “We’re still reading Charlotte’s Web and they’re working on their handwriting while we do our reading comprehension stuff.”

“That’s a lot for kindergarten, no?”

“It’s a ton, actually,” she nodded. “I think the standards have gotten harder since I was in kindergarten. They need to know about a hundred more things than I ever did. It’s overwhelming,” she explained. “So I try to make it fun and engaging because there is so much.”

“If the way your kids talked t’me a couple weeks ago is any indication, they love you and your class.”

“I think so too,” she admitted shyly.

“Y’should be proud of that, Bird,” he chuckled. “Y’sound like s’not the coolest thing in the world.”

“It’s not... not really.”

He frowned, and part of her wished she never made him do it. His mouth was too pretty to be making a sad face. He was too pretty to be anything but happy and she didn’t want to be the cause of upsetting him no matter how minor it was. “But it is,” he assured her.

“Well... thank you,” she said sincerely. “How about you? What’s up for this week?”

“Well, we’re finally going t’pour the forms for the foundation. We spent all this past week digging and prepping and getting things inspected,” he explained.

“Is it hard to time things?”

He shrugged. “Not particularly. I have an outline of what supposed t’get done and when. There’s room for error. S’the biggest project ‘ve ever worked on so I have t’estimate based on the smaller projects ‘ve done. The weather is what can really do us in on a big project like this.”

“That makes sense. How long is this project projected to be?”

“We’re thinking a little over a year start t’finish.”

“That’s so much,” she said in surprise. “And it’s going to be a whole police and fire station?”

“S’the plan,” he smirked.

“That’s incredible. Truly. I couldn’t do anything like that.”

“S’not so bad. Time feels like s’flying already.”

“That’s fair, can’t believe it’s almost Halloween.”

“What are y’going t’be? Do y’do dress up for your students?” He asked. She nodded.

“I put in my newsletter at the beginning of the year that I want to dress as your future profession or dream job.”

He grinned while watching the road even though he would have preferred to stare at her as he asked his next question. “So you don’t need a costume?”

“I’ll probably dress up as something silly, like a donut or a crayon. Something to make them laugh and enjoy. I already have my dream job,” she said so casually. Harry felt his stomach flip over her passion. She was so unbelievably good.

Harry cleared his throat before he told her he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life fixing up her classroom to be anything she wanted. “Any construction workers in the bunch?”

“Oh, at least five,” she giggled. “I have a list of questions for you too, that I’ve been holding over their heads, so they’ll be quiet during math,” she admitted with another laugh.

But Harry frowned. Had he known she had a list of questions, a way for him to spend more time with the pretty woman, he would have all but begged to be in her classroom. “Why didn’t y’tell me? I’d come in and answer questions,” he offered.

She looked toward the window briefly. “They’ll forget about it eventually, I don’t want...” she took a deep breath. “I am not holding you to it, is all I mean.”

Harry followed the GPS for another minute through a series of turns. “S’not a problem. Jus’ tell me the time and I’ll be there.”

“It’s really no big—”

“You’re right, Bird, s’no big deal. None at all. So m’happy t’come in,” he assured her.

She bit the inside of her lip as Harry pulled into the driveway. “You’re very kind Mr. Styles,” she said quietly looking at her hands in her lap.

Now parked, Harry turned toward her and nodded. “So are you, Miss Bee.”

“I knew we forgot someone!” Louis shouted from the doorway.

She rolled her eyes rolling down the window. “You guys suck. Harry already thinks you’re insane and never wants to see me again.”

Eleanor skipped down the steps and leaned onto the window frame. “It’s why we’re friends, Harry. Get on board or you can’t be with her. Or whatever The Spice Girls said.”

He smiled. “S’okay, I appreciated the alone time,” he winked at Eleanor without so much as a glance at her. She was grateful for the dark to cover the shade of red on her cheeks. “Are y’staying the night?”

“It’s either she stays here, or the Styles-Taxi will have to bring her home,” Eleanor said impishly.

“Nope, I’ve inconvenienced Harry enough for a lifetime, thank you,” she said shoving El away from the car and opening the door. Harry smirked.

“Will you tell her she’s not an inconvenience?” Louis asked a few steps back from the window.

“That’s very kind of you, Louis. Ask my only real friend right now, who didn’t abandon me and drove me out of his way to get me back to you lot,” she rolled her eyes, “to tell me I’m not an inconvenience.”

Harry laughed softly. “You’re not,” he assured her. “I’d drive y’home if y’needed me to.”

She nodded and looked at him shyly. “Thank you, but we’re going to one of my students’ soccer games tomorrow, so I don’t mind spending the night here.”

“Oh, that’s very sweet of you, Miss Bee.”

“She doesn’t turn it off,” Louis rolled her eyes. “We’re going to her sister’s dance recital on Sunday and... what are you doing tomorrow evening? Babysitting or tutoring?”

She ignored Louis. “Good night, Harry, thank you for the ride,” she said softly and waved heading for the door with Eleanor.

Louis sighed, shaking his head with a smirk. “We didn’t think you’d really kidnap her but thank you for bringing her home anyway.”

“Anytime,” he smiled. “She’s... really lovely,” he murmured gazing after her retreating figure. “Here’s m’number... in case she gets stranded and y’need m’taxi services,” he handed off a dark navy business card that stated his name and number along with Handy Man Services and a graphic of some tools in silver leaf lettering.

“Pleasure to meet you, Harry. Thanks for taking care of Miss Kindergarten.”

“Course,” he nodded and waved as Louis headed for the house after the girls. Harry sank into the scent of her perfume that lingered in the car as he drove away with a smile on his lips.

Harry could see it was her from the job site when she was out at the playground monitoring the little ones. He wondered if she was constantly doing a headcount. Or if she trusted they wouldn’t stray too far. With the weather getting a little cooler, her pink coat turned into a bright blue, thicker in appearance. She still wore dresses, but not as frequently—only when the weather cooperated. There was a walkie-talkie in her hand as she walked the perimeter checking the watch on her wrist every so often—was she doing a step count? She must have walked six miles at work while toting her students around the building and playground.

The kids often didn’t leave her alone. Or they were constantly calling out for her. There were other students out there too, other teachers as well. But no one was called upon the way she was.

It had to be hard to be needed so much. But he couldn’t blame them either. He would call out for her too if he could.

“Is this why you’re taking your lunch break so late?” Niall asked sipping his water while he looked at Harry meandering near the fence by the field. He smirked. “Maybe.”

“Hmm,” he hummed shaking his head. “Lovesick.”

“Maybe,” he repeated watching her again.

“Did you ask her out when you drove her home?”

“No, didn’t want t’put her on the spot. Didn’t want her to think she had to say yes.”

“Mm. I’m sure watching her and her students on the outskirts of a playground is helping your case.”

“Mr. Harry!” Someone shouted.

Her head instinctively turned toward the job site, and Harry felt a little smug that her eyes caught his from across the way. The little ones bounded toward the field. A little gaggle of six-year-olds rushing toward him. It was adorable.

Their pretty teacher followed behind at a leisurely pace. “Miss Bee said we can ask you our questions if we’re really good during math time,” Harry only remembered the names of the three that asked him questions a couple weeks prior and unfortunately neither Mae, Milo, nor Zara was the one talking now.

“Sounds like we need t’be good during math time. We’re learning shapes, yeah?” He asked.

The little heads bobbed in agreement. A little girl closest to the fence was staring straight up, her neck bent back at a ninety-degree angle to look at Harry. “Do you know what a rhombus is?”

Harry chuckled. “I think so, do you want to tell me?”

“It has four equal sides. It looks like a square, but it’s squished,” Mae explained.

“You can make it out of two equal-literal triangles,” a little boy continued.

“Equilateral, my love,” she said gently approaching. Harry gave a small wave as did Niall.

“We love triangles on the job site,” Niall said knowingly.

“Really?!” Another little girl piped up excitedly.

“Yeah, they’re the strongest shape,” Harry explained. “When we start framing the building—”

“What’s framing?”

“Mr. Harry was speaking, Brayden,” she chided softly. “It’s rude to interrupt, right my love?” She asked.

“Sorry, Mr. Harry,” Brayden frowned.

“S’okay, lad. S’a good question,” he said reassuringly.

Niall answered in response for Harry. “It’s putting all pieces up around the sides into the foundation of where the building would be.”

They tilted their heads up at him, their little eyes looking on curiously. Confused by the word foundation for sure. “It’s like when you put the edges of a puzzle together first,” her voice was so kind and soft. Their heads bobbed once more in recognition of something they had done, finally understanding what Niall and Harry meant. Her ability to make analogies for the little ones made Harry fall a little harder for her.

“So we put in these diagonal pieces,” Harry explained. “Makes the building stronger.”

“What’s a diagonal?” Milo asked.

“It splits a shape in half from corner to corner,” Niall answered.

“Have you ever had a PB and J cut into triangles?” She asked Milo.

“Triangles are the best kind for PB and J’s,” Mae nodded excitedly.

“I like rectangles more!”

“My mommy cuts mine into a heart.”

She smiled as the little ones all said their favorite sandwich shapes. “Miss Bee,” a little one tugged on her pant leg. “Could we have a sandwich party with shapes?”

“I think that sounds like a great idea, Kai,” she grinned.

“Mr. Harry, can you and your friend come to our party?”

“This is Mr. Niall,” Harry gestured to his friend beside him.

“Hi Mr. Niall!” They all sang in unison.

“Can they please come Miss Bee?” Kai asked.

“Mr. Harry can answer all our questions!”

The excitement was bursting from them before she could answer. Their chatter was a little overwhelming. “Watch this,” Harry murmured to Niall, a smile on his face as the pretty woman looked at all the children. The awe he had for her was probably evident on his face. Niall could see the adoration in Harry’s eyes as he watched.

“Tootsie roll, lollipop!” she called out with a slightly louder voice.

“We’ve been talking, now let’s stop!”

Somehow getting a group of six-year-olds to stop chattering with a simple phrase was one of the hottest things Harry had ever seen. Niall swore Harry was going to start drooling over her. Niall chuckled but was nonetheless impressed. “Should try that on the crew.”

“Mr. Harry and Mr. Niall are doing their jobs, remember? They can’t just come to our party.”

“What if we make invitations? I made invitations for my birthday party!”

“Amara, we can discuss it back in circle time, but you know how we can’t just go to specials whenever we want? Mr. Harry and Mr. Niall can’t just come to our party in the middle of their jobs,” she explained.

“Oh,” the little one pouted.

“We would love t’be there,” Harry said knowingly. “If we can arrange a time, we can try t’make it.”

“Why don’t you guys go line up with the other teachers,” she suggested. “Say bye to Mr. Harry and Mr. Niall.”

“Bye!”

“Thank you,” she said kindly to the pair of them. “That was really cool to talk about shapes,” she smiled.

“No problem,” Niall assured her. “I gotta get back to my task, but it was nice to see you again, Miss Bee. Let me know when our sandwich party is.”

Harry smiled brightly at her. “Hi.”

She looked at him shyly, her cheeks blushing once more. “Hi.”

Harry put his hand on the fence dangerously close to hers. He could feel the warmth of her pinky near his. “Can I come see y’later in your classroom?” He asked.

“It’s not Friday,” the pinch of her brows coming together.

“I can’t wait till Friday,” he said knowingly those pretty dimples of his making her melt a bit.

She bit her lower lip and nodded, a smile twitching on her mouth. “Later,” she agreed and walked away.

Harry felt practically giddy as he walked back to the site.

The outside door was propped open when he arrived. Quickly he found her sitting on the carpeted floor of the classroom in a circle of colorful paper, her laminator in the middle beside her and the smell of warm plastic. “What are you doing?” He asked.

“I have to cut these pumpkins up,” she explained. “I want to laminate my decorations for November too,” she continued.

Harry sat beside her. Cross-legged. His tall frame, his T-shirt stretching over his muscles. His clunky work boots. Everything about him was broad and masculine. His expression was extremely concentrated as he picked up a pair of scissors and got to work cutting up the bright orange paper. “How’s this work?” He asked pointing to the laminator.

She demonstrated with the paper and plastic she had in her hand. Harry watched with rapt attention. “I like to save the plastic as much as possible, so I put a lot on one sheet,” she told him. He nodded. He took some paper and plastic cover sheets from her. “Thank you,” she said gratefully. “I’m sure you don’t want to spend a Tuesday afternoon doing this,” she mumbled.

“S’no bother. I like spending time with you,” he reminded her. “Why are you on the floor, though?”

“I can only sit in a chair that’s made for a six-year-old for so long, my desk isn’t big enough for everything and the outlet by my desk is a little sketchy at best,” she smiled. “And I love my rocking chair, but it’s not really conducive for paper cutting and stuff...” she glanced at Harry again and his large body. He was so hot. “Do you want to sit in a real chair? You probably don’t want to sit on rainbow carpet after a long day at work,” she frowned.

“No,” he chuckled. “M’okay,” he assured her.

“Do you want a snack or a drink or anything?”

“M’really fine, Bird. Jus’ happy t’help you. Happy t’be spending time with you.”

“Cutting paper,” she stated, accusation laced in her tone.

“Cutting paper,” he repeated and nodded at the same time.

“On a Tuesday.”

“I could help on a Wednesday too,” he shrugged.

She swallowed. “Harry,” she said softly. Her fingers paused using the scissors, and some of the paper slid off her lap.

“Yes?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“M’sure y’know why, Bird. You’re a brilliant, educated, beautiful woman.” Her cheeks flushed with color and Harry smiled gently at her. “I like you, Bird. You know I do.” Her lap was covered in orange, black, and yellow paper. She was so pretty. Her hair piled on top of her head, at least three pencils sticking out of the bun at every which angle. She probably thought it looked messy, but Harry just thought she looked like the prettiest art sculpture ever created. The cardigan on her shoulders slipped to one side and Harry thought a plain white T-shirt beneath it might be the sexiest thing he ever saw. “Bird?” He said quietly.

“I spread myself really thin. I have a family, my friends, my students, I barely take care of myself, and I don’t care because I love every single thing I do,” she explained. “I thought I put my ex first, but he didn’t feel the same way. If you ask Louis and Eleanor, they’ll tell you he was the worst, but I think he may have been right,” she swallowed. “I put so much into this job and I love it and I don’t think—”

“Do y’think m’going t’try and change that?” He interrupted. “Your passion is exactly why I like you. M’not going t’change that. If I only get t’spend time with you by cutting up paper and laminating it on the floor of your classroom once a week then I can’t think of a better date. This is more than enough. I don’t need a lot.”

“You might not need a lot, but it doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a lot.”

God, she was perfect. “S’more than enough jus’ t’know that, Bird. Truly.”

She rolled her lips into her mouth. “Really?”

“Besides, if I help y’get all this done, then it goes by faster. Right? Maybe then I could take you t’dinner?”

“But—”

“Please, let me take you t’dinner,” he offered, his voice soft. “It doesn’t have t’be a date. Can jus’ be us going as friends.”

“I really don’t want to send mixed signals and I just—”

“Bird,” he smiled. “M’not afraid t’beg. There’s no expectations. Jus’ dinner or lunch. Or breakfast. Whenever you’re free.”

She bit the inside of her cheek and pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen a few times. “I’m free Friday night,” she said softly.

“After a long week?” He chuckled. “Y’were practically falling asleep with y’friends on Friday. Pick a different day. Any day. Sunday afternoon, Monday night, or four in the morning on a Thursday. I don’t care.”

“You’d go on a date with me on a Monday night?”

“I’d go on a date with you during your lunch hour.”

“Lunch hour,” she laughed. “I get twenty-four minutes,” she shook her head.

“Then it would be the best spent twenty-four minutes I can possibly think of,” he promised unbothered by the amount of time. Harry would take fifteen seconds of time with her. As much as she could offer, he would take it.

She pursed her lips. “You really want to do this?”

“I really want t’do this.”

There was a long pause as they gazed at one another. Harry thought she was the prettiest person in the world. How anyone let her slip away was a mystery to him. If she gave him a chance, he wouldn’t be going anywhere. No matter how hard she tried to push him away for his own benefit.

“Sunday afternoon sounds kind of lovely,” she admitted quietly.

“I couldn’t agree more.”

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