Knowing a big part of the reason I was looking at Adele that way being because I wanted to do things with her that I’d never discuss with my sister, I absolutely was not interested in seeing Eden go out to search for a man who’d look at her that way.
“No,” I asserted a bit forcefully.
Eden grinned at me. She knew precisely what she’d been doing with that little stunt.
I let out a small laugh and said, “Let’s get out of here.”
My sister and I walked back up from the hay bale mountain toward the farm market. Just before we reached the market, she stated, “Listen, it’s up to you. I won’t press you on it any more. But before you decide that it’s not worth going after this woman now, take some time to think about how you’ll feel if in three months you decide you might want to reconnect with or pursue her and she’s already tied to someone else. She’s really pretty, Riggs. And she’s a teacher, which means she’s got to have the biggest heart to deal with kids all day. Someone like her isn’t going to be single for very long.”
I stopped in my tracks and looked at Eden.
I didn’t say anything, but she did.
“You know I’m right,” she remarked.
With that, she turned and walked into the market. I stood there letting her words sink in. It didn’t take me long to realize exactly what I had to do.
Not wanting to waste another minute, I joined my siblings in the market and worked with them to quickly get our produce put away in the refrigerator. Thankfully, none of them brought up the subject of the pictures or Adele again.
When we finished, we said good night to each other and took off. I got myself home as quickly as I could and immediately climbed the stairs to one of the second-floor bedrooms I converted into my temporary office.
Unable to stand the wait any longer, I opened a browser and typed in the address for Anna’s website. A moment later, I was looking at Adele again.
Sure, the both of us were in the photos, but she was the only thing I could look at. I studied every one of her features. I stared at her curves. I recalled the way it felt to touch her. I remembered what it was like to have her body underneath mine. More than anything else, I focused on the very thing captured in every single one of the photos.
It was a feeling.
Not only had I felt it there with Adele that day, but I felt it now.
All I felt was a craving for this woman unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
Feeling it and recognizing it, I came to the conclusion that Eden was right. If I was foolish enough not to try and pursue Adele now, I’d miss the shot.
And there was no doubt in my mind that it wouldn’t be long before someone else came along and scooped her up.
I couldn’t let that happen.
I’d put in my time at the farm this weekend since it was an all-hands-on-deck event. But by Monday, I’d be heading back to school.
Adele
“Alright, you guys can start getting your things packed up. And don’t forget about the solar system project I assigned last Monday. Those are due by the end of this week.”
A hand shot into the air as there was bustling from the other students while they packed up their things.
“Matthew?”
“Miss C, do you remember how you said you had some supplies we could use if we weren’t able to get any for the project?”
Nodding, I answered, “Of course. Did you need to take a look through what I’ve got here?”
“Yes, please.”
I moved toward the back of the classroom where I had a large container filled with a bunch of arts and crafts supplies. I always had extra things on hand for my students so they could put forth that additional effort on projects that were particularly interesting to them.
Once I pulled out the container, I instructed, “Anybody else who needs some supplies for their project, come on over and tell me what you need.”
A few students joined Matthew, seeking a variety of items to complete their projects.
“Miss C, what are we working on next in science class after the solar system?”
That question caused most of the students to stop what they were doing to listen to my answer.
“Apparently that was a great question, McKenna,” I started. “Next week we’re actually going to start learning about the human body.”
“Ew, gross,” Jamie blurted. “Are we going to have to talk about the organs?”
I laughed and said, “Yes. Unfortunately, that’s all part of it. It’s important that we know what the important parts of our body are and how to best take care of them.”
“Are we going to have to do a project for that, too?” Brenden asked.
I could hear the edge of nervousness in his tone.
“I haven’t quite figured out yet what exactly we’re going to do to put all the stuff we learn about the body to use yet,” I shared. “While you’re working on your solar system projects this week, I’ll be working on what’s coming next.”
“Cool,” Amanda said.
Once everyone who needed craft supplies got them, they packed up their bags and got ready to head home.
Fifteen minutes later, my students were all safely on their buses or in their parents’ cars in the case of parent pick-up while I was back in my room packing up my things.
I’d spent a good portion of my weekend researching and working on the nonprofit I wanted to set up. I reached out to Kacey this morning via text and let her know I had a bunch of information to share with her, so she told me to come to her place after school.
Not wanting to waste any time, I quickly gathered up my things and left.
By the time I made it outside, all the buses had left and there were just teachers’ cars in the parking lot.
I made my way over to my car, and just as I was about to open the door, I heard a familiar voice call out, “Adele.”
The air in my lungs got stuck there because when I looked up, I saw Riggs walking toward me.
He never looked better.
Adele
Riggs was here.
He was here.
I’d thought about Riggs at least once every day for over a week, and now he was just… here.
Somehow, I managed to quickly pull myself out of my stupor before he started to think I was a complete fool.
“Riggs,” I stated when he stopped in front of me.
His eyes searched my face before he smiled and replied, “Hi, Adele.”
Returning his smile, I said, “Hi. What are you doing here?”
“I hope you don’t think I’m some super weird creep or anything,” he started. “I remembered you told me you worked at this school. I didn’t have your last name or even a phone number, so I figured this was my best option to get in touch with you.”
“Oh. Right. Is everything okay?” I asked.
He nodded.
What he didn’t do was ease my curiosity about why he’d come to see me.
Even though I had pulled myself together enough to say hello to him, I was still very much in shock that he was there. So, I allowed the silence to stretch between us as my eyes roamed over him.
The man was everything I never knew I wanted to look at in a guy. There was a ruggedness about his look. The jeans he wore fit well, especially on what I could see were his solid, thick thighs. If he turned around, I believed I’d have proof they fit his ass just as well as the ones from the photo shoot. Up top, he wore a simple long-sleeved baseball tee. I loved the way the material stretched across his chest and shoulders. It was clear to me that Riggs was just… strong.