Branded: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

surprise her just a bit.
“Thank you.”
“Of course.” As I push her chair in for her, my finger grazes her back just a little and I swear I can hear the smallest intake of breath from her lips. “So, tell me about you, Sawyer. Something no one else knows or a weird quirk. It’s easy to learn the normal topics, but that can get boring, right?”
“That’s a very loaded question.” She l0oks down at her lap and smooths out the napkin lying there. “How about you ask me questions instead, and I’ll ask you some back?”
“That’s fair. I just want to get to know you.” I tap the table with my finger. “Liquor, wine, or beer?”
“After the night I had Friday, I’m swearing off liquor forever, especially tequila.” She takes a small sip of her wine then places the glass down carefully. “I’m sorry about that, again, by the way. I can’t believe I did that.”
I try to stop the smile, because I don’t want her to think I’m making fun of her, but I can’t. “You don’t have to apologize. Like I said, I thought it was cute.”
“You say that like you get drunk texts from girls all the time.”
I watch her closely as she slides the tip of her finger around the rim of her glass. I’m not even sure she knows she’s doing it. It’s probably a nervous habit or a way to fidget.
“I don’t,” I say with a shrug. “Not to say I haven’t before, but it’s not a normal occurrence.”
“Still. It was embarrassing. I don’t want you to think I’m this sloppy drunk who parties every weekend.”
“I never thought that. Not even once. You’re a grown woman. You can get drunk whenever you’d like, and I absolutely encourage you having fun, safely of course. If you feel the need to text someone, my phone is always free.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
She pulls the end of her ponytail over her shoulder. It’s impossible not to be instantly struck by how beautiful she is. She’s the type of beauty that stops you on the street and you just know whether it’s dressed to the nines or rolling out of bed in the morning, she’ll look just as incredible.
“Did you always want to be a teacher?”
That single question makes her face light up, and it’s hard not to match the enthusiasm.
“I did. I always enjoyed helping people understand things, not in a bossy kind of way, but in a I want to make a difference in the world kind of way.”
“You and I have that in common then.”
“Yeah, I suppose we do.” She clears her throat then takes another bite of her sushi. “Anyway, I always wanted to teach and my brother, he always pushed me to do it. Even though he was younger than me, he was trying to guide me along the path to succeed.”
“I always wanted siblings when I was growing up, but my parents started and ended with me. How much younger is he?” I ask.
I watch her throat bob up and down and she looks down at her plate. “Uh, he was six years younger than me. He passed away five years ago.”
“I’m sorry. I… I didn’t know.”
Her eyes sweep up to mine with a tender smile on her face. “It’s okay, you couldn’t have known. It’s hard, but I manage.”
“I can’t even imagine. What about your parents? They live in Tennessee?”
“Mmm hmm. In the Nashville area. I’ve tried to get them to move closer to me, but they are retired now and really enjoy being in their hometown. I can’t say that I blame them.”
“What did they do before retiring?”
“My dad was an OB/GYN and my mom was a nurse. They ran a practice together, actually.” Her eyes light up when she talks about them. It makes my chest tighten at the thought of my parents.
“Wow. That’s incredible, and impressive.”
“What about your parents?” She takes another small sip of wine.
I lean back in my seat, taking my drink with me. “I never knew my parents. My mom had me young, and I guess just decided she didn’t want to be a parent. Same for my dad. Grams stepped up, they stepped out.” I shrug it off. “And here I am.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Why? We are getting to know one another. It was a fair question. No harm, no foul.”
I don’t make a habit of talking about my parents, mainly because there isn’t much to say. I know they are still alive and they live somewhere in Nevada, but other than that, I know nothing. It was just Grams, my grandfather, and me until I was sixteen, then once he died, I became the man of the house. It’s just been Grams and me ever since.
“So you help take care of your Grams, then?” she asks.
“I do. It’s the least I can do after she put up with my teenage shit,” I laugh. “I always tried to be on my best behavior, but boys tend to be assholes from time to time.”
“You can say that again. I deal with teenagers every day. All hormones and attitude.” She rolls her eyes.
“I imagine it’s much worse when they have a teacher that’s easy on the eyes too,” I joke.
She groans in response and I just laugh.
“That was a good line. I have to admit it.”
“Happy to be of service.”
***
The sun has long since set and the streets are growing emptier as we take a slow walk back to her car.
“I think I’m ninety percent fish at this point,” she pats her belly.
“I will say, if you start growing gills, I’ll have to gracefully bow out,” I chuckle, and she does as well. It’s a sound I want to hear as often as possible.
“This is me.” She points to a small, red compact car and pulls a set of keys from her bag. “I had a really great time, Isaac.”
“So did I.”
She leans back against the driver’s side door and smiles.