I leave him alone and grab a coffee from Julius, who’s back with us today. The coffee machine at the office isn’t great, and more often than not, it’s broken because someone didn’t use it properly or failed to clean it. I really could get used to meetings with such good coffee.
“Hey, Julius. Stella told me you’ve lost another helper.”
He shrugs. “Story of my life, man. Fletcher said he knows someone that could be good. I live in hope.”
I take my coffee and check in with Ellis, who’s at his desk at the front of the room.
“Hey, Harrison, great to see you,” he says. “I’m sorry, I can’t stay. I need to write a proposal for the American Council on Education to offer GED support classes at the school. This is something Principal Lewis was working on and then passed on to me. The deadline is this Friday, and if I don’t do it, we have to wait another year.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the meeting.”
I glance at Fletcher, and he still hasn’t acknowledged anyone or noticed my arrival. We need to start the meeting, so I brace myself for whatever comes.
When Fletcher finally tunes in, I see what Melodie means. His smile doesn’t reach his eyes, and he’s mostly taking notes about things that have been agreed on or secured for the fair.
The saving grace in all this is that because the parents are so engaged and determined to make the fair a success, our divide-and-conquer strategy is working.
Melodie and Charlie have relatives who sell at the monthly craft fair, which I’m told is a big deal in this town. They’re organizing crafting classes for the kids, with a dedicated tent to exhibit the best work. There will be an option for parents to buy the creations to help raise money for the school library.
Liv and Julius are sharing the food and drink stall with a donation from Sage’s brother, who I assume has forgiven him for the dick print-covered rocking horse.
With only a few weeks to go, everything seems to be on track. I can only hope we don’t get derailed by Karina, but we have plenty of ears to the ground, listening out for anything that could put the fair in jeopardy.
As the meeting draws to an end, everyone leaves. Melodie catches my eye and nods toward Fletcher. I nod back.
“Hey, do you have some time before you need to go home?” I ask Fletcher as he stands up to leave.
“Sure.”
We put all the desks in their usual rows until there’s no one left but us. The janitor usually checks all the rooms before closing the building at eight, so we still have time.
I can’t keep staring at Fletcher’s sad face without doing something about it, so I pull up a chair and take his hand, dragging him closer until he has no choice but to straddle me.
“You look sad today,” I say.
He gives me a half-smile. “It’s been a difficult few days.”
“Anything I can do?” My hands instinctively reach for his hair. It’s nice to see his eyes properly without the hair covering his face.
He stares at me. I don’t know what to do or what’s going through his mind, but I know I can’t push him.
His next move is slow and tentative. The opposite of the Fletcher I’ve come to know. But I’ll never complain of having his lips against mine.
He lets out a small moan, and for the first time tonight, I feel him come alive. His arms go around my shoulders, and because he has a little height advantage in this position, his hair falls around our faces.
I smell his shampoo when I breathe in, and my dick hardens from all the memories of the weekend we had together.
“Fletcher,” I groan. I need to stop this. We’re not in the right place to give in to this crazy lust. Anyone can walk in.
“Hmm, Harry, your mouth is…fuck…” he drawls as he kisses my jaw and sucks on my neck.
“We need to stop,” I say.
He lets out a frustrated sigh. “Come to my place. George is with his mom.”
“Okay.”
I follow him in my car, parking right where I did on Sunday when I left him at his doorstep. An icy chill comes over me, but I shake it off.
