Unfortunately, I knew better than to think we could pretend it was nothing. Teenagers aren’t blind, and Elias was still wrapped around me. Neither of us had any idea how long Jasper had been there.
“Uh…” Elias seemed at a loss for words, and when I glanced over my shoulder, he looked uncertain. He didn't know how tohandle this situation. Neither did I, honestly, as I’d never dated a student’s guardian before, but honesty had always been my policy, and if us dating was going to become an issue, it was better that it came out now so we could cool things off. I wasn’t going to come between Elias and Jasper, especially while they were still warming up to each other.
With a sigh, I turned to face Jasper fully. “We’ve been discussing it, yes. Does that bother you?”
Jasper’s nose wrinkled. He didn’t look upset or angry, just confused and maybe a little grossed out. “I mean… I guess not…” he drawled, looking between us perplexedly. “How long have you been together?”
Elias snorted, some of the anxiety slipping away as he took in the lack of animosity on Jasper’s face. “We agreed to see how things went yesterday. I couldn’t make a move while she was still your teacher.”
Jasper full blown shuddered. “Gross.” He eyed me suspiciously. “You didn’t switch my classes so you could date Zero, did you?”
Biting back the urge to roll my eyes, I gave him my patented teacher look. “No, Jasper. My personal life doesn’t affect my teaching. I encouraged you to join Mr. Karlsen’s class because you need to be challenged. If it makes you uncomfortable?—”
He cut me off before I could finish my sentence, grimacing. “It’s whatever, I guess. Can we have something other than cereal or scrambled eggs for breakfast? I saw a donut shop near the hospital last night.”
Elias, the relief clearly written on his face, nodded once. “Sure. Let’s get your sister something quick first so she doesn’t lose her shi–” He cut himself off before the word could escape, starting again when Jasper scowled at him. “So she doesn’t lose it. Simone? Join us for donuts?”
“I’ll have to stop at home first,” I commented. “How about you two get Isla ready for the day and I’ll meet you there?”
Both men shrugged, agreeable to the idea, and set to work feeding the baby and getting dressed themselves. Elias, being a good man, put my coffee in a travel mug. I drove home still on alert for the bikers, but luckily it was an easy trip and I had plenty of time to get ready before Elias pulled into the driveway. I dropped into the passenger seat, raising my eyebrow at Elias’s heated look. We just told Jasper less than an hour ago that we were dating. He was guaranteeing grief if he made it too obvious.
“What?” he asked innocently.
I rolled my eyes, buckling my seatbelt securely and looking over my shoulder at Jasper. “Did you get her to eat or did Elias end up wearing her breakfast again?”
Jasper snorted, looking up from his phone long enough to answer me. “I fed her since he was too busy fussing over his clothes. He’s trying to impress you.”
To my surprise and delight, the tips of Elias’s ears turned red with embarrassment. He tried to hide it by making a face, but he couldn’t hide that reaction. “Hey! You just wait! You’re thirteen. Soon someone pretty will come along and you’ll be trying to impress them too.”
Jasper had that teenage cocky attitude when he shot back, “Nah. I won’t need to try that hard. You look desperate.”
Elias’s jaw dropped, and if it were me he was speaking to like that, I would’ve been offended, but it didn’t surprise me when Elias started laughing. He was too easy going to get offended by Jasper’s teasing, and when I glanced back at Jasper again, he looked pleased with himself for making his cousin crack up. It was a major difference from his normal animosity, and Elias seemed to pick up on that, snarking back playfully.
They kept poking at each other the rest of the drive, never going so far as to actually hurt feelings. The normalcy of itwarmed my heart. After seeing how heartbroken Jasper was last night, I was glad he was finally starting to feel safe and comfortable with Elias. Hopefully that meant if Jasper ever had any issues, he’d feel safe enough to go to his cousin instead of holding it all in until it exploded.
Pulling into the parking lot, Elias snorted when he saw a police car in the line for the drive through. I poked him in the side, silently reminding him to be nice, especially when Jasper was listening. Elias and his crew might have some friction with the police, but Jasper was old enough to internalize the opinions of the adults around him. If he didn’t want Jasper hating or fearing the police, he needed to make a good example.
Elias shot me a sheepish grin, parking in a spot near the front and jogging around the car to open my door for me before grabbing Isla. He stepped closer when we headed inside together, his voice low so as not to be overheard by Jasper.
“Hey, I just remembered. You never told me what happened last night? Why did you need to talk to Officer Hernandez? Is everything alright?”
Pressing my lips together, I sighed. I’d honestly forgotten until I got into my car that morning. Things were so hectic with Jasper and Isla that I put it out of my mind. “Let’s get the kids breakfast first.”
I needed a minute to figure out what to say to him. I knew he wouldn’t like it, but I also knew it was important for him to know. If this was the same crew that was causing him trouble, then he needed to be aware of what they were doing, at least so he could tell his crew to avoid the roads at night. If they weren’t around, they couldn’t be blamed.
We picked a table and Elias dragged over a high chair, leaving Isla with Jasper as we stood in line to get the donuts. With Jasper out of earshot, I finally told Elias what happened. “While on the way to the hospital last night, a group of bikerssurrounded my car. It seemed like they were trying to force me to slow down or pull over. I called the police and they sped off, but the behavior was… concerning.”
He looked outraged, his eyes wide with fury. “Concerning? That sounded a lot more than just concerning, Simone. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I reassured him. “The police arrived before I could be forced to stop and the worst that happened was that one of the bikers crashed his bike after I slammed my brakes. It could’ve been a lot worse.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ZERO
She said it so casually, like being surrounded by strange men trying to get her to pull over wasn’t scary for her. But I saw past the calm. She’d had tension around her eyes last night when she arrived that I thought was because of Isla. And even now, she kept glancing back at the table Isla and Jasper were sitting at, like she was worried about being away from them. Taking her hand, I kissed the back of it, tipping my head toward the table. “Go sit. I’ll get breakfast. Want another coffee?”
Her smile was appreciative and she nodded gratefully. “Yes, please.”
