Secret Seduction

≾SS7≿

"Does that make you feel sad, sweetie?" I asked as I opened the back door and flung her book bag into the seat. I uncurled her body from mine and lifted her into her booster seat before strapping her in. She nodded eagerly at me and I smiled, pinching her cheek.

"I'll tell you what," I began to propose my plan to her, admiring the way her eyes lit up and the grin that was slowly twitching at the corners of her small lips. "How about we make cookies and you can take both of them a cookie for lunch tomorrow? The cookies will be so delicious that they will have no choice but to be friends again." I gave her my pinky finger and she hooked hers through mine with a huge smile on her face.

"Chocolate chip?" She asked, licking her lips.

"Double chocolate chip." I smirked before closing the door. I jogged around the car to the driver's side and got in, buckled my seat belt before I turned off into the street.

By the time I reached Mehil's school, Avery was fast asleep.  It took no time for her to fall asleep while the car was in motion. It was as if she took onto narcolepsy symptoms every time the car started moving. One minute she would be running her mouth and the next she would be snoring. It was cute. I took pride in these little moments because I knew I wouldn't have them for long.

I pulled the car around the pick-up circle, searching the crowd of kids standing by the school entrance. I decided that it was impossible to spot Mehil among all the others. I knew that he would be looking for his mom's car to pick him up, so I stepped out of the car for a moment.

I finally found him standing by one of the main doors with a girl. He was casually leaning on the structure, wearing a soft expression on his face. He had his soccer ball under his armpit and his bag slouched across one shoulder. The girl on the other hand was clutching a pink journal to her chest. She had a short hair cut that was almost boyish despite the way she was dressed. Whatever Mehil was talking about, it seemed like she was truly interested in every word.

Is this who he's been distracted by lately?

I couldn't allow the smile from escaping my lips as I cuffed a hand to my mouth and called out Mehil's name. He snapped his head around immediately, looking for me until he saw that I was waving him over. His smile dropped which was alarming for a split second. I brushed it off as possible embarrassment. I watched as he said goodbye to the strange girl before quickly walking towards the car.

I ducked my head back in, closing the door as he opened the passenger door. He tossed his stuff in before getting in himself.

"Seat belt," I reminded before shifting gears and locking the doors.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" He asked, shocked as he buckled his seat belt.

I bit my lip on that note. It wasn't the exact greeting that I was hoping for but it was definitely realistic if you judged the previous circumstances. I was rarely the one to pick the kids up from school. So of course Mehil would be shocked.

"I took off of work early to pick you guys up," I shrugged, "In fact, I'm going to try and start doing this more often." I gave a quick glance at Avery in the rear-view mirror with a slight pang of guilt.

"Cool." Mehil simply said back, digging his phone out of his pocket.

"So, who was that girl?" I stopped at a traffic light, turning to stare at him momentarily.

Mehil stopped fidgeting with his phone screen and paused for a moment. "No one." His voice took on a stiff tone, before he went back to playing with his phone.

"Funny. By the way you smiled at her, it seemed to me like she was someone special," I smirked, steping on the gas as the light switched.

Mehil groaned inwardly, "Oh come on, dad. It was no one special, just a friend."