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When You're Around

Chapter 31

Jessica walked into her apartment with a smile Monday afternoon. She'd decided to leave work early go do something for herself for the rest of the day. She'd already made an appointment with her favorite nail salon for a pedicure and manicure in an hour. Nothing relaxed a girl quite like getting pampered. She set her purse on the counter as she went through the mail she'd brought in. "Bill," She said as she tossed one envelope on the counter. "Another bill…another bill…oh what a surprise, another bill." She said before coming across an envelope addressed to Chloe from Emerald Elementary, the school she taught at. She scanned the envelope and saw that it had a stamp on it that said 'Important! Please read immediately'. Jess frowned as she searched through her purse for her phone. Once she located it, she looked through her contacts and pressed call when she found her friends name.

"Randy!" Chloe's voice echoed over the phone with a laugh. "Randy, stop! It's Jessica." She said, laughing one more time before speaking directly into the phone. "Jess? Hey, sorry, Randy was being stupid."

Jess smiled when she heard Randy yell in the back that he isn't stupid. It was good to see, or in this case hear, that things were going well between the new couple. "How's life on the road without me?"

"It sucks!" Chloe immediately said much to Jess's satisfaction. "I mean I'm working hard and enjoying it, and I do have Randy and Rach but I miss you! Rach and I both agree you need to come with us one week, we'd have so much more fun if you were here."

"I'll think about it. I've got work and stuff." Jess said and it was no surprise to Chloe.

"John asked about you," Chloe sang in a low voice so Randy wouldn't hear.

Jess perked up immediately. "Oh?"

Chloe grinned, knowing she had her friends attention. "Yeah, wanted to know if we heard from you and how you were doing. Real sweet."

"Oh," She said with a smile. "That's nice of him. Tell him I say hello."

"I definitely will do that."

"You will be very proud of me." Jess announced.

"Why's that?" Chloe asked.

"I skipped out on work early. I'm going to get my nails done as a reward for my hard work."

Chloe laughed. "That's great. See, you need to take time off more often."

"I know, I know. Baby steps." She agreed with her friend as she looked down at the envelope in her hand. "But hey, the reason I called is because I was looking through the mail we got today and there's something from the school for you."

"That's weird." Chloe said confused. The school usually just sends emails to the teachers. "It's probably just something about the school year starting in the fall. Want to open it and read it to me?"

"I don't know Chlo, it has a stamp on the front that says 'important! Please open immediately'." Jess said as she opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. "Ok, it says dear Ms. Ryan, It has been brought to our attention here at Emerald Elementary that you may have entered into an inappropriate relationship with a parent of one of our students." Both Jess and Chloe's mouths dropped open. "We received word from a concerned parent who would like to remain anonymous. We are aware that there are no written rules about fraternization with parents of students, however, Emerald Elementary and the school board need to take into consideration that one, and perhaps many, parents are not comfortable with this situation. The school board and school officials will be holding a meeting on Friday at 1pm to discuss the terms of your situation and whether or not this behavior is acceptable at Emerald Elementary. You are welcome to come to the meeting if you have any input you would like to contribute, if not, we will be in touch soon to go over the outcome of the meeting and whether or not your services will be needed for the 2011 school year." Jess paused and continued in a sullen voice. "Thank you and have a wonderful day. Sincerely, Emerald Elementary School Officials."

Chloe reached her hand out to catch herself when she felt her legs give out on her. She slowly sat down on the bed to process this information. "But…" She trailed off, unsure of what this all meant. "How? Who…Who would do this?"

"If you're not off that phone in two seconds, we will have problems." Randy called out from the bathroom. She didn't even notice him leave the room. Chloe heard the toilet flush and the door opened and Randy stepped out. He looked like he was about to make a joke but then he saw Chloe's face. "What's wrong?"

"Chloe?" Jess asked on the phone. "Are you ok? This is a lot to process." Those jerks, Jess thought to herself. She also wanted to know who would do this. Chloe was a good person. So she was dating a father of a student. Who the hell cared? She wasn't hurting anyone, she was living her life. "Chlo?" She asked again when she heard silence on the other end.

Chloe sniffed as Randy sat down next to her, his arm immediately wrapping around her shoulders. "Um, I'm fine. I'm going to call you later ok Jess?"

Jess nodded, knowing she needed to wrap her head around this. "No problem, call me if you need me."

After Chloe hung up the phone, she let her head drop on Randy's shoulder and the tears flowed. "Hey…hey," Randy said softly as he reached out to brush the tears away. "What happened? Why are you crying?"

She looked up at him and her frown deepened. "I knew something like this would happen."

"Something like what would happen?" He asked.

"I knew that just when I give into this and enjoy it, this would happen." She said, her tears still flowing but the anger increasing.

"Chloe, what happened?" He asked again.

She looked at him and took a deep breath. "I got a letter from my school. An anonymous parent told them that we were dating and now they are having a meeting on Monday to discuss whether or not they want me to come back for the school year." Damn, she thought, just saying those words pissed her off. She angrily wiped away her tears and stood up.

"What?" Randy asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I just don't get it." She said as she started pacing. "Who would tell them? Everyone that knows are our friends. I mean no way would Rachel and Jessica. And I mean no one here knows where I work. You just told Lindsey about us on Friday but she doesn't mind and she wouldn't tell the school." She said as she thought hard. She stood up straight and pointed a finger at Randy. "You just told Lindsey."

He nodded. "Yeah, so?" He asked. He as angry too. He couldn't believe the school was going to fire her because they were dating. Who the hell cared? He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty as well. She loved her job and he was the one to pressure her into a relationship even though she had her concerns. No, he thought to himself, he wouldn't feel guilty. No way would he ever regret getting together with Chloe.

"Well, I love Lindsey and all but I mean she talks."

Randy rubbed his head at the feeling of a headache coming on. "Chloe, you're confusing me. Lindsey's nine years old, of course she can talk."

She rolled her eyes. "Sam." She said slowly and continued when Randy still looked at her confused. "Lindsey probably mentioned it to Sam. Sam hated the idea of us together!" She said triumphantly. She knew it had to be Sam, it could be no other person. No other person that was aware of their relationship had a problem with it.

Randy immediately shook his head. "No. No, Chloe, I know Sam doesn't like our relationship but I've known her pretty much all my life and no way would she do such an underhanded thing."

She put her hands on her hips. "Randy! Who else could it be? It has to be her. I know you used to date and you have a daughter together and I think it's sweet that you're still protecting her, but you can't defend her on things she obviously guilty of."

Randy furrowed his brow. "She's obviously guilty? There's no evidence."

"Well, not yet, but you trust me right? I know she did it." Chloe almost pleaded with him to take her word for it.

"How could you possibly know that?" He wondered.

She shrugged. "Just call it woman's intuition."

Randy rolled his eyes. "You know, your persistence is something I love about you, but in this case, I wish you'd stop."

Chloe let out a frustrated breath. "You know," She said loudly. "I really wish you would stop saying that." She said angrily. She was too pissed off to even think about what she was doing. She was on a roll and in angry times, she got things off her chest.

"Say what?" He asked, standing up.

"That L word. You've been saying it for weeks!" She threw her hands up. "I love this about you," She said in a mock voice. "I love that about you", I really wish you would quit it."

Randy couldn't help but smile at her odd behavior. "I didn't even realize I said it."

"Well now you know. Please stop."

"Why?" He asked curiously.

"Why?" She repeated. "Because love is a big word. You shouldn't just throw it around like that."

He didn't want to say it for the first time when she was in this type of mood, not that he could blame her, but he wanted to prove her wrong. "Who says I'm just throwing it around?" He asked as he took a step closer.

Chloe's breath caught in her throat for a second before she put her hand up in a failed attempt to get him to stop advancing on her. "Randy, now don't say anything you don't mean."

He tilted his head to the side in mock confusion and gently reached a hand out to wrap around her waist and bring her closer. "What don't I mean?"

She tried to step out of his arms but he wouldn't let go. "You know, that…that word."

Randy moved both his hands to rest on her cheeks to make sure he had her full attention. "Chloe," He said in a quiet voice meant for only her to hear. "I love you. And I'm not saying it just to say it. I'm not saying something I don't mean. I mean it, I love you." Chloe froze, her eyes wide. She'd never had to deal with a man professing his love for her and she didn't know what to do. She knew without a doubt that she loved him too, but she was too much of a wimp to say it back. She didn't want to get hurt and somehow not telling him wouldn't hurt her as much.

"Randy," She said warily as she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. "I wish you wouldn't have said that."

That was definitely not what he wanted to hear but it was what he expected, though that didn't mean he didn't feel a sharp stab to his chest at the rejection. "It's ok, I know you can't say it back." He held up his finger when he saw her start to speak. "Let me rephrase, I know you do love me but you just can't say it now for whatever reason. I know you love me, I only wish you could figure it out."

I do! She thought, I do know, she wanted to say. But she knew she wouldn't. "Randy…I, uh, I need to go help Rachel get ready." She said as she stepped aside. "I'll, uh, see you later." She said before bolting out of the room. Randy stood where she left him. He knew she would need more time but he had to tell her how he felt so she knew it was ok for her to love him back. But damn, he thought sadly, it sure as hell hurt.

A/N: Uh-oh, trouble in paradise? Thanks for all your reviews! Hope you likes this chapter!