#preoutbreak

Joel fidgeted with his sweater in the mirror for what felt like the thousandth time. He couldn’t believe that he’d let Sarah and Tommy talk him into going to an event at a country club. Even if it was for Sarah’s school, he still didn’t want to deal with the rich assholes who look down on his blue collar job.

“Dad, we’re going to be late!” Sarah called from the front door.

Joel sighed and grabbed his keys before heading out to meet his daughter. As she came into view, he saw her nose wrinkle and braced himself for the incoming criticisms.

“What are you wearing?” She asked with disgust.

“This is what country club people wear!” He defended as he gestured at his outfit.

“Maybe in 1983,” she scoffed. “Ugh, whatever, we don’t have time for you to change. Let’s go, dork.”

Joel pouted at her back as he followed her out to his old Dodge, ready to put the next few hours behind him.

-

Joel pulled into the country club a few minutes after the cocktail social began, he and Sarah bickering about his driving the speed limit to prolong the inevitable. He put the truck in park with a sigh and reluctantly climbed out of the front seat, following Sarah into the building.

“See, Dad, none of the other parents are dressed like that,” Sarah hissed.

Joel looked around and found most of the handful of fathers in similar outfits – slacks and button downs with sweater vests or sweaters around their necks – just in muted, neutral tones instead of the palate of yellows that he’d chosen.

“Yes, they are,” he defended, “they’re just not as...” He trailed off, trying to find the right word.

“Yeah, they don’t look like they’re trying to find a curious chimp named George,” she retorted with a roll of her eyes.

“At least I’m not wearing a giant hat,” he grinned, taking a small amount of pleasure in teasing his twelve year old.

Sarah groaned and led them to a table holding a sign in sheet and name tags. She filled them out herself, squashing Joel’s idea to be funny. “PLEASE don’t embarrass me in front of my classmates,” she implored.”

“I promise,” he told her. “I’m going to try my best to avoid everyone anyway. These are not my kind of people.”

Sarah grinned and kissed his cheek, telling him to mingle as she walked over to her friends.

Joel wandered over to the bar and ordered a beer, relieved when the bartender waved away his payment, commenting that it was an open bar. He surveyed the room as he leaned casually on the counter top – definitely a cherry wood – smiling softly when his eyes met those of a woman dressed in a sundress adorned with a delicate sunflower print.

-

She was standing at the edge of the room, talking to another parent, when a flash of yellow caught her eye. She followed the movement and found a handsome man leaning against the bar. He smiled softly when his gaze met hers before his attention was pulled in a different direction.

Suddenly, the room was warm. “Excuse me, please,” she told the parent before she stepped outside.

She basked in the sunlight for a few moments, taking deep breaths of the warm air scented with flowers before she heard footsteps following behind her on the garden path. She saw yellow from the corner of her eye and turned to find the man from the bar standing next to her.

“If I’m intruding, I’ll go,” he said as he turned his eyes to her, his deep, rich voice wrapping her in a new warmth, tingles crawling up her spine. “I just needed to get out of the crowd.”

“I don’t mind. I needed the air as well.” She smiled at him and returned her gaze to the pond in front of them, a fountain spraying water high into the air before it fell in sprinkles back to the earth.

“Miss Sunny?” A young girl called behind her.

She turned to see Sarah, one of her favorite students, coming down the path. The girl paused and grinned when she saw the man standing there.

“I see you’ve already met my dad,” Sarah grinned.

“Not officially,” the man replied, extending his hand. “I’m Joel. I think Sarah called you Miss Sunny?”

She shook his hand, trying not to focus on how large and rough it was. “That’s what my students call me. My name is -”

“Sunny suits you,” he interrupted. Joel dropped her hand and slid it into his pocket as he regarded the woman before him.

“So you’re Sarah’s dad? She speaks very highly of you,” Sunny informed him, smiling at the way he ducked his head and chuckled before returning his gaze to her face.

“I assure you that I can’t possibly all be true.” Joel could feel the warmth tainting his cheeks and neck and prayed the beautiful woman in front of him didn’t notice.

She tiled her head with a curious hum before smiling. “I think we’ve been set up.”

Joel looked around and found that Sarah had gone, indeed leaving them alone near the pond. “I apologize for my daughter. I promise I raised her better than that.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I know how teenagers can be,” Sunny assured him. “But if you’ll excuse me, I need to -”

Her sentence was cut off when she tripped on a paving stone, pitching forward. His hands wrapped around her waist and kept her upright. He tried not to think about the softness under his palms.

“Are you okay?” He asked as she righted herself.

“Yeah, just a clumsy moment. More embarrassed than anything,” she chuckled nervously.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. But maybe there should be something said to the maintenance staff. That stone is the least of the problems with this place.” His eyes swept the area and, with a shake of his head, he continued. “They would have better grass retention if they had more of the native grasses and trees. Even inside of the golf course I can see patches of overwatering or underwatering and -” He stopped abruptly, color flooding his sun tanned cheeks. “I’m sorry. Landscaping and construction are my job. I tend to ramble about those topics.”

“I’d like to hear more,” she smiled, “but I think you’ll need to let me go first.”

Joel realized the awkwardness of their position, her hands on his chest and his arms around her waist. He removed his hands swiftly and stepped back, stumbling slightly when his heel hit the edge of the lifted stone Sunny had tripped over moments before. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m gonna go.”

“Joel, wait,” she laughed.

“I really didn’t mean to hold on to you while I ranted about grass and trees.” Joel shoved his hands in his pockets and kept his gaze off of her face, missing the amusement dancing in her eyes.

“It’s really okay,” she insisted. “I wasn’t uncomfortable. I don’t want Sarah to come looking for you and get the wrong idea.”

“And what would be the wrong idea?” He raised his brows and smirked, wondering if he could fluster her as easily as she flustered him when she pointed out their proximity.

“That you and I are making out in the garden of the country club five minutes after meeting.”

Joel was impressed with her composure, though he supposed she had to be pretty good at keeping calm when she’s teaching middle school. “I guess that would be wrong,” he nodded, emphasizing the word in a low voice, trying not to think about how her lips might feel against his own.

“Not that it would be wrong to make out with you,” she added in a rush, “but it wouldn’t be the best example for her. Or the other kids. Or -”

“I’m teasing you,” he grinned slyly.

She feigned offense and he laughed, his eyes crinkling with the width of his smile.

“I see the two of you are having a good time.”

Joel and Sunny turned to see Sarah standing on the path, a smug smile on her face. They shared a look and shrugged in tandem, chuckling at their synced movements.

“Are you ready to go, kid?” Joel asked, secretly hoping she’d say  no.

“And if I am?”

Joel looked at her quizzically, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to figure out what she meant.

“If I am ready to leave, are you going to ask Miss Sunny to dinner?”

Sunny bit her lip to suppress a giggle. Sarah had dropped all pretense of being subtle. There was something about the certainty she held that made Sunny do something spontaneous. “How about the two of you come for dinner tonight? I don’t have anything special planned but I would like to spend time with you.”

“I have plans but my dad will be there at six,” Sarah answered for him.

Joel’s jaw dropped at his daughter making plans for him. “And what plans do you have young lady?”

“Staying out of your way so that you can find a small bit of joy,” she retorted immediately, as if she was awaiting his pushback.

Joel sputtered before finally sighing in defeat. “Make sure Tommy is free -”

“Oh, Uncle Tommy is going to take Dylan and I to the soda shop,” Sarah announced, “I already talked to him.”

Joel turned to Sunny, a nervous excitement in his eyes. “How about dinner with just me?”

“Sounds wonderful,” she agreed with a wide smile, their eyes not leaving one anther's.

“Six o’clock?” Joel asked for confirmation.

“Better make it seven, Dad,” Sarah corrected. “You have to change. I will not send you on a date dressed as a banana.”

Sunny could no longer contain her laughter and threw her head back. When she composed herself, she turned to the young girl. “Sarah, my phone is at the bar. Please go add your dad to my contacts.”

Sarah nodded and walked back inside, leaving Joel alone with her teacher once again.

“You can back out, you know,” she offered, “I know it was kind of sprung on you.”

“No, I’d like to go to dinner with you. As long as you’re okay with it?”

“I’d love it. I’ll text you my address?”