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the sun was blazing hot, right in the middle of the sky. it was still early, barely 12 pm but it was loud with all the children running around for the sports festival.
you were a 4th grade teacher, arts was your forte but you also taught the kids english in the heart of miyagi.
“miss?”
you turn to look down at hikari, a sweet girl with the cutest high bun stares up at you with a sweet smile. she was one of your students who had just completed her first race of the day. her cheeks were slightly flushed due to the head so you made sure to remind everyone to apply sunscreen.
“yes hikari?” you crouch down, handing her a bottle of water. “are you feeling tired?”
she nods as you open the water for her.
“sit here in the shade, you can take a break for now” you smile softly, handing her a snack. “are your parents here yet?”
“my dad is” she grins happily, pointing towards the stands where all the parents are sitting. you’ve felt eyes on you for the last 45 minutes but you hadn’t really paid much attention. your main focus was on your kids, making sure they were having fun but also safe so you were surprised to see some of the moms gravitating towards a taller man standing next to the stands.
he had glasses on, you could see his biceps and the tattoos and it wasn’t hard to notice just how good looking he was.
“hikari, is that your dad?” you ask, trying not to stare too much because he hadn’t taken his eyes off you at all.
“yes!” she waves excitedly as she waves. he waves back, grinning but his eyes are still on you and it makes your skin tingle.
you clear your throat and turn back to watching the next race. these sports days were good for the kids, it was more fun for them to have these types of festivals and it was a great way to raise money for the school.
you smell him before you hear him greeting hikari. he smells good, you’re unfamiliar with the cologne but you know it’s the expensive kind.
you try not to turn around but hikari tugs your pants so you’re forced to make eye contact with him. up close, he’s much more attractive and he’s taken the glasses off so it’s clear hikari has his eyes.
you’ve only ever heard the little girl speak about her father, ex professional volleyball player but you never asked too many personal questions about it or about her mother but seeing him in person, you felt a bit guilty for internally cheering at him not wearing a wedding ring.
he picks her up, ruffling her hair.
“matsukawa-san” you greet but he grins down at you.
“just issei” he says and his voice makes your knees weak but you’re a professional, you only swoon a little.
“miss, this is my daddy!” hikari says happily, hugging his neck, “daddy this is my best teacher ever”
issei smiles at her before looking back at you.
“she talks about you a lot at home” issei smiles gently, “so i should thank you for taking such good care of my little hikari everyday”
“it’s no trouble” you say. you don’t have to remind him it’s your job, he knows it is.
you don’t say that anyway because you love your job, you’re young but you’ve always had a passion for teaching kids. your grandfather was a teacher too so it felt personal and dear to you.
“is your wife still coming?” you ask before you can stop yourself and his laugh should offend you but it doesn’t. he’s just that handsome.
“no” he chuckles, “i’m not married”
“ahh…” you nod. it’s like your brain to mouth filter has completely shut off.
“no girlfriend .. or boyfriend either” he whispers when he puts hikari back down, watching her run off to her friends.
“i see..” you clasp your hands together, feeling slightly awkward not that you’ve made your interest so obvious.
“what about you?” he asks and he sits down next to you, “not married?”
“no..” you shake your head, “i’m single”
“good” he grins, leaning back and he looks very relaxed.
“good?” you raise a brow at him
“yes” he looks at you, “ good ”
you look away, it’s hard to keep eye contact when he’s clearly enjoying this way too much and he has no problem staring, almost like he’s looking right into you.
your main focus half your life was studying and traveling and then after getting your degree, you went right into your career. when you weren’t teaching, you were also an artist so you spent way too much time doing that and not enough time exploring romantically and no man has ever left you feeling so nervous in your life.
you barely knew him but he obviously had an effect on you.
throughout the day, hikari comes up to you, insisting on sharing snacks he bought for her. she even makes him buy any of the drinks and food you want to get yourself.
he’s patient and listens to everything she says, nodding along as if it’s a very serious matter and he lets her take the money herself to pay.
you don’t like to make assumptions about people, especially not ones you just meet but he seems to be a great parent and hikari is a good kid. she never gives you any trouble in class and she’s always the first to help clean up whether it’s her own mess or her friends.
you’d like to think that’s a reflection of him and his parenting.
“she’s great” you find yourself saying, watching as hikari hands out juice boxes to all the kids on the field.
“she is” he smiles, eyes crinkling, “she’s my whole world”
you want to ask more but you also don’t want to pry but it seems like he has a weird ability to read your mind.
“i raised her myself” he says after a pause, “my grandparents were helpful especially during the time i was studying and still playing volleyball”
“i see” you look over at him, “where is her mother?”
“it was poor planning on both sides” he huffs, “one night stand turned into co-parenting but that didn’t last past the first year”
you nod, looking back at the field.
“she didn’t want kids” he continues, “but she said she didn’t want to get it terminated and she asked me if i was okay if she ever changed her mind”
“i agreed” he smiles, “no regrets”
“good” you grin, “hikari is great, i’m glad she has you”
you notice the slight flush on his cheeks as he sips his soda. he’s unfairly handsome, it screams trouble and you know this won’t end well if you fall for him, at least that’s what you think.
“would it be inappropriate for me to ask you out for dinner?” he asks, looking right at you again.
“no.. i don’t think it’s inappropriate” it could be but you don’t care enough about that anyway. you want him, even if it goes bad. you can say you put yourself out there.
“sounds good” he smiles softly and hands you his phone, “i know a great sushi restaurant”
“i love sushi” you grin