Chapter 6
May
WITH A SMILEon my face, I watch my best friend, Toya, stomp toward where I’m seated in the auditorium at the school and smile at the irritated look on her pretty face. Even annoyed, my friend is gorgeous. Then again, that’s something I’ve heard her husband, Tony, tell her more than once.
“I swear on all that’s holy that I don’t get paid enough to keep these damn kids from ending up teen parents.” She flops down in the seat next to me, and her hair, which is out in a wild mass of dark curls, bounces around her slim shoulders.
“Are they still hiding behind the curtains and making out when they aren’t on stage?”
“You know they are.” She takes the bag of popcorn I was eating while watching her students practice Romeo and Juliet, the play they will be performing this spring. “Or any dark corner they can find to hide in.” She rolls her eyes as she places her hand in the bag.
“You should have stayed at the middle school.”
“No, I should have told Tony that I wasn’t moving to Tennessee with him and stayed my ass on Broadway.” She meets my gaze, and I raise a brow. “Fine, I wouldn’t have done that, but it sounds good when I say it out loud.”
“It does,” I agree. “On the plus side, it looks like their performance is coming along well.”
“Of course it is. I’m a professional. But it would still be better if they could all keep their hands off each other when they’re not on stage.”
“Young love.” I bat my lashes.
“Hmm,” she hums, then leans her shoulder into mine. “Speaking of love, have you gotten back on that dating app?”
“No.” I shake my head as Aiden’s handsome face fills my mind along with the texts I’ve received from him the last couple of days. All of which I’ve ignored, because I can’t shake the feeling that he and Mike are somehow connected. And with Mike constantly texting again, and his messages sounding more and more frustrated, I don’t know what to think or do.
“Girl, you can’t let one bad experience keep you from getting back out there.” She sighs, then gets a look I know all too well when it comes from her. “Why don’t you come out for a drink with me and Tony Friday? We’re going to try out that little wine bar in town that just opened up.”
“So just you and Tony are going to be there?”
“No, I’m sure there’ll be lots of other people there. It is a bar, after all.”
“Of course.” I roll my eyes. “Anyway, I can’t. I have plans Friday.”
“With who? And don’t you dare tell me about some hot guy you’ll go on to describe in detail, only to let me find out later that he’s actually fictional.”
“Fine, I won’t tell you about him, but you should know he is hot.”
“They always are.” She lets out a dramatic sigh before her expression turns serious. “Please come out with us, and let me introduce you to someone.”
“I will, just not yet.” I take the bag of popcorn from her when she hands it over and fold up the top, placing the clip in place before shoving it in my bag. “Are you going to get out of here, or are you sticking around for a while longer?”
“I’ll be here for a while.” We both stand. “Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?”
“I would, but my guys will all be waiting for me to get home, they’re still annoyed I left them.” I smile as she laughs, and I put on my coat. “Tomorrow, we’ll do lunch.” I give her a quick hug.
“It’s a date.” She heads for the stage while I head for the auditorium doors, placing my bag over my shoulder. When I reach the parking lot in the back of the school, I move across the pavement to the streetlamp I parked my car under this morning when I got to school.
“May.” I turn when my name is called and watch Zach, who teaches history and coaches football, jog toward me across the lot. As he gets closer, I try to see what all the other women who work here do, but I just can’t. Don’t get me wrong; he is good-looking, but it’s like he tries too hard. His hair is always perfectly styled, his clothes always put together and neatly pressed, and his physique overly muscular, like he spends every day in the gym, which I’m pretty sure he actually does. Maybe I’m weird but I could never date a guy that is more concerned with his appearance than I am with my own. When I first started teaching here he and I went out on a date, but while we were out he was more interested in talking about himself than anything else. He also seemed to know every woman we came across which was a huge red flag. That was our first and last date and why I’ve turned him down the few times he’s asked me out since then.
“Hey.” I smile, then awkwardly hug him when his arms wrap around me.
“Did you have a good winter break?”
I glance over at him as he begins walking with me toward my car. “I got to sleep in and spend some time at the beach, so I can’t complain,” I reply, and he turns his head to meet my gaze head-on, since he and I are just about the same height—or at least we are now, with me wearing a pair of heeled booties. “What about you?”
“It was good, but even the three weeks off didn’t seem long enough.”
“Spring break will be here before you know it.”
He laughs, then asks, “Do you have plans to get away then?”
“No, I’ll probably stay home. What about you?”
“I’m heading up to Gatlinburg for a few days with some friends.”
“That sounds fun,” I comment.
“A whole bunch of us are going. You should join us.”