She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “What kind of trouble?”
I shake my head, looking down at my plate.
“Are you pregnant?” She swivels on her stool to look directly at me, the picture of innocence, but with a little twinkle in her eye.
I set my fork down on my plate and shift my attention toward her, one brow raised. “I’m not. You’re cute, though.”
She shrugs, her eyes lighting up with amusement at her own joke. “What kind of trouble is it, then?”
“Well, as you know, I start tomorrow at the high school.”
Her brow furrows. “So? I thought you were excited about it. You’re finally going to get a taste of your chosen career, really get to dig in and find out what it’s going to be like. Right?” She moves her food around the plate while she waits for me to answer.
I pick up my fork again and shovel more stir-fry into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. I don’t know what to say. Truthfully, I don’t know if there really is an issue. I’m probably way overthinking all of this, but I also want to hear Willow’s thoughts on the situation.
I glance over at her. “Do you remember the girl I told you about? The one I saw while you were up murdering everyone’s ears during karaoke night at the bar?”
She nibbles on her lip, clearly searching her memory for the right outing. “Wait, which night was that?”
“The night of your drunken rendition of ‘Copacabana.’ At the bar we like in Newberry.”
After being assigned to my student teaching placement, we’d driven twenty minutes to the neighboring town to check out exactly where the high school is located. After we’d finished scoping out the school, we stopped in at a bar we frequent—it’s way better than the shady biker bar in our town. When we’d discovered that they had a brand-new karaoke machine, Willow insisted on staying. She’d been pretty damn tipsy by the time we left, so I’m not sure if she’ll remember the evening I’m referring to.
“Oh. That night.” She snorts loudly. “Okay, I’m with you. You locked eyes with some girl. You said she had pretty, wavy hair—long and dark. And you said something rather dramatic about how you felt trapped by her eyes, like she was some sort of siren tempting you with her beauty. Then on the way home that night, you geeked out over all things Greek mythology.” She toys with her fork, and I can practically see her working through that evening in her mind. “I didn’t pay much attention to that stuff, but I do remember you said she was ‘hot as fuck.’”
I chuckle. “Yeah, I did say that.”
“Look, I wasn’t completely drunk. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought we agreed that the fact you noticed her was a good thing. She made an impression on you, which is a pretty big step forward, even if nothing comes of it.”
“Wait, what?” I can feel my brow furrow in confusion, and if I’m being honest, a little bit of indignation.
She stabs her fork toward me. “Oh.” She pauses with a slight frown. “Maybe I just thought that in my head.” She waves her hand. “No matter. The thought process was this: you were finally using your eyes—and maybe even other parts—and were actually attracted to another woman.” She winks. “I was so glad because, I swear, I thought Tara broke you. So, what’s the deal? I still don’t get why you’re acting all weird about it now. It’s been weeks since you saw her.”
I go back to eating for a minute while Willow stares a hole in the side of my head. I finally realize if I trust anyone with this information, it’s my best friend. I mumble, “It’s her.”
“Who is ‘her,’ Sawyer?” She groans loudly. “Out with it. You’re making me crazy.”
I stop what I’m doing to set my fork on my plate again and push the plate away. I just raise my brows and press my lips together, waiting. “The hot-as-fuck woman from the bar is my mentor for my student teaching placement for the next eight weeks.”
She looks so shocked I could swear her eyebrows are touching her hairline, and her mouth forms an O that gets smaller the longer her gaze remains on mine. “Oh. That is kind of bad.”
With a quick shake of my head, I stand up, gathering our empty dinner dishes. “Told you I was in trouble. That’s why I’ve been out of sorts.”
“Sawyer,” Willow heaves out an exasperated breath. “It’ll be fine. You’re probably making a bigger deal of it than it has to be. You don’t even know her. All you know so far is that you like what you see. Odds are good that you are getting yourself all worked up over nothing. It’s not like she’s really a siren.” She chuckles and snorts a little before she shoves my arm and stands to help me take the dishes to the sink.
I sure as hell hope Willow’s right. From the way thoughts of Hadleigh have infiltrated my mind and affected my body the last few days, I’m still fairly worried. I’ll be lucky if I’m not sporting a semi for the next eight weeks whenever I’m near her. “The only way I’m getting through this student teaching placement without making a fool of myself is to try not to look at her in that way.”
“Maybe. Did she mention if she saw you there that night? Did you talk about it?”
“No. And it’s probably for the best. Maybe she doesn’t remember me at all.” I draw myself up with a nod, blowing out a breath meant to reassure myself. “Okay. I’m just going to forget I ever saw her that night and learn what I can from her. I can do this.”
“Yep. You sure can.” Willow looks away, but I see her smirk as she does.
Great. I’m not even fooling my best friend
