“No?” Her face flushes, and she casts her gaze down to her lap.
I cock my head to the side, wondering why her answer sounded like she was questioning herself. I take a few seconds to study her—her cheeks are stained a deep cherry red, and she seems completely thrown by whatever conversation they’d had out there. My eyes drift down to her hands and there’s a slight tremble to them that I can only assume she doesn’t want me to see because she quickly folds her hands together on her lap.
“I probably shouldn’t ask, but was that ‘no’ followed by a question mark?”
She’s firmer this time. “No. No, he’s not.” She rolls her eyes to the ceiling and purses her lips as she exhales slowly. “We dated for a while.” She meets my gaze and our eyes lock, just like they had that night at the bar. After a few seconds, where my heart threatens to thump right out of my chest, she says quietly, “I’m sorry, Sawyer. I have a feeling I shouldn’t be discussing stuff like this with you.”
“Right. That was far too personal. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry.” I rub my palm over my cheek, trying to decide if I should say what I really want to. Does she remember the electricity between us that night? Does she even know it was me? Fuck. It. “This may also be too personal, but I’m going to put it out there anyway. Do you remember—”
My question is interrupted by the bell, signaling the end of the lunch period. She stands, her eyes flicking away from me, and makes quick work of throwing away her uneaten lunch. “We’ll have more time to talk later.”
My chest feels tight as I watch every move she makes. I get the sense she does remember and knows just what I was about to ask. “Okay. Later, then. Let’s get back to the classroom.”
Once Hadleigh introduces me to the students in her afternoon class, I have a seat in the back again. According to the schedule Hadleigh had given me, this should be a repeat of the first lesson. I settle in to observe, thinking about whether I actually want to bring up the night at the bar to Hadleigh. I realize it would probably be a very bad idea, so I need to get my head right before my mouth messes things up. I’d just finished telling Willow all was well, then I almost went and dropped an atomic bomb on my working relationship with Hadleigh. At least I hadn’t actually done it.
As Hadleigh gets ready to begin, my attention is grabbed by the hushed whispers of the girls sitting directly in front of me.
The blonde leans over to the brunette at her side. “Did you see Ms. Beckett and Mr. Haskin arguing in the hallway earlier?”
The brunette shakes her head. “No! When?”
“Right before lunch ended. I had a pass to see my guidance counselor. They were really going at it.”
“What was it about?”
“I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but I bet they are totally doing each other. It was too heated for them not to be. A lovers’ quarrel.” The blonde giggles.
Cue internal cringing.
Chapter 10
Hadleigh
I’m pretty sure Sawyer and I avoided certain disaster on Friday. If he’d been ready to say something about that night at the bar, he’d thought better of it by the time we’d gotten to the planning period at the end of that first day. And there was no way I was going to bring it up. Thinking about that night makes me feel really weird now that our work relationship is forming. His first whole week with me has been great, and we get along really well. I don’t want to screw that up for either of us. He’s funny and kind, and honestly, I think he’s a great guy. Like someone I’d hang out with outside of work as a friend, though we work well together, too. He cracks me up with all of his random knowledge. So. Much. Fun.
I flick my pen back and forth while grading a few papers. Sawyer’s across the room at the lone workroom computer. My mind wanders until it lands on something I really should have thought of earlier. “Aw, shit.”
Sawyer looks over his shoulder from where he’s working on his first lesson plan. “What’s wrong?”
“Shit. Shit. Shit!” I turn in my seat. “I forgot tomorrow is my mom’s birthday. I should have sent her something.” I prop my elbows on my desk with a groan and press my fingers to my temples. Closing my eyes, I rub in slow circles. “Why can’t I keep up with everything? If it’s not one thing I’m forgetting, it’s something fucking else. And there I go with my foul mouth again, too. I’m just awful.”
Sawyer crosses the room and moves a chair so that it faces me before he sits down in it. “You’re not awful. Look at me.”
I open my eyes and slowly turn in my chair. He sits before me, legs spread wide and leans forward so he can brace his strong forearms on his thighs. His face is less than a foot from mine and his clean, manly scent makes my head feel dizzy—but in a good way, unless you consider how I probably shouldn’t be sniffing him at all. It can’t be helped, though, and he’s all sea and spice and man. I swallow carefully and draw myself up so our eyes are level. “I’m looking at you.”
“Okay. So, first. Your mom’s birthday.” He clears his throat and pulls his phone from his back pocket. While
