“Oh.” She grinned. “So, he was just being a nice guy?’
I bit my lip and nodded. “Asher is a nice guy.”
Her smug grin grew. “I bet he is. I wonder just how nice of a guy he is in bed.”
I flinched, the memories of us in bed together invaded my thoughts. I blankly stared at her. She still had that smart ass grin plastered on her face. “I didn’t know you wore glasses.”
“Oh, Faith, come on. I don’t wear glasses.” She giggled. “But, you had on glasses yesterday when Asher was showing you some attention over me. Which is crazy, by the way.”
My skin crawled. How shallow could she get? My mouth twisted before I said, “I would never alter my appearance just for a man to show interest in me.”
She laughed. “What, you’re telling me that you don't wear makeup and shave for men? It's the same concept, Faith.”
The bell rang, which signaled the start of the school day.
“I’ll talk to you later, Linda. Have a great day.” I gave her a tight-lipped smile.
She didn’t reply, just turned on her heels and slammed the door behind her. I rubbed my eyes. She was the biggest drama queen I had ever met.
After morning meeting, we worked on our narratives. I enjoyed learning more about my students through this assignment and they loved sharing their narratives. I told them to pick an important event that had an impact on their life. We had been working on this assignment for about a week and we had finally finished our rough drafts today.
Time was going by quickly and I had just dropped my students off at music when I passed by the gym. A fellow 4th-grade teacher, Mrs. Pierce’s class was waiting outside the doors. I glanced at my watch, realizing it was time for them to go in.
“Hi, Ms. Reed!” a few kids greeted me.
“Hi, kids! Has Mr. Wells been out here yet?” I asked before I opened the gym door.
Asher and Linda were standing in close proximity before she leaned forward to whisper something in his ear. He stiffened up and I cleared my throat. I ignored the stupid pang in my chest. He could talk to whoever he wanted. Hell, he could even fuck whoever he wanted. It didn’t bother me. Not one bit. Yet somehow, seeing him cozied up to someone else didn’t sit right with me.
“Mr. Wells. You have a class waiting for you in the hallway. It’d be best if you did your job,” I snapped. I glared at them before I walked back into the hallway. “He will come out to get you all in just a minute,” I told Mrs. Pierce’s class before I walked back to my room.
I began grading the narratives with my bright pink pen when that green little monster crept into my mind. I tapped the pen on the desk and groaned. Asher was not mine to think about. I was engaged. I had no reason to be jealous.
I typed out a quick message to send to Eve and Mags.
Me: I caught Linda and Asher looking really close in the gym today. Why do I feel jealous? I’m engaged to Preston! What is wrong with me?
I sent the message and continued grading the essays, the weight on my chest grew heavier with each thought.
The rest of the day, I was able to avoid Asher. That was until lunch came around and Linda strutted into the library with him behind her once again interrupting my peace. I ran a hand over my face before biting into a sandwich. She sat across from me while Asher sat beside me.
“The garage called. My car will be down there for the rest of the week,” I told him.
He grinned. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
“Why did you bring Faith to work today?” Linda asked, watching him closely. “She mentioned something about her car breaking down. You are just such a nice guy for helping out someone you barely know.”
Asher chuckled. “Yeah, her car wouldn’t start yesterday. I’m actually a friend of her cousins’. Faith and I grew up around each other.”
Her jaw dropped. “Faith, you never told me you knew him!”
I shrugged. “It wasn’t important.”
Asher nudged my shoulder. “I think our past is very important.”
Heat flared up my body and Linda looked absolutely furious. “Does that mean you two?” She motioned between us.
Asher nodded. “Yeah, it does.”
“Asher!” I hissed. “Nobody needs to know that.”
“Does Preston know about that? Since he’s your fiance?” she asked as she pushed her glasses to the top of her head.
I moved my lunch to the side. “Yes. Preston does know that Asher and I have had sex. Thanks for ruining yet another lunch for me.”
I stood up, grabbed my food, and trudged out of the library. I glanced at my watch and slapped a hand over my face. I still had fifteen minutes of lunch left.
I decided to go back to the classroom and try to grade the rest of the narratives. Not even five minutes later Asher walked into my room.
I went to say something but he held his hand up. “I’m sorry, Faith. I didn’t mean to piss you off.”
I clicked my tongue. “It wasn’t you. It was Linda. She’s just a—”
“Bitch?” He finished for me and I nodded.
“Yes. Speaking of, what the hell was with this morning? You had a class waiting for you. I thought you were more professional than that.”
His shoulders shook with laughter. “Faith, I would never be interested in her. Besides, she came on to me. I actually rejected her. She’s really having an issue being told no though.”
I bit the tip of my pen with a smile. “Yeah, she hates that.”
He placed his hands on my desk and leaned close to me. “We had more than just a past. We had feelings for each other. You know that, right?”
I gulped. “It doesn't matter anymore.”
He slid back. “It does to me.”
I
