Page 79 of More For Me

A few hours later,I’m crowded around a table at Hurley’s with a dozen teachers, listening to them bitch about their students. It’s always the same when they get together—you’d think they’d want to think about something else besides their classrooms at the end of the day.

“Who ya talking to?” Jordan asks, laying a hand on my arm. By my count, she’s at least three martinis in. The more she drinks, the closer she seems to sit next to me, her light touches getting more frequent. I fight down the urge to squirm away from her. Maybe Diego was right after all—maybe she is flirting with me.

And maybe that’s not such a bad thing,I tell myself. Jordan is pretty. She’s nice. She’s funny. She’s a really good, dedicated teacher. A guy could do way worse than someone like her. Just because I didn’t feel an immediate spark of connection when we met doesn’t mean something couldn’t grow between us. Just because I don’t get that rollercoaster feeling in my stomach when she smiles or—

And now I’m thinking about Everly again. Great.

I manage a smile. “My friend, Leo.”

Her face clouds a little. “He’s the one who married that Ransome girl?”

“That’s him. We were college roommates.”

She nods, looking a little glum, then downs the rest of her martini. “I think I need another.”

My manners kick in and I stand. “I’ll get it.”

She beams up at me, her momentary cloudy expression disappearing. “Really? That’s so sweet.”

I shrug, something about the way she’s looking at me—the intensity in her voice and gaze—making me uncomfortable. “Not a problem. I’m just about done with that beer anyhow.”

Before I can leave, she puts a hand on my forearm, leaning forward. The move seems calculated somehow and I realize, belatedly, that her new position shows off a hell of a lot of cleavage. “I really appreciate it, Bodhi,” she says, voice lower. “I’ll have to think of a way to properly thank you.” Then she bats her eyelashes a whole bunch while alarm bells clang in my head.Abort, man. Abort!

I practically sprint to the bar and I’m relieved to see the only bartender is pretty slammed, meaning I’ll have to wait for a while. No complaints here. The last place I want to be right now is back at that table with Jordan.

I pull out my phone while I wait, seeing that Leo has written me back. He’d texted earlier to see if I wanted to get dinner, and I’d responded that I was out with the faculty.

Leo:Maybe tomorrow?

I debate for a second then look over my shoulder. Sure enough, Jordan’s eyes are locked right on me. Without giving it much more thought, I type out a response.

Me:I’m not really feeling it here, actually. Wouldn’t mind taking off early. I could meet you somewhere?

Leo:Are you at that bar by your school? Because I’m only about ten minutes away. I could meet you there.

Me:Sounds good.

Leo is true to his word, showing up less than fifteen minutes after I return to the table with a fresh beer and a martini for Jordan. She spends the entirety of that fifteen minutes with her hand on my arm, laughing way too hard at everything I say. When I spot Leo’s head above the crowd by the door, relief crashes over me.

“Hey,” I call, standing up and waving. “Hey guys, my friend is here,” I say to the others, careful not to look at Jordan. “I’m gonna go talk to him for a bit. See you in a minute?”

I don’t wait for anyone to answer before I dart over to meet him. “Hey, man.”

He narrows his eyes at me, studying my face. “What’s wrong with you? You look kind of manic. Well, more manic than usual.”

I scowl at him. “Can we just go?”

“I thought we were eating here? They have those nachos I like.”

“I feel like I’ve seen enough of my colleagues today,” I say. One in particular, but I’m not going to tell him that.

“So we’ll get a table ourselves.”

“Leo.”

“Nachos, Bodhi,” he says, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I need the nachos. Come on.”

Resigned, I follow him to an empty booth, which is luckily quite a ways from the faculty table, though still in sight. I bury my head in a menu so I won’t be tempted to look over there.