Page 39 of Embracing the Beat
“Yeah.” She keeps watching me. Eyes so big and so blue I could drown in the indigo abyss.
God, this is awkward.
“I’ll see you later.” I give a stupid little wave and retreat from her room to the safety of the bathroom and a shower. And the fact that it’s colder than I had originally planned?
I refuse to think about why.
I’m back in my room getting dressed when I pick up my watch and notice how late it is. Might be related to my reluctance to leave Mikey’s bedroom this morning, but no excuses. I usually try to be at work about an hour before the students show up on campus, but today, I’ll be lucky if I’m there thirty minutes early. I rush out the door to my car, relegating Mikey’s nightmare and my confusing reaction to the back of my mind.
It isn’t until nearly lunchtime that I realize I left the house without grabbing my lunch bag. Cafeteria food will be an unsatisfying substitute. The class before lunch is almost over—the juniors paired off to work on a partner project I assigned them—and I’m debating the merits of spending several dollars in the vending machine in the teacher’s lounge when I glance up and notice a familiar blonde hovering in the doorway.
My eyebrows lift in question, and she holds up my lunch bag with a smile.
The bell rings, and my students rush to pack up. I follow, meeting Mikey in the doorway after the last teen files out.
“Hey.”
“Hi,” she responds, handing me my bag. “You forgot this, and I figured you might need it.”
Letting out a small laugh, I usher her inside the now empty classroom, closing the door to mute the noise in the hallway. “You’re right. I was just debating a lunch of Doritos and a Snickers bar.”
“There’s always the cafeteria,” she offers, trailing around the classroom to take in the different displays I set up on the walls.
I grimace and rub at the imaginary ache in my stomach.
“Umm…”
Her eyes meet mine over her shoulder, and her beauty in this moment—blond hair waving down her back, her lips and cheeks a light shade of pink—hits me in the solar plexus. Beautiful. Inside and out.
“You don’t like cafeteria food?”
I shrug. “Not a fan of it when I was in school. Still not a fan. But you didn’t need to drive thirty minutes here just for this.”
“It’s okay. I have an appointment in a bit downtown.”
“What’s downtown?”
“Oh, umm…” She nods toward the bag clutched in my hands. The one I’d almost forgotten. “What’s for lunch today, teach?”
“Mikey. Is everything okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
Fuck, I hate the non-answer. The question for a question. Ashley was really fucking good at both of those.
I step closer to her, lowering my voice.
“It’s not okay because you’re being evasive. It feels like you’re lying to me. And we’ve never lied to each other before. I’d rather we didn’t start now.”
With a sigh, her shoulders drop, and a wall I didn’t see before crumbles.
“I’m meeting with an attorney.”
“An attorney? Are you in trouble?”
She snorts. “Not like that. I want them to review my contract with Reverb.”
“Are they taking advantage of you?” My voice comes out more like a growl than a question.
