We all turned to see Sam standing beside our table. Instead of his usual button-up shirt and khaki slacks, he was wearing jeans and a blue polo shirt. Casual looked good on him, and it took all my effort not to start singing a song in his honor.
“Hey, everyone.” I turned to the rest of the table. “This is Sam, one of the other teachers from our school.” I stood and grabbed my purse. “Thanks so much for keeping me company while I waited for this guy. I’ll see you around, all right? And thanks for the wine, Adam.”
I put my arm through Sam’s and whirled us around to march off in the opposite direction. I wasn’t fast enough to miss the look of devastation on Tanner’s face, but I made sure he wouldn’t be able to get in a final word as we left.
“You were waiting for me?” Sam laughed softly.
“I was waiting for the first person who could drag me away from the train wreck.” I let go of Sam and sank onto a bar stool. To my relief, I was safely surrounded by at least six more teachers by that time. “Where does she find these guys?”
“At bars, apparently.”
I laughed ruefully and shook my head. “Either way, thank you. I really needed to escape.”
“He sounded fantastic. You should get his number.”
I rubbed my face. “Not just him. Everything this week has been a disaster.”
“Hold that thought.” He flagged down the bartender. “What do you want?”
I gave the bartender a sheepish grin. “Shirley Temple?”
Sam watched me for a second before chuckling. “Do you make those?” he asked. The bartender looked less than thrilled but nodded.
“Great.” Sam grinned. “And put it on my tab. Now.” He turned back to me. “You were saying?”
So I told him about my first week with Jade. Or rather, her brother. It felt good to get it all out. I’d told my parents some, but if I shared too many details, I knew they’d just want me to quit. Telling Sam felt like letting out a breath after holding it underwater for too long.
“You should have seen how intense he was when he was interrogating me that first day.” I played with my straw. “Grilled me about my certifications and time spent teaching kids with special needs and background checks. You’d have thought he was in the FBI instead of the Air Force.”
“So that explains it.”
“What?”
He took a swig of his beer. “He’s Air Force. No wonder you don’t like him.”
“That is not why I don’t like him.”
“You won’t date them.”
“This guy doesn’t want to date me. He wants me out of his life. And I could say the same thing for him.”
Sam tilted his head and leaned back. “So why are you doing this then?”
I shrugged. “I really do love Jade. And you should see what they’re paying me.”
His eyebrows went up. “That much?”
I leaned in. “Let’s just say that they’re going to be paying for the rest of my master’s.”
His eyes nearly popped. “That much?”
“See the draw?”
“Okay. Wow. So if that’s the case, then here’s my proposition.” He cleared his throat. “You finish the summer with Jade and the egomaniac in uniform.”
“That’s what I’d planned to do.”
He held up a finger. “I’m not finished. But instead of enduring it alone, how about I check in on you to make sure you’re still alive every now and then.”
