The door is propped open, and I peer inside, catching sight of Denver signing with a woman I don’t recognize, and I definitely would have if I’d ever seen her before. She’s absolutely fucking gorgeous, with cherry-red lipstick, dark hair, light tan skin, and a constellation of freckles under her brown eyes.
Their eyes move to mine, and their signs slow to a stop.
‘Sorry,’ I sign, trying not to ogle her. She looks fit too, like she spends time working her abs and biceps.
‘It’s okay,’ Denver replies and then gestures to an empty chair. ‘Sit.’
I peer over at the woman and almost tell them I can wait, but after an awkward moment, I decide to do as he asks.
‘Hi,’ the woman signs, her lips curling up in a soft smile, revealing straight white teeth. ‘My name’s Lexi.’ She fingerspells it slowly for me, but it’s a short, simple name, so I get it the first time. ‘Your name what?’
I shake out my hands, feeling nervous all over again. When will the jitters stop, I wonder as I fingerspell my name wrong.
Instead of Dex, I sign Der. I always, always mix those two up for some reason. Just likeMandN.
‘Der?’
I shake my head and try again, Denver swiping his hand across his mouth, trying not to laugh.
Asshole, I think, even as my own lips twitch. ‘Dex.’
‘Ah, Dex. Nice meet-you.’
I sign it back, and then Lexi signs something to Denver, which is way too fast for me to catch, and I deflate slightly. There’s no way I’ll ever be that good.
‘See you later,’ Lexi says, her eyes lingering on me a second too long.
I wave at her, and she winks at me, turning and disappearing down the hallway. My eyes fall to her ass as she moves, and Denver kicks my chair, getting my attention.
‘Stop staring,’ he signs, and I feel myself blushing.
‘She student?’ I ask, and he shakes his head.
‘Teacher. Hearing too.’
I wet my lips, feeling interest well up inside of me. Fuck, I shouldn’t. I mean, that would be so rude, and even though I’m only taking ASL, it’s probably against the college rules.
Ah, fuck it. I need to get over Rome, and what better way to do that than getting under someone else?
‘Married?’ I ask, and Denver rolls his eyes.
‘You ask her. Why you here?’
I shake my head, reorienting myself to why I’m here duringhis office hours. Right, an assignment I was unclear about. I pull up my laptop and open it. ‘Confused,’ I sign. ‘Need help.’
In more ways than one.
I think about what it would be like if Rome were here in this office, seeing how badly I’m doing trying to learn his language. He’d scowl, his lips full and in a sexy pout. He’d tell me it was pointless. That I should quit while I’m ahead.
And right now, knowing he’s gone for good, I’m tempted.
Denver taps me on the arm. ‘You okay?’
I swallow heavily. ‘Long night. But I want focus on ASL.’
He smiles at me, and we quickly get to work.
By the time I leave the office, the assignment makes sense, and I’m busy texting Thom to see if he’s still on campus and wants to grab a bite to eat at Mellie’s food truck. As I’m typing, I nearly barrel into Lexi, who is striding toward a classroom.
