My mind wandered as I drove to school, thinking about Pen. I was distracted in my classes, losing track of what I was supposed to be teaching. My Algebra One students got half a lecture on geometry before I realized I was using the wrong material. And I passed out a quiz in Algebra Two they weren’t supposed to take for another week.
Lunch rolled around and when I walked into the teachers’ lounge, there she was. My eyes darted around the room, and I wondered if everyone knew. Could they tell? Did we look different? How could they not see it? How could they not realize that the world would never be the same?
Probably because it was just my world she’d rocked.
She’d already warmed up my lunch for me. She did that every day. Why did she have to be so fucking good? So sweet and generous and such a good friend?
I took the seat next to her. “Thanks for lunch. This looks great.”
“You’re welcome.”
The room was half full of our coworkers, so I couldn’t exactly ask if she’d spent her morning distracted by the memory of mind-blowing sex. And even if we’d been alone, what could I say?
So Pen, is it just me, or are you sucking at your job because you can’t stop thinking about last night?
Yeah, no. Wasn’t going there.
So, we chatted about normal stuff. Things going on with our students, whether it might rain for the game on Friday. Even a bit about Morris, although we were careful to keep it vague.
When it was time to get back to our classrooms, we both reached for my lunch container at the same time. The brush of our hands sent a jolt of electricity running through me. Our eyes met, and by her intake of breath, I knew she’d felt it, too.
The urge to kiss her was so overwhelming, I almost did, right there in the teachers’ lounge.
Fortunately, I kept my head. That would have started a firestorm of gossip, which was the last thing either of us needed.
But was it my imagination, or did she hesitate before moving her hand, letting hers linger against mine for a moment?
I grabbed our dishes and rinsed them out in the sink. She was still there when I finished, so we walked upstairs together. I couldn’t understand why I was struggling so much. Sleeping with her once shouldn’t have been enough to turn everything upside down.
But it had. And I had no idea what to do about it.
There were too many kids hanging out around the lockers for me to do anything other than hold my hand out for a fist bump when we got to my classroom. She bumped her fist against mine, then stumbled a little as she started down the hall.
“Oops,” she said, letting out a nervous laugh. She brushed her hair off her face, shifting her glasses a little, and had to stop to readjust them. Rolling her eyes and shaking her head slightly, she turned and walked away.
My eyes followed her until she disappeared into her classroom, then I reluctantly turned and did the same.
Somehow, I managed to make it through the rest of the day, and by the time I was on the field for practice, I was somewhat composed. Football was a much better distraction than teaching math. The team was looking good, still working hard, andmorale was high. Exactly what any coach would want heading into the playoffs.
By the time I left to go home, I was more than half convinced that I actually was fine. Something about barking at teenage football players in the cold air had cleared my head. Sure, I’d slept with Penelope, but it didn’t have to be a big deal. We were adults. We’d both wanted it. So why not?
Feeling lighter than I had all day, I pulled into the driveway. The sight of her car made me crack a smile, but I firmly ignored the way the reminder of her presence tugged at my chest.
Inside, I found her curled up in the corner of the couch with a book and one of my mom’s throw blankets over her lap. She looked up at me and smiled.
The urge to kiss her—to pull off all her clothes and devour her—hit me like a ton of bricks. I wanted her. I wanted her so bad, I could already taste her.
But she was my best friend. I couldn’t do that to her. Not unless I could give her everything.
And that, I couldn’t do.
CHAPTER 24
Penelope
As soon asTheo walked in the door, my heart fluttered. I swallowed hard, willing my face to be still—to look normal.
“Hey,” he said.
