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Sophie

Friday,mystudentsare at lunch and I’m relishing my quiet classroom. On Fridays, my friends Mallory and Josie come and eat lunch with me. It’s the only day none of us have lunch duty and we take full advantage of it.

Mallory walks through my door with our Chipotle order in hand. Her blonde hair trails down her back in a long braid.

“You’re like the blonde Katniss Everdeen, taking care of us by bringing the food,” I say with a grin.

Josie trails behind her carrying the drinks, her wild curly hair looking especially untamed on this windy Kansas day. “Yeah, except she hunts with her debit card instead of a bow.”

Mallory rolls her eyes. “Please, if I was Katniss, I would’ve 100 percent chosen Gale over Peeta.”

My jaw drops, and Josie looks offended.

“No way, she was meant to be with Peeta!” Josie says with conviction, bringing her hand to her chest.

Margaret, who works at the front desk of the school, peeks her head into my classroom. She has a huge smile on her face when she sees me. “Oh good! You’re here.” She waltzes in holding a gigantic floral arrangement.

There’s a plethora of what appears to be every different yellow colored flower imaginable. It’s a bright and cheery bouquet. It instantly fills my classroom with a delicious scent.

“This was delivered for you.” Margaret grins at me as she sets the arrangement on my desk, then turns to leave the room.

As soon as the door closes, Josie and Mallory nearly pounce on me. “Oh my gosh! Who are they from?!” Mallory is basically yelling in my ear.

I wince. “I haven’t had a chance to even look at the card!” I try to act like I have no idea who they could be from.

Josie places a hand on her hip. She’s giving me a look that tells me she sees right through my facade.

“Let’s read the card then.” She raises her chin like she’s challenging me.

I swallow slowly, my heart beating faster by the second. I’m hoping he didn’t sign his name and I don't have to tell them about Drew and me just yet. We’ve had the most perfect week. Every night, we put the girls to bed and wait for them to fall asleep. Then I come back upstairs—baby monitor in hand—and we sit on his sofa and talk for hours. We’ve talked about every subject possible. He’s told me about his parents and what it was like for him and Emily after losing them. I told him about Sam and all the hiking we did in North Carolina. We’ve talked about the future, and what it could look like. We’ve dreamed together, gotten to know each other. And in just a week. It feels unreal how much closer I feel to him after just one week.

And in between those conversations, there was a fair amount of kissing … but we tried to keep it at a minimum. I just can’t help it. Kissing Drew transports me into some kind of magic dream land where anything is possible. Where there’s no sadness. Only happiness. The stress of real life melts away a little with every kiss, and I can’t seem to get enough.

Slowly, I pull the small card from the bouquet and open it up. Mallory and Josie look at me wide-eyed.

Hey Beautiful,

The color yellow always makes me think of you. Everything about you exudes joy and happiness, despite all that you’ve been through.

Thank you for one of the best weeks I’ve ever had.

Yours,

Mr. Muscles

“Hmm.” I shrug and tuck the card into my pocket. “They’re from my dad. That was sweet of him.”

“Yeah, right! Let me see that card!” Josie dives and grabs the card from the large pocket on the side of my pink cardigan.

Mallory runs to her side as they read the card together. “That's really strange that your dad signs cards from, ‘Mr. Muscles.’”

I nod. “Yes, he’s a very strange man.”

“Sophie Miller! You’re holding out on us and we know it!” Mallory all but squeals. “Pleeeeaaaase tell us.”

“Who is Mr. Muscles? I have to know,” Josie asks, grabbing me by the shoulders and giving me a gentle shake.

Mallory’s jaw drops and her eyes go wide like she just had an epiphany. “It’s your landlord! Isn’t it? The smoking hot one.”