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Chapter 12
Zander
“Mr. Riley, you look happy today,” Rocky said during the first class of the morning.
“Don’t I always look happy?” Zander asked as he ushered students to their seats.
“Not this happy,” he replied, smiling. “Did something good happen last night?”
“Did you get a puppy?” Katie asked, jumping from her seat and starting a frenzy of excitement.
Zander grinned, raising his hands. “No, guys, no puppy. I’m just in a good mood today. Now let’s get to the language arts lesson before things get crazy.”
But as he worked on their lesson for the day, Zander couldn’t help but agree with Rocky that he was definitely feeling happier this morning. He couldn’t tell his students, though, that it was because of a woman named Rachel who had reawakened him to all sorts of possibilities. He couldn’t go on and on about how one kiss made him feel more things than he’d felt his entire life, that it made him forget about the woman from the past and hope for the future.
He couldn’t tell them she reignited his passion in more ways than just physical. She made him want to be different, to be the real Zander Riley he’d been shoving aside for so many years.
So instead, he taught on, trying to tell himself to stay focused and to not check his phone every two minutes for a text from her.
He was acting like a lovesick teenager, and a huge part of him hated himself for that.
But another part couldn’t help but relish the feeling he thought would never happen again.
* * *
“Didyou have an amazing night last night or what?” Brad asked at lunch, talking through a mouthful of his sandwich in the faculty room.
Zander shook his head as some of the more conservative teachers looked at their table, clearly appalled. “Why don’t you shout that a little louder?”
Brad shrugged, getting ready to yell. Zander nudged him. “Shut up. No, I didn’t, not that it’s any of your business.”
“God forbid you have some fun, I know.”
“Well, some of us have a bit too much fun around here.”
“Hey, I’m a teacher, not a saint. It’s all good.”
Zander rolled his eyes. “It also helps that your dad is the guy who started this school, huh?”
Brad shrugged. “I won’t lie. It helps. Why do you think I went into the private sector and not public school? I probably wouldn’t have made it there.”
Zander smirked at his friend’s honesty. In truth, Brad was a crazy good teacher. He connected with the students, and he had a soft spot for the students with severe developmental disabilities. His brother, Rudy, had a lot of special needs, which was why Brad’s family had started the school. He’d wanted to give Rudy a safe place to learn and a stellar education specifically for his needs. The school had grown over the years, and now it had a great reputation.
A much better reputation than Brad, but that was another story. Some of the other teachers, of course, thought Brad got away with too much since he was the owner’s son, but Zander couldn’t fault the guy. It was just who he was.
“So tell me, man, seriously. You’re never this freaking happy on a Monday. What gives?”
Zander shrugged, shoveling in some of the pizza he’d brought. “I just had a good weekend.”
“Oh, crap. Is it that Rachel woman you were telling me about? The Broadway girl?”
“If I tell you yes, are you going to hassle me?”
“You betcha, man. Wow, you must have it bad. What is this, like ten dates?”
“Hardly.”
“Hey, I’m impressed. That woman can get you to go out and have some fun? Wow, more power to her. I mean, seriously. You need to loosen up.”
