Coming out of Holloway’s office, I spot Iris and Layla across the hall. “Hey, wait up,” I call, catching up with them.
Iris’s face lights up when she sees me before she settles back into something more neutral. “Oh. Nate. Hi.”
I squint at her weird tone while Layla smirks. “Well, if it isn’t Coach Wesley.”
I take Iris’s hand and walk with them into the teacher’slounge. “I just finished meeting with Holloway, and it’s gonna be another week before I come back. Gotta make sure Alex is feeling good enough to stay home by himself.”
Layla’s face softens in sympathy. The whole damn town’s heard about what happened at this point, or at least some version of the story. “How’s he doing?”
I shrug, not knowing what to say. How can the kid ever be alright?
What he went through…
Iris squeezes my hand, not letting me get too lost in those thoughts. “He’s healing up. Gonna finish out the school year at home. Less than two months left, so we figured it’d be easier on him.”
“That’s good,” Iris says, brushing her hand along my arm.
“About Alex,” I start. “He wanted to know if you’d go with him to the police station.”
“Me? Why not you?”
I’ve been wondering the same thing. “He said I’d lose it.”
Something shifts in her face, but she doesn’t ask any more questions. Only nods, like she gets it. “Of course I’ll go, whatever he needs.”
“So…” Layla drawls, pulling us out of our bubble. “I heard you two finally had sex.”
“Layla!” Iris squeaks, looking around to see if anyone heard, even though the room is empty.
“What?” Layla asks, unbothered. “I’m your best friend! I’m supposed to know these things.”
“Hell yeah, we did. And it was pretty fucking great.”
“Nate!”
“Sorry, Darlin,” I shrug, not sorry at all. “You’re my girl. I’m gonna have to brag about you.” I pull her hand up for a kiss,and she rolls her eyes, but I can tell she’s fighting to keep that frown on her face.
Layla glances at Iris, her expression turning warm. “Anyway, I gotta get back to class. Good luck tonight.”
With Layla gone, I take the opportunity to look Iris up and down. She’s wearing one of those skirts with a t-shirt that doesn’t quite reach, and after last night, something about the sliver of skin is really doing it for me.
“What?” She asks when I’ve been staring at her for way too long.
I can’t stop myself from pulling her closer. “God, Iris. You look so fucking sexy.”
My hands find her waist, thumbs brushing under her shirt. “Nate… “ She protests, “We can’t. We’re at work.”
“Nobody’s in here.” I defend, and she doesn’t seem all that interested in arguing with me. Instead, she relaxes into my touch, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“Seems like all my flirting with Holloway did you some good. Let you have an extra week off and everything,” she teases, closing the distance so her lips are almost touching mine.
“Oh, yeah? You trying to make me jealous?”
She brushes her nose against mine. “You’re just so easy to mess with, Coach Wesley.”
“Okay, maybe I was—”
I can’t even finish my sentence. She’s looking up at me with those honey colored eyes. “Fuck, you’re irresistible.” My thumbs drift lower, tracing under the fabric of her skirt.
