Page 7 of Mr. Principal

He looked at me with an incredulous expression. “Dana. I think the chances of both of us needing the spare are pretty slim.”

“I don’t know....”

But he was already heading to his trunk. He quickly got the tools he needed and made his way back to my car.

“Hey, you,” he called to Meredith. “This will only take five minutes. Want to time me?”

“Yes!”

“Okay… tell me when to go...”

I gave Meredith my phone. She set the timer and then shouted, “On your mark, get set, ready, go!”

She cheered him on exuberantly as I watched. Carter pushed his sleeves up his forearm, showcasing some very well-developed biceps. When had Carter gotten into weightlifting?

Or maybe he had occupied himself by doing pull-ups in the jungle? I felt ridiculous for the thought, but the image made me giggle.

My face must have mirrored my amusement because he looked up at me and said, “What’s with the goofy smile?”

I answered honestly, “I just thought of you doing pull-ups in the jungle and it made me laugh.”

“What about changing a tire makes you think that I did pull-ups in the jungle?”

I didn't dare mention that I’d been checking him out. Instead I said, “Well, you did live like Tarzan for a few years. At least that’s how Piper made it sound.”

My answer caught him off-guard and he let out a bark of laughter.

“Time!” Meredith yelled out, interrupting whatever Carter was going to say next.

“No fair. Your mom distracted me.”

Meredith shrugged. “Too bad, so sad.”

Carter gave me a pointed look. “Your child is just like you.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“What makes you think that was a compliment?” he joked, and I playfully punched him in the shoulder. I gave him some room then so that he could finish, and he was done pretty quickly.

I noted how his thighs pressed against his pants. Carter had filled out very nicely. And why couldn’t I stop checking out someone who had once been one of my best friends?

I chalked it up to loneliness. That had to be it. And I hadn’t had sex in a year, so there was that. Not that I wanted to have sex with Carter. Sex with Carter. Sex with Carter. Now I couldn’t stop repeating it in my mind. I wanted to tell the little inner monologue in my head to shut up, but it was no use.

Quickly, I just blurted out anything, “Thanks for fixing my tire.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, standing up. And then we stood there awkwardly staring at each other. I felt like I needed to thank him somehow since he’d come to my rescue twice already.

“You keep rescuing me from myself,” I said with a smile.

“Someone has to,” he quipped. Gosh, he hadn’t changed at all. Still funny, still handsome, still... Carter.

“Well, you’ve been a lifesaver. Maybe you can stop by one evening? I could make you dinner.”

“That would be nice.” He moved a little closer to me and if I wasn’t mistaken, I felt a little flush. What was going on? I wasn’t attracted to... no... that was not okay. He was my friend. And Meredith’s principal!

“So I’ll call you...” my voice trailed off as I reached for my car door.

“You don’t have my number.”