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Chloe and I separate from the others and enter the classroom, taking our usual seats across from each other.
I take out my things, but my mind is still on that conversation with my teammates.
“Are you okay, Liam?” Chloe breaks me from my thoughts.
Blinking, I meet her gaze. “Yeah, perfect.” I force another smile.
She narrows her eyes. “You know you can’t lie to me. I see it all over your face. Want to talk about it?”
Sighing, I slump forward. “It’s embarrassing.”
She places her hand on my shoulder. “You don’t have to be embarrassed in front of me. We’re buddies.”
I swallow the boulder in my throat. “Yeah, I know. Uh…the guys want to set me up with a girl.”
“A girl? What do you mean?”
I shift in my seat. “Like a girlfriend. Potentially. They suggested Paisley.”
Her mouth falls open. “Paisley?”
I release a heavy sigh. “They think I’m so pathetic that the only girl who’d give me a shot is Paisley.”
“They said that?”
“No, but it’s kind of obvious. But I’d never go out with her, even if the world was about to get sucked into a black hole and she was on the only emergency spacecraft in space.”
She smiles. “Good. You scared me for a second. Paisley’s mom was horrible to our moms and she’s just like her.”
I nod. “Don’t worry. If I date a girl, she’ll be someone…”
“Sweet and caring and kind and wonderful.”
I clear my throat, averting my gaze. “Yeah.” I cough. “Someone like that.”
She takes my hand. “All we need to do is find her.” She smiles that Chloe smile that sends a calmness over me.
“Yeah…” I say, then shake my head. “I mean, I’m okay.”
“Miss Barrington and Mr. Hastings,” Ms. Bhatt says from the doorway. “Do I have your permission to start my lesson?”
Chloe and I exchange a look with wide eyes, then smile at one another, trying hard not to laugh.
“Sorry,” Chloe mumbles.
“Thank you. Now, Chloe, please go up to the board and solve problem number one.”
Chloe shoots me a wide grin, thanking me for helping her last night. She walks up to the front of the room with confidence, and I smile as I watch her.
Chapter Five
Chloe
I enter the newsroom and settle down at my computer. None of my colleagues are here yet, so I read the book the Junior Musketeers have chosen for book club. It’s a teen fantasy romance about witches and werewolves and vampires and dragons and all the good stuff. It’s one of my favorite genres. We just finished discussing a Regency romance, which is Lily’s favorite.
Okay, one of the werewolves is totally swoon-worthy. I’m so absorbed in the book that I don’t hear my colleagues come in, chatting happily. The students who work with me on the Edenbury High Times are friendly with me, but they have never made much of an effort to be more than that. I’ve tried to get closer to them, but I guess we don’t mesh that well together. Which is okay by me because I have my Musketeers and the guys, and that’s all I need.
And the secret admirer, a little voice in my head reminds me.
