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“Are you blaming me for this?” My voice comes out screechy, and Candice throws her hands up.
“No. No, of course not. I’m just wondering. Did you never ask him what he does for work?”
Helpless, I shrug. “It never came up.”
“They were too busy fucking like rabbits,” Simone cuts in.
I give her an exasperated glare.
She just grins. “What are you going to do?” Simone leans her elbow on her desk, brows arching high.
“What can I do?” I ask. “I have to break up with him.”
“What?” It’s Candice’s turn to shriek. “Why?”
“Did you miss the part about him being Katie’s teacher?” I cross my arms.
“Okay.” Simone stands up and heads for the kitchenette. “Let’s think about this for a second.” She takes a can of diet soda out of the mini fridge and cracks it open, turning around to lean against the counter. “He’s teaching Katie, right?”
I nod.
“And does the school have a policy against teachers dating parents?”
“Well…” I frown. “Probably. I don’t know, but…” I look at Candice for support. “It just feels wrong…right?”
Candice cringes. “It kinda does, Simone.”
Simone takes a sip of her drink and lets out a sigh. “I know. But he’s just so damn hot, you know? And I saw how he looked at you when he was in the café the other day, and how he was ready to rip your asshole ex’s head off for speaking to you like that. I just… I just want that for you.”
Glancing out the window, I let out a long breath. “I want that for me too.”
“Can you just wait until the school year is over?” Candice asks, hopeful. “You can tell him that you’re into him, but you’re not comfortable dating him while he’s teaching Katie?”
I chew my lip, then let it slide out from between my teeth when I think of Mac’s eyes darkening whenever I bite my lip in his presence. “I guess so. But I mean, would he even want to wait that long?”
“What, a few months?” Simone snorts. “That’ll go by in a flash. I’ve been in town three years and it feels like I just arrived last week.”
I rub my forehead with my fingers, then square my shoulders. “Okay. I’ll talk to him tonight. I’ll tell him I’m not comfortable dating him while he’s teaching Katie, but I’m willing to see if there’s still a spark after the school year is over.”
“I’m sorry, Trina. I can tell you really like him.” Candice walks over to me and wraps her arm around my shoulders. “If he really likes you, he’ll understand.”
I try to force a smile, but I can’t help but wonder if Mac does actually like me. What if he was just looking for a hookup? What if he doesn’t actually like me enough to wait for me? What if that woman was right, and I was just the new mom he wanted to flirt with? What if I ask him to wait, and it comes off as desperate?
Because that’s how I feel right now. Desperate. I feel starved for affection. I feel like my marriage drained me so dry, I need someone to treat me right just so I’ll make it through another day.
“What if he’s just a rebound?” I find myself saying. “Maybe this is for the best.”
Candice and Simone exchange a glance. Simone moves closer, her soda forgotten on the counter. “I mean, maybe, but we all saw how he looked at you. Remember that night at the Grove? Just looking at the two of you made me blush.”
“Yeah,” I answer, but I’m not convinced.
That night at the Grove feels like it happened in another universe. I was a different person. I wasn’t a single mother that night—I was someone who goes out with girlfriends and doesn’t have a care in the world. For a few hours, I was unburdened, and that’s just not the reality of my life right now.
The door opens, and Fiona bursts through. She holds the doorjamb and looks at me with wide eyes. “Okay, who was that? And where do you find these guys? I mean, seriously, Trina, you have a gift for collecting hot men.”
My sister frowns at me. “Wait, what? There’s another one?”
I groan. “He’s just a dad from Katie’s class. He kind of, maybe…sort of…asked me out in front of Mac this morning.”
