“Well, how was it?” I asked. “You seemed to have made it through the day in one piece.” And what a piece it was.
Shut up, Luke.
“Yeah, I did. Day one, in the books.” She sighed. “Fifth period was a little rough after lunch, but all in all, I’d say it was a pretty successful day.”
“The after lunch classes are always the worst. No one wants to settle down. Too much sugar down there, plus today they had fresh brownies for sale.”
“Really? I’m sorry I missed that.”
I laughed. “I guarantee your lunch was better.”
There was a shift in her face when I said that, as if her features were screaming “Yeah, right” while her mouth said nothing. But then it was gone in a flash and her smile was back.
Maybe I was imagining things.
Stop trying to look for cracks that aren’t there. Don’t be a dumbass. You know nothing about this woman.
“We had Cuban food down by the stadium.”
Our school was about 10 minutes from the stadium for the professional baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Oh nice!” I said, thinking the only Cuban food I had probably ever had was black beans and yellow rice. “You guys get down to the Rays games much?”
She shifted a little bit again. “Yeah. I mean, he’s there all the time. I go when I can get a babysitter. Dragging kids to the games isn’t my idea of a fun night.”
Married. With Children. This was turning into a complicated crush.
“How old are your kids?”
“We have two. Our daughter is 5, and our son is 2.”
“Probably not the right age yet to enjoy a baseball game,” I offered.
She laughed. “Exactly.”
“Well,” she said, which certainly signaled the day was over and she was leaving, “I’m going to head out. Thanks for your help today. I was a little nervous. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a classroom.”
“I am sure you did just fine. I didn’t hear a single complaint. At least not from a kid I’d consider a reliable source.”
I actually winked when I said this. Who the fuck still winks? I certainly don’t. I can’t even remember the last time I did. God, I am pathetic.
“Well, I promised them candy if they only said good things about me, so...”
She was quick. I liked that. A lot.
I was watching her bottom lip again.
“Have a good night, Luke. Thanks again.”
“You too. I will see you in the morning.”
I went home and sat on the couch in my apartment. I replayed everything. It really was pathetic. I’m not generally a creepy-ass flirt who targets married women. But, apparently now I wink, so who the hell knows what’s happening.
God, I needed to pull it together tomorrow.
My phone vibrated.
It was a text from Holly. I haven’t heard from Holly much lately. She’s been my off and on “FWB” for the last couple of years. Lately, we had been very much off.
Hey, it said. What r u up to tonight?
Holly had started seeing someone about six months before, so hearing from her once every few months had become the norm.
Was thinking about going to the Rays game, I replied.
Don’t. Let’s do something.
Where’s your man?
I don’t want to talk about him.
That doesn’t sound good.
She ignored probing questions, was really good at it. I had known this about her for a while. She would date guys, but when they made her mad or did something she didn’t like, she would text me, Always. And wouldn’t want to talk about it. It was the norm in our relationship.
Let’s go get food or something.
Okay. 7?
Sure. Pick me up.
I picked her up and we went to a local wing house, the kind of place where the waitresses dressed in as little clothing as legally allowable without being considered a strip joint. I wasn’t fond of the food there, wasn’t particularly fond of wings anywhere, to be truthful. In fact, it was the sort of place we as Lakefront staff members were advised not to go. We weren’t expressly forbidden, but I imagine if I had ever been spotted there I would have a lot of explaining to do. Of course, FWB probably weren’t condoned by the school either, so skirting the rules wasn’t something I was unfamiliar with. Holly loved the place though and went there all the time. It amazed me how a woman could eat as much as she did, most of it being straight junk food, and still have the body that she had. I wasn’t complaining, but I could never figure it out. And it was kind of hot.
Holly and I had dated when we first met. We ran into each other at the gym one early Monday morning, got to talking, and made a habit of running into each other for a few weeks after that. I asked her out, and pretty soon we were an item. But, we really didn’t have anything in common, and a relationship wasn’t something I wanted to jump back into after having been married. We had ridiculously good sex though, so we basically said, “Hey, we aren’t compatible anywhere else other than the bedroom. Let’s keep that, be friends, and ditch the rest.” So we did.