Page 77 of I Think He Knows?

Chapter Seventeen

Cam, Jess, and I all ride over to the restaurant together. Leo will be meeting us shortly. I haven’t had a chance to say anything to Cam about the incident with Lilly’s mother. I don’t want to put a damper on the evening. Thankfully Jess is there as a buffer, and naturally all she wants to talk about is Leo.

“Did Leo say anything about me?” she asks Cam.

“Not today,” he replies.

“I’d say it’s a good sign he asked you to hang out tonight,” I offer.

“Yes. And he’s going out with your co-workers,” Cam adds. “He’s taking one for the team.”

Jess beams.

“I think the four of us should stay for thirty minutes tops and then head elsewhere,” Cam says as we pull into a parking space.

“That sounds good to me,” I say. I’ll be ready to leave as soon as Lilly arrives. Hopefully she hasn’t beat us here.

When we walk inside The Electric Bistro, we find a section of tables reserved for our staff. It’s roped off like we’re celebrities or VIP instead of elementary school teachers.

Ariel should consider running for mayor, and I’m going to suggest it to her. She might be wasting her talents teaching third grade.

“I’ll get us some drinks,” Cam offers. We give him our orders, and he goes to the bar.

Jess repeatedly checks her phone.

“He’ll be here,” I whisper.

She cringes. “I know. I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I?”

“It’s okay,” I say. “I understand how you’re feeling. I still get excited when I get messages from Cam.”

“Well, we survived another Celebrate Our School,” Ariel exclaims, waving her arms in the air.

She sits down next to Jess.

“Thanks for organizing this, Ariel,” I say. “How did you get all of this set up?” I motion to our private section.

She shrugs. “Easy. I just put in a call to a friend.”

“Have you ever considered quitting teaching for event planning or politics?”

She laughs. “All the time.”

Lilly, Ms. Wilcox, and a few others arrive next. Let the fun begin.

Cam returns with our drinks and sits next to me.

“Serena thinks I should quit teaching and plan events,” Ariel says.

Cam nods. “I could see that.”

“What?” Lilly shouts in horror. “Why would you suggest one of our teachers leave?”

Ugh. I can’t seem to escape this woman today.

“I only said that because you’re so good at planning things,” I say to Ariel, purposely not addressing Lilly. She wasn’t part of our conversation, and I don’t owe her any explanation.

“I am great at planning events,” Ariel agrees.

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