Page 21 of Love Lessons

I looked up and found his eyes, taken aback by his sudden intense stare. Admitting I had a therapist didn’t bother me—everyone I knew went to therapy—but I didn’t enter into this conversation intending to reveal something so personal about myself. I felt more exposed before him now than I had when I sent him all those nudes.

I covered up my sudden disclosure with a chuckle. “Anyway, if you change your mind, she can always talk to our counselor here.”

“I appreciate the offer,” Mason said, giving me a warm smile. “It’s just been a little tough to navigate this whole thing. I feel like I’m constantly making one bad decision after another.”

“I’m guessing they don’t write parenting books for this specific issue.”

“No, they don’t.”

I lowered my notebook to my lap. “Well, from what I’ve observed in the last week, you’re doing a terrific job with her. She’s a great kid. So maybe you should give yourself a little grace.”

“Thank you. Is she doing the whole YouTube thing here?’

I grinned. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been the star of many of her imaginary videos.” We both laughed. “You need to get that girl a phone and let her start a real YouTube channel.”

Mason’s eyes widened at my suggestion, but before he could respond, my classroom door slowly pulled open. He and I turned our heads in unison to see who was about to walk in. And, with impeccably bad timing as always, Heath strolled into the room carrying my aqua Bluetooth speaker, the one I used to listen to in his bathroom while I showered. He hadn’t even opened his mouth, and I already didn’t like where this was going.

“Heath, I’m—”

“Been missing this?” he asked, not picking up on the vibe. He noticed Mason sitting there, but that didn’t stop him from approaching my desk.

“Um,” I said, giving Mason a quick glance. “I actually forgot about it. Just leave it on the table there. I’m in the middle of something right now.”

“Sorry,” he said, eyeing Mason again. He sat the speaker down on one of the student tables, but he didn’t turn to go. Instead, he put his hands in his pockets and stood there with his feet planted firmly on the ground. “I think that’s the last of your things. Unless you change your mind about the waffle maker.”

I could have killed him. My back stiffened, and I glared at him, hoping he’d get the message. “I don’t want it. Thank you.” I widened my eyes slightly, praying he wouldn’t start with his “I miss you” bullshit in front of Mason.

“You were the one who wanted us to get one, so—”

“I don’t want it,” I repeated, cringing at his inclusion of the word “us”—a detail I was sure wasn’t lost on Mason. “Just keep it. Heath, I’m talking to a parent right now, and we don’t have much time.”

“Sorry, I won’t keep you. We can just discuss it later.”

God, why was it so hard for him to get the hint? “That won’t be necessary, either.”

Heath’s shoulders sank, and I caught Mason shifting in his chair in my peripheral vision. He casually brought his hand to his mouth to conceal his smile as Heath whirled around to walk out my classroom door. “Well, enjoy your speaker, then. Bye.”

I didn’t return the farewell.

Beside me, Mason could barely contain himself. He was giving me a toothy smile, tracing his bottom lip with his pointer finger like there was some sarcastic comment on the tip of his tongue, threatening to spill out. I rolled my eyes. “What?”

He scooted forward in his chair until our knees were almost touching. I drew in a breath as he reached toward me and placed his fingers on the top of my notebook resting on my lap—just between my slightly parted knees. “Hey, can you do me a favor real quick?”

His thumb grazed the inside of my knee. “Um—sure, what is it?” I rasped.

His eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief as he gazed into mine. “Can you make me a list of the guys in Woodvale you haven’t dated, because that might be easier for me to—”

Before Mason could finish, I jerked the notebook from his loose grasp and whacked the side of his arm with it. He cowered from me, laughing the entire time. And though I wanted to appear angry, I couldn’t help but smile myself. “Fuck you.”

He raised his eyebrows in feigned surprise. “Wow. That was vulgar.” He had no idea what kind of vulgar thoughts he was putting in my head at that moment. “Is that what you do to your students when they talk back?”

“Five-year-olds don’t generally talk back.”

“Just wait until Finley gets to know you better, then.” Mason looked down, pushing some hanging strands of hair away from his eyes. “Actually—I’m sorry for that list comment. It was a little out of pocket.”

“I’d say it was,” I muttered, hoping he could catch the playfulness in my tone as he glanced back up at my face. We didn’t tear our eyes off of one another until the alarm on my phone went off, alerting me it was almost time for Mr. Woods to bring my students back from art. I shut the alarm off, sitting up a little straighter before turning back to Mason. “It’s almost time for the kids to return. Did you have anything else you needed to share?”

Mason’s smile began to fade, the mood in the room taking a somber turn. “It’s just—Finley’s really special, you know? And I know there’s twenty-some other kids in your class whose parents would say the exact same thing. But she’s been through so much, and…” He shook his head, letting his voice trail off.

---