Page 12 of Waiting for Friday Night

“Yes, he is,” said the other woman, Gayle. He knew her from the spring break learning program they both volunteered for the previous year. “I wish he’d come to teach English at the middle school instead of the high school.”

Quinton shook his head and pulled out his cell phone to scroll through plays while he waited. Definitely a new teacher who’d gained the attention of the single population. Quinton would feel bad for the guy, but instead he was relieved. Even though Quinton couldn’t consider himself a new teacher anymore, once word got out last year that he’d broken things off with his girlfriend, he’d once again gotten on the radar of the women in town looking for a man. After ending the long-term relationship, he wasn’t in the mood to try to start something else. He didn’t envy the guy for what would come his way, but he couldn’t say he was sad about the distraction the guy would provide.

“Me too, but it doesn’t matter,” Rachel said on a sigh. “I heard he’s already hooking up with Halle.”

Quinton’s finger stopped midscroll and his head popped up. Halle? Halle Parker?

“Ms. Parker? For real?” Gayle asked, gleefully soaking up the potential gossip.

Rachel nodded. “Yep. They had dinner together at the Italian place a few weeks ago.”

Gayle scoffed and pushed Rachel’s shoulder. “Dinner doesn’t mean hooking up.”

“No, listen,” Rachel said and leaned closer to Gayle. Quinton leaned toward them, too. “It’s not just dinner. They’ve both been popping up at the same place for lunch every week. Not only did they have dinner, but they were seen together having coffee early the other morning. They’re hooking up.”

Gayle gasped before grinning. “You think so?”

Rachel nodded as if she had all of the latest information anyone needed to know on Halle and the new teacher. “Early in the morning. Why they having coffee that early, if you know what I mean?”

Quinton frowned and looked back at the man in question. Was that guy Halle’s type? Quinton studied him more closely. He looked like an English teacher with his fitted polo shirt, khakis and square-framed glasses. The guy reminded Quinton of his high school English teacher. The man who’d told Quinton he might as well quit after the first week of Honors English. That he’d be better off switching to the regular English class to avoid failing. Quinton had stayed and proved the man wrong by passing.

“Look, look, look,” Gayle said, tapping Rachel on the arm and pointing.

Quinton’s eyes narrowed as Halle came to the door. English teacher turned and smiled at her. Halle returned his smile with a bright one of her own. Her hair was twisted up in an intricate style with the top a mass of thick curls. English teacher motioned for her to go ahead of him and followed Halle farther into the room.

“See, he was waiting on her.” The smugness in Rachel’s voice was all Quinton needed to hear to know she felt vindicated in her assumption that they were hooking up.

Had the guy been waiting on Halle? Quinton shook his head. Wait—why was he worried about this guy waiting on Halle? This wasn’t his business. Who she did or didn’t hook up with didn’t matter to him.

Halle glanced around the room for a seat. Their eyes met. Quinton sucked in a breath. She was fine. The corners of her mouth tipped up in a tight smile before she quickly looked away. His breath came out in a quick rush. The hell? What was that about? He looked back down at his phone.

“And they’re sitting together,” Gayle practically squealed.

“What did I say? Hooking. Up,” Rachel replied knowingly.

Quinton focused on the plays on his phone. Halle wasn’t his type. She and the English teacher probably belonged together. Two judgmental people who could look at him and say he isn’t up to standard. Quinton shifted in his seat as decades-old insecurity crawled across his spine.

Damn, he’d really let Halle get under his skin that day in the bar. That had to be why he was overthinking this. Her adamant refusal that he wasn’t her type of guy had poked and prodded at not just his pride, but also an insecurity he hadn’t felt since graduating high school. If the woman could put him in knots with just a few words, he was better off not pursuing her. Which he couldn’t. Even if he wanted to.

“Coach, what’s up?”

Quinton looked up and nodded at Blake, the middle school’s soccer coach. “Nothing much.”

“Mind if I join you?”

“Cool with me.”

Quinton forced Halle out of his mind and focused on the conversation with Blake about their expectations for the upcoming football season.

Halle clutched her information packet tight and sent up a silent prayer. They’d gotten through the introduction part of the district meeting and the superintendent had given the major updates related to the district. Now it was time for the group exercise. Halle loved group exercises. She enjoyed pulling a team together and completing whatever task they were assigned. Her team usually won or had the best presentation no matter who was in her group. She could usually find a way to work with anyone.

This time was different. This time she hoped, wished and prayed that the stars would align and put her in the same group as Gregory. Their dinner date had gone great; he’d even called her later that night with the title of the book he couldn’t remember the name of. They’d since met up for coffee and lunch a few times. Everything was going great with him. So much so, she was considering telling Shania that she was dating him. Otherwise, the town’s rumor mill would get it back to her daughter before she got the chance. She hadn’t missed the way a few nosey folks paid attention to them hanging together.

“Okay, everyone,” the superintendent, Dr. Stann Watts, said. He was a tall, heavy-set guy, with dark skin and a deep, booming voice. Instead of the suit he usually wore to district meetings he’d opted for casual with a pair of slacks and a gray button-up shirt. “Open your packets and see what color you have. Each color will split up into groups where we’ll pass out the instructions.”

Halle tore her packet open and snatched out the orange square. She quickly turned to Gregory sitting next to her, hoping he’d also have an orange square. He held a green square. Her heart sank.

“Dang, I’d hoped we’d be in the same group,” she said.

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