Page 33 of Sweatpants & Sweet Tea

“How much sleep did you get last night?”

None.

“Enough.” I wasn’t about to tell him that I’d been awake for over twenty-eight hours. If I did that, he’d have questions about what had caused my sleeplessness. There was no way I was going to disclose what had happened just a few feet away.

Just thinking of it had my jeans feeling a little tighter than they should. Last night, hooking up in the barn had sounded like the best idea since sliced bread. Now, in the light of day, it’s not that I regretted the hookup, but I was a little unsure of how I’d ever be able to be in the barn and not get a half-chub.

I did my best to seem engaged for the final thirty minutes of class, but I was relieved when the final whistle blew, signaling the end of the day's last class. Weston had done the heavy lifting during all five sessions this morning. He was probably right; I should have taken the morning off. But if I had done that, it would’ve made keeping an eye out for Daphne a lot more difficult.

If I were in the farmhouse, I’d have to spy from my window, then run out to go say goodbye when I caught sight of Daphne. As it was, I could casually notice her and head over without it seeming like I’d been stalking her all morning, which is exactly what I’d done.

I still didn’t even have her phone number. I’d looked her up on Instagram and TikTok and had found her accounts, but I didn’t want to slide into her DMs. I was pretty sure we were past that at this point.

“Hey!” Brianna Lamb, an attractive redhead with huge brown eyes, waved as she approached me. She’d moved to town a year ago and had always been a little flirty with me. But since I’d met her as a student, I hadn’t pursued anything. “Who ended up winning you?” she asked, before lifting her water bottle to her mouth and tilting her head back.

My brow furrowed. “Winning me?”

She lowered her bottle and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Last night. The auction.”

“Oh, right.” Last night’s standout memory was not the bachelor auction. In fact, I hadn’t given it a single thought today. In fact, so much had happened since then that it felt like a distant memory. “Um, I think they said her name was Ms. French.”

Her head tilted to the side. “Is she from around here?”

“I don’t think so.” If she was, I’d never heard of her, and I knew just about everyone.

Brianna’s lips curled. “My paddle was up quite a few times, but once it went over a grand, I had to accept defeat.”

It blew my mind that anyone would pay anything to spend a few hours with me, but the fact that multiple women were willing to lay down a car payment and groceries for a month to spend a single night with me was flattering but still strange.

“Thanks.” I shifted uncomfortably as I dipped my chin in a nod. “I appreciate that.”

Lissette Longmire joined Brianna, hooking her arm through her friend’s. Her eyes bounced between Weston and me. “Hey! We’re going to Southern Comfort tonight; you guys should stop by.”

“I don’t really?—”

Weston elbowed me. “We’ll be there.”

Weston had a Grand Canyon sized crush on the pretty blonde. I’d noticed he paid her special attention during class and ‘liked’ all of her social media posts.

Normally, I wouldn’t be bullied into being a wingman, but since the alternative was sitting home alone obsessing over a woman who lived thousands of miles away, I figured a drink or two couldn’t hurt.

Instead of arguing, I just grinned. “I guess we’ll be there.”

The two women smiled widely before turning to head out.

“You owe me,” I said under my breath.

“I carried all five classes this morning. We’re even.”

He had a point.

I glanced back over at the Moore farmhouse and was coming up with excuses I could use to head over when my phone rang.

I pulled it out of my pocket and saw that it was Zoe. I wondered if she’d found out AJ was drinking last night. I’d been informed about his drinking this morning by Caroline Shaw, who had caught him and his friend in the bathroom with two half-full glasses of whiskey.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hey, I know this is last minute, but I got called in to work, and AJ has a game in Richmond Hill that starts in an hour. I tried Dawson, but he’s on duty. I know you’re probably tired, but is there any way?—”

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