Page 59 of Secret Love

“I interrupted you and it’s getting late,” I finally say.

“I’m glad you said…hello.” She laughs again. “I’m done for the night and need to check on Earl. He’s in the office.”

“I can walk out with you if you want.”

“Sure. That would be nice.”

We walk back to the office and Earl is sleeping on top of a cardboard box.

“I bought him that cute little bed,” she points at the fluffy bed in the corner, “and he keeps going for the boxes instead.”

She’s smiling as she grabs her bag and puts on my hoodie, shooting me a sheepish look. Fucking adorable. She bends down to pick up Earl. He blinks up sleepily at her and is so damn cute. I pet behind his ears and he leans into my hand.

“He really likes you,” she says. “I mean, who doesn’t?”

I want to kiss her again, but I keep my distance or we’ll never get out of here.

“All right, I think I’m ready.” She leads the way down the hall, and I watch the swish of her hair as she walks.

Everything about her mesmerizes me, and I’m not altogether sure what to do about it. I’m not used to being so consumed by a woman.

My girls and football, yes.

Part of me feels bad that I never felt this way about Bree. But it’s making more sense every time I talk to Tru and with every interaction we have with one another, that this is something altogether different. This is how falling in love is supposed to feel. It helps lessen the guilt, knowing that Bree has had the same realization about me.

When we open the door, the air is chillier than it was and Tru shivers. I run my hands down her shoulders to warm her up as she locks the door and then she leans her back against my chest. We stand for a few seconds this way and then I lean in to kiss the side of her head.

“Come on, let’s get you out of this cold night air.” I step back and we walk to her car.

When she clicks the lock, I open the door for her and once she’s in the driver’s seat, I grin and say, “Good night, tiny dancer. I know who I’ll be dreaming about tonight.”

I shut her car door and she lifts her fingers to her lips and kisses them before holding them out my way. I smile and watch as she drives away.

Damn. What kind of magic has this woman cast on me?

CHAPTER TWENTY

OH, SO THIS IS…

TRU

I've been floating since that make-out session with Henley last night. I felt bad that I didn't reciprocate, but when I told him so in our text thread after I got home, he insisted he loved every second of what we did do and wouldn’t change a thing.

He seemed so chill about it all, and I have to admit that whole thing with him holding back and saying he was trying to be agentleman…I kind of love it. I love that he still wanted me so much when he said bye but didn’t push even a little bit.

I hope he couldn't stop thinking about me all night long. That's selfish, I know, the poor guy needs to sleep and get relief, but I can't stop thinking about him, so we’re kind of even. I’ve always heard you're supposed to leave a man wanting more, so there's that, but I also don’t want to send him mixed messages. I think it’s been clear all along that I want him. But all my good intentions to maintain boundaries and not date my student’s dad are going out the window.

Our conversations alone have been chipping away at my resolve, but the way he made me feel last night…I’ve never felt like that. Ever.

When it's time for Cassidy's class, I notice right away that something’s wrong. I overhear one of the girls talking about her and try to figure out what's going on, but I'm not able to in the short time before class. Afterwards, I’m tempted to ask her to stay behind, but I don't want to bring more attention to her. I end up following her out anyway.

“Cassidy, you got a minute?” I call.

She stops and turns, her eyes glossy with tears.

“Are you okay?” I ask quietly. “Can I help?”

“Those girls are just so mean sometimes. They made fun of me when I had to read something out loud in our class before this and were still laughing at me. I feel so stupid and like everybody knows it.”

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