Page 67 of Make It Without You

She tosses her blanket to the side and takes my offered hand. Emily opted not to change out of the dress she wore to teach in and it makes me glad that she’s comfortable in her teacher clothes. The dress hits right under her knees and I saw the shoes she wore with them and it gave me the ultimate Ms. Honey vibes.

“It smells so good in here.”

I kiss the side of her head and move to pull out her chair. “I’m glad you think so.”

“Thank you.”

“So tell me more about this book you’re reading,” I continue and don’t miss the eye roll she throws at me.

But Emily tells me about the book she’s reading. It’s a five-book series following one couple. In this, the gymnast’s goal is to reach the Olympics, and she falls for her coach, among other setbacks that Emily has said broke her heart.

“Are you a big reader?”

I take a sip of wine to wash down the rest of my food. “Unless invoices and Dylan’s bedtime stories count.”

“I can’t say that they do.”

“Tell you what. You find a book we can read together.”

Her jaw drops. “Seriously?”

“Mm-hmm. So make it a good one,” I say with a wink.

If our reading together puts a smile on her face, then I’ll read with her for the rest of time. Emily peppers me with questions about growing up here and if I ever felt the need to move away. Now that I think about it, moving away from the place I grew upnever occurred to me. And I’m glad I didn’t move as I get to raise my son here.

When one of my favoriteHoziersongs cues up, I stand up and hold my hand out to Emily. “Dance with me?”

The smile she gives me as she places her hand in mine warms me to my core. And as we sway to the music, her body melting into mine, and mine curving around hers, I realize that this is peak happiness.

After seven months of knowing her, I feel like she’s been in my life forever. While we’re still taking it slow, she makes me wanna hit the gas full throttle. The revelation I had earlier today threatens to expose me. But I choke it down and focus on the right now.

Emily

Last week of school. The kids have been feeling it and so have us teachers. It’s hard to concentrate on teaching when the taste of summer is at our fingertips. We work hard nine months out of the year for a full three months of relaxation.

It is the end goal when becoming a teacher.

Of course, that’s the last goal when our main one is making sure our kids don’t fall behind. It will be sad when I say goodbye to this group. And when they move up to the next grade, all I can hope for is that I prepared and taught them enough.

Adam: T-minus 2 days until you’re free to be mine.

Me: Stop distracting me.

Things with Adam have been great. However, I’m nervous and excited for our relationship to proceed further than it is.

He keeps me laughing. He lets me feel my feelings when I need to. He doesn’t belittle me or tell me to stop feeling my grief when the wave hits me.

On weekends when his restaurant has live bands, I keep him company. I’ve yet to introduce him to my friends as I want us in the next phase ofusbefore we venture into the outside world.

But my taking it slow and adhering to his good karma has not been easy. Oh, no. Adam makes sure that the nights we do see each other are worth remembering. He kisses me breathless and leaves me with a serious case of lady blue balls. I’ve never gotten so much use out of my vibrator than the nights he leaves my apartment. And I’m sure it hasn’t been easy on him if what I’ve felt through his jeans is any indication.

When the bell rings for the end of the day, my little ones pack up their things and head to the bus.

“Bye, everyone. See you tomorrow.” I stand at the door and watch their eager faces as they leave my classroom and head to the bus one last time.

I smile as the exuberant chatter greets my ears as other students pass me by. When the last of the group is out the door, I look across to Melissa and breathe out a sigh of relief.

“One more day,” she announces rather loudly that it incites a round of cheers from the other teachers that have classrooms nearby.

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