Page 73 of Substitute for Love

“I’m not a good actor, am I?” she replied, then glanced up at Gabe, her eyebrows down, her eyes sad. “We’re friends, right?”

He nodded.

“My ex is supposed to come this weekend, but he surprised me and is coming tonight. I’m not ready to see him.”

A pit formed in Gabe’s stomach. “Uh, then don’t see him. If that’s what you want.” He tried to play it off like he didn’t care as much as he did. But he did care—for Avery’s happiness. And he could make her happy. At least, he could try.

Avery looked down and fiddled with the edge of the paper she had written on. “I already told him I’d meet him. I ended things for a reason, and it sounds like he wants to… I don’t know.”

Gabe ran his hands through his hair, the conversation with Claire running through his head. “You know I’m leaving, Avery. If I was staying, I’d give you very different advice.” He paused, carefully thinking through his next words. She gazed up at him, her eyes soft, her expression contemplative. He wanted so much to lift her up and hug her.

“I want you to be happy, Miss Williams. More than anything, you deserve whatever makes you happy. If you think he’s really changed, at least give him the chance to apologize, or whatever. Maybe he can be the Mr. Darcy that you want.”

Avery leaned forward on the desk, resting her face in her hands. “I don’t know what I want.” She searched his face, his stomach doing flips with the possibilities of what her meeting up with her ex could produce.

“Nobody does, do they?” He turned and walked away, then added, “Except Mr. Collins. Now that guy knew what he wanted.”

She snorted and he inwardly cheered at the reaction. “You are the worst,” she said.

“I know.” He smiled as he opened the door and left the room. A tear threatened to fall, but he held it back. His heart was breaking. That was the last time he’d make her laugh. His professor had texted earlier and let him know the funding had come through for Gabe to join them in Egypt. The originalschedule was a few weeks away, but his team had gotten clearance to come as early as next week.

It was fast, but maybe it was for the best. He had a lot to do, which was a good thing. If Avery was going to be seeing her ex tonight, Gabe would need a distraction. He headed home, a million things going through his head.

Emmett was excited to see him, as always. “Hey buddy. Guess what?” He kneeled and rubbed his dog’s ears. “I’m going to leave you for a few months. And I have no idea what to do with you.” Seriously, who would agree to babysit a dog for that amount of time? That was the biggest thing he’d need to figure out.

Thankfully, he’d already talked to his apartment manager at one point, who said there was a waiting list of tenants ready to move in the second he moved out. Gabe could even leave his furniture if he wanted.

So all he really needed to do was pack everything else, store a few boxes in Doreen’s garage—she had brought it up during lunch earlier and insisted—and decide what needed to come with him to Egypt.

He grabbed his luggage from the hall closet and plopped it on his bed. In his closet he came across his Indiana Jones hat. He put it on his head and smiled at himself in the mirror on the wall. Obviously, the hat was coming with him. He didn’t care who made fun of him, he was getting photos of his Indiana Jones self in front of every pyramid and dig site.

He threw a bunch of essentials into his suitcases, realizing he still needed most of those things for the next few days. But the excitement of finally living his dream had put him into warp speed.

After pulling his luggage to the floor and slowing down a bit, he went to grab something to eat in his kitchen only to realizethere wasn’t much to nibble on. Oh well, his nervous energy could be expended going out. After letting Emmett out and giving him his own dinner, Gabe hopped in his truck and drove.

After wolfing down a burger, he kept driving around, his mind whirling with thoughts of substitute teaching, Avery, and Egypt.

The fact was, he’d miss teaching. A lot. In the back of his mind, he wondered if teaching could be in his future. If it was good enough for Indiana Jones, it was good enough for him. Plus, he was good at it.

He and Avery were over. They had to be. He finally realized that. How was he was supposed to keep subbing tomorrow in lit class, with more visits to the drama class? Like he had told Avery, if he was staying, he’d have different advice. He’d pursue her. But he couldn’t have both things. And he was choosing Egypt.

Gabe pulled into the next business park and pulled out his phone. He opened the Substitute App and scrolled through it. Under his assignments, he clicked on the lit class Doreen had switched him to. Still, he debated what he should do. Cancel it and keep Avery out of his mind? Keep it and spend some final time with her?

Keeping it would mean another two days of pay. But without rent to worry about, money was less of a concern now. Honestly, he should cancel it, since he needed time to talk to his landlord, professor, his parents, not to mention get boxes packed. Oh, and probably sell his truck, since he didn’t have anywhere to store it for free, and paying to store a truck that old wasn’t worth it. But get it detailed first.

Dang, he was going to be busier than he anticipated. Granted, depending on when his flight was going to be, he’d have a week to figure it all out. Plenty of time to make arrangements. It wasn’t like he had a lot holding him back. Andhe’d wait until the day or two before to say goodbye to everyone at the school.

The thing was, he was talking himself out of subbing for the next day because he needed reasons to not see Avery. Obviously, telling himself they were friends wasn’t enough. Anytime they were in the same room there were sparks—seriously could burn down the building. He chuckled at the thought. And even though he signed up for math, he still ended up in lit and working with her all day. Doreen had feigned innocence, given him another muffin, and said another sub was better suited for math anyway.

He put his phone away without canceling. He couldn’t bring himself to do it.Come on, Gabe. Really? You’re gonna let a girl dictate your actions?Clearly he wasn’t strong enough on his own. He needed reinforcements. Looking up, he noticed the gym pass Claire had hung from his rearview mirror. Yes, she could help him. He was already in the business park where her gym was located. He put his truck into drive and circled until he saw her red Mini Cooper, then backed into a spot, giving him a clear view of the front of the gym to his right as well as the taco truck to the left.

GABE: You busy?

CLAIRE: Depends. What’s up?

GABE: I need you to talk some sense into me.

CLAIRE: Can do.

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