Page 28 of When You Left Me Speechless

CHAPTER 17: NEW VOCABULARY WORDS

POPPY

It’s Friday, so I don’t get to see Logan today. I shouldn’t be disappointed by this, but I am. If anything, I should be relieved. If I don’t go into his classroom then he can’t set my body on fire with some accidental touch or look. He can’t remind me that I want him and can’t have him.

This morning the third, fourth, and fifth-grade students are in an assembly, so I’m in the copy room preparing for the meeting we have later with Abby Grace’s family. I’m incredibly nervous about the meeting and want to make sure I have the right number of copies of everything so I at least look like I know what I am doing.

I’m working fast, trying to keep everything organized, but I’m getting tired. I keep noticing small typos, causing me to start over. It is more than frustrating.

I slide the last stack of paperwork into the copier and hit copy. Before I can stop the machine from pulling the papers in, I realize I forgot to remove the staple and it instantly jams. Alarms start going off, and the copier freezes.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”Perfect, just perfect.Of course, I would jam the damn thing on the last packet.

“You need some help with that?” I look over and seeLogan leaning against the door frame. His arms crossed like he enjoys watching me freak out.

“Oh, um, I think I got it.”

I can see the edge of the paper sticking out of the feeder tray. If I could just pull the packet out of the machine, I could remove the staple and rerun the copies. I can feel his eyes watching me as I try to pull the stack of papers, but it’s really stuck in there. Taking both hands, I yank on it as hard as I can causing the piece I can see to tear off and making the jam worse.

“Fuck!”

I hear him laugh. “Can I please help you before you teach the first grade students next door a new vocabulary word?”

“I’m sorry. You don’t think they heard me, do you?” I can feel my cheeks heat.

“Not sure about the first three, but they most definitely heard the fourth one.” He laughs. “I didn’t realize you had such a dirty mouth.” His lips tip into a flirty grin.

I feel like I’m on fire. “Don’t you have to be at that assembly or something?” I can hear how annoyed I sound, but it doesn’t seem to phase him.

“Did you know you scrunch your nose when you're annoyed?” he asks. He lets out a low chuckle as he begins to walk toward me.

I cut my eyes towards him. “You’re going to be late,” I say, pointing at the clock hanging on the wall.

“It’s no problem. I told them I was running to the bathroom, plus I have ten minutes before it starts. This should be quick.” He’s standing behind me now. His breath grazes the back of my neck, causing goosebumps to break out all over my arms. I quickly move out of the way, accidentally rubbing up against him as I move. His jaw ticks ever so slightly as our arms brush against one another.

He rolls up the sleeves of his button-up shirt, exposing his forearms. I watch him work, opening doors and pulling outthe paper until the jam completely resolves. God, this man is sexy even when he is fixing a copier. His jeans fit his ass to perfection. Those glasses on his face make him look so fucking smart that they might actually end me. I try to remind myself I shouldn’t be attracted to him, that this can never be anything more than two barely friends being polite and professional at work, but damn, it’s hard.

“Should be good to go,” he says, turning to face me.

“Oh, um, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” He hands me a pile of torn-up pieces of paper. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t save whatever you were copying.” He runs his hand through his already messy hair.

“Oh no, that’s okay, it’s my fault anyway. I have another copy on my computer.”

We stand there for a minute, staring at one another. He takes a step closer to me. I swallow hard and bite my lip. Right before I think he’s going to close the gap between us, an announcement comes over the intercom, reminding the students and staff the assembly will begin shortly. The interruption makes me jump backward, putting much-needed space between us.

“Alright, then. See you later.” He clears his throat, turns, and heads to the door.

I walk back to the speech room, trying to push whatever I felt in that copy room completely out of my head.

CHAPTER 18: MATCHMAKER

LOGAN

Iwalk back down the hall towards the auditorium where the assembly is taking place. No matter where I go, I seem to run into her. It is like the universe is pushing us together. I wasn’t looking for her, but I had to stop when I came across her in the copy room. My original plan was to make some small talk, maybe ask her about her week, but then she needed my help.

She brushed up against me, and the feel of her skin against mine was incredible. I wanted to kiss her right then. Shit, if that announcement hadn’t come over the intercom, I might have.

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