Page 47 of My So-Called Perfect Life
Do I want to have dinner with this man?The stupid girl in me absolutely does. He’s hot. Great in bed. Has a pierced dick. The non-hormonal part of my brain says,Quit while you’re ahead.
Me:I’ll think about it.
That’s a good enough answer for the time being. It’s true too. It’s going to be all I think about the whole weekend. Plus, it’s technically keeping my word with Mercy, so she won’t be able to give me shit when she finds out about this. Although, I’d bet my last dollar she already knows.
My finger hovers over Mercy’s name, as I’m ready to call her and demand answers to what she was thinking, giving my number out, but instead, I lock the phone and toss it down.
I have plans for today that don’t involve thinking about Ryan. Or arguing with my best friend.
Yoga.
Perusing Pinterest for classroom theme ideas.
Searching Facebook Marketplace for things I can grab for my classroom.
Cooking myself shrimp Alfredo since Scott was allergic to shellfish.
Ryan is not in the plan.
* * *
Ryan:Still thinking about it?
SeeingRyan’s name displayed on the screen makes me smile—and yes, of course, I saved his number.
I can practically hear his deep, rough voice that is a perfect combination of sexy and confident—the same as the way he spoke to me that first night I met him. I can envision the tilt of his head and sparkle in his eyes as he asks the question, only not actually asking me if I’m still thinking about having dinner with him, but telling me that he knows I’ve been thinking about itandhim—like when he told me we both knew I was lying about his ability to find a clit.
Me:Shouldn’t you be working or something?
He worked last Saturday, and I’d assume that his best shifts are Saturdays. It’s a nice bar in the city, and his fine ass is serving drinks.
All afternoon, I’ve done everything in my power to not think about him.
During yoga, I focused on my breathing to keep thoughts of him out of my head.
On Pinterest, I found an entirely new theme for my classroom just so I could distract myself. Three hours later, I found everything I’ll need to make my classroom into a monkeys and jungle theme.We’re bananas about learning. The kids are going to love it.
After that, I scoured Facebook Marketplace to see if there was anything I could use for the kids. Beanbags. Books. Center toys. Someone uptown was getting rid of a ton of children’s books, and I was able to score them. You can never have enough of them in your classroom. Especially in kindergarten. The larger the library, the more chances for a child to fall in love with reading.
I’m rocking out to some old-school Backstreet Boys because what makes you as happy and carefree for the moment as ’90s boy bands? I swear, I’m instantly transported back to my teenage years. Back to a time when the world looked so bright and wonderful. I need that today. I need to be reminded that there’s still so much out there, and it’s up to me to explore it and find what makes me happy.
Ryan:Perk of owning the place: I can take a break whenever I want. But it’s not too busy yet, and I’ve got a pretty girl I need to convince to have dinner with me.
Ignoring his compliment for now, I focus on the other part of that sentence.His bar? Wow.I had no idea he owned the place. I knew he was more than a bartender after seeing the photos in the office, but him owning the place never crossed my mind. He seems fairly young, not much older than me. I totally had him pegged as a carefree bar manager who uses his job to pick up women. I guess he’s really a sexy business owner who uses his bar to pick up women. No wonder he said his job was secure. I’m such an idiot.
Me:I bet you use that line on all the ladies.
Ryan:I might if I had to convince them.
The way he acts as if we haven’t had the worst and most awkward interactions makes the idea of him seem less … I don’t know … I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but it stirs something inside me. Actually, Ryan himself stirs something inside me. He makes me feel a kaleidoscope of emotions, my senses and thoughts spinning and morphing with every twist and turn of this crazythingbetween us. One minute, I want to stay as far away from him as possible, and the next, he’s front and center, taking over my mind.
Ryan:What about you? What do you do during the day?
Are we going to do the let’s get to know each other thing now? This should be a positive thing, right? He wants to know me, outside of a bed and how to play with my body. We both already know just how much he knows about my body. Or the female body in general, I guess. See, this man scrambles my brain.
Me:Right now, I’m a camp counselor. During the school year, I’m a kindergarten teacher.
Ryan:I wish my teachers were as sexy as you.
