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“My mom says you love Krew’s dad.”
I see Monette Peterson is keeping the rumors from the field trip alive and well.
“Does she?”
I want to say something like “Tell your mom to go wax her gossiping upper lip,” but I don’t.
“Tell your mother that she’s been misinformed.”
“What’s misinformed?” Silvee asks.
“Never mind.”
* * *
It’s after school,and I’m in the teachers’ lounge gathering my mail. Why do they always give the shortest teachers the boxes way up high? I go to my tiptoes, straining to see inside my teacher’s box.
“Hello, Meg.” Diane Carter drums her perfectly manicured nails on the counter next to me.
My chest instantly constricts. I'm the person with a secret. Abigsecret.
“Hi, Diane.”
“I haven’t seen you all day.”
Oh? That’s because I’m avoiding you.
“I’ve just been in my classroom.”
“How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?”
I kissed Tyler in your daughter’s kitchen, cuddled with him on her couch, and made pancakes with your grandson.
“This weekend?” I shake my head. “It was good. Nothing too crazy.”
It’s official. I’m a liar.
“That’s nice.”
Part of me wants to break down and tell her the truth about me and Tyler and beg her to let us date in public, but the other part of me is mad. It’s stupid that I can’t date him. I know I signed the contract, but Tyler and I are nothing like the teacher and parent a few years ago. He isn’t tradingfavorsfor grades. We have real feelings for each other, and I hate that if I told Diane the truth, our relationship would be compared to the other people who ruined it for everyone.
And truthfully, if I tell Diane that I’m dating Tyler, she would compare me to Kristen.
So it’s settled. I’m not telling her. I can look Diane Carter in the eye with a clean conscience. I may be sneaking around, but I have a good reason for it. We’re talking about the potential happiness of the rest of my life.
I might feel justified in my reasoning, but that doesn’t mean I want to hang around and talk to Diane. I reach the stuff in my box and pull out the papers. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say, then I walk out of the room.
When I get to my classroom, I begin wiping the board down, prepping it with tomorrow’s bell work.
“Teacher? Can I get some one-on-one time?”
Tyler’s leaning against the doorframe. His shirt is dry now, but I can still remember how it looked wet and stretched across his chest.
I glance behind him. “Where’s Krew?”
“He’s doing a puzzle in Diane’s office.”
My heart pounds. “And where does Diane think you are?”
