Page 21 of Topping the Jock
Was talking all he wanted to do? Because I could definitely think of a few things that’d be way more fun.
Me:Talking to you isn’t too bad, I guess. You’re still an asshole though.
Monty:lol I deserve that
Honestly, he really didn’t. But it was my way of keeping him at a distance. In no way could I ever fall for Monty Adams.
***
A boom of thunder woke me early Thursday morning, so intense the walls rumbled and shook the house. I snapped awake to a dark room and rolled over to check the time, squinting since I didn’t have my glasses on. Twenty minutes before my alarm was set to go off.
Might as well get up now.
No sense in going back to sleep.
Bleary-eyed, I dragged myself out of bed and walked into the bathroom to start the water for my shower. Once clean, I went through my usual morning routine of brushing my teeth, getting dressed, then sitting at my kitchen table and looking outside as I drank coffee and weighed the pros and cons of quitting my job and traveling the world instead.
A guy could dream.
But I loved my job. I liked being a teacher and helping students grow. It was rewarding. I thought of Mr. Fulton then, and how if not for him I wasn’t sure I would’ve ever had the confidence in myself to go to college, study history, and get a teacher’s license. I hoped I could do for a kid one day what he did for me. He’d helped me see my full potential.
Another rumble of thunder hit, rattling the decorative plates hanging on the kitchen wall. I’d bought them when Reed and I’d gone to Greece. He’d called me an old granny for liking them, but whatever. They were cool.
Ding.
I glanced at the message on my phone.
Monty:Remind me again why we have to go to work? I’m so tired.
I smiled, having unintentionally been waiting for him to message me, and sent a response.
Me:It’s called being an adult. Get used to it.
Monty:What? You saying I can’t sit in my blanket fort and play with toy cars all day? Well screw you, Quinn. I don’t need that kinda negativity in my life.
We’d been messaging back and forth since Monday, in the morning and late at night. At school, we talked a little if we ran into each other in the teachers’ lounge, but for the most part, we kept our distance. However, I’d caught Monty staring at me from across the hall and smiling when we passed each other. Hell, I’d smiled too. A lot.
Whatever we were doing… the messages, the secretive glances… I enjoyed it. Ishouldn’tbecause he was the same asshole who’d made my life hell,but I did. There was no harm in talking, right? It wasn’t like we were sending nudes or sexting. We were just two coworkers getting along. Nothing more.
Me:Be sure to grab an umbrella when you leave your blanket fort. It’s wet today.
Monty:“That’s what.” -She
It took me a moment to figure out what his message meant, and then I snorted into my coffee.That’s what she said.Freaking dork.
I thanked my past self for parking in the garage the day before, so I didn’t have to walk outside in the rain to get into my car. The windshield wipers moved quickly, turned to their highest setting, as a torrential downpour descended on Blue Harbor.
Since I had time before school started, I stopped at my favorite coffeehouse. Everyone who worked there knew me by name—and therefore, they all also knew about my severe allergy to basically every damn nut in existence.
“Good morning, Quinn,” Peter said, handing me a large coffee as I pulled up to the drive-thru window. “It’s a wet one this morning.”
That’s what she said, I thought, repressing a laugh.
I couldn’t even go five minutes without thinking of Monty. I would need to talk to Reed about it. He’d probably say I was crazy, and he’d more than likely be right. No sane person would do what I was doing.
I paid for my coffee and drove to the school, smiling the whole way.
Once there, I grabbed my umbrella from the back seat and walked inside the main building. Since it was raining, the students were waiting in the gymnasium instead of in the courtyard. I walked past the windows to the gym, seeing Sherry and the science teacher, Danny, talking as the students sat in the bleachers.
