Page 7 of Fight for You (Flirting with Forever 2)

Quietly, she says, “Well, if you’re at all concerned, please don’t be—I think I have plenty of experience to share with you.”

I shake my head with a smile. “I’m not worried at all.”

My comment hangs in the air between us as we stare at each other.

Finally, I decide to give her some space. “Hey, I’ve got to get going, but I’ll see you Friday, bright and early.”

“Sounds good.” She gives me a tremulous smile and waves as I start walking backward toward the door, my gaze still steady on hers. “It was nice to meet you, Sawyer.”

“Same here. See you soon, Hadleigh.”

When I exit the classroom, I walk quickly down the hallway and out the front door of the building. Man, with the way I’m feeling right now, this is shaping up to be the most difficult eight weeks of my life.

Chapter 5

Hadleigh

Thursday, the day before Sawyer is due to start his student teaching placement, I stay late after school to make sure I have things prepared for him. I’m still crazy nervous about having a student teacher observing every last little thing I say and do, but now that I know it’s him, it’s like a double whammy. Every time he’d focused those dark eyes on me, it’d felt like all the air had been sucked from the room and I’d been thrown back in time to that night at the bar. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve spaced out since I was in his presence on Wednesday. Because that’s exactly what it is, a presence of some sort, quiet but also very attuned, alert, and observant. I sure as hell hope he can’t tell the effect he has on me just by standing a hair too close.

On my way out, I drop by the main office and put in a request for an extra desk to be brought in for Sawyer to use while he’s here in both my classroom and in the workroom. After I get that done, I make a mental note to bring the secretaries some cookies or something. They’ve assisted with everything I’ve asked of them this week to help me get ready for Sawyer.

With a glance down at my phone, I realize I’m really late. I’ve got a book club meeting tonight, and we’re finally going to discuss Madi’s book choice from last month. We’d gone totally off the rails when she’d shown up all flustered by her weekend away with Shawn. She’d been a mess and in no state to participate in book talk. It’d been quite the night when she’d been confronted with the realization that she’s in love with him. And the reality is, not only had she exited the meeting before we’d talked about her book, but those of us remaining hadn’t discussed it after she’d left, either. I mean, with that kind of action and drama happening, who wanted to talk about a book, anyway?

I make haste to the local coffee shop just down the street from Shawn’s bar. I’m late. So late. So, so late. When I finally arrive, I practically burst through the door in a whirl of apologies and windblown hair.

My chest heaves as I skid to a stop in front of the table. “I’m so sorry. I got caught up getting a few things ready for tomorrow. Did you start book talk without me?”

It’s clear they’ve been here a while, relaxing with their beverages of choice. Black coffee for Quinn and Piper, coffee with cream and sugar for Madison, and some sort of whipped cream-topped masterpieces, complete with a caramel drizzle, for Sophia and Zoey. I see they’ve even already ordered my usual English breakfast tea for me.

Piper snorts. “We weren’t sure what was going on and figured if you showed up late, you probably wouldn’t mind if we went straight for the girl talk.”

I glance around at their amused faces. “Sue me.” I yank out the chair and sit down with a grin. “But just one comment about the book—I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, knowing it was a paranormal romance.” I lose it, snickering. “Who knew shape-shifting bears could be so hot?”

Quinn laughs, too. “That’s kind of what we all said. I was skeptical when we started reading it, and then I was … strangely intrigued.”

“Good to know,” Madison laughs, covering her mouth with her hand. “I’ll have to find something equally as interesting for my next choice.”

“Speaking of, did you pick out your book, Hadleigh?” Sophia asks.

Zoey blurts out, “And should we be terrified?”

With a devilish grin, I heft my oversize purse into my lap and dig around inside for a second. Once I’ve located it, I hold up the book and say proudly, “Our next read is One Hot Night: An Erotic Romance.”

Piper’s brows shoot up into her hairline. “Whoa, baby. Check out that cover.”

“What? Man-chests are my favorite. I don’t know why anyone makes books with anything other than a half-naked man on the front. Besides, I want to find out what the difference is between erotic romance and just plain erotica.”

Madison and Piper both open their mouths to answer at once when I hold up a hand. “No. Nope. Don’t tell me. I want to read and figure it out on my own. Make a note of the book, ladies, and we’ll discuss next time.”

I take a sip of my tea, casting my gaze around our circle. “Okay, now that we have book talk taken care of, I have some interesting news.” I grit my teeth and give a troubled smile. “I didn’t mention anything before this because I thought it was some fluke thing. I didn’t think anything would ever come of it.”

As my voice lowers, my friends lean in as if they were a single unit. “So, I saw this really hot guy at the bar a few weeks ago.” My eyes flick to Madison. “It was the night Shawn played that song for you, Madi. Anyway, I spotted this guy from across the room right after karaoke started up again.” I pause, shifting in my seat, suddenly unsure if I should give voice to the thoughts running rampant through my head.

Piper groans, making a circling motion with her hand as if I should continue. “Well, don’t stop there. You’ve got our collective curiosity piqued.”

I bite my lip, glancing around the table. “This guy seemed to be there with this girl, but when we locked eyes, I had this weird kind of feeling zip through me.”

“Lust, honey. That’s called lust.” Quinn grins big at me as Sophia gives her a playful shove and urges me to continue.

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