Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 122966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
“Keira and I are moving to New York after she graduates.”
I snapped my gaze back to Taylor. She’d caught me off guard, but…perhaps not. The more I thought about it, it made sense. Their dad had been from the East Coast, and it was where they had family. Except for their grandparents, who’d moved to Florida after retiring.
“I think that’s a good decision,” I replied. “You should get back to school too.”
She’d dropped out of college when their parents had died.
“You’re such a teacher,” she teased.
I smirked faintly, despite that my comment hadn’t come from my love for teaching. It was my love for education. School was always going to be a ticket to better places, and learning was constantly a port in the storm. When thunder rolled in and lightning struck, you could get lost in a textbook or study a new subject. For the longest time, my most valued possession had been a library card.
“Why did you become a teacher?” she asked curiously. “You hate your students, Avery.”
I grinned quickly and drank from my coffee. That perception about me wasn’t going away, I reckoned.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” I started by saying. “Teaching at Ponderosa High is slowly sucking the life out of me because most students are spoiled rotten and don’t care about how lucky they are. At the same time, it’s a fantastic institution and workplace. The pay is good, the students in the AP classes are my fuel… I love teaching them because they want to learn. Phil—the principal—tells the students’ parents that I’m the guy they want to prepare their kids for college.”
Taylor smiled. “My dad liked you a lot.”
Because I was a no-nonsense kind of man. Other men recognized that faster than women did. If there was a complaint against me, it was from a mother who thought I was being too harsh.
“By the way, thank you for not calling it the academy.” She rolled her eyes at the word.
I laughed quietly. Some were always going to refer to Ponderosa High by its old name. There’d been plenty of protests when the switch was made.
“I think I’ll stick around at least another five or six years,” I said. “But when I’ve saved enough to secure my future, I’d like to teach at Camas High.”
I just had to get over the memories of growing up in that neighborhood. I could still hear my mother wresting a bag of hard candy out of her purse when we sat on the bus. Finn’s screams were there too. And the halls in our run-down building, where he and I would hide out sometimes. The cigarette butts on the ground, the paint peeling off the walls.
“I can see it,” Taylor said pensively. “I’m sure you’d be an asset there.”
Maybe.
“I’ve been doing all the talking,” I noted. “Your turn. How’re things at home?”
She shook her head, amused. “Why drag it out? I like talking to you, but you’re done, Avery. You don’t wanna continue our thing anymore. I can see it.”
How? How could she possibly? “I haven’t forced anything, if that’s what you’re implying.” I frowned.
“I’m not,” she assured quickly. “Maybe it’s because I feel it too. For the first time in months, I’m ready to move on.”
Oh.
She continued with a sly little grin. “I want someone who will go shopping with me, take me to dinner, invite me to their house, and watch a movie with me.”
I chuckled.
In short, she wanted what I’d told her I had no interest in giving her. Or anyone else, for that matter.
“Fair enough,” I conceded.
What a relief. It felt like nothing could ruin this day. When was the last time I’d felt something like that?
“Will you still keep me posted on Keira?” she asked.
“Of course.” I took the hint when she put on her coat, and I shrugged into my own. “I’ll text you if there’s anything I think you should be apprised of.”
“Thank you.”
I finished the last of my coffee before I stood up, put a hand on her lower back, and ushered her out.
“Where did you park?” she wondered.
I jerked my chin up the street. I had an evening of going through roughly twenty-two students’ papers on the Cold War to look forward to, and I’d parked outside of a pizza place to buy a pie to take home with me.
Taylor had found parking right outside the coffee shop.
We came to a “So, this is it” moment.
I sighed through a chuckle and pulled her in for a hug.
“I’m glad this happened too, Avery. I hope you’ll find someone one day you can’t wait to take to dinner.”
I smiled and kissed the top of her head before I eased away. “Yeah, maybe. Take care, Taylor.”
“You too.”
Once she was in her car, I left the curb and crossed the street with a feeling of “Holy fuck, we actually pulled this off.” Taylor wouldn’t be a shitty memory to back up already flawed logic. She’d remain the nice young woman with whom I opened up a little.