Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 91065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Still, here we are.
Cora and I continue eating (only ten minutes left of recess!), chatting about students, which parents have emailed or called to complain, and upcoming lesson plans. But every few minutes Cora brings the conversation back to Dex.
“Are you going to tell me his last name, or do I have to drag it out of you?” My friend has her phone out.
“Why?”
“So I can stalk him.”
I snort. “At least you’re honest.”
“Listen,” she deadpans. “Mark will be on one end of the couch watching some stupid comic book movie when I get home—then I’ll plop down on the other end and play on my phone. At least give me something to google while we’re ignoring each other tonight. Some eye candy.”
My brows raise. “How do you know he’s eye candy?”
“He plays football, obviously he’s eye candy.”
I titter. “His last name is Lansing. But can you do me a huge favor and not turn this into a full-blown investigation? Don’t go liking and double tapping all his stuff. If he notices and pokes back on you, he’s going to see me on your profile page, and then what am I going to tell him? My friends are creeps?”
Cora isn’t convinced. “Who cares? He’s a guy. They don’t give a shit about things like that, and besides, I bet he pays someone to do his social media.”
That sounds likely.
He mentioned a chef, so I’m sure he has a cleaning lady—all the things I would kill for if I had the money.
Le sigh.
Must be nice.
“What’s this date you have tonight?”
“I have no idea,” I admit, stealing one of her potato chips. “He gave me one hint, and it was: there will be lines.”
“Pause. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I wouldn’t be doing my duty if I didn’t ask. Have the two of you fooled around yet?” She wiggles her eyebrows.
“Sort of but not really.”
Cora pulls a face. “What the heck does that mean?”
“It means no, we haven’t slept together—if that’s what you meant.”
She claps, delighted. “Girl, why? I slept with Mark on the first date. I was so hard up, and he smelled like cheap drugstore cologne, but I didn’t care.” Cora laughs.
“Gawd. The first time we were alone together was at my house, and he destroyed my pipes. The second time was the movies, and we ended up talking in the parking lot.”
I don’t tell her about him fingering me; I don’t have time to relive the entire story, not with the clock ticking. Not with the sixth-grade science teacher shooting us glances because Cora can’t keep her voice down.
“Are you planning on dragging this out like you’re saving yourself for someone special?”
I roll my eyes. “We’re not rushing anything.”
Cora snorts. “You’re allowed to have a life, Margot. If you want to get laid, get laid. He is probably filled with so much testosterone. I bet he’d screw your brains out every chance he got.”
My face turns red; I can feel it.
“Maybe. But this is not just about me. Plus, if I’m being perfectly honest, I think I’m a little intimidated by him. He’s . . .”
Unlike anyone I’ve known.
Cora nods along as I talk.
“I need to make sure he’s serious. He’s already met Wyatt, so I wouldn’t be the only one getting crushed if he doesn’t want to be in a relationship.”
The thing about my friend?
She’s only sympathetic to a point.
“Right, right.” She’s nodding, but it’s sarcastic. “You’re dating a professional athlete, Margot. If he wasn’t serious, why would he waste his time with a single mother? He wouldn’t. You haven’t had sex, you said so yourself. So why bother, no matter how much of a smokeshow you are.”
That has us both laughing.
“Did you just call me a smokeshow?”
Cora stands, collecting her garbage. “Yes. You know you’re a Milf.”
Pfft. “I don’t think my child is old enough for me to be considered a Milf.”
“Yes, you are.” My friend giggles. “Trust me.”
I rise from my chair, too, and follow her to the trash bin. “I’m an elementary school teacher. What the hell business do I have dating a man with fans who line up to meet him for his autograph?”
Cora tosses her chip bag. “Are you freaking kidding me? If you reject this guy, I will hunt you down. I will gather all our friends, and we will ride at dawn.”
“At dawn to do what?” I laugh.
“To . . . take away your lady card—do not fuck up this opportunity!”
She needs to calm down. “Can you keep your voice down? Ryan is listening.” We glance over at him. “Don’t get carried away here. Baby steps.”
We pause in the doorway of the lounge. “I get that, Margot, I really do.” She pauses. “You’re smart. You’ve got a beautiful head on your shoulders, but you tend to overthink things, hey? Just this once don’t overthink it. Go for it. The worst thing that can happen is you’re disappointed—best thing that can happen is you find the love of your life.”