Page 87 of Love and Other Chances

“All it took was tacos.” I sigh with an exaggerated eye roll.

Brooks pulls me closer to him, hand on the small of my back. “All it took was you,” he murmurs, then gently kisses me.

As tempted as I am to give in to his kiss and lose all sense of reality, there is the veryrealreality of our current surroundings. I pull back and poke him in the chest. “Behave yourself,” I chide, smiling.

We quickly devour the tacos as he fills me in on The Hangout happenings from last night. With ten minutes before his lunch break ends, he offers to lead me back to the front office.

“I’m going to need a map so I can find your room on my own next time I come to visit,” I say as we make our way through the hallways.

“I’ll happily draw a map myself if it means you’ll keep coming back,” he replies with a grin. I’m so tempted to reach over to hold his hand, but I restrain myself.

When we reach the front entrance, Brooks turns to me. “This was the best surprise, Sneaks. Thanks for coming to see me.”

“I had to see your classroom for myself,” I say. There aren’t any students around, so I quirk an eyebrow and add, “How else can I picture sexy Mr. Murphy in his element?”

Brooks groans. “That was a low blow, making a comment like that when I can’t kiss you.” The intensity in his gaze sends a tremor through my body. His eyes just did a perfectly sufficient job of kissing me from two feet away.

My voice is breathy as I say, “See you at small group tonight.”

Brooks glances at his watch, then meets my eyes again. “Only 344 minutes.”

“How are things going with Brooks?” Catherine asks conspiratorially.

My mouth is filled to the brim with one of Sarah’s oatmeal cookies. I could be convinced to eat oatmeal for breakfast if it was in the form of one of her cookies.

It’s the end of the small group meeting, and the girls are all standing in the kitchen. I can hear the guys laughing in the living room at whatever story Brooks is entertaining them with.

I hold my hand in front of my still-chewing mouth. “It’s going great!” Swallowing hard, I take a sip of water to wash down the cookie crumbs. “In some ways, it feels brand new, and in other ways, it feels like we clicked right back into place. Like gears that got misaligned and then put back in the right spot.”

“Well, you seem happy,” Natalie observes. “You have that glow that moms have after giving birth.”

“Whoa, no need to talk about babies yet,” Catherine says.

“I’m not saying they’re going to have babies right now! I just see it every day—it’s a good comparison!” Natalie defends. “Although, you guys would absolutely have the most beautiful babies. Just saying.”

“Let’s back the conversation right up!” I exclaim, cheeks red. “Back to the ‘Brooks and I are having fun dating’ stage.”

Thankfully, the conversation ends as the guys file into the kitchen, carrying their glasses and coffee mugs to the sink.

“Would anyone be up for a concert Friday night?” Brooks asks the group.

“Who’s playing?” Will asks.

“I dunno. Some indie band is playing at the concert venue in Center Square. I heard some colleagues talking about it,” Brooks replies with a shrug.

“You’re gonna go to a concert without even knowing who the band is?” Brian asks, incredulous.

“Sure! It will be a good time, even if the band is no good,” Brooks says.

“I’ll go!” I respond with enthusiasm.

“Zero surprise there,” Sarah teases. “But I’ll come too! You two are pushing me to be a little more fun.”

“What? So now we’re not fun if we don’t go?” Will asks with mock offense. I see a smile pass between him and Sarah, and I’d bet money they’ll be the next to fall in Joy’s plans to pair us all up.

Chapter thirty-four

JOY

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