Page 7 of The Flirty Forward

“Oh.” Tina nods. “Right.”

“Next time,” I say with a face-splitting grin.

“Seriously, who is she?” Kristin asks.

“Her name is Stephanie,” I tell her after I take a drink of my water.

Kayla’s head turns to me. “My teacher?”

It gets quiet. “Her teacher?” Kristin asks.

I’d kind of forgotten about her being Kayla’s teacher for a moment, actually. “Yeah, Squirt. It’s your teacher, but let’s keep it between us, yeah?”

Keith snorts but doesn’t say anything, and Kristin stares at me. “Which teacher is it, Kayla?” she asks without ever taking her eyes off me.

“Miss Winston, my history teacher,” Kayla says quietly.

Kristin looks at me with wide eyes. “Really? She’s terrifying.”

I laugh; I can’t help it. “You’re not wrong about that; she is completely terrifying.”

Kristin cocks her head to the side, studying me as if she can’t quite figure me out. “And yet, you’re still interested?”

At her serious tone, I shrug. “I don’t know her that well. Yet.” I tack on theyetas an afterthought.

“But you want to,” Kristin says; it’s not a question. She puts her fork down and stares at me.

I nod. “Yes.”

“Why?” she asks.

I glance between her and Keith. “Uh, because she’s a very attractive woman; and she’s single. Wait.” I turn to Kayla. “Sheissingle, right?” I scanned her left hand briefly when she came over to talk to me, but I might have missed it.

Kayla nods. “Yes.”

“Not for long,” I add and turn my attention to the delicious-looking omelet my mom made.

“You’re serious about this,” Tina says, looking over at me. She’s not eating now, either.

“Why are you all acting like this? Am I not allowed to be interested in a woman?” I ask.

It's Tina who answers. “Yes, you just never have been.”

I shrug. “I haven’t met the right one yet.”

“Yes, because all those beautiful women you take to events don’t qualify, right?” Tina asks me dryly.

I frown because I do always take a date to events that I have to attend for our team, but I’m never serious about them. “Those women don’t mean anything,” I say in between bites of egg. Kristin doesn’t say anything, but Tina raises her eyebrows.

“What?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I just think this is going to be harder than you think it is.”

“To win her over?” I ask. “Nah.”

Keith snorts again, and I throw a napkin at him. “Blow your nose already, Old Man.”

I look around the table. “What?”

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