Page 34 of Confessions of a High School Guidance Counselor

“What was its name?” I asked.

“General Feathers.”

I giggled.

“Hey, I was only seven when I named him.”

“That’s cute,” I said, admiring him interacting with my bird. Ralphie came closer to Cohen, curiously taking him in, then he gently nipped his finger with his beak. He approved. And my heart melted to a puddle.

Cohen smiled. “That’s a good boy.”

“He usually doesn’t like men,” I said. Dax might have had something to do with that.

“Well, he’s a sweetheart.”

“I think so.” I folded my arms over my chest. “So, what are you doing here?” I laughed nervously. “You didn’t find every school in the area and search for me, did you?”

“No,” he chuckled. “Actually, this was a happy coincidence, considering you never gave me your number... or a goodbye.”

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I thought I’d spare you the inconvenience of turning me down.”

“Why would I do that?” he asked, stepping away from Ralphie.

I rubbed my arm. This really was awkward. “Because I have about all the grace and charisma of a watermelon?”

He shook his head, an amused smile making him look that much more attractive. “You are one of a kind, Birdie. I never would have turned you down.”

His husky voice made my insides shiver the way they had that night. Part of me still wished I had taken him up on a one-night stand. Or at least stayed for breakfast. “I still don’t understand, though. The Academy doesn’t usually do intern placement with bars.” I laughed nervously. Something about this man made me giddy and scared and horny all at once.

“No, I’m here to talk about my son.”

It was like he’d dumped a bucket of ice water on my head. “Wh-what?”

“Ollie Bardot is my son,” he said.

My eyes widened as my head caught up to the words I was hearing. This man. This very sexy man who had spilled a beer on me and seen me in an oversized T-shirt and had his boner pressed into my hip was ONE OF MY STUDENT’S FATHERS?

Holy shit.

This really couldn’t get any worse.

Not only was I a chicken and a tease who tiptoed out of his apartment. I was his kid’s unprofessional guidance counselor.

I covered my face with my hands. “You’re Ollie’s father.”

“I am,” he said calmly. There was a slight frown on his perfect features as he said, “I’m worried about him, and I didn’t want him to know I’m meeting with his guidance counselor, so... here I am.”

“Sit,” I said, gesturing at one of my chairs. I sat behind my desk, getting Ollie’s file from where it had been atop my stack. “I actually had it on my list to call his parents today.” If only I’d looked at the file before being surprised like this, maybe I could have worn something other than my long-sleeved top and plain dress pants. Maybe even worn my hair down instead of this slicked-back bun.

But I couldn’t focus on how I looked, not now when we had a student to take care of. Ollie was much more important than me or my crush on his father. “What has he told you?”

“Nothing,” Cohen said. “That’s the problem. Usually he talks to me after school, but the last couple of weeks, he hasn’t been speaking at all when he comes home.”

“And has he said anything to your wife?” I asked, terrified of the answer—that he would have cheated on his spouse with me.

“His mother hasn’t been speaking to me lately, especially since we don’t have to meet to get Ollie to our places.”

“That must be so hard.” My heart hurt for Cohen, even though a tiny spark of happiness lit at his answer. I’d seen how hard it was for divorced couples to co-parent high school students. Judging by his answer, Cohen and Ollie’s mom were clearly separated and I hadn’t almost committed adultery.

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