Page 18 of Twice Shy

Chapter Seven

PTA Committee meeting, Thursday October 10th

“Hey Mr. Snow.” Nia smiled when Ollie opened his apartment door. Alyssa’s daughter was a tall, confident sixteen-year-old with a short sassy haircut and a sweet smile. Rory had taken to her immediately, which was great—and meant Ollie had no reason not to use her as a babysitter on PTA nights. And no excuse to avoid today’s meeting.

Not that he wanted to avoid the meeting.

It was just that Mr. Morgan would be there and… Well, Ollie’s crush had escalated. It was dumb. He knew it was dumb, but Morgan had been so damnedkindto him at the car wash. There was something about being noticed, about having a guy say ‘Hey, you look cold. Borrow my sweatshirt’ that made his heart skip. Kindness was a virtue he valued highly, perhaps because he hadn’t encountered much of it recently.

And then there’d been the look.

No way was Joel Morgan one hundred percent straight. Noway. Whether he was comfortable with his sexuality, Ollie wasn’t certain, but there’d been a moment in that hotel room when Morgan’s gaze hadlingered. No other word for it. His gaze had lingered, and Ollie’s had lingered right back until Morgan had jolted away and started talking about the weather.

Over the past couple of weeks, he’d given that look some thought. Okay, a lot of thought. He’d dissected it minutely after the boys were in bed, wondering what it meant. Which was stupid and adolescent and reminded him of the hopeless crush he’d had on Mr. Howey in tenth grade. Besides, he had more important things to be dealing with—like how he needed a better job, and whether it would ever be possible to finish his master’s and complete the internship he’d had to give up. And whether he’d ever convince Luca Moretti to let him into his life.

All these things were more important than figuring out what one look from a hot school teacher might mean. And yet…

“Come on in, Nia. Thanks for coming.” Stepping back, he let her into his tiny apartment. Like her mom, Nia was good-natured and hard working. She’d arrived with a backpack of school books this evening and, anticipating that, Ollie had made room on the dining table for her to work, and put a couple of sodas in the fridge.

“Hey Rory,” she said, offering him a little fist bump.

“Hi Nia.” He was already bathed and wearing his PJs, so all Nia had to do was read him a bedtime story and get him some milk before tucking him in. Luis was already down for the night.

Crouching, Ollie gave Rory a big hug. “You be a good boy, okay, and do what Nia says.”

“I will.”

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Promise?”

His heart gave a familiar twist and he hugged Rory close again, feeling his little arms tight around his neck. “I promise, Rory.”

“Hundred percent?”

“Hundred percent.”

He squeezed his eyes shut until the swell of emotion subsided, then let go and gave a breezy smile. “Hey, how about you show Nia the gold star you got for your spelling test?”

While Rory ran off to find his piece of work, Ollie pushed back to his feet. “I’ll be back by eight-thirty,” he said. “You’ve got my number if— If Rory seems unsettled, or anything, just call, okay?”

“Okay Mr. Snow.” Nia crouched down as Rory came back with his school book. “Hey, let me see that. Wow—ten out of ten, Rory. That’s awesome!”

Ollie slipped out while they were still talking, snagging the bags he’d left by the front door on the way. Inside one was the clothes he’d borrowed from Alyssa for Rory, washed and dried. Inside the other was Mr. Morgan’s sweatshirt. And the idea of returning it to him shouldn’t make Ollie’s pulse race, but there it went tap-tap-tapping away and making his fingers tingle in anticipation.

Stupid crush.

The Rock House was the kind of bar Ollie would have avoided like herpes before he moved to New Milton. But things had changed—hehad changed—and although he felt self-conscious in a place that looked so much like a sports bar, he didn’t let it stop him. Besides, Finn Callaghan and his husband occasionally played there so the Rock House couldn’t be quite as straight as it looked.

And, talking of not being quite as straight as you looked, Mr. Morgan was locking up his bicycle when Ollie pulled into the Rock House’s parking lot. He wore jeans and a dark jacket and had obviously changed after work. Ollie tried not to read anything into that.Healways changed after work too. Didn’t most people?

Feeling stupidly self-conscious, he waited for Morgan to go into the bar before he got out of his car. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to figure out he was nursing a crush.

Grabbing his bags from the passenger seat, Ollie locked the car and took his time strolling across the parking lot. When he pushed open the door, music spilled out along with quiet chatter and the delicious scent of the Rock House’s famous burgers. Ollie was glad he’d eaten, or he’d have been tempted. And his bank account couldn’t take the hit after budgeting $20 for babysitting.

He spotted the PTA people right away, crowded into their usual semi-circular booth. Morgan was on one end, having just arrived, and Joel squeezed onto the other, so they were opposite each other. “Hey,” he said, giving a dumb little wave.

“Hey, how’re you doing?”

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