Page 11 of Scout Takes the Lead
“The department chair said that if I take the summer work, she’ll give me what she calls a full-time temp job for the next academic year, to fill his spot. And that will give me an inside track for a full-time, tenure-track job.”
“Is that what you want?”
She sighed. “I’m never going to make a living as a poet,” she said. “A teaching job will give me security, and they’ll send me to conferences and pay for courses. And I didn’t realize how much I missed having people to talk about poetry with.”
“You talk to me.”
“I know. And you’ve given me some great feedback. But it’s not the same.” The server came over and we ordered cocktails.
“What’s up with you?”
“I started a new obedience class yesterday. Some good dogs, some difficult ones.”
“I thought you said there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.”
“That’s true. But this one guy has a dog that’s so hyper you could light up Hollywood with his energy.”
She looked at me. She knew me as well as I knew her. “What about his owner? Is he cute?”
“Not that guy. He plays for the other team. But...”
“Yes?” Becca asked.
“There’s this guy, his name is Alex.”
“The one you met at the pet store.”
“I didn’t realize I told you about him,” I said.
“You did. How he was totally clueless but cute. And muscular.”
I felt myself blushing and I was glad that the server brought our drinks and I could grab my margarita.
“You like him,” Becca said. “What’s wrong with him?”
I put the margarita glass down on the table a bit too hard. “What do you mean? Why does something have to be wrong with him for me to like him?”
“Duh. Because of your track record. What about Garrett?”
“Garrett had problems. But it wasn’t like I fell for him because he was nasty and abusive.”
“I think maybe you did,” Becca said. “You’re never going to get your father to love you, Grace. And it’s time you started looking for good men instead of men with problems.”
“I know that.” My father had died a year after my mom, and I had a lot of unresolved issues about both of them. Dr. Altman had helped with those.
“Alex doesn’t have problems,” I said, probably more strongly than I should have. “And Garrett was very charming when I met him. We liked the same movies, we had great dinners together, and he was very attentive in bed. It’s just that he started to get possessive and angry. I didn’t have any idea he’d turn out like that.”
“How well do you know this guy Alex?”
I shrugged. “We met at the pet store. And he brought his dog for training.”
“So you’ve interacted with him exactly twice. I’m telling you, Grace, you need to go slowly. He could turn out to be another jerk.”
“He’s so sweet with his dog,” I protested. “And they have such a good rapport.” I sipped my drink again. “I admit, I’m attracted to his body. He has muscles for days and I keep wondering how it would feel to be wrapped in his arms. Safe.” I smiled. “Sexy.”
“Do you talk to him?”
“We went out for coffee after class yesterday. We talked about our jobs and our families. He was in combat engineering in the Army, which makes me think he could do a lot better than online customer service.”
