Page 13 of Kiss the Girl
Even PE teachers had stuff to get ready, which was why I reported to Lincoln High three days before I had to. I had to pull out the equipment for the first unit of the semester and figure out what we had enough unbroken or complete sets of to use with the kids. I had to go over the wrestling schedule and figure out a recruiting strategy and practice schedule.
I liked those details. That was the good part of coming back on campus. The weird part was that even though this would be my fifth year of teaching, somehow I still felt like I was doing something slightly transgressive by being in the teacher’s lounge or copy room, like maybe one of the real grownups was going to tell me to scram.
This always went away after my first freshman PE class of the year. Watching them reminded me who was the grownup in the room. If anything, I felt more like a zookeeper trying to organize the monkey house.
At lunch, I took a break and headed across campus to Brooke’s classroom. I had no doubt she’d come in early too. Sure enough, she was up on a desk, working on a bulletin board display.
“Knock, knock,” I said, stepping into her room. “How’s married life treating you?”
She turned from the bulletin board and came over to greet me with a hug. “Right now, pretty much like engaged life. Ian reported to Quantico. So basically, it’s like the last year when I only saw him on weekends and holidays, except now I won’t see him at all for fifteen more weeks.”
“Did you guys have a good summer together, at least?”
“Yeah. It was so great. I was able to spend June with him at his apartment in DC, then he put in his notice at the firm, and we spent July at our house.”
“Miss Lily must have been in heaven.” Brooke’s house was right next door to hers.
“Of course she was. It’s the whole reason she tricked me into dating Ian in the first place.”
I grinned. The story was already legendary. “Remind me never to get in her crosshairs.”
“You’re not her neighbor or her grandchild. You should be safe. You ready for the school year to start?”
“Kind of. Is that crazy?”
“No, I get it. I like the kids, even when I want to kill them.”
I held out my hand for a fist bump. “I hear that. You have to like them if you’re going to do this job. And there’s something about the beginning of school that feels more like the new year than actual New Year’s.”
“Fresh starts, new opportunities, all of that?”
“Exactly.”
“I’m also glad for something to keep me busy and distracted while I wait for Ian to finish his training. Speaking of which, I need to keep busy out of school too. I was thinking of doing a regular game night, maybe on Thursdays? Would you come? I promise to have a small handful of fun people there, keep it chill, and have good snacks.”
“Sure, if it works with Paige’s babysitting schedule, but I think that would be okay. But why Thursdays? Wouldn’t the weekend be better?”
“I don’t want to tie up your date nights. You need a woman. But also, Thursday is when I would start looking forward to seeing Ian the next day, so that’s when I’ll need the distraction, since, you know…”
“You’ll have nothing to look forward to. Got it. And I don’t need a woman. I like them, I go out with them often, but I’m a full-grown man, and I can take care of myself.”
“And your sister. And your niece. I know. That’s not what I meant. I meant you need a life outside of them and work.”
I would have argued that I liked my life fine as it was. But this was an old conversation, so I let it drop. “About this game night?”
“Do you need to know anything besides the snacks will be good?”
“Not really.”
“That’s what I thought.”
I almost asked if Grace would be there but kept my mouth shut. It would make Brooke think I was interested, which would make her relentless, and Grace had made it clear she wasn’t looking for a relationship. I’d already tried—and failed, miserably—to talk Lauren into being with me, and I was barely recovering my dignity. I was never doing that again.
“This Thursday, then,” Brooke said, breaking into my self-pitying thoughts. “See you at seven.”
I nodded and left, off to pop in on some of my other teacher friends. It really did feel good to be back.
I found myself looking forward to game night for the next couple of days, but every time I caught myself wondering if Grace would be there, I forced myself to think of other things instead. The health curriculum. The Nationals stats. The wrestling schedule.
