JACK DARCY

“So? If you’re not interested in Jack,” Aimee says, as I somewhat accidentally eavesdrop on her conversation with Allie. “Let me set you up with someone else. I know just the man.”

“Why are you so prepared to set me up?”

“Come on, this isn’t a surprise. We were talking about him the other day!”

“Mr. Cooper?”

“The one and only. I know you said you don’t date co-workers, but a coffee date isn’t committing to life together, is it?”

“Aimee—” Allie begins to argue, giving me hope.

“He’s hot, you’re hot. He’s good at math, you like to read. You both love kids. Come on! It’s a match made in heaven.”

I don’t think I like Allie’s friend all that much anymore. I also feel like an idiot. Not only am I eavesdropping on a conversation between two women, but I’m standing beneath the bleachers like a high school dork. Then again, that’s fitting. I’m one of those kids who grew into their looks...or so my mother likes to tell me. I was not the popular kid in school, but that’s probably a surprise to no one.

The thing is, I left my house just minutes after Allie ran out of there. I had to set the record straight. She flounced out of my place without giving me a solid chance to explain, or to figure out why she was acting so skittish. Sure, we’d kissed, but something else must be bothering her because she acted like a paranoid squirrel trying to climb out my window, and I have a feeling it wasn’t the kiss that’d put her over the edge.

On my drive to her house, I’d noticed Allie’s car at the school and realized she must’ve headed to work for a few hours instead of going home. So, I’d parked, then recognized her on the track with Aimee and walked over to say hello.

The problem was that they hadn’t seen me, and by the time they’d started stretching on the bleachers, it was too late to announce myself. The result was an accidentally overheard conversation. My only hope was to back away slowly and to never let Allie know I had come.

“Hey, man, how’s it going? Do you work here?”

A voice interrupts my thinking, and I turn to find a well-dressed, if somewhat shaggy-looking sort of man. “Actually, no, I just came to say hi to my friend.” I gesture weakly toward the pair of ladies. “I was just leaving.”

“Ah, nice. I’m just moving my stuff in for tomorrow. I’m the new guy around here, so I wasn’t sure if we just hadn’t met yet.” He flashes me a quick smile, but at the last second, he freezes. “Right? We haven’t met?”

“Nope.” I give the new guy a smile, wondering if this is the math teacher Aimee had just referenced. “What do you teach?”

“Math, actually. I know, you wouldn’t guess it.” He thumbs at his outfit. “So, you know Ms. Jenkins and Ms. Miller?”

“Just friends,” I tell him, forcing my expression to stay neutral. “We grew up with one another. She’s like a sister to me.”

The new teacher frowns. “Just friends?”

“Yep.”

“I was thinking of asking her out for coffee. I normally don’t date co-workers,” he says with a hesitation, “but she seems different, you know?”

“I know,” I say, my voice quiet and raspy.

“You’re sure?” He frowns deeper, and I can tell he can’t quite believe me. “The last thing I want to do is step on anyone’s toes.”

“Positive,” I say. “You have my, uh, blessing.”

The math teacher extends a hand. “Mr. Cooper,” he says, as he shakes mine. “Call me Cooper. Hopefully, I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Hopefully,” I say through gritted teeth.

As the handshake concludes, I give one last glance toward the bleachers, but Aimee and Allie have headed inside, completely oblivious to the conversation happening behind them.

Stepping through the gate, I return to my bike and notice another motorcycle parked nearby. It hadn’t been there before. That’s when I look back and spot the new teacher’s ruffled hairstyle.

Motorcycle hair. Allie always tells me she loves it. I had hoped she meant mine, but apparently, I was wrong.

Damn the math teacher and his motorcycle hair.

Allie should be mine. I can feel it in my bones, in my soul, in my very deepest place. We belong together.

I can’t find it in me to blame Mr. Cooper. It’s impossible not to notice Allie Jenkins, and he’s just doing what any man would do. Or, what any man should do, including myself.

As I think back over the last few days, however, I can find one moment that continuously points to the start of this mess; the moment when everything changed. The moment one person orchestrated an attempt to draw us apart.

And I think it’s time I pay her a visit.