“Griffin, I know you had a problem with us living in the same building. That hasn’t changed.” As much as she hated the idea of no more kisses, she hated even more the thought that she’d get used to those kisses and then he’d jerk them away with regrets.
“I know. In all honesty, Caitlyn, I’m not a player. I don’t date a lot because I’ve never had the time that it took to try to cultivate a relationship. The few that I have had weren’t the best experiences. One, she didn’t like that as I was building my business, I had to work a lot of hours. Another one thought that, as the owner of the business, I wasn’t the one doing the work and my being a contractor didn’t settle with her idea of dating a businessman. And the only other woman I tried to have a long-term relationship with wasn’t happy with how important my family was to me.”
“I want to tell you that they were all bitches, but then, if they’d been great, you wouldn’t be laying on top of me right now, and I’m pretty happy with where you are.” He chuckled again, but she wasn’t finished. “I’ve got two brothers who work for the police force, another brother who’s a paramedic for the city, a sister who is a social worker, another sister who’s a nurse, and I’m a schoolteacher. Every single one of those jobs is important. Every single one of them is important to me. My family is hard-working, close, in each other’s business, and loyal down to the bone.”
His thumbs swept over her cheeks, and he bent to touch her forehead with his lips. She shivered at the light touch, not from a chill but from heat searing through her. Reaching up, she clutched his face also.
“And you gave me full disclosure with your past relationships, I’ll do the same. In high school, I hardly had any dates because, with my three older brothers who weren’t afraid to threaten anybody who came around, I mostly hung out with friends. I went a little wild in college but discovered early on that if I had more self-respect than what the guy was giving me, I wasn’t interested. As an adult, it might seem like I’ve dated a lot because I’ve had a lot of first dates. I enjoy people, talking, and socializing, so I’ve never had trouble meeting a man. But there weren’t a whole lot that got through to a second date, mainly because I have a low tolerance for bullshitters. I’m not impressed with a highfalutin job, or a big bank account, or fancy cars, or expensive suits. So, a man had to have some substance to make it to a second date. And even more substance to make it to a third date. I can count on one hand the number of relationships that I’ve had that have lasted longer than a month, and each time, we parted on friendly terms because, by the time we got to that point, I knew they were decent guys but just not right for me.”
“So, there’s still a chance for me even though I fucked up earlier?”
Grinning, she said, “I think we can already consider this our second date.”
“As nice as that sounds, darlin’, we’ve only had getting-to-know-you times. What I really want to do is take you out on a real date. And that’s why I halted our kiss earlier. Not because I didn’t want to keep going or had regrets but because I want to do this right.”
She slid her arms down his back, her fingers now digging in as she clutched him tighter. Nuzzling his nose, she whispered against his lips, “And that, Griffin, is how you make it to a second date.”
Caitlyn had stepped into the teachers’ lounge to eat her lunch but was now regretting the decision. The topic of conversation revolved around the faculty meeting the previous day that had ignited opinions on all sides of the topic of drugs in the schools.
“The security officer knows who a lot of the players are. I don’t see why he can’t just handle it himself and arrest them. We’re teachers, not policemen,” one of the teachers said.
“Arrest them with no evidence? Based on hearsay?” Caitlyn looked over at the older man, whose face appeared to be set in a permanent frown, and she wondered what it would take to make him smile.
Barbara piped up. “We know it’s going on, so I don’t know why the principal acts like the school will lose all credentials if it’s being addressed!”
“But it’s everywhere… all schools, all over the place. I don’t see that there’s much we can do. It’s like playing whack-a-mole,” Renée added, sticking her plastic container back into her thermal lunch bag with the words Chemistry Teachers Know How To Mix It Up written on the side.
Jamie sighed. “Hate to admit it, but a lot of the coaches don’t want their kids using, but they also don’t want anyone kicked off their teams.”
“Oh, that’s perfect,” another teacher said, rolling her eyes while pouring what was probably their fifth cup of coffee for the day. “Sports… just what the American education system runs on!”
Jon walked in and slid into the seat next to Renée. As soon as he did, Caitlyn watched as Renée’s smile softened and all her attention went to him. She was glad for her friend but even happier that the twinge of envy that she used to feel wasn’t present considering she had a date that weekend with Griffin.
“I heard the security officer thinks there might be a teacher involved.”
Caitlyn had so focused on Jon and Renée that the words from Mack almost went past her. Silence filled the faculty lounge, and she jerked her head around to look at him. “Involved? What does he mean by that?”
Mack shrugged, his palms turned up as his forearms lay on the table. “Who knows? I just overheard him talking to one of the assistant principals, telling him that he felt certain a teacher was allowing students to stash drugs in various places.”
Shocked, Caitlyn leaned forward. “He thinks a teacher is actively selling drugs to the students?”
“As I said, Caitlyn, I don’t know what he meant. As soon as I turned the corner, they both shut up real quick. So, I don’t know if he thinks the teacher is selling.”
No one said anything, but furtive glances were darting all around. In a high school the size of North Central, there were almost one hundred thirty teachers, another thirty aides, and at least twenty support staff and administrators. The idea that any one of those people could be helping pass drugs along to teens made Caitlyn ill, but as she walked back to class, it wasn’t hard to imagine a few of them who might.
Glad when the end of the day came, she ran into Russ as she left the building. “Hey! Are you starting work for Griffin today?”
A smile crossed his face, but she could see nerves flashing through his eyes. “Yeah. I’m pretty stoked. Just hope I don’t fuc—screw up.”
Stepping closer, she said, “You’re going to be great. Just listen and watch as you do in my class, and you’ll be amazed at what all you learn.” Glancing up toward the sky, she scrunched her nose. “It looks like rain. Why don’t I give you a lift?”
“You sure, Ms. McBride?”
“It’ll take two minutes to drive, and since you’d have to walk around the stadium, it would take ten minutes to walk. And if it starts raining, you’d start your first day drenched.”
He nodded his agreement and threw his backpack into the back seat before sliding into the passenger seat. “I really appreciate this.”