Page 59 of Singled Out

Hundred percent accurate, and I needed to tone it down and get my head in a space to interact with dozens of moody, hormonal teenagers for the next ten hours, God love ’em. Without coffee. Because venturing to the teachers’ lounge for a cup of marginal brew would risk running into Harper’s father.

The hall was filling up. One of Mills’s students called out a question from his classroom doorway, so he headed that way.

“I better do the same,” Lisa said. “Have a good day, Coach. Hope the kids don’t latch on to the gossip and give you too hard a time.”

“Thanks a lot,” I said.

The kids I could handle. Probably.

I darted into my classroom, thankful to have first period as my planning time. I needed to do last-minute prep for my second-period Algebra II class. Prep I’d planned on doing last night.

That thought naturally led to the steamy memory of what I’d ended up doing instead. As I unpacked my bag and put it in my coat closet, I couldn’t get the image out of my head of a naked Harper, lying in wait, stretched out on my comforter.

This wasn’t the place for those kinds of thoughts even if she weren’t my boss’s daughter. There was no room for weakness in a roomful of teens. I prided myself on keeping my private life out of the classroom, but this morning I was struggling to get any of it out of my head.

Once I sat at my desk, missing my caffeine, overheating from my thoughts, I ran my hands over my face. “Let it go,” I muttered.

“You okay, Coach?”

I jumped out of my skin at the sound of Bob Ellison’s voice nearby. Like, two feet away, I realized when I opened my eyes.

“Morning, Bob,” I said, forcing my usual cheery professionalism into my voice.

“You don’t look like it’s a good one.”

I scrambled mentally like a quarterback facing down aggressive linebackers. “Forgot my coffee. Nothing worse than facing a bunch of rowdy teenagers without caffeine.”

Unless it was facing your boss after sleeping with his daughter.

“There’s some in the lounge.”

“Yeah. I’ll have to grab a cup.” It would be better than nothing now that avoiding my boss was a moot point. “What can I do for you?” I asked, knowing he had to have a reason for appearing in my room at this hour.

“Your team played quite a game Friday night. Congrats on win number one for the season.”

“Thanks.” I relaxed a little. “If Brant keeps it up, he’ll get some attention from colleges in the next year.” Our starting running back was only a sophomore and had come close to setting a single-game record for yards rushed. In the first game of the season.

“He’s something else. Fun kid to watch,” Bob said as he took up a casual stance against the wall. “Tanager had a decent game too.”

“He’s fighting to keep his starting job,” I said of the first-string defensive end. I was warming up to the topic like I always did. Our kids were coming along well for it being so early in the season. I couldn’t wait to see what they could accomplish.

“I saw the photos of you and my daughter,” Ellison said abruptly, just as I’d started to relax. I should’ve seen that coming.

I pulled out a reply that put his focus on how amazing his daughter was. “I wish you could’ve heard Harper’s award acceptance for her friend. It was a tearjerker. Poignant, to the point, and profound. And one hundred percent off the cuff.” I shook my head. “I don’t think I could do half as well with a prewritten, well-rehearsed speech.”

Pride flashed in his eyes as he shook his head. “She’s something else. Don’t think I’ll ever understand her. She doesn’t do anything the tried-and-true way, but she somehow seems to do okay.”

“She did more than okay. I wish I’d thought to record the crowd’s reaction. They gave her a standing ovation as they dabbed at their eyes.”

I bit down on my tongue before I could praise her more. There was a fine line between sounding like a teacher who recognized a job well done and a guy who’d fallen under Harper’s spell in a nonteacher way.

“I warned you away from my daughter at the auction?—”

“Yes, sir,” I interrupted, hoping like hell my facial expression didn’t reveal that I couldn’t get her out of my mind. My heart raced, and I stopped breathing.

I tried to think of something else to say that would reassure him but wouldn’t be a lie. Nothing came to me, because facts were facts. I’d had sex with Harper last night. If he knew, he’d shit-can my ass on the spot.

He straightened from the wall, advanced to the side of my desk, put his hands on it, and leaned forward. I braced myself.