toes against the carpet. “About before you left…” I press my lips together for a moment before nodding once in encouragement to myself. “I’m sorry about upsetting you. When I went out before, it really wasn’t a date.”
His eye twitches. “Before,” he repeats slowly, looking away. “I take it you’ve had dinner since?”
I try to keep my voice even. “He ordered us something.” I’m not sure why I tell him. Maybe it’s because it seemed so final when he blew me off—like he didn’t care about it because we were just sleeping together. “Anyway, I’m sorry. Like I said, I’m here if you need anything. Roommate. Friend. Whatever.”
He just looks at me. “What about you?”
That catches me off guard. “What about me?”
“Are you content?” When I realize he’s asking about Carter, I let my lips part as oxygen slowly floods my lungs. There are many things I could answer. I could be honest, I could lie, or I could avoid it altogether. But I meant what I said to him. I want to be there for him which means it’s a two-way street.
“I’m working on it,” I admit.
He simply nods.
“You should too,” I add. “Work on being happy, I mean. Nobody should settle for anything less. Life is too short for that.” My voice breaks as I think of Danny. He’d been happy, I knew as much. Willow made him that way. Ainsley. Mable. Me. He was surrounded with the kind of happiness I strive to experience too.
His death took that from me. Maybe, just maybe, Carter can change that. And the way Easton watches me for a long, stretched out moment, I wonder if he has somebody that he’s willing to find happiness with too.
He blinks. “Yeah, Piper. I’ll work on it.”
I smile.
He doesn’t smile back.
Teaching Carter’s class has become a favorite part of my day. Being in front of the classroom feels natural, it clears my head from everything except what’s in the moment. Carter could see that when he watched me, I noticed as much. I also ignored it because I couldn’t risk looking at him like I wanted to.
When the classroom empties every time, my heart goes into overdrive as we clean up our things and listen to hordes of students walking in and out of the building outside the room. There’s something lingering in the air, a feeling, an unspoken thought.
Today we’re slower. We pick up every piece of paper with strategy. He stays close to me while collecting his textbook and packing his bag, and I track my movements that leads my arm to brush his. There are no other sounds besides the thump, thump, thump of my heartbeat.
It’s when there’s nothing left to pick up and put away and mere feet separating us from the door when we finally glance at each other. Me through my lashes, and him straight on without apology. Those brown eyes heat my cheeks and stir my mind with the encouragement I’ve been getting from Jenna and my own conscience.
“Is there something here?”
“I’d like there to be.”
We haven’t talked about it, but we haven’t skated around it either. We’ve just done what we’re here to do—teach and learn. And that makes this easier. This. Us. Whatever it is.
“You’re doing well,” he says softly, bumping my shoulder gently with his. “I can tell you love being up there.”
Nibbling my lip, I situate my bag on my shoulder. “It feels good to be there in front of them. I wasn’t sure this would be the right path for me when I first started. I was too shy.”
He cocks his head. “You were never that shy growing up. What changed?”
My shoulders lift on their own accord. “I did, I guess. Time. Practicability.” We begin walking to the door side by side. “When I was in undergrad, I chose a History major because it’s the only subject I love. The past fascinates me. Seeing what the future holds because of it has always kept me on my toes. But then Danny’s accident happened, and I wasn’t sure I was going to finish my degree because I didn’t have a game plan. And with Ainsley in my care, I knew I needed one.”
“So you decided to teach,” he confirms.
I nod, thanking him for holding the exit door open for me as we walk outside into the brisk morning air. “It made sense. A lot of the people I had classes with were moving onto their master’s for teaching or already a dual major