The Presence of Grace (Love and Loss Book 2)(16)

**You’re not crying outside of a school, are you?**

This came from Devon and made me laugh. Since our trip to Disney I’d seen him a few times when he was picking Jax up from TAG, and we’d been texting back and forth sporadically. The texts were friendly and completely appropriate, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t excited to receive them. Something about attention from Devon lit me up inside, made the day-to-day seem more vibrant and exciting. From the little flutters in my stomach to the random smiles whenever he came to mind, everything about him made me happy.

**Perhaps. I’ve heard it’s cathartic.**

**Need some cheering up?**

I stared at his message for a good minute. In all the texts we’d exchanged in the past six weeks, none of them had alluded to spending more time together. I’d thought about him a lot, but more in a lamenting way, wishing things were different. But now things were different, and he was basically asking me to meet up with him. I couldn’t find a way to make my fingers move, or the thoughts to come up with some sort of reply. He must have figured I was having a minor panic attack because he texted me again.

**Nothing fancy. Just coffee? Between friends.**

Between friends? Ugh. Either I’d been friend zoned, or he was adding the emphasis to make me more comfortable. I didn’t know which, but I was hoping for the latter.

**Can I meet you in an hour?**

The idea of meeting Devon looking like I did was terrifying. I needed to go home, shower, and regroup.

**Sure. Name the place.**

I sent him a link to my favorite coffee shop, Silk, and told him I’d be there in an hour.



When I entered the coffee shop, it was practically empty. I immediately spotted Devon sitting on the two-person couch in the corner. He saw me coming and stood with a smooth smile.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” I replied as I came to a stop in front of him. There were a few seconds of awkwardness, neither one of us sure how to greet the other. Handshakes were too formal, hugs were too personal, but when he leaned down, one hand coming to rest on my elbow while his cheek pressed close to mine, I couldn’t help but feel the butterflies in my stomach come awake in a flurry. A kiss on the cheek from Devon would definitely go a long way to cheer me up.

He pulled away and I couldn’t help the blush that ran warm across my face.

“Can I get you something?” he asked, smile still on his face, hand still on my elbow.

“That’d be great. Vanilla latte, please. Iced.”

“Got it.” He gave my elbow a gentle squeeze then made his way to the counter. I took a seat on the couch, trying to look as though I was completely at ease, when I totally was not.

He returned with two cups, handing one to me, then sitting next to me on the couch, angled with one knee up so he was facing me, an arm draped along the back.

“You don’t look too torn up. There must not have been many tears.” He smiled just before he took a sip of his coffee.

“Only a few tears were shed. And it was expected. I’m kind of a crier. I know I’ll see most of the kids again, it’s just been an exceptionally great year and I’m sad to see it end.”

“Look on the bright side: maybe next year’s batch will be even better.” He winked at me and it only made my smile spread wide across my face.

“I don’t know. This year’s kids were pretty spectacular.”

“Jaxy is going to miss you. He told me so.” Those words tugged hard on my heartstrings. “But I told him that perhaps he’d get to see you this summer sometime.” Devon let the words hang in the air between us, alluding to more time spent together, and I instantly turned into a shy teenager, looking down at my coffee and smiling even wider.

Then I took in a deep breath, forced my smile to notch down from blinding to simply radiant, and shrugged one shoulder, looking back to him. “Perhaps.”

We were flirting. There was no denying it. And while we’d flirted a little at Disney World, this was definitely a new level of flirtation. I wasn’t opposed, and found it came back to me easily. Or perhaps it was just who I was flirting with that made it easy.

“So, have any exciting plans for the summer?” he asked, genuinely interested.

“Not really. I’m tending bar part-time on the weekends, and aside from that, I plan on reading and relaxing by the pool at my apartment.”

“You took on another job?” His face twisted with confusion.

“When you sign a teaching contract, you can either take your salary split up into twelve months or ten. When I first moved here I took the ten-month deal because it was more per month and being single in Florida isn’t the cheapest. So, I have to take a summer job to bridge the gap.” His expression had moved from happy and flirty to concerned and even a little aggravated. “I make pretty good money bartending.”

“I bet,” he grumbled, and took another drink from his mug.

“Do you guys have any good summer plans?” I asked, trying to steer us from the topic that obviously upset him.

“Kids are spending the days with my mom. She’s been begging to watch them more, and even though I’ve resisted this long, I figure two months of them might hold her over,” he said, finally letting his smile come back.

“It’s great that your parents are close and you can count on them for help.”