See Me After Class(77)

I pull my arm away, and I’m about to walk away, but then say, “And you have no right to even an ounce of anger over this situation.”

“I know,” he says curtly.

“Then back off.”

He takes a step away and I head to the backyard, where I find Romeo hoisting Stella up on his shoulders and parading her around the yard. She has a huge smile on her face, and I honestly wonder when those two are going to hook up, or if they’ve hooked up already.

“They’re cute,” Dottie says, coming up next to me.

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Are they together?”

I shake my head. “Not that I know of.”

“They should be,” she groans. “Ugh, before Jason, I was never this girl, the one who would look at two people and think how romantic it’d be if they were together. Jason has ruined my jaded heart.”

I chuckle. “I could see how something like that would happen. He’s quite the catch.”

“He’s quite the handful,” Dottie counters. “And seriously, if you don’t want to go out with Walker, let me know. I’ll let Jason down easily. He can be pretty aggressive when he puts his matchmaker hat on.”

“Aggressive and persuasive.”

“Very much so, and honestly, I got the feeling that maybe something was going on between you and Arlo.”

“What?” I ask, trying to act as cool as possible. “Why would you think that?”

“Just the looks you two gave each other while we ate. Seemed like there was something there.”

I chew on the side of my cheek, my mind a fuzzy mess of uncertainty at this point. “There’s nothing there,” I answer. He’s made that quite clear.

“Huh. Could have fooled me.” She lifts her drink to her lips as Dylan and Gunner perform a game-winning dance on the badminton court, while Romeo sulks next to Stella, who is patting him on the back. “Walker is a sweetheart, though. Rough around the edges, but I think you’d like him. Plus, you guys have the whole athlete thing in common, something I could never relate to with Jason.”

“Were you guys close in college?” I ask. I found out they went to the same college earlier.

Jason, Gunner, and Romeo were all in the same graduating class. Jason went the long haul, while Gunner and Romeo for various reasons hung up their cleats and became teachers. But they’re still very close.

That much is obvious from the playful banter they have with each other.

“Me and Jason?” Dottie laughs and shakes her head. “No. I admired him from afar but never did anything about it. It wasn’t until years later that we reconnected, and not by my doing, but thanks to my meddling friends.”

“Oh, I love meddling friends, as long as they’re not meddling with my life.”

“Agreed. Acting as a meddling friend, now that’s a good time. Which reminds me . . . about Walker.”

“You’re starting to sound worse than Jason.”

“I only ask because Jason is going to pester me the entire way home about whether I think you’ll give Walker a chance. Save me the grief of the ‘I don’t knows’ and give me an answer.”

“And, as we learned, he’s annoyingly persistent.”

“Exactly.”

Laughing, I see Arlo move around from the corner of my eye.

Why not go out on a date with a professional baseball player? For all I know, we might actually have a great connection.

“Dottie, if you think Walker is interested in a long-term relationship, then, yes, I’ll go on a blind date with him. I’m not a fling girl. I hadn’t realized how vital that was to me until recently. So, if you see potential, then, yes, I’ll go on a date with him.”

Dottie clutches her chest. “Oh, God, Jason is going to cry. You have no idea how much this will mean to him.”

“I think as long as Walker doesn’t cry, we’ll be okay.”





“Impressive résumé.” Keeks flips through her phone. “Offensively, he’s been a key component for the Bobbies over the last few years. Although, it seems that the past two years he’s struggled to achieve the same batting average.”

“Who cares about the batting average? Look at his pictures,” Stella says, also on her phone. “Hubba-hubba. Love the whole dark and mysterious look.”

“Can you two please stop?” I say, picking away at the couscous meal I made for myself last night while meal prepping. The recipe sounded good, but the finished product needs a little help.

“Ah, I recognize your conjecture. His facial structure quite accurately resembles those of a Greek demigod. I would hypothesize a precise merger of Apollo and Zeus.”

“Well, mazel tov to Apollo and Zeus for birthing Walker, their human child.” Stella sighs. “I haven’t been able to catch the last few games.”

“Although a boring sport to examine, I wouldn’t mind scrutinizing an inning or two just to observe how authentic these pictures are, as well as see the man squat.”

“You want to see him squat?” Stella asks.

“For scientific purposes, of course.” Keeks adjusts her glasses, but the stain on her cheeks gives her away.

“How are things with Kelvin?” I ask, wanting to send her a gentle reminder that she is, in fact, involved with a man.