Picking Up the Pieces (Pieces, #2)(77)

“Where do you teach?” Doug asked.

“Swift."

“Oh, isn’t that where Eva goes, Adam?” Claire asked, even though I knew she was already aware of the answer. Claire and Frank lived in the same school district.

“Yeah, Lily taught Eva last year. That’s how we met actually.” I leaned in and wrapped my arm around her, knowing this was about to get awkward and wanting to physically show her my support.

“Is that allowed?” Kelly bit out.

“Is what allowed?” Lily asked evenly.

“Dating the parents of your students. That seems like a breach of some ethical code of conduct.” Troy fidgeted uncomfortably as he listened to Kelly.

“Eva isn’t currently one of my students, so I don’t really see an issue with it.”

I couldn’t help but be thankful none of them knew we’d dated last year.

“Of course you don’t,” Kelly scoffed.

“What does that mean, exactly?” Lily tensed and I knew that this was about to get ugly. It was like watching a pit bull circle a pretentious poodle.

“Adam’s a very eligible bachelor. It’s not surprising that you wouldn’t see a problem with getting your hooks in him any way you could.”

“Kelly, that’s enough,” Troy muttered.

Way to take a stand, Troy.

Everyone at the table began to shift nervously, unsure of where to look or what to say.

“You’re right,” Lily sighed. “Adam is an eligible bachelor. Any woman would be lucky to have him. But not because of his money, as you’re clearly suggesting, but because of who he is. So yes, I do recognize what a catch he is, and I did maybe ignore that he was the father of one of my students in order to be with him. But that’s because I love him.” She turned toward me, looking deeply into my eyes. “Just like I knew I would when I met him.”

I leaned in and gave Lily a deep kiss, so happy to hear her publicly verbalize what we'd both hidden for so long. And to show her, and them, that I felt the exact same way.

Thankfully, we had all nearly finished eating by the time Kelly and Lily had gotten into it, and we all graciously declined dessert. It was definitely time for this nightmare to end.

We all said our goodbyes, and Lily and I made our way to the car.

“So, have fun?” I asked with a wide smile, knowing she’d sense my sarcasm.

“Yeah, a f*cking blast,” she retorted dryly.

I laughed, though I couldn’t ignore the heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach that she hadn’t fit in with my friends as I’d hoped she would.





Chapter 30: Max


In the spirit of my New Year’s resolution, I’d managed to make it over three months without pissing anyone off. I tried to focus all of my energy on the positive elements in my life: family and my job auditions. I’d made it a habit to go to my parents’ once a week for dinner, and my television try-outs had been going fairly well. I’d had more than a few pre-game spots, while some of the other guys only had one or two before they weren’t asked to come back again.

But other than that, there wasn’t much going my way. Especially when it came to my love life. For some reason, I hadn’t considered that being so selective about who I bang would cut down on my sexual activity. And out of all the things that I’d recently been trying to change about myself, abstaining from f*cking and chucking had been by far the hardest. I hadn’t hit a dry spell this long since puberty hit. And it was killing me.

As it turned out, being an unemployed ladies man is an unbearable combination. It led to long stretches of boredom that can only be sufficiently filled with a little “self-love.” Surprisingly, using a cheesy euphemism didn’t make what I was doing seem nearly as lame. But it didn’t matter what I called it. When it came down to it, flogging the log, giving myself a one-gun salute, making stomach pancakes, or using some other name coined by an imaginative middle schooler didn’t make a damn bit of difference. It all meant the same thing. If I were being honest with myself, I was a thirty-year-old man sitting around on a random weekday watching porn and masturbating.

My rock bottom had arrived a few weeks ago when I’d caught myself Googling home remedies for carpal tunnel syndrome. Then I started debating whether to continue my search or fill my day with porn again. When I decided that porn was always the better option, I knew it was time to take my mom up on her offer to go on a date with her friend’s daughter.

***

Months ago, when my mom had suggested that I go out with Mary, I’d been too busy banging randoms and being a selfish prick to even entertain the idea. Mary and I had gone to grade school together, and though our moms stayed close friends, I hadn’t seen her since eighth grade when her family had moved to Atlanta for her dad’s new job. A few months ago, the idea of dating the lanky, awkward girl I remembered from seventeen years ago could not compete with stickin’ it in a drunk blonde with a perfect rack.

But now that the most action I’d seen in months had been from myself, lanky and awkward seemed preferable, hands down. Literally. And when I almost didn’t recognize the dark-haired beauty that tapped me on the shoulder at the bar, I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised. Hell yes. The color of her eyes matched her silky hair: a gorgeous shade of midnight that, when combined with her tanned skin and perky breasts, created an erotically exotic look.