Virtuous(43)

With Flynn’s warnings on my mind, I Google my name and scroll through the few mentions that appear, all of them attached to my current school and the college in Nebraska where I got my teaching degree. Since I haven’t done an Internet search in a while, I’m relieved to find no connection at all between Natalie and the person I used to be. As far as anyone can tell, Natalie Bryant is a teacher in New York City. That’s all she is, and that’s all the paparazzi will find if they dig into my life.

Leah comes in as I’m logging off the computer. “What’re you still doing up, Ms. I Need My Beauty Sleep or Else?”

“Just finishing up some work.” That’s when I remember I didn’t do any of the correcting I brought home with me. Tomorrow is going to be a very long day. “Where’ve you been?”

“At the gym and then dinner with some friends from the bar.” She drops down onto the sofa. “I gotta tell you something.”

“What?”

“I think I’m going to quit teaching.”

“No. You can’t. You have a contract.”

“One of the guys who hangs out at the bar is a lawyer. He’s looking at it for me.”

“But why, Leah? It’s only your first year. You have to give it a chance.”

“I hate it. I hate every second I have to spend in that building with those kids. They deserve better than a teacher who hates them.”

“You don’t hate them.”

“I’m starting to. And don’t get me going on the parents.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Leah had gotten some of the worst parents any of us had that year. They ran the gamut from overly involved to hands-off to a fault—until their precious child got in trouble, and then they were parents of the year.

“Nothing will happen until the end of the year. I’ll see it through, but I want out. Teaching isn’t for me.” She glances over at me. “What’d you do tonight?”

I hesitate because if I tell her I saw Flynn, I won’t be getting to bed any time soon.

“Did he call?”

“Not exactly.” I fill her in on our visit to Aileen and the rest of our evening.

“You’re really going to the Golden Globes.” At least she doesn’t scream, for which I’m grateful.

“If I can get Monday off.”

“You will. You’ve got the time.”

“I’m not getting excited until I know for sure.”

“That was nice of him. With Aileen.”

“He was amazing. He’s nice to everyone.” I tell her about the cab driver and how he posed for pictures with the driver and the Bugatti. “He warned me if I go to the Globes with him, things will get crazy for me with the paparazzi. They’re apt to come after you, too.”

“So we’ll be famous? How cool is that?”

“I think it’s cooler on paper than it is in reality.”

“I look forward to finding out.” She yawns loudly and stands. “We’d better get to bed so we’re ready to face the monsters tomorrow.”

I want to tell her not to call them that, but I know she doesn’t want to hear it. I’m saddened by her decision to leave teaching, but I understand how it’s not for everyone. Maybe if I get a room full of misbehaving kids and their parents next year, I’ll hate it, too.

We say our good-nights, and I’m awake long after I should be asleep, thinking about Flynn and the trip to LA and the kissing… The kissing is amazing, and I can’t wait to do it again. I wonder if I’ll see him tomorrow—or today—I note with a groan as I glance at my beside clock and see that it’s long after midnight. Even in the dark, with my eyes closed, his face is all I see. That adorable tip of his head, the shy, sexy grin, the way he lets loose with laughter.

I’m anxious about what will happen if I attend the Globes with him. I won’t deny that, but I refuse to live my life in fear of what might happen. I spent years leaving fear behind, and this is no time to start regressing, especially not when I’m enjoying the present so much.

The alarm provides a particularly rude awakening in the morning. If you’d asked me, I would’ve said I hadn’t slept at all, but apparently that isn’t true. The first thing I do is reach for my laptop to log in and find out if my request has been approved. Nothing yet.

I check again minutes before my class files into the classroom, but still nothing. I’ve never requested a day off before, so I have no idea how long to expect it to take. I plan to ask the other teachers at lunch, if I can only get through the morning. Right before lunch, I check again, and the request has been approved. I sit and stare at the screen as a variety of emotions overtake me all at once: relief, excitement, anxiety and desire.