“I wouldn’t worry about it.” He turned up his head, suddenly feeling better about it.
“Why?” Maria asked, not liking the smug look on his face.
“You’re not his type.”
“Excuse me!” This time, she finished her sentence with more vigor, as this one was actually fucking offensive. “I’m everyone’s type.”
“Not Mr. Evans’s,” he assured her.
It was everything Maria could do to keep her voice down to a whisper. “And why is that?”
“Because you’re young, blonde, and too pretty.”
Okay, well, the urge to punch his cute little face left, but all those things she already knew, and she didn’t exactly understand how her best qualities were her worst in this situation.
“Yeah? So?”
“So, Mr. Evans has had every girl and teacher in this school after him, and the only one he showed somewhat of an interest in was a substitute teacher that some kids caught him out on dates with a couple of times.”
“Okay …” She was sensing a “but” , “and” or “if.” Whatever it was, it was coming.
“And she looked and acted nothing like you.” Leo himself seemed shocked that was who Kayne had chosen to go on a date with. “She was just normal compared to some of the women after him.”
“Normal?”
“Yeah, she’s not necessarily pretty, but she’s not ugly, either.” He attempted to put it in words but still could only think of one. “She’s just … normal.”
“Well, maybe for once a guy likes a girl with a personality.” Heaven forbid.
“No.” Leo shook his head. “I’ve had her as a sub a couple of times, and she just comes in and hands us packets to work on then sits behind the desk. She doesn’t talk to us and doesn’t care.”
“Is her name Kendra?”
“I’m not sure? Maybe. Why?”…
…Her eyes didn’t move as she glided across the floor. It was almost like an out-of-body experience. Her mind didn’t catch up to what she was doing until their bodies hit each other.
His reflex was fast, turning around to catch and steady her. “Are you all right?”
“I’m so sorry. I must’ve not been paying attention.” She acted surprised and a bit disoriented.
Looking back at Todd, who had followed her, she let him know she was all right. Please stay put.
He laughed. “I think you’re making this a bit of a habit.”
She let herself look up into his golden eyes. “Oh no, not you again. Now I feel awful.”
“Don’t.” He continued to hold her up, not letting her go. “What’s your name again? Maria, right?”
Smiling, she was happy he remembered. “Yes. I’m sorry. Remind me of yours ….”
“Kayne Evans.”
“That’s right.” It was hard to look away from him.
They both stared into the other’s eyes for a few moments until he finally dropped his hands from her after realizing he hadn’t let her go yet.
Clearing his throat, he moved up in the line. “What movie did you and your boyfriend come to see?”
“Huh?” Turning to see an intimidating Todd, she laughed. “Oh, he’s not my boyfrie—”
“There you are!” A brunette came up to Kayne, smiling.
Kayne seemed caught off guard at first, like he hadn’t expected her. “Hey, Kendra.”
Adjusting her fur coat, Maria quickly realized they were here to see a movie together.
A moment of awkward silence passed between them.
“Kendra, this is Maria.”
“Is she one of your students?” the brunette asked.
“No,” he corrected her before the corner of his mouth slightly lifted. “We just seem to run into each other.”
“Yes, we do.” Maria chuckled.
It’s strange, she thought as she looked at the sexy, golden man.
She almost forgot about the woman standing beside him, too enthralled at the spark she felt between them. It was why she had run into him again, but this time was on purpose. She had wanted to see if she felt that again. Never having it before with any other person, she had missed it, dreamt about it nightly, almost forgetting what it felt like until she saw his silhouette at the back of the line. That was when she had found herself running into him, wanting to see if she could get that feeling back.
“I think it’s our turn.” Kendra interrupted their staring.
“Right. Well, it was good seeing you again, Maria. And hopefully, I’ll run into you sometime again,” he ended with another smile.
“Hopefully,” she wished, watching him walk away with his hand at the small of the woman’s back.
That was when she felt it. A twitch … in her cold … dead … heart…
…“Doesn’t matter.” And it didn’t. She didn’t care if Kendra was prettier, funnier, or could fuck a man six times a day and seven on Sunday. She wasn’t the jealous type and never in her life had Maria Caruso ever felt threatened. She wasn’t starting now. She wished Kendra all the luck in the world, because she was going to fucking need it.
“By the way”—Maria wanted to change the subject to give her baby brother her own scrutinizing gaze—“since when did Nero start rubbing off on you? Calling a woman ‘normal looking’ and texting girls in class. I thought I taught you how to treat girls better than our brothers. I mean, you’re supposed to be the good one.”
Leo roughly pushed back his dirty blond hair from his eyes, seeming to be just as offended as Maria had been a few minutes ago. “Christy texted me! I just accidentally forgot to turn my phone on silent, and when I went to do that, Mr. Evans took it.” He mumbled even lower, appearing to still be slightly confused, “He’s never taken a phone away before …”
“Well”—she tossed her blonde locks back behind her shoulder—“you didn’t have it on silent when the class heard it ding, so you probably gave him no option.”
“Yeah, I guess,” he finally agreed after a few steps closer to their car. “And I only meant ‘normal’ based off today’s standards, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah ….” Smiling, she put her arm around her favorite brother, the only one she would ever willingly show much affection to these days. “I knew what you meant. I just wanted to give you a hard time.”
“Well, just remember that I’m the one who knows your secret … for now,” he joked, and in a way that might have held a slight threat.
Her maniacal laughter promised her own threat. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed, knowing his sister too well. “Just remember I have to look at Mr. Evans for the next two and a half years.”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind.” She messed up his hair a bit before she had enough human contact for one day. Leo was lucky that he was fucking special.
“Holy shit! Is that your sister, Caruso?” It was your classic, cock-sucking-looking jock, wearing his football jersey—to make sure every living thing knew his life ended the day he flipped the tassel of his graduation cap to the other side—who yelled out before he got in the car that his parents bought him.