Chapter Four
Rome hated Daniel with a fiery passion.
Seeing him again after all this time had only heightened his anger toward the man.
They arrived at the diner with speed, and he found them a booth. He didn’t care that the moment he entered with Andy, people were on their cell phones, probably spreading the news.
“Rome, are you okay?” Andy asked.
He looked up. He saw the concern on her face and realized he’d allowed his unease about Daniel to leak into his time with Andy.
“I’m sorry. Yes, I’m fine.”
“Does this have to do with the … history teacher and coach?” she asked.
He ran a hand down his face. “What makes you say that?”
“You were fine until he turned up.”
Rome chuckled. “You caught that.”
“I’m a teacher. It’s my job to be overly observant.”
“Daniel is an asshole and a bully. I didn’t like him when I was one of his students, and I certainly can’t stand him now.”
“Oh.”
“There’s nothing else to say.” He wasn’t about to tell Andy about all the times Daniel berated him, made his life a living hell. How he’d mock the Hard name, tell the class this was what the Hard boy was, a pathetic waste of space. Every single day he was near Daniel, his life was miserable.
No one ever knew.
He told no one.
To many, it was just a teacher riding a student, making the others fall in line, but Rome knew it was different. He figured there had to be some history between Daniel and his father. The man’s hatred was too great. He’d never asked though.
“Can we talk about something else?”
“Do you want to talk about how I’m feeling like a celebrity right now?” she asked.
He glanced around the room to see people looking at them.
He chuckled. “They’ll get over it.” He closed the menu. “How was your day?”
“Long and boring and miserable. Yours?”
“Pretty much the same.”
A brand-new waitress came to the table. Rome didn’t recognize her, and she took their orders. He’d opted for burgers and fries with lots of cheese sauce, just the way he liked it. Andy had gone for the same, with a chocolate milkshake to finish off her meal.
“Do you ever get used to this?” she asked, leaning over the table.
“This is a first for me as well.”
“It is?”
He nodded. “My brothers were mostly the ones who embraced the town gossip. No one cared about what the nerd was up to.”
She shook her head. “I find that hard to believe.”
Rome shrugged. “They had reputations. Have you ever heard of much that I’m up to?”
She leaned back, lips pursed. “You’re right. Now that I think of it, no one ever asked about you. I did.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I knew you were an amazing man, even back then. I was curious about what you were up to. I knew you went to college. Of course, I know you’re an accountant.”
“Did it bother you?” he asked.
“Yes and no.” She sighed. “I’m not always part of the town gossip, and I certainly don’t spread any rumors, but I did notice that of the Hard boys, you were rarely mentioned.”
“I’ve always been different. Like the bad seed.”
She shook her head. “Not at all. You’re not a bad seed, Rome. You never could be.”
“Did you know people thought I wasn’t my dad’s?” he asked.
Andy gasped. “No.”
“Yep. I guess having a gangly son with glasses always bothered them. The Hard boys are known for their good looks.”
“I like you in your glasses, Rome. They’re sexy.”
He’d opted for contacts today. “Yeah, I would be wearing them, but I seem to have left them at someone’s house.”
She giggled. “They’re back at my place. I found them Sunday night, but I realized I don’t have your number.”
He pulled out his cell phone, handing it to her. “Put your number in there.”
Andy wrinkled her nose. “I don’t remember my number. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m a nerd, and I remember the most useless pieces of information.” He pocketed his cell phone just as the waitress brought them their food.
“Call me,” she said, leaving a piece of paper with her number on it.
Picking it up, he didn’t bother to read the number. He screwed it into a ball, dropped it into the trash bin, then returned to the table. “I find that rude, don’t you?”
“You’re full of surprises, Rome Hard.”
He watched her take a bite out of her burger, closing her eyes in appreciation before he swiped up a few fries completely covered in cheese sauce. He loved the spice in the sauce.
“This is really good,” Andy said between mouthfuls of food. “So did you always want to be an accountant?”
“Not so much. There was a time I wanted to be a superhero and to blast the world with knowledge.”
“Knowledge?”
“Did I mention I was a weird kid? While my brothers were enjoying crime movies, horrors, I was studying. I loved to watch quiz shows and trivia. Learning was always my thing. I figured it was cool. When I got to school, I learned the hard way that it’s not.”
She chuckled. “I can just imagine you as a kid.”
“I’m sure you can’t, but if you ever visit my mom for ten minutes, the visual will be there. She always breaks out the photograph albums. I even called myself the Mr. K.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Mr. Knowledge.”
“Yep. I designed a costume and everything. I was a nerd.”
He loved hearing her laugh. “What about you? Do you love your job?”
“Yes and no. Like you, I love to learn. I love to know what makes us all tick, and finding out facts and puzzles, and putting them all together. I love it. Growing up, I had good and bad teachers like everyone. I wanted to be a good teacher. I wanted to watch young people thrive because I was an awesome, kickass teacher, but sometimes that happens, other times, it doesn’t. You know?”
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “You were my favorite teacher.”
“That doesn’t count.”
“Why not?”
“I know you wanted to sleep with me. It doesn’t count.”
“I wanted to, but it doesn’t mean I did.”
She rolled her eyes. “I would never sleep with a student.”
“Then I’m glad I’m not yours any longer.”
Andy chuckled, and he loved to see her smile.
“Do you have any family? Any siblings?” he asked.
“None. My mother passed away some time ago. It’s just me.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I was sad for a while, but I didn’t have the closest relationship with her. Not that it’s any excuse or anything, I just, I don’t know, we were never close. She had her feelings, I had mine. We didn’t mesh.”
“Still, her life must have sucked.”