Page 10 of An Unexpected Turn
“If you don’t mind my asking, how areyoudoing since you moved here?”
“Okay, I guess.” She lifted a shoulder. “I always liked coming back here to visit, even though I haven’t been here in a long time. It’s a nice little town. When I saw the job opening at the high school, I applied on a whim. When I got it, I packed up and moved pretty quickly.” She huffed out a laugh before tilting her head back to gulp the rest of her water. My eyes fell on the graceful slope of her neck, following her hand as she swept her dark hair off her shoulder.
I flexed my fingers back and forth into a fist under the table to shake off the urge to touch her.
“I’m sure it’s an adjustment being here. Kind of a culture shock from Brooklyn, right?” I reached for my water bottle, and I took a long pull, shutting my eyes as I willed myself to cool off and stop drooling over the gorgeous but forbidden woman sitting across the bench.
Again, what the hell was happening to me?
When I brought my head back down, Peyton furrowed her brow as her eyes bored into mine. Her eyes were almost hooded as we sat there in silence, gazes locked as the rest of the park faded away.
“What’s wrong?” I finally asked, my voice raspy, since my mouth was already parched again.
“Sorry, um ... your shirt is wet.” She handed me a napkin and draped a hand over her eyes. I looked down, and sure enough, I’d dribbled the water down my shirt. So much for cooling off. The heat in her eyes burned me right up, and I was this close to asking to see her again—despite how I should have been staying as far away from her as possible.
“Oh, Peyton, there you are!” An older woman with long blond hair and cat-eyed glasses rushed over to our table. “I wanted to introduce you to some parents when you have a moment.”
“Oh, I can be there in a minute—”
“Go ahead. I can clean up the plates.”
Her nose crinkled before she glanced behind her. “I probably won’t be very long.”
“No worries. I only came as a driver, anyway. You’re here to meet new people too.” I nodded toward the woman behind her. “Like I told Mikey, go make the most of it.”
A slow grin spread her mouth.Fuck, she was pretty.
“I guess I should take my own advice. Thanks, Jake.”
I allowed myself thirty seconds to watch her walk away before I threw our plates into the trash.
With my son living with me now, I was sure that dating had to go on the back burner for the foreseeable future. It didn’t bother me. I was happy with the perpetual bachelor life, which my sister, Kristina, liked to tease me about.
If Peyton were anyone else, this odd pull I felt toward her wouldn’t unnerve me so much. I could ask her to have dinner with me, watch the corners of her eyes crinkle when she laughed, track the swipe of her tongue over her bottom lip, and not be ashamed for wanting a taste.
But she wasn’t, so I couldn’t.
FIVE
PEYTON
“When was the last time we saw Jake’s son?” Aunt Maya mused to Uncle Keith as we set the table for dinner.
“I think he was small,” Uncle Keith said as he stacked the boxes of pizza on the side table. “Maybe six or seven. Jake mostly kept it to just the two of them when he had Mikey on weekends. You don’t mind that I invited them tonight, right, P?”
“Of course I don’t mind.” I cleared my throat when my reply came out defensive. “It’s your house. I’m just a temporary squatter.” I chuckled as I set the glasses around the table, wincing at how accurate of a description squatter was for me at the moment. We were already almost two weeks into the school year, and I was still camped out on my uncle’s couch.
“You are not a squatter. I just meant that Mikey is one of your students, and after a long week, you may not want to feel like you have to beonon a Friday night.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I don’t feel like I have to be on. Mike is a good kid, and Jake is your friend. I’m happy you invited them.”
Even if my uncle’s friend made parts of my body pulse when they weren’t supposed to. I had to get used to being around him without the flutters, and tonight would be perfect practice. Simply eating with him at the barbecue was torture. I’d almost forgotten how to chew as I tried to will my eyes away from the sinful roll of his Adam’s apple each time he swallowed.
Watching Jake eat shouldn’t have been the almost-erotic experience it was, and while he was at my uncle’s table, it absolutely couldn’t be. Maybe staying out of his line of sight would help, although I doubted I’d be able to resist a glance or two.
He was an old crush, and I was feeling vulnerable in a new place and new job. As long as I kept that in mind, maybe I could get through tonight and the rest of the year as his son’s guidance counselor.
“Would you mind getting that?” Aunt Maya asked when the doorbell chimed.
