Page 17 of An Unexpected Turn
Peyton was forbidden sweets, and hell if all I’d wanted to do was take a bite.
“He doesn’t have to do that. Everything looks so good.”
“Your uncle gets the grilled chicken BLT for lunch when he stops by,” Mary said, her eyes again flicking to me.
“I’ll have the same, I guess,” she told Mary as she peered back at me. “What’s your usual?”
Pining for my best friend’s niece, then spending hours talking myself out of it.
“Turkey club,” I answered, turning my head to Mary. “And an iced tea.”
“Two, please.” Peyton smiled and leaned her elbows on the table.
Mary nodded, scribbling on her pad before ambling back to the kitchen, swiveling her head to us once more.
Jesus.It didn’t take much of a spark for the rumor mill to be lit around here, and Mary’s mouth was always moving. This place was small, but enough people came in and out on a given day.
There was nothing wrong with having lunch with Peyton—or there shouldn’t have been. Maya had practically pushed us out the door together. It was a given that Peyton and I would keep crossing paths, either at the high school or at Keith’s. In Kelly Lakes, I ran into everyone I knew all the time, but I didn’t seek any of them out like I kept doing with the beautiful woman sitting across from me.
“You don’t have to buy me lunch.” She shook her head. “Especially after driving me around all afternoon.”
“I would have offered if Mary didn’t put me on the spot first. And I keep telling you I didn’t mind.”
“I guess you come here often if you have a usual.” Her full lips spread into a grin.
“My office is across the street. We usually order from here a couple times per week. So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“I have a few lessons to plan, so hopefully the twins will be tired out from showing Mike every single game they have. I love them all, but I will besohappy to be in my condo when it’s ready.”
“I didn’t know guidance counselors taught classes,” I said, my eyes catching how her top stretched across her full breasts and the pattern of lace I could make out under the material.
“It’s not really a class. It’s a wellness workshop. We had a lot of them at my old school, and I volunteered to plan the first one this year. This one is on anxiety management. How to recognize it, what you can do, topics like that.”
“I don’t remember any of that from when I was in high school.”
I did a quick math equation in my head, subtracting Peyton’s age from how many years ago I was in high school, and my stomach turned over at the answer.
“Mental health isn’t such a vague concept anymore in schools, thank God. This workshop has group exercises that I’m sure they’ll all groan at me for, but most get into it after I push them a little. And the really anxious students who are too embarrassed to ask for help will hopefully get something out of it.” She lifted a shoulder. “That makes doing work on a Saturday worth it. The school offered extra credit to the students who stay after school to attend, so hopefully that, along with the free cupcakes we keep pushing, will make some of them show up. If I can get enough butts in the seats, maybe I can convince the guidance department to make it a regular thing.”
She cracked a wide grin, nodding a thank you to Mary when she set down our iced teas. If I were a student, I would have been the first in line to sign up.
“Those kids are lucky to have you.”
She shrugged, stirring the iced tea with the straw before taking a sip. I never thought I’d be jealous of a plastic straw until she slid it past her perfect lips. I shifted in my seat when my cock twitched in envy too.
“I’m just doing my job.”
“I’m sure there are a lot of guidance counselors who just go through the motions. You care about the kids, I saw it right away with Mike. Thanks to you, he’s got a cluster of friends already and I barely get a hello and goodbye, but I’m okay with that.”
“I’ve seen him around school with a little posse. I’m so glad he found his people.”
“How about you?” I asked. “Have you found your people yet?”
Peyton’s head jerked up as Mary came back to the table.
“Here you go,” Mary sang as she dropped our plates in front of us. Peyton grabbed her sandwich, too hungry, I guessed, to note Mary’s eyes still on us.
“Thanks, Mary,” I said, my attempt at giving her a hint to stop looking us over and help the other group of customers that had just wandered in.
