Monday morning, I was in the teachers' lounge when Andy, another fifth-grade teacher, came up to me and sat down. He was younger – probably late twenties – than a lot of other teachers at P.S. 151 and we'd sort of bonded over this in the past. But truthfully, I found him pretty uninteresting. He was one of those guys who seemed to only know how to talk about himself, and I could tell that we didn't have anything in common.
“Hey, June,” Andy said. “How was your weekend?”
Well, I spent it obsessing over the father of one of my students , I thought, blushing hotly.
Andy smirked when he saw my blush. “That good, huh?”
His comment made me blush even harder. “Nothing like that,” I said. “I just went to the movies with my roommate, that's all.”
Andy nodded. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. Suddenly I could tell that he was nervous.
“Hey, listen, you wanna go to a play with me next weekend?” Andy kind of shrugged, glancing down. “I mean, I got the tickets from a friend – but he can't go now, and I thought you might want to.”
My heart sank. I'd never suspected Andy of having a crush on me – he was one of those guys who was seemingly friendly but distant to everyone around him. But now I was starting to wonder if I'd been too naive.
“I'm sorry, Andy,” I said. I swallowed. “I don't really feel right dating a coworker.”
Andy frowned. “It doesn't have to be a date,” he said stubbornly.
“Ask someone else,” I said gently. “I’m sorry, Andy, but I'm not looking for a relationship right now.” At least that much was true...even if I hadn't been able to get foxy Thomas March out of my head since Friday.
Andy scowled. “Okay,” he said. “Sorry I bothered you.”
I winced. The sarcasm stung, even though I probably deserved it. “Sorry,” I said, feeling lame. Andy pushed his chair back from the table and got up, striding purposefully away. For a moment, I felt guilty. But then the bell rang, and I leapt up from my desk to get to class.
Brett's behavior was much improved. He was quiet all day, even raising his hand to answer a few pre-algebra questions during math hour. I was still dying to know what was going on at home, but I didn't dare stick my nose where it didn't belong.
When the kids were dismissed at the end of the day, I called Angela. She answered on the first ring.
“Hey girl,” Angela said. “What's going on?”
“I was thinking about going out for a happy hour or something,” I said. I gnawed my lip. Bars – especially bars in New York City – weren't really my thing, but after the week I'd had, I like I deserved a drink...or three.
“Sounds good. If you can get to Brooklyn before five, we should go to Tio's,” Angela said, her voice rushed with excitement. “They have a deal – a slice of pizza and two beers for five bucks.”
“Oh wow, definitely there,” I said. “I'll be there as soon as I can, meet you?”
“Sounds good,” Angela said. “See you soon, girl.”
As luck would have it, I ran into Angela while we were walking up from the subway. The grimy smell of the streets mixed with the garbage and fast food stalls. I'd always loved New York, but it was only just starting to feel like home. I'd grown up in New Jersey, and sometimes the idea of living in such a big city was still frightening...but with Angela, I was starting to really find my way around.
“Tio's is right down here,” Angela said, pointing towards the crowded street. We quickened our pace, darting along the sidewalk as if we were running from something. By the time we got to the crowded bar, I was out of breath.
'This is a nice area,” I said. I glanced around, seeing expensive hotels and restaurants. “I haven't ever been here before.”
Angela nodded. “Yeah, I don't come this way very often myself,” she said. “But a bunch of guys from work told me about this place and it's off the chain.”
I wrinkled my nose and peered inside. “It's really crowded. Should we try somewhere else?”
Just as Angela was about to reply, I turned to the street and gasped. There, in a hotel bar right across the street from Tio's, was Thomas March. He was seated in front of a laptop with a pint of beer next to him. My heart skipped a beat and my breath was shaky for a moment as I watched his toned, hairy arms typing furiously away at the small computer.
“That's Thomas,” I said, grabbing Angela's arm and pointing towards the bar. Angela cried out, dropping her hand.
“Oh my god, June, don't be so obvious!” Angela stared, licking her lips. “Wow, you weren't kidding. He's really gorgeous.”
I nodded, blushing furiously. I couldn't believe that I'd just shrieked and pointed at Thomas, like he was an exhibit in some kind of human zoo.
“We should go say hi,” Angela said. She raised her eyebrow and smirked. “You know, just introduce ourselves.”