Saylor

“You can’t be serious right now. He broke my heart, Skye!”

“And he hates himself for it. He won’t even look at Sarah in her short skirts, and I have it on good authority that she’s asked him out multiple times, and he’s always deflected.”

“And what about Taylor?”

“Taylor backed off as soon as she found out he had a kid, which is kind of ironic since she’s a school teacher and all. But that’s beside the point.”

“And what is your point, Skye?” I huff.

“My point is that he wants you.”

“We don’t know that.”

“Yes, we do. You just said so yourself like thirty seconds ago,” she points out. “Aaand he’s been upfront about his expectations with Slytherin4ever too. Hasn’t he?”

“Well, yeah, but––”

“But nothing. I’m right. You’re wrong. The end.”

“You’re bugging me today,” I growl, but she waves me off.

“It’ll be fine. Besides, you’re just planning a Halloween party. It’s not that big of a deal. There will probably be other volunteers there too.”

“Probably isn’t a sure thing. No one has seen the volunteer sheet since the first day. Who knows where it ended up, and––”

“Stop stressing, or you’re gonna get an ulcer. You’ll be just fine, and I’ll see you at home. Deal?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not unless you wanna clean up cat vomit,” Skye counters with a smirk.

I tap my chin with my forefinger, actually considering the idea before Skye shoves me in the shoulder.

“Come on, Say. You’re being ridiculous. Go. Have fun. Take notes. We’ll talk later.”

“Fiiine,” I grudgingly agree. “I’ll see you at home.”

Rounding the front of her car, she calls out, “Good girl. Thanks for walking me out. Just remember. You’re beautiful. Smart. And so far out of his league that it’s not even funny. You got this.”

Then she gives me two thumbs up before closing the door to her car, leaving me all alone in the parking lot as another knot of dread tugs at my lower gut.

This is juuust great.

I press the lock button on my key fob, then head back to my classroom. A few random scraps of paper from today’s art project are still lying on the floor, so I pick them up before pulling out a notepad at my desk. The ideas start flowing freely a few minutes later. I lose track of time until a deep voice calls out from the doorway.

“Hey.”

My mouth forms a tiny ‘o’ as I suck in as much oxygen as my lungs can hold before I tear my gaze away from my notes and find a very sexy, very sheepish Owen staring back at me. Why does he have to look so good in a pair of dark jeans and a Henley?

When I catch myself staring, I clear my throat and squeak, “Hey.”

/> “Mind if I join you?”

“Uh, take a seat.” I motion to the empty room.

The metal legs from one of the far chairs scrape along the floor as he drags it over to my desk, then sits down across from me.

“Are we waiting on anyone else?” he asks, taking in the empty room.