Penelope Rhodes is staring at me through the door’s window.
I take a quick step away from Shane as she dissects me through squinted eyes. I see the glaze of familiarity. She’s trying to place me and yet she can’t quite.
And then, there it is. The realization.
Her sage green eyes dart to Shane—the father of her child—and narrow.
Shane mutters something unintelligible under his breath.
There’s really no avoiding this. I take a deep breath and force a wide, fake smile as I stroll over to open the door. “Hi, Penelope. Good to see you again.” I hope that doesn’t sound as fake out loud as it does in my head.
She does a quick head-to-toe scan before returning to my face. “When Cody told me your name, I didn’t make the connection.” Her voice is as crisp and haughty as I remember, though aged. She turns to Shane. “You’re here early. You’re usually late.”
“Didn’t want to have to stand for an hour again,” he says casually, his attention shifting to the man standing behind Penelope. “Hey.”
The guy looks up to nod at Shane once before returning to whatever’s so enthralling on his phone screen, blindly trailing Penelope as she strolls in. This must be Travis. He’s tall, built, and classically handsome, and well-dressed in black pants and a blue mint button-down shirt. An ensemble fit for an office job in Philadelphia or a Phi Gamma Delta alumni brochure—he’s giving off major frat-boy vibes.
Penelope looks especially nice in a navy dress and heels, her long, red hair silky and straight, her makeup perfectly applied and clearly touched up before coming here tonight.
“Well … isn’t this fun?” she murmurs, sizing up my classroom.
“As fun as a colonoscopy,” Shane whispers for only me to hear.
I stifle my laugh. The truth is, nobody in this room looks like they’re having any fun.
Penelope slips her hand into the man’s pants pocket, giving it a little tug as if to gain his attention.
His eyebrows arch and then, clueing in, he slips his phone into his pocket, murmuring an apology.
“This is Travis. He and I live together, and he’s very involved in Cody’s life,” she introduces. “This is Sharon Reed.”
“Scarlet.” Such a timeless but unimaginative bitch move on her part. And pathetic. She spent six years trying to ruin my life. She knows my name.
“Right.” She lets out a soft fake laugh. “Sorry, it’s just been so long.”
Travis frowns curiously. “You guys know each other?”
“We went to the same high school.” She brushes a stray strand of short, sable-blond hair off his forehead before smoothing her hand down his arm affectionately. “And now she lives beside Cody’s father.”
Cody’s father. It’s as if Shane isn’t right here. Or perhaps it’s to remind me that she and Shane have a son together. As if I could forget.
“No shit. Small world,” Travis murmurs, fussing with the chunky silver watch that adorns his wrist. Did he come to the school orientation night willingly? Or did Penelope force him to come?
“Yeah. I just moved in a few weeks ago. I had no idea Shane was living there when I bought the house.”
Penelope gives me a doubtful “I’m sure you didn’t” smile. “It’s that tiny old blue house, right?” Her perfect button nose wrinkles with distaste.
I force a wide smile. “Yup. It’s definitely a fixer-upper, but I love it. I’ve enjoyed working on it.”
“Ugh. Thank God we could afford contractors for that reno we just finished, right, babe? Can’t believe how much we spent, but our main floor is stunning.”
“Fucking mess that was. Oops.” Travis cringes. “Guess I shouldn’t swear in front of the teacher.”
Shane snorts. “Don’t worry. I can’t believe the stuff that comes out of this one’s mouth sometimes.”
“Only when it’s directed at you,” I throw back.
“I usually deserve it, too, don’t I?” Shane grins slyly, like we have a secret between us, and I find myself grinning back like a fool.
“Oh my God!” Penelope snaps her fingers. “That’s right! Shane, didn’t she have that massive crush on you all through senior year while we were together? Like, she was so obsessed with you—”
“Give it a rest, Pen,” Shane warns, before offering me an apologetic glance.
My face burns. I could bring up many things about high school—namely, what a condescending, mean-spirited jerk Penelope was—but what good would it do? She is who she is and doesn’t appear to have changed, despite age and motherhood. I’m Cody’s teacher, and I must maintain some semblance of professionalism. I settle on, “We were all young and dumb once, right?” Young and dumb and in love.
“Some of us dumber than others,” Shane agrees. “I know I made some bad, wrong calls back then.”
“Yes, you did.” I smile sweetly. You were an idiot to leave me for her.
“I’m doing my best to fix one of them.” He watches me intently, as if trying to convey unspoken words through a look.