36. June
On Monday, I arrive at school a bit earlier than usual. Winston did his morning business quickly, and the other pets were easy to handle. Last night, I received an email from Principal Prescott asking me to see her before class starts. I get along with her well enough, so I’m pretty sure she just wants to check on me.
Principal Prescott is a short woman in her fifties, and many underestimate her due to her petite size, but when it comes to fighting for her school and students, she has the tenacity of a warrior.
“Good morning, Priscila,” I greet her, addressing her by her first name when I’m not around students, per her preference.
“Good morning, June. How are you feeling?”
“Much better, thank you.”
She studies me intensely for a couple beats. “You do look fantastic. I’d say glowing even.”
My face becomes warm in an instant. She can’t possibly know the number of orgasms I had over the weekend.
“It turns out getting rejected by Bill was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Her expression becomes harder. “I’m glad you think so. What that man did... well, calling him a man isn’t accurate, is it?”
I smirk. “Definitely not.”
She rests her forearms on the desk, linking her hands together and leaning forward. “I asked you to come see me for two reasons. One, to make sure you were doing all right. And two, to ask for a favor.”
“Of course. Name it.”
“Do you think you can arrange for your new hockey player friends to visit the school and talk to the students?”
I don’t answer for a moment. She caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting that question, but in hindsight, I should have. That’s the kind of opportunity she wouldn’t miss. If they come, it’ll be great exposure for our school, which could result in more donations. But the idea of the guys coming to my place of work is a little unsettling.
“I can ask them. But I’m not sure they have the power to make that decision.”
“Oh, the Titans’ PR department will have to approve it, no doubt. But with your connection, we have a foot in the door.”
I nod, forcing a smile. I don’t want her to notice I’m freaking out. “That’s true.”
“Great. I’m counting on you, June. I’ll let you get ready for class now.”
“All right. I’ll let you know.”
I leave her office as fast as I can. I’m sure the guys will be more than happy to visit my school. But that’s Melissa’s territory, and I don’t want to go over her head by asking them directly.
In my classroom, I shoot her a text asking if I can call her. I know Principal Prescott wants an answer as soon as possible. She likes things done quickly.
Melissa’s reply comes a couple of minutes later.
This is freaky. I was about to text you. Are you free now?
Yeah.
She calls right away, and I answer on the first ring. “Hey, good morning.”
“Hi, June. How was your weekend?” she asks in a cheery tone.
“It was great.”
“Did you have fun at the party?”
“Honestly, no. But I did afterward.”
I’m not sure why I’m being so candid with Melissa. I have to remember that she works with the guys, and if anything, her loyalty is to them.
“I bet. And I’m sorry the party was a bust. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you’re free to have dinner with me tonight.”
Melissa wants to have dinner with me? I’m shocked and a little worried too.
“Uh, yeah. I don’t have anything planned.”
“Great. I’ll text you the address. Shoot, my boss is calling me. I have to go. See you later.”
“Bye,” I reply, but she’s no longer on the line.
I stare at my phone for a moment and wonder what Melissa wants to talk about. Maybe she found out about my weekend adventures with the guys and wants me to stop. No, that doesn’t make any sense. If anything, she encouraged me to be with them.
A knock on the door makes me jump in my chair. “Good morning, June.”
“Jesus, Katrina. You scared me.”
“Sorry. Why were you staring at your phone with such concentration?” She pulls up a chair from the front row and sits across from me.
“Melissa invited me to have dinner with her tonight. What do you think she wants?”
“Melissa is the Titans VP of Marketing, right?”
“Yeah.”
Katrina smirks. “Maybe she wants to talk PR strategy, since you’re banging her three star players.”
“Katrina! Shush. Someone could hear you.”
She laughs. “Who? Only the hard-working bees like ourselves and Prescott are around this early.”
“You don’t know that. But anyway, I’m a little nervous about having dinner with her. What if she wants the opposite?”
Katrina raises an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Like she tells me I should stay away from the guys.”
Katrina tilts her head. “Why would she do that? She’s a boss lady, and I doubt she cares if her players are stuffing you like a Thanksgiving turkey.”
I flatten a palm against my forehead. “Oh my God. The things that come out of your mouth.”
She laughs. “That was a good visual, wasn’t it?”
I wrinkle my nose. “No, it was awful. I’ll never be able to look at turkey the same way now.”
“Me neither. But I never liked turkey anyway.” She shrugs. “Now tell me about your weekend. How was Jake?”
A fuzzy feeling spreads across my chest when I think about him. “Jake was great.”
Katrina’s smile broadens. “I bet he was. So what’s going on? Are you dating them all at the same time?”
I frown. “I’m not sure. Jake told me they’re cool with sharing. And I had lunch with all three of them, and it was totally fine.”
Katrina leans forward. “You had another tres leches fiesta?”
“What’s a tres leches fiesta, Ms. Summers?” Louis Miller, the grandson of the garage owner, walks in.
Shit. I give Katrina the stink eye.
“It’s a party where all they serve is tres leches cakes,” Katrina replies.
Louis takes his seat and shrugs his backpack from his shoulder. “Oh. That sounds cool. Tres leches is my favorite dessert.”
Katrina smirks at me. “June’s too.” She jumps to her feet and says, “I’d better go. Talk later, June.”