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I followed her into the house. “And how about you? Are we looking for Mr. Right?”
“You don’t find Mr. Right at the club,” she said. “You find Mr. Right Now, and that’s ten times better.”
I shook my head, going to her guest bathroom while she went to the master. It would take a special guy to settle Mara down. That much was for sure.
As I twisted the knob on the shower, hot water cascaded down. I stepped into the stream, wondering about Mr. Right Now and hoping my rebound would be good enough to clear my mind of Dax and maybe even land in a novel.
* * *
I adjusted the hem of my dress so my entire vagina wouldn’t be on the seat of Mara’s truck. “How did I wear this dress before?”
“It’s hot on you!” she said, turning onto the highway that led toward Emerson Academy. Since it was on the way to the club, we were going to go ahead and drop off my box. “What are you worried about anyway?”
“First of all, my ass falling out of it. Second of all—”
She gave me a look. “It’s not falling out. You’ll be standing most of the night. Or lying down.” She winked.
“You’re taking this rebound thing pretty seriously,” I said. “But there’s a very good chance that no one will be remotely interested in all of this.” I gestured at myself.
“And why is that?”
“I am pretty rusty,” I reminded her. “Dax had about three moves, and they were mostly for his benefit.”
“Ugh. Remind me why you dated him again?”
“He was so exciting,” I said. “He showed me so many new spots in LA.”
“Mhmm. Can we talk about the spot he couldn’t find?”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s forget about him, okay? I don’t want to think about him tonight.”
“Happily. But speaking of dicks, I forgot to ask—do you have condoms in your purse?”
I blanched. “Shit, no.” How had I forgotten to think about condoms? Half my job was to help make sure students didn’t end up pregnant before graduation.
“I might have some extra. If not, we can stop by the store on the way.”
“So sexy,” I said. We reached the school and she whipped into an accessible parking spot close to the building. “Mara,” I chided. “You can’t park here.”
She looked around the empty parking lot. “That’s true. We’re taking up all the spots for the people not at the football game.”
I rolled my eyes and got out of the truck, thankful everyone would be too preoccupied with the game to see me going into the school. I shrugged on a massive cardigan I brought along and went up the steps to the front door. I had to hold the box against the door with my hip while I used my key to let me in, but finally I was inside.
The only lighting came from the dim emergency lights that stayed on all the time. Everything was silent, and it felt... peaceful. That is, until the heels I borrowed from Mara echoed on the tile floors and off the locker walls.
Thankfully, my office wasn’t too far away. I jiggled the knob and got in. Ralphie chirped as I set the box down.
“Sorry, babe.” I put my finger through the cage, and he nipped at it. “I came back a little early. But I’ll see you tomorrow morning!”
He cooed, seeming to understand, and I turned to leave the office. But then my eyes landed on something atop my filing cabinet: the clear glass jar filled with condoms.
I was supposed to discreetly give them to any student I suspected of being sexually active. Well, I was someone in the school, and I was asking...
I bit my bottom lip and walked to the cabinet, taking down the jar. There were several brands inside, and I took a few brightly colored ones, then tucked them in my cardigan pocket.
As I walked down the hallway, my pocket felt hot. But hopefully not as hot as the night I was about to have.
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