8. Cole

8

COLE

Saturday night, and the best thing I had going all weekend was a trip to the pet store. Good thing I didn't mind strolling the aisles with my cart, perusing the new collars and leashes that had come in since last month. I couldn't stay too long tonight, but the pups had eaten an hour ago and would nap for a while.

They wouldn't need collars since I was fostering until they were old enough to be adopted. Still, the little girl pup would look adorable wearing the collar with the yellow flowers. I'd consider buying it for her when they took her back for her adoption photos.

"Can I help you find something?" A female employee stopped alongside me. She gave me a long look, stopping at my left hand before a bright smile popped out. "I see you've found the dog food. Got a new puppy at home?"

"Yes. My daughter has been begging for a puppy. My wife and I finally agreed she was old enough for the responsibility. We're surprising her tomorrow at her birthday party." I lowered my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I thought I'd buy all the supplies and hide them in the garage."

The smile slipped, then fell completely. "Oh. That's great. I hope your daughter loves her new friend." With those parting words, she scurried off. Probably off to tell her coworkers she'd barely gotten away from the married creep hitting on her in the pet store. She'd probably spin it that I'd started the whole thing and didn't even have a wife and daughter. Which I didn't. But I did get tired of women trying to flirt with me. I wasn't a complete asshole, but sometimes, I wanted to buy my dog food in peace and quiet without having to worry about saying no to a date or three. Okay, that made me sound like an asshole. No wonder women made up stories about having boyfriends when guys asked them out. I'd seen it more times than I cared to in my own classroom and did my best to make sure there were open and honest conversations during my lectures that taught the young men how to accept that no was a complete sentence.

Women should not have to explain themselves. No means no. End of story.

My grip on the cart tightened until my knuckles cracked. No also meant no when it came to a certain student who challenged me inside my own classroom. I'd been tempted to kiss her senseless inside my office. She'd even leaned in, drawing out the sweet torture. Rebecca was the kind of woman I could fall hard for. The kind I tried to avoid. Relationships were meant to be casual. Some other day, I might have accepted the employee's obvious flirtation.

That wasn't true. With Rebecca stalking the edges of my thoughts through the day and my dreams at night, I had no room for anyone else.

"I didn't think you were married." Rebecca bumped her cart into mine, her lips tight and eyes narrowed. A little Pomeranian sat in the basket, a tiny pirate hat perched on his head. He yapped at me, then flopped down on his side and rolled to show his belly.

"I'm not." I showed her my left hand. "Didn't feel like talking, and it seemed like the nicest way to get rid of her."

"Not everyone is trying to get a date with you." She scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Trust me, I know." I pushed my cart past hers and added the yellow collar to my stuff. Who cared if I bought the puppies collars? It made me feel better. "But I do have puppies at home. Six of them." Like a proud parent, I reached for my phone. "Want proof? I have pictures."

"So. You're not married, or never been married?" Rebecca continued the line of questioning with dogged determination.

I tapped into my photos and handed her my phone. "Never been married. Almost was once. She broke my heart." I'd never had a serious relationship since. Casual dates. Casual sex. Nothing that ever meant anything. She'd ruined me. No one else would have that power again. My heart was staying firmly my own. I'd let the animals at the animal shelter own bits and pieces of me, but never a woman. Never again.

Rebecca swiped through the photos. "They're adorable. Are they all yours?"

"Fosters." I pocketed my phone when she handed it back. "I'd offer to let you come see them, but I think I've sounded like a creep enough tonight."

She smiled a little at that and rubbed her dog's belly. "This is Fitz."

I could reach over and pet the dog, or I could concentrate on Rebecca. Easiest decision I'd ever made. "Hello, Fitz." I kept my eyes glued to Rebecca and was rewarded with a flush of color in her cheeks.

"So, you foster puppies?" She turned her cart so it lined up with mine and pushed her way toward the checkout lines.

I gave myself permission to watch her hips sway before I answered. "When they need me. Which happens a lot. There are a shocking number of stray dogs in the city." I shrugged because there wasn't much I could do about that.

The employee I'd spoken to earlier walked past our aisle, her nose in the air and eyes staring straight ahead.

Rebecca's laugh chimed quick and sharp. "Pretty sure you've made an enemy. I hope you're not planning on using your discount card tonight. I have a feeling it's going to get denied."

"They wouldn't." I frowned toward the woman at the register.

"Calm down. It won't be that bad. But maybe you could just say thanks but no thanks next time instead of making up a lie. Or say not interested." She shrugged, but the motion looked too sharp to be genuine.

"I'm sorry about class." I forced myself to remember why I should stop watching her and concentrate on my dogs and my career. Off limits had never been so enticing. Rebecca had the kind of personality—and body—that drew me in from the start. What started out as quiet ended up being a hidden flame that I barely resisted. I hadn't felt this drawn to a woman in years. That one time I fell, I fell hard, and I'd never recovered. Sad. Story of my life. Too late to turn back the clock and fight harder for the relationship. It was all for the better. At least, that's what I told myself.

Rebecca placed her items on the checkout counter and hefted Fitz into a dog purse. "It's okay. I didn't mean to say half of those things. It just bothered me, you know?"

"I get it. I was trying to be practical. I forgot I was dealing with creative majors. You lot are different from my math majors. They eat up data. You all use it when you need to, but it's not your core value." I grabbed a bag of puppy treats from the stand behind me and tossed them up with my dog food and the collar. It would be weeks before they could handle the chewy texture, but they'd come in handy when the puppies started teething.

The woman at the register watched us with lowered brows and a pinched expression. "Is that all?" She took Rebecca's discount card and scanned it, handing it back with a flourish. Rebecca paid for her purchases and stood waiting for me while the woman scanned my items.

When I held out my card, she lifted her chin. "I'm sorry, it's not working right now."

"Really? Because I could have sworn you scanned her card." I didn't bother smiling and attempting to woo the woman to my side. It was all bullshit. Even worse, this was nothing compared to what some women went through.

"I think it's wonderful that you bought your daughter a puppy." Rebecca fondled Fitz's ears. "I remember when I bought Fitz. I'd never been so excited about anything in my life. Your daughter will be so happy. You'll have to bring a picture to class next week and show everyone her reaction." Damn me if she didn't even bat an eyelash as she deepened my lie. She pointed at me, then leaned toward the cashier. "You should see his daughter. Absolutely gorgeous. And his wife." She fanned her face. "She's a ten. And so sweet. She brought him coffee last week because he'd been running late to class. I thought half the boys on campus were going to trip over themselves trying to say hello."

Behind the register, the woman gave me another look, this time with a clear decision in her eyes as she scanned my card and rattled off my total.

What the hell had just happened? I followed Rebecca out into the parking lot. "I'm going to have to find a new place to shop now."

"Or start carrying a picture of your wife and kid in your wallet." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and set Fitz inside the backseat of a newish sedan.

"Is that what you do? Do you have a fake husband and son tucked away in your wallet?"

She rounded on me with a snap of her hair and planted her hands on her hips. "No. For your information, I don't have that kind of problem."

Okay. Not the reaction I'd expected. "What kind of problems do you have?" Curiosity took over, begging for an answer to the enigma that was Rebecca.

"None." She snapped a look toward the front windows of the pet store. "Not that it's any of your business."

And what if I wanted it to be my business? "Have I said something wrong?"

She huffed and pressed her fist into her forehead. "No. It's not that." She looked toward the store again. "Look. There's something I need to say. It's not appropriate, but we're not in class, so I'm going for it." She stopped for a breath. "I find you attractive."

"The feeling's mutual." I almost reached for her, but after our display inside the store, I didn't dare. But man, did I want to hold her in my arms. I knew she'd fit just right against my chest, the top of her head sitting beneath my chin.

"You don't have to placate me. I needed you to know."

"You think that's what I'm doing? To what end? What purpose would it serve?" Why did I have this sudden, insatiable desire to be with her? Sex was easy to come by. What I wanted from Rebecca was more than a casual roll in the bed. It would be amazing, but it wouldn't be enough. No wonder Ethan and David almost went after each other. I'd been tempted to let Ethan punch David's lights out.

Which brought me to another point that needed clarification.

"That's not all." Rebecca moved back a step and folded her hands into her pockets. "It's not just you. I'm attracted to David and Ethan too. You're all gorgeous, amazing professors, and I know I shouldn't feel this way, but I can't seem to stop."

There was the opening I'd been waiting for. "I know about you and David."

She stilled in the process of smoothing down her hair when a gust of wind sent it tumbling around her shoulders. Sounds of the city at night wrapped around us, cocooning us in the moment. "What do you know?"

"That you slept with him." The thought of her with David created a hollow feeling in my gut. He was a great guy. We'd been friends for a long time. This… thing with Rebecca, it could ruin our friendship. How could all three of us have feelings for the same woman? Was it the thrill of her being a student that finally caught up to us? We'd been warned last year that it would happen sooner or later. Either students would come onto us, or we'd find ourselves drunk on the power of our position. It couldn't be either of those things. Not like this.

The pet store lights clicked off one by one, leaving the parking lot cloaked in shadow.

Rebecca hugged her elbows to her stomach. "What all did he say?" Fitz yipped from inside the car, and she reached through the open window to pat him on the head. He sat in his little seat with his head up and ears perked forward.

I could tell her a lie and end all of this. I could make her so mad at David that she'd never speak to him again. On the same note, she could become so angry that she reported him. "Nothing. He hasn't said anything except that neither of you knew." The truth came easily, as did the surge of emotion when Rebecca's sigh whispered over the empty space between us.

"Is that a problem? That I've slept with David? It doesn't change my feelings for all three of you." She said it so quietly that I almost missed it.

What a mess. What was I supposed to say? No, of course. I was supposed to say that we couldn't pursue any of these feelings. Tamping down the desperate need to comfort her, I focused on the truth. I wanted her.