by Kris Jett
“Okay, you have to go. And I have to go. We’d both better leave,” Bryce announced, as he jumped to his feet.
Wynn picked up her books off Bryce’s desk and headed for the door of the classroom. Before she left she turned back around. “I think I’m really going to enjoy your class,” she said and then turned and left.
Wynn was feeling all buzzy inside from the flirt session she’d just had with Bryce. This class was bound to be her favorite. Especially with all the added sexual tension. She was glad Bryce didn’t say she had to transfer out. She’d so been looking forward to going back to college and regaining control of her life. She wasn’t about to quit now just because she’d slept with the teacher. Her mind paused and rewound on that last sentence. She’d slept with the teacher. Okay, that didn’t sound like the most stellar of ways to start out a new college course but it wasn’t the worse. She was sure plenty of students had slept with their teachers and handled it in stride. Well, she didn’t know of any. But she was so far removed from the college scene. She could only assume this was more common than what one would typically think.
The last few days had been so hard on her with the whole Eric and Brittany drama and she felt completely worn out from it all. It was bad enough that Eric reappeared into her life, with his teenage fiancé in tote, but actually having to spend time with the girl at the toddler play place was torture. Thank God, her sisters were there with her. Neither of them had ever met Eric so they had no real interest in maintaining small talk with him and instead flanked either side of Wynn in a sort of sisterly shield while they sat and watched Eric and Brittany play with Melody. The three sisters stared in astonishment as Brittany climbed and ran up and down the play sets with as much effort and zeal as the other children who were there to play. Wynn even found herself laughing at one point when Jessie had leaned in and whispered, “I think that twit thinks Eric brought her here to play today.” Wynn was so relieved when the play date was over and she knew Eric and Brittany had gone home to St. Louis and were a good seven hours plus away from her and Melody. Life could get back to normal for the time being. She’d gotten through that bit of awfulness and she’d surely get through the minorly awkward situation of having slept with her college professor.
Chapter Thirteen
Bryce sat at his desk in the small living room of his apartment. He stared at the blinking cursor on the open word document, trying to put together his first ever college course syllabus. Why again had he decided teaching was a good idea?
So far, he had typed 1) Creating a basic web page, 2) Attributes, Lists, and Tables, 3) Links and Images, and 4) Introduction to Cascading Style Sheets.
He’d wondered just how much he should try to cover in this 100-level Introduction class. Now that he had met his students, he strangely felt less nonchalant about the whole thing and more invested in helping them get somewhere with web design.
Bryce had also wondered how he managed to sit still for so long and get that far on the syllabus for his class when his mind kept returning to Wynn Foster, aka Sara from the other night. The whole thing was surreal. He still couldn’t believe that today really happened and that she’d really shown up in his class. And while they’d mutually decided that she could stay in the class, and there would be no further, um, get togethers, was that the right thing to do? Were there some school rules that mentioned this kind of situation? Hell, if there were, they should have made it clear to him from the beginning. The school gave him shockingly little information on the position or what his responsibilities were. If something were to happen with him and Wynn, he could always claim ignorance if caught.
Wynn Foster. Bruce decided to take a little break from syllabus writing and google her name. There wasn’t a whole lot about her online, but he did get a few hits. One was an old obituary from when her father died. That was sad. Another was an article about a pub with the best burgers in town the next town over. It said it was owned and operated by Wynn’s sister Jessie and her mom, Deidre. That was pretty much it for search results. There wasn’t so much as a Facebook page or Instagram to be found. He had to be honest, with all her talk about internet dating, he’d thought for sure he’d find a profile for her somewhere online. Then again, she probably went under a different name online just like how she’d told him her name was Sara.
Bryce closed the browser and tried to return to work on the syllabus. They’d need to learn how to create HTML and an intro to Javascript too. There was so much he could teach them, but not enough class sessions to cram it all in. He had to keep reminding himself that it was an entry-level course.
He glanced down at his phone and saw that he had a missed voicemail from Ed waiting. He could use a break. He listened to the message.
“Dude, it’s Ed. Just checking in on you. Have you called Tiffany for another date yet? Are you going to? Anyway, give me a ring when you can.”
Tiffany. Beautiful, sweet, funny, Netflix watching Tiffany. Why hadn’t he called her yet? It had been a few days since their double date with Nikki and Ed. He probably should have called her by now. He sucked with all the social etiquette stuff of what a person was supposed to do or not to do, but yeah, it seemed the ball was in his court. He hadn’t actually thought a lot about Tiffany the past few days if he was honest. He was busy working on a new website for a romance author, teaching his class, and oh yeah, having Sara/Wynn show back up in his life and alter his universe.
Bryce re-launched his browser and googled Tiffany. Thirty hits came up. He clicked on her Facebook page and started perusing. Some funny memes and a few back and forth posts with her mom and a sister it looked like. Stephen King was her favorite author and it looked she’d read all his books. Stephen King was also Bryce’s favorite author. But that wasn’t a huge coincidence, Bryce thought. Stephen King was probably most people’s favorite author. He clicked around some more. Tiffany had some pictures from work with sweet captions. She was a receptionist at a veterinarian so there were shots of cute dogs and birds and even a big floppy-eared bunny named Max. Tiffany also attended the most recent Comic Con and dressed as Wonder Woman. It did seem like Bryce had placed an order with the universe for his perfect soulmate and out popped Tiffany. But if she were his soulmate, he should have felt something electric, shouldn’t he? Or, maybe he was just overthinking the entire thing. That was probably it. He was still too bitter from his bad marriage to Julia to see things clearly. He owed it to himself to at least give Tiffany a shot.
Bryce started a text message to Tiffany and then deleted it. He shouldn’t do this through text. He needed to call her. He pressed on her phone number in his contact list and waited.
After three rings, Tiffany answered. “Hello?”
“Hey. It’s Bryce.”
“I saw that.”
“Oh, yeah. Right. How’ve you been?”
“Pretty good. You?”
“Can’t complain.” Bryce cleared his throat. “Listen, I was wondering if you’d like to meet me for a drink tomorrow night. Around eight?”
There was a pause on the line. Finally, Tiffany replied, “Sure. Any place in particular you have in mind?”
Shoot, he should have thought this call out a little better beforehand. “Not really. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Yeah, I’ll text you the address to my favorite pub and meet you there at eight-thirty. Work for you?”
Bryce smiled to himself. He liked Tiffany’s take charge nature. “Works for me.”
“See you then.”
“Good night,” he said into the phone and then clicked the red button on his phone to disconnect the call. Looked like he had a date for tomorrow night.
Chapter Fourteen
Wynn walked into Starlight at 11:30 a.m. and headed for the back to drop off her stuff. On her way through, she nodded a hello to Anne and Jessie, who were busy doing prep behind the bar. Wynn let herself into the dim office and looked around. Though she hadn’t been working at the Starlight Pub steadily like this since she was a te
enager, it still felt like a second home to her. She’d spent countless hours doing her homework by the light of the dragonfly Tiffany lamp that sat on the old desk. And she’d had many a serious conversation about grades, boys, you name it, with either her mom, dad, or both, sitting across the desk from her looking stern while she felt small in the high back chair facing them. Her very first job at thirteen had been bussing tables at Starlight. It’s where she grew up. She ran a finger along the silver framed picture of her and her sisters that sat prominently on their mom’s desk. The girls were about eight, ten, and twelve in the shot and were standing on a giant rock in the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado, fists pumped in the air. She’d loved this picture. The office felt so weird with her mom hardly being at work anymore. Wynn sighed. She didn’t realize just how much she’d been missing her, even though she saw her daily at home.
Wynn ambled out of the office, tying an apron around her waist as she walked. She waved to the Hendersons, a family of five, who Jessie must have seated while she was in back. They had set their helmets on a shelf by the door and hung up their snowmobile suits on the racks they kept for customers who rode their snowmobiles right up to the pub. The Hendersons came back to Snowy Ridge every year around this time for a week’s vacation. The boys, fraternal twins, and one older brother, were all taller than their dad now. They were such a nice family and always left good tips.
Jessie took their lunch orders and delivered waters to the table. On the way back from the kitchen, she paused near Wynn. “So, how was your first class yesterday?”
Wynn slipped a small notebook into her back jeans’ pocket and a pencil behind her ear while she thought of her reply. “Class was…very interesting.”
“Yeah? Sometimes I wonder if I should take some college classes. But then I can’t see how I’d fit in with my schedule. I’m here all the time.”
“True,” Wynn agreed. “But if you really wanted to, we could figure it out.”
“Eh, I guess I don’t want enough. How many courses are you taking?” Jessie asked.
“Just three for now but that seems like enough between that and work and Melody. It’s going to be a busy quarter for me.”
Jessie smiled encouragingly. “You can do it.”
“Thanks.”
Jessie’s attention suddenly shifted to the front door. “Cade’s here,” she said and off she went to greet her boyfriend.
Wynn watched the two. They were at that early stage of being a new couple where you were so, so into each other and wanted to spend every moment in each other’s presence. It was sweet and Wynn was happy for them. She loved that stage. It would be nice to have that again with someone, but not now with all Wynn had going on. She needed to work on herself before she invested any time in anyone else.
Jessie signaled to Wynn that she was taking five and Wynn nodded. She would watch Jessie’s tables while she and Cade gazed into each other’s souls, or whatever they were doing, at the small table in the corner. Jessie had been so excited about her developing Valentine’s plans. Last Wynn had heard, there was going to be a hot tub, champagne, and rose petals involved. It was so cute to see Jessie so happy and excited about something. Wynn would have that kind of love again someday, too, she was sure.
Wynn delivered the Hendersons meals and took orders for the O’Reilys, a cute older couple who moved to an adorable little cabin there after they’d retired around ten years ago, and a group of moms who were having coffee and hot chocolates before heading for school pickups for their children.
“Wynn!” Jessie called from across the room.
Wynn looked over and Jessie waved for her to come over. Wynn held up one finger and finished bussing the table she was working on. She hoisted the big beige tub of dishes onto her right hip and headed for Cade and Jessie’s table.
“What’s up?” she asked when she’d reached them.
Jessie and Cade were holding hands across the table. Wynn could see his laptop and a huge pile of paperwork next to him. Cade must be there for a working lunch that day. He’d been doing those more and more often since him and Jessie had started dating.
“Hey, Cade,” Wynn said and nodded.
“Hey,” he returned.
“Wynn, Cade just had the best idea,” Jessie said. “We’re going to go snowmobiling tomorrow night. Come with us. We’ll be a foursome; his brother Cooper is going to join us. It’ll be so much fun. And you haven’t gone snowmobiling in forever. Say yes.”
“Um…” Wynn hesitated. It was true she hadn’t been snowmobiling since before she’d moved away from Snowy Ridge. Her dad used to take the girls out with him and it was fun but she hadn’t gone again since he’d passed away. “I’m not sure.”
“Come on,” Jessie urged. “It’s like riding a bike. We’ll have a blast. What are you doing tomorrow night?”
Wynn mentally went over her schedule. Tomorrow was her first Intro to the Internet class. It seemed like it would be a super easy class to pass. If it weren’t a requirement for her degree, she never would have even signed up. Who really needed an introduction to the Internet anymore? Everyone knew how to use the Internet. She was sure she’d have no homework. “Well, I get out of class around 4:30 and then I have to pick up Melody and give her dinner.”
“That’s perfect,” Jessie said. “Do you think Mom could get Melody to bed? Then Cooper and Cade can grab their sleds and meet us at our garage around 7. Sound good Cade?” she turned her attention to her boyfriend.
“Yeah, sounds like a plan.”
Jessie returned her gaze to her sister, a wide grin across her face.
It suddenly occurred to Wynn that this was some kind of set-up. Cooper Stone was a good-looking, single, thirty-year old and part owner of the Triple C Snowmobile Repair shop with his two brothers, Cade and Cash. Jessie and Cade must have been conspiring and thought hey, let’s hook up our two single siblings. Well, that plan wasn’t going to work out and Wynn was going to have to pull her little sister aside at some point and let her know that now was not the right time to dabble in matchmaking on her behalf. A new relationship wasn’t even the last thing on her already overcrowded to-do list. But, a no-strings attached snowmobile ride could be fun. She would just have to be sure to tell Jessie not to try and force her into anything more than that.
“Okay. Sounds fun,” Wynn told her sister and Cade.
Chapter Fifteen
Bryce double-checked his appearance in the driver’s side mirror one last time before he got out of the car. He didn’t know why he felt nervous about this date with Tiffany. Maybe because Ed and Nikki weren’t there to be a conversation buffer. He’d have to keep up fifty percent of the conversation on his own. His mind briefly wandered to thinking about what Wynn was doing that night. Would she be back in the bar he’d met her at? Maybe she was picking up another guy right that very moment. The thought of that sent a shot of jealousy straight through him.
Bryce headed up the walk to the charming pub with white twinkle lights that outlined the entire outside of the building. There was a long, wrap-around porch and two ways for customers to enter: from the parking lot where he had parked or on the side of the porch, where he could see at least a dozen snowmobiles parked. This area of northern Wisconsin was huge with the snowmobile tourism sector so most businesses offered customers both kinds of access.
The pub had heavy dark blue wooden doors at the entry and Bryce run a hand along one of the large stars carved into the door as he looked up and read the name on the sign overhead. Starlight. His stomach clenched. There was something about the place that sent an alarm to his brain but he wasn’t sure what it was. He was certain he hadn’t been there before. Surely, he would have remembered these doors. But still, he felt troubled.
He was being foolish. It must have been second date nerves. He decided to shake off the feeling and just go in. Bryce pushed through the doors and headed in. It was a nice place. Long bar on one side. Plenty of cozy-looking dark wood tables around. A nice big fireplace with
a fire roaring and chairs situated in front of it. He liked it.
It only took him a moment to spot Tiffany waiting at a table situated in front of a big picture window that looked out onto Main Street. It was several spots away from the fireplace but still Bryce could feel the fire’s warmth. He found the atmosphere cozy and had high hopes for their date.
Bryce slipped into the seat across from Tiffany and shook off his coat. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
There was a small blue votive holder with a flickering candle burning in the middle of the table. Tiffany looked even prettier in the glow.
“No, not at all. I already ordered us two beers if that’s okay with you.”
“That’s great with me,” he replied. Bryce had chosen to dress fairly casual in a dark fleece zip-up and jeans, and he was happy to see Tiffany looked casual as well in a soft brown sweater and boots and jeans. He had already gotten the impression that she was a chill kind of person from their first double date but he didn’t know if she would try extra hard on this solo one. Women who arrived for a date in fancy dresses and super high heels tended to intimidate him.
Tiffany gazed around the room at the other patrons and then returned her attention to Bryce. “So…”
Bryce cleared his throat. “Are you hungry? Should we order something to eat?”
“Sure, I can eat. Their fries are really good,” she added.
“Great, let’s get some.” Bryce got the attention of a waitress and ordered. He struggled to think of a conversation starter. Things had been easier when they were in a noisy bowling alley and in a group setting. “So, how do you know Nikki and Ed?” he finally asked.
Tiffany took a sip of her beer. “I met Nikki at work.”
“I didn’t know you two work together.”
“We don’t. We met through her cat. I work for a veterinarian and Nikki had been bringing her cat into us for the last five years or so. We would always talk when she came in. She’s so social, you know? She asked me to hang out one night and we’ve been friends ever since.”