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  Thea held up her hand, finding it shaking. “It was just that one time, Molly, it doesn’t mean what you're thinking.”

  Molly just gave her a placating smile. “Well, if I know Dimitri, and you know I do, then that one time might just be a little more.” The other woman winked. Winked. “And, really, with the way he moves, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.”

  Thea laughed woodenly as the other woman continued, but she couldn’t help the nerves welling up inside her.

  How had she ended up here?

  Was Molly really okay with things progressing between her and Dimitri? And what the hell was she going to do now when it came to a certain inked teacher that she’d thought might be out of her life forever?

  Because Molly was acting weird, so damn weird. And Thea had no idea what to do about it, what to believe, or what to hope for.

  Once again, she knew this called for wine, and even Thea didn’t know if she had enough of it.

  Chapter 10

  Dimitri put his hands on his hips, trying not to glare at the kid in front of him. But, damn it, he was just so disappointed that he’d had to talk himself out of so many different variations of how this conversation might go.

  One of his brightest kids was failing his class, and there was nothing Dimitri could do about it beyond what he was doing now. He hated the fact that this was out of his grasp and it was going to take time—and maybe even a miracle—for things to change.

  But he’d try his damnedest to make that happen because all of his students deserved the best, his best.

  “Jason.”

  The kid lifted his head, his dark hair falling in front of his face in a messy array of angles and random cuts. Apparently, the shaggy haircut was a new trend or something. The fact that it almost mirrored Dimitri’s, only messier, wasn’t lost on him.

  “I need you to complete your assignments. You used to do so last year, and when you moved up to this grade with your peers, you stopped doing them. Tell me what’s wrong, Jason. Let me try to help.”

  Jason shrugged. “I’m fine.”

  Dimitri held back a sigh and walked around the desk separating them to lean on the side. “No, you’re not fine. I’m going to call a parent-teacher conference, and I know you’re going to hate it. But I know you understand the material. I see the way your eyes move during class.” And how Jason mouthed the answers even if he didn’t raise his hand to answer out loud. Dimitri didn’t push all of his students to speak every day like some teachers. He knew most needed their own quiet space, and those he thought weren’t paying attention were the ones he called on. It usually meant that everyone was at least trying.

  Trying when it came to participation, that was.

  Turning in assignments? Jason wasn’t the only holdout, but he was the most dramatic turn when It came to his grades, and Dimitri was going to do his best to find out why.

  “I don’t need a meeting.”

  “You might not. But I do. Is there something going on at home you want to talk about?”

  “No. Everything’s fine.”

  Even if Dimitri didn’t know Jason’s parents were going through a particularly nasty divorce, he’d have heard the lie in Jason’s assertion. Colorado Springs was by no means a small town, but Jason’s dad had moved into the same apartment complex Dimitri currently resided in. Apparently, all newly single men without homes knew it was the place to be.

  Jesus, Dimitri needed to do something about his life, but first, he needed to try and do something about Jason’s.

  “We’re going to talk, Jason. All of us. But in the meantime, if you need anything. I’m here.”

  “Whatever. Are we done now?”

  While he didn’t like Jason’s attitude, there was nothing Dimitri could do about it now, so he let the kid leave, shaking his head as he looked down at his notes. Jason could be an A student, but things had changed, and Dimitri wanted to fix it.

  But he’d been a teacher long enough to know that while he couldn’t fix everything, he could at least try.

  “Mr. Carr. Good, you’re here. We need to talk.”

  Vice Principle Riley strode into Dimitri’s classroom, his chin raised, and his signature sneer in place like usual. Dimitri didn’t know how the guy had worked his way up the ranks, but for some reason, Dimitri could never seem to do anything right in the guy’s eyes.

  That’s what happened when he looked the part of a rock star—at least according to Riley—rather than a staid teacher.

  What the fuck ever.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “You can keep those sleeves down. I don’t need any more complaints about your attire.”

  Dimitri looked down at his sleeves that completely covered his ink. He didn’t even need to pull them down, but he gave Riley a bland look.

  “My tattoos are covered. You shouldn’t be getting any complaints.”

  “We’ll see.”

  With that, Riley strode out of the room, and Dimitri rolled his neck. He was seriously starting to hate his job and knew that if things didn’t change, he’d have to find a new school where he could be who he was. It hadn’t been a problem before, the people changing with the times and tattoos not being a problem at most of the schools he’d taught at. He just hoped Riley got his stick out of his ass soon so Dimitri wouldn’t have to make yet another life-altering decision.

  Of course, if he changed schools, he’d have to change houses, too. But maybe then he’d be able to get one where he could have Captain with him rather than their current situation.

  The thought of moving made him think of not being near Thea, and he shook his head as he packed up his things. He hadn’t heard from her except for her texts after she’d left Molly’s saying the deed was done. She’d ignored his request to talk, and he’d let her have that as he wasn’t going to fucking stalk her.

  The fact that Molly hadn’t texted him yet either worried him, but not enough for him to freak out. He had enough on his plate, and he needed to have a clear head for work and, frankly, to figure out what he was going to do when it came to Thea Montgomery.

  He’d do that. But first, he had dinner. Mace had invited him out for a drink and wings with the guys, and since Dimitri didn’t really have a set of friends of his own, he’d jumped at the chance. Sure, things were already complicated when it came to Thea, and going out with her sister’s guy for a drink might make it weird. But Dimitri needed friends that weren’t part of Molly’s circle, and after hanging out with Carter and Mace at Thea’s, he liked the two and wanted to see if something could work out between them all.

  Look at him, turning over new leaves everywhere he went.

  Since his meetings had run late, he didn’t have time to go home or even stop by Molly’s to see Captain before he headed to the bar. Not that he was looking forward to seeing Molly after her conversation with Thea. But it would have to happen sometime, and he’d face the consequences of his actions when it did. He just hoped that Molly hadn’t taken out any anger she might have on Thea.

  Thea didn’t deserve that. If anyone did, it was Dimitri. Sure, he was a single man who could sleep with and date anyone he chose, but that didn’t mean he should take anyone’s feelings lightly.

  It wasn’t lost on him that the first person he’d slept with after his divorce was Thea. He hadn’t been interested in any form of relationship with another person so soon after his divorce when he first moved into his apartment. In the months since the divorce, he’d noticed women, but he hadn’t been in the mood to start anything new.

  That was until he saw Thea again.

  He had no idea what exactly he wanted—if she ever spoke to him again—but he knew that he didn’t want their connection, whatever it was, to end. How that would work, he didn’t know, but he had a feeling he’d soon find out.

  As he pulled into the parking lot of the local wing place Mace loved, Dimitri put those thoughts to the side since he really didn’t want to talk about it with the guys. It seemed Mace an
d his friends came here often enough that it was their place, and Dimitri was oddly excited.

  He was starting a new phase of his life in more ways than one it seemed.

  Mace and another man Dimitri didn’t recognize were already seated at a table when Dimitri made his way to the back.

  Mace raised his hand in greeting, and the other guy lifted his chin. “Hey, glad you made it, Dimitri. This is Landon. He’s a friend from way back, and now works at the most boring job possible.”

  Landon, a slender man with dark hair and sharp looks, flipped his friend off before holding out a hand. “I’m a broker. Sorry, I’m not a famous tattoo artist who gets to play with sharp objects all day.”

  Dimitri snorted and shook the other man’s hand before taking a seat. “I’m a high school math teacher. Not quite sure I live up to Mace’s expectations of a non-boring job either.”

  Mace rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his beer. “Still better than playing with other people’s money.”

  “Numbers are numbers,” Landon said, saluting Dimitri with his beer. “Am I right?”

  “I’m with Landon on this one,” Dimitri said with a laugh, and Mace just shook his head at both of them.

  “I can’t with you two. When Ryan and Carter get here, at least I won’t be outnumbered. Pun not intended. Now, pour yourself a beer, Dimitri. We do cheap pitchers since it’s happy hour and will order massive amounts of whatever’s on special for wings. That okay with you?”

  Dimitri shrugged as he poured himself a glass. “Sounds good to me. I’m not picky.”

  Landon sighed. “You should be. The wings are phenomenal, no matter the sauce, but one day I’d like for us to actually have taste when it comes to what we’re drinking.”

  “And we do on other nights. Tonight’s about cheap beer and wings and trying not to overdo it since none of us are in our early twenties anymore.” Mace gave a mock shiver. “Heartburn is not my friend.”

  Dimitri raised his glass at that. “Amen, brother.”

  The waitress came by for their order, and Mace spoke for them all, getting more wings of various flavors than Dimitri thought they could all eat but, apparently, the crew had a rhythm. By the time she left to get another pitcher for the table, the last two of their party had made their way in.

  Dimitri knew both of them, though not well. He’d met Carter a few times since the other man had married Thea’s sister, Roxie, but they hadn’t spoken all that much until game night.

  He tried not to think about game night because then he couldn’t help but think of Thea.

  And he was not going to think about Thea tonight.

  Much.

  He quickly looked at the other man taking a seat at the table so he could clear his thoughts. Dimitri knew Ryan from Montgomery Ink Too, the new tattoo shop in the Montgomery family. He’d talked to the man a few times and would soon be in to get more ink, though, likely, it would be Adrienne or Mace who did the actual tattooing.

  “Oh, hey, Dimitri, glad you could make it,” Ryan said, lifting his chin. “Sorry I’m late. Took forever to get the last client out the door.”

  Mace frowned. “Ethan, right? He has a crush on you, I think.”

  Ryan sighed. “Yup. I tried to go easy on him and let him down nicely, but it’s not working out.”

  “Didn’t you used to date his friend, Jack?” Landon asked, sipping his beer.

  “Yeah, and that’s the problem. I know Ethan through Jack, and I know how…I don’t want to say clingy, but maybe obsessive he can get. Plus, he just doesn’t ring my bell.”

  “I thought you were dating Angie?” Mace asked while Dimitri sat back in his chair, listening to a conversation he knew no part of but liking learning about new people anyway.

  “I was. Now, I’m not. We were just casual anyway. Plus, the fact that Ethan doesn’t believe I’m bi and thinks that I’m going through a phase or some shit about not being able to make a choice annoys the fuck out of me.”

  Carter frowned. “Then why did you say you’d do his tattoo? Seems like it wouldn’t be a good idea.” The other man poured himself and Ryan beers, and the younger tattoo artist chugged half of his back before answering.

  “Because I thought I’d do the right thing and not say no because of personal shit.”

  “Don’t do that again,” Mace warned. “You know Shep and Adrienne will have your balls if you do work you’re not comfortable with. Any of the rest of us will take the job, or the guy doesn’t get in the shop. We can turn people away if the situation merits it.”

  Mace’s eyes clouded for a moment, and Dimitri had a feeling the other man was thinking about the close call Adrienne had gone through just a few short weeks ago. Adrienne was fine now, but she hadn’t been at first—none of them had been after hearing about the attack.

  “I know what you’re thinking about, and that was different,” Ryan put in before holding up his hands. “But I get you. No more jobs that make work uncomfortable.”

  “Good.” Mace nodded before taking another sip. “And here are our wings. They’re fast tonight.”

  Since Dimitri’s stomach had just rumbled, he was glad for it. Everyone dug in with gusto, Dimitri going for the mid-grade hotness since he liked the heat but didn’t want to hate himself later for it.

  Ryan and Carter each went for the ultra-spicy, but neither of them looked as if they were feeling any effects. At least, not yet. As both were only a few years younger than Dimitri, he didn’t know how they did it.

  “I thought Shep was coming,” Landon said, licking parmesan from his fingers.

  “Livvy has a cold, so he’s home with Shea.”

  “Poor kid,” Ryan said. “Glad to have Shep back in town, though.”

  “I didn’t know you knew him from before he moved down to New Orleans,” Dimitri said.

  “I didn’t, but Adrienne and the others are happier, so I’m happy, too.”

  Dimitri nodded, agreeing. He hadn’t liked when Thea’s brother was so far away because Thea had always been close to Shep, all the girls had. It was nice that all the Montgomerys were together again.

  “How’s the shop?” Dimitri asked Carter since the other man was seated right next to him. Carter was a mechanic who owned and operated his own place and, apparently, worked long-as-hell hours. Dimitri had no idea how the other man juggled that and a new marriage, but then again, Dimitri had been teaching long hours and grading endless papers while learning to be a husband at first, too. It hadn’t worked out that well for Dimitri. He hoped to hell Carter was doing a better job of it.

  “Busy as usual, but I hired a new guy so I can try to take weekends off.” The other man shrugged. “We’ll see. Though around tax season, I might just go back to weekends since Roxie won’t be home anyway.”

  Roxie was an accountant and worked just as many hours as Carter did it seemed, but Dimitri liked the idea that the other man was trying.

  “I guess when I need a tune-up I should go somewhere else?” he asked with a grin.

  Carter pointed at him with a wing. “You go anywhere else, I’ll hunt you down.”

  “You’re one of us now,” Mace said. “You’re stuck.”

  Dimitri just smiled before eating more wings. One of them? He could deal with that. It had been far too long since he’d had a group of friends like this, and maybe, just maybe, this could work out.

  He just hoped whatever was happening with Thea coincided with that.

  * * *

  Two beers and far too many wings later, Dimitri was home alone on his couch, wishing to hell and back that he had his dog with him. That will change soon, he thought. It had to. Because this separation wasn’t good for either of them.

  He looked down at his phone, the beer totally out of his system, and knew he needed to make the first move in whatever the hell was going to happen next—and not with Captain.

  Dimitri: Hey.

  He sucked at texting, sucked at words. He was a math teacher. Give him numbers and a problem to solve, and h
e’d do just fine. Finding out what to say when it came to a woman he cared about when he wasn’t sure what he wanted or what could happen between them?

  Total cluelessness.

  Thea: Hey.

  She texted back. That had to count for something, right? And…now he’d turned into one of his students, overanalyzing a damn text and the recipient’s response time.

  Dimitri: Went out with the guys tonight. Had wings.

  Thea: The guys?

  Dimitri: Mace, Ryan, Landon, and Carter.

  He frowned.

  Dimitri: Was that okay? Hanging out with your sisters’ guys?

  Thea: Of course it’s okay. I know you said you wanted friends outside your old circle. It shouldn’t matter what I think anyway.

  They were both careful not to mention Molly’s name. Oh, so careful.

  Dimitri: Of course it matters what you think. You know that.

  She didn’t answer, and he was afraid he’d fucked up again.

  Dimitri: Have coffee with me.

  Dimitri: Please.

  Thea: I make coffee for a living. I’m good.

  Dimitri: You make the best coffee. Let’s drink it together.

  If she said no this time, he wouldn’t ask again, wouldn’t badger her. But he needed to at least try.

  She was silent for so long, he was afraid of the answer.

  Thea: Tomorrow.

  He let out a breath and asked the time, then set his phone down after saying goodnight. He had a coffee date with Thea tomorrow, a real one. It had to be a date, not just friends, but not more than that either. Time where they could find their boundaries and decide what they each wanted.