“Ha!” She pointed. “So you have fallen for him.”
“No, I haven’t! I think it would have given me a confidence boost if he had asked.”
“Uh huh.” She nodded, glancing at her watch. “Shit. I have to run. I’m meeting Patricia to do some shopping.”
“Why?” My brows furrowed. “She’s weird.”
“I know. Trust me. I know.” She rolled her eyes. “Apparently, I promised a while back that I would help her find a dress for this thing she has to go to next weekend. I totally forgot, and she cornered me.”
“That’s because she doesn’t have anyone else because she’s so strange,” I smirked.
“Yeah. Yeah.” She stood up and hugged me. “I’m happy you had sex. Now, maybe you can get out of your Gym Girl Brittany funk.”
“Who?” I smiled.
“That’s my girl.” She winked.
“Mom!What are you doing? We’re going to be so late.” Zoey burst into my bedroom.
I slowly opened my eyes and looked at the clock. We had thirty minutes until we had to be at school.
“Fuck!” I shouted, jumping out of bed. “Go, Zoey. You can still make it on time. Tell Greta I’m running late and to keep an eye on the class until I get there. Go now!”
A devilish grin crossed her lips. “Good luck today, Mom. I can already foresee it.” She laughed.
“Get out of here!” I threw a pillow at her.
I quickly jumped in the shower. I knew I shouldn’t have finished off that bottle of wine last night. I was so invested in Love Island that I kept pouring, and before I knew it, the bottle was empty.
After showering, I ran a brush through my hair, threw it up in a ponytail, got dressed, and flew out the door. I hadn’t had any coffee yet, and trust me when I say that isn’t a good thing. Especially, with the fierce headache I had going on.
Chapter Thirteen
Samantha
I knew something was wrong the second I opened the door to my classroom. The students were quiet. Twenty-six teenagers were never quiet. Ever. They stared at me as I set my bag down. They knew. They’ve seen.
“Miss Hollis.” Devon had his phone up before I could bring the basket around to collect their phones.
“Phones. Basket.” I walked around the room.
“This article is very educational,” Devon said. “I’m learning so much.” He snickered.
“Is he your boyfriend now?” Lacey asked.
“He’s not anything. It was for the school, and each of you knows that.”
“But you told us you weren’t entering the blind date auction,” Gina said.
“I didn’t. My daughter signed me up without telling me. I was just as shocked Friday night as you all are right now.”
“Sam, you went on a date with a billionaire. A freakingbillionaire. You told us that money is soul-corroding, and it changes people. Like in The Great Gatsby.”
“And I still stand by that.”
“But you were holding his arm in the picture,” Devon said.
“I am not holding—” I took a closer look at the photo before I made Devon toss it into the basket. Shit. I was slightly holding his arm. “That was for show. Open your books.”