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I went and splashed water on my face and took a breather.

I tried a trick I’d learned when my parents died and I had to go back to school almost immediately. I gave myself five minutes. To cry. To grieve.

After that I shut it all way and mentally locked it up.

I was walking out when I noticed a beautiful man with wavy dark hair leaning against the wall across from the bathroom.

He smiled. “I’m Javier. Is everything all right?

“Oh yeah,” I said automatically. “I just got something in my eye.”

“You can talk to me,” he said easily. “I won’t share, and I won’t judge.”

There was something about him, the way he wasn’t outgoing but was so obviously being open with me, had me wanting to spill my guts to him in a way I never did. I felt tears welling up again.

I shook my head. “I really am okay. I just didn’t know all that stuff about Carter . . . about him being, well ya know. . .”

Javier’s brows shot up, but it was in amusement not judgment. “A fuckboy? I wouldn’t worry about it. He’s a really nice guy.”

I appreciated his efforts, but I was very worried about it. In fact, I knew the idea would consume my thoughts for the foreseeable future.

“I take it you have a crush on him,” he said blandly.

I shrugged, watched his face, then nodded. “It can’t go anywhere,” I stated the obvious. “He’s my teacher.”

He shrugged back like he didn’t care either way. “You’re eighteen, right? And you graduate soon?”

“Well, yeah. That doesn’t matter, though. Carter thinks I’m too young to make any long-term decisions about my life.”

Javier shrugged again, sharing an infectious smile with me. “That’s not really up to him, now, is it?”

“I guess not. I’d be living at a shelter if it wasn’t for him. I try to take his advice. And he doesn’t want a relationship with someone like me.”

“Did he say that?”

“Pretty much.”

“Interesting. Well, let’s exchange numbers. You can call me if you need anything or if you just want to chat.”

I did, a little dazzled by someone like him taking notice of me, obviously going out of his way to befriend me. “I’d love that,” I said and gave him my number.

“Do you have plans tomorrow?” he asked. “Are you up for a pool day?”

“I’d like that,” I said. “Carter has a pool.”

“I had something else in mind.” He gave me a wide smile.

When I went back to the poker table, Javier had cheered me up enough that I was able to act convincingly like nothing was wrong.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CARTER

“Mr. Corn fed fuckboy extraordinaire would make a good daddy,” Ariel put in unhelpfully.

“Corn fed fuckboy extraordinaire?” Estella asked, giggling.

Bella answered, “It’s his nickname in some of our group chats. The fact that so many of his hookups talk to each other and none of us have one bad thing to say about him is pretty impressive if you think about it.”