My skin heated as I nodded. “The one and only,” I said, trying to distract him from my heated cheeks.
“About damn time,” he said. “Good on ya.”
That was the thing with Alec, despite his hypermasculinity—the guy was the poster boy for straight, muscular PE teacher who’d earned a gold star for bed-hopping—his heart was in the right place.
He was also a good friend.
When I’d returned home after my three-year stint at uni and my five years at a school library down south, I’d managed to land this job, which was pretty damn lucky as we didn’t have that many high schools close by.
And seven years ago, when I’d started at Mitchell Oak High School, Alec had begun at the same time. It had been a quiet year for newbies, just the two of us guys and one new female staff member. And while I wasn’t a teacher, we’d simply got on, despite being so different in so many ways.
As such, he knew exactly who Dan Madison was, even before Dan had returned home. Though since he wasn’t exactly surprised by my news, maybe he’d known exactly what Dan had meant to me too.
Perhaps I hadn’t mastered my game face as well as I’d thought.
He’d never called me out on it, though.
“Definitely beers tomorrow night with that news.”
I grinned. “Sounds good. You need something or you just saying hi?”
“Hi, but also, did you hear about the new maths teacher who started?”
“Other than there being a new maths teacher, no. Why?”
“A local boy, apparently. Thought you’d have the dirt on him.”
With my interest piqued, I asked, “Oh, okay. What’s the guy’s name?”
“Nick Smith. Know him?”
If there’d been an old-school record player playing anywhere in the vicinity, it would have come screeching to a halt.
“You’re shitting me?” My voice didn’t sound like my own, immediately grabbing Alec’s attention.
“That doesn’t sound like a good surprise. Spill?”
Tensing my jaw, I gave a miniscule shake of my head. Gossiping wasn’t my mission in life, and the shit I could share about Nick Smith would have swayed Alec’s reaction to the guy completely. The Nick Smith I knew was a homophobic, bullying shit for brains.
I’d been fifteen when I’d come out. It hadn’t been exactly pretty, but with Craig and Dan a couple of years ahead and still at school, they had calmed the impact of threats and vileness. When they’d left, it was just the one group of wankers who’d made it their personal mission to be damn right vicious in their attacks. And Nick had been at the centre of it.
Okay, so there was perhaps some exaggeration there. Not once had I been beaten up or anything so violent, but to my sixteen-year-old self, life for that one year before Nick left school was hell.
“We didn’t exactly run in the same friendship circle,” I settled on. I’d share with Alec the truth should Nick turn out to be as much of a prick now as he was way back when, but for now, I’d keep the history to myself to see if the man was able to redeem himself at all.
But based on the random exchange I’d had with his old school pal Jamie a few months earlier, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
People changed. I’d seen it on more than one occasion. I could only hope the same could be said about Nick Smith.
“Hmm.” Narrow-eyed, Alec studied me. There was little doubt I was holding back. “In that case, I’ll check him out for myself. If there’s an issue, I’ll make him join the staff dodgeball team.”
I laughed, my tense shoulders relaxing. Alec seriously was a good guy and had my back. “I’m on board with this plan.” A quick glance at the time told me I had to get a move on. Alec followed my line of sight, sighing.
“Urgh, staff meetings and training days, oh how I loathe them.”
“I’ll save you a seat at the back.”
“You better. You don’t want me to put you on the opposing team in dodgeball. You know I’ll own your arse if that happens.”
