Spellman Ch. 18

"Is it that Claire girl? The one from the baseball game?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding.

Emma pursed her lips. "She's very pretty."

"She is."

Emma was silent for a few moments before speaking. "Okay. I get it. I'm not sure I really agree, but I can see why you don't want to mix work and pleasure too much, especially when you're just settling in here," she said. "I'd say I hope things work out with you and that Claire girl, but I'd be lying. Maybe later down the line we'll have another chance to try this out."

"Maybe," I said.

"I hope we can still hang out, though. I'm looking forward to watching the Cowboys crush the Chargers with you."

"Definitely," I said, laughing. "But the Cowgirls are going down."

Emma leaned over to give me a hug. "All right, I'll see you later then."

"Later, Emma."

In all of my worrying about talking to Riley, and about how to handle things between Cece, Melissa, and Tori, I had completely forgotten about Emma being a potential issue. I was glad she seemed cool with everything. She really did seem like a fun person to be friends with, at the very least.

I finished up a bit more work before heading out to grab a hot sandwich for a quick lunch. On the way back in I checked Riley's classroom again but she still wasn't there. I wasn't sure if she hadn't come in at all today or if she was just spending all of her time in the office using the copier or something. I got back to work, making sure everything was perfect for my students' arrival tomorrow. It was surprising how nervous I felt about it.

Just when I was wrapping up for the day, there was another knock on my door. "Come in!" I yelled again. The door opened slightly and Riley poked her head in.

"Hey, do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"Of course," I said. "Come on in. I actually have something that I need to talk to you about, too."

She came in and sat down on top of one of the student desk clusters. "Okay, but can I go first?"

"Sure."

"I'm sorry about the other morning. I know you didn't sleep with my roommate on purpose, and I shouldn't have gotten upset with you for it. Tiffany was just being Tiffany."

"It's fine. I know it was a shock to find me in your apartment. I never would have done that if I knew she was your roommate."

"I also wanted to apologize for how I acted on Friday night."

"I'm not sure I'm the one you need to apologize to for that."

"You're not the only one, but you still deserve an apology. I...I just...look, you're not the only one who got a little messed up over what happened between us, okay? It's been very confusing for me, too, and I had a few drinks and I just...kind of lost it."

"Thank you," I said. "It's good to know I'm not the only crazy person around here." She giggled.

"What did you need to say? If it was apologizing for Tiffany, like I said, it wasn't your fault."

"No," I said, taking a deep breath. "I wish it was that simple."

"What's wrong?"

"Riley, this is a really hard conversation to have, so I'm just going to be as direct as I can be. If I'm out of line, or it's none of my business, or anything, just tell me and I'll drop it completely, but I have to tell you this."

She looked confused. "Ryan, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Sorry, I'm getting to the point, I swear. I just want to make sure you know I don't have any ulterior motives with this. It's just the sort of thing that I'd want someone to do for me if I was in your position."

"Okay..." she said, now looking concerned.

"I went to a lunch party at a friend's house yesterday, thrown by his wife." I swallowed. "I saw Thomas there."

"Thomas? My boyfriend, Thomas?" I nodded. "Okay? So...what? Did you get into a fight or something?"

"Absolutely not."

"Okay, so then what's the issue?"

"He was there with someone. Grace. His T.A. I asked around a bit, and apparently it's common knowledge in the department. Riley, they're sleeping together."

Riley just stared at me, unblinking, for several long moments. Just when I was about to ask her if she was okay, she burst into tears, sobbing wildly.

"Oh my god, I'm such a stupid bitch," she wailed.