He’s in the gym, running drills with a freshman class. Turns out, Gym Teacher Renner is not some chump in a tracksuit with a whistle trying to relive his glory days. In fact, he appears to be living his best life right now. He looks like an A-list actor playing a teacher in a movie. He fills out his button-down and chinos nicely, iPad in hand, brows knitted in concentration as he encourages his students across the gym.
The sight of him makes something inside me flutter. Gym Teacher Renner is kind of, sort of, attractive.
“You look like you were born to do this,” I admit, sidling up next to him.
He startles at my presence before giving me a flirty smile. “You think?”
There’s a nagging in my gut that makes me wonder if he’s disappointed in how his life turned out. Does he regret giving up his dream of coaching a college team to come home and teach high school kids?
“I really couldn’t picture you in an authoritative position, but it looks like you’ve got this coaching thing down,” I say, cringing at the sight of a guy doubled over, ready to hurl after running drills.
He abruptly blows his whistle before he can respond. “Hey, man.” He points to a kid in red gym shorts. “Your speed is fantastic right out of the gate. But I notice you lose steam a bit at the twenty-yard mark. Let’s focus on your endurance,” he tells him encouragingly.
The student nods and says, “Thanks, Mr. Renner.”
A satisfied smile plays across his lips, like a puppy awaiting approval after learning to sit. “See? They’re listening to me.”
I clap my hand to my chest. “Wow. I’m surprised you didn’t let them run feral and smoke dope behind the bleachers.”
He chokes out a laugh. “Dope? You sound like my police officer dad.”
“I know.” I shrug, owning it. “Hey, wanna have lunch together? Talk strategy for tonight? Apparently, I hoard snacks in my desk . . . along with knitting needles, yarn, and a container of Tums.” Adult me is a rip-roaring good time.
This piques his interest. “What kind of snacks?”
“Lots of candy bars. And jumbo bags of chips.”
“Flavor?”
“Plain.”
He makes a face. “Plain? What kind of sicko are you?”
“Wow. The slander. Plain is delicious, thank you very much.”
His lips curve, teasing. “Well, you get to enjoy them all to yourself. I actually need the hour to prep for my health class after lunch.”
I raise a brow. This is very unlike Renner. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him crack open a book. And somehow, he still manages to pull off decent grades.
“It’s the STI unit,” he clarifies.
“You’re teaching sex ed today?” I can barely contain my giggle. I’d give my left arm to sit in on Renner’s sex ed class.
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, very funny. I’m petrified, I’ll have you know.”
I snort. “Do they still have the sex ed treasure chest?”
“Oh yeah. It’s in my office. It was the first thing I saw when I walked in. It’s filled to the brim with condoms. And some dental dams,” he adds matter-of-factly. “I’m in over my head.”
I pat him on the shoulder sympathetically. For a flash, I think about offering to look over his lesson plan, until I remember we do not have that kind of relationship. We don’t help each other. We’re enemies, after all. So I settle for, “You’ll do just fine.”
He cringes. “But what if they have . . . questions?”
“Well, luckily you have a lot of experience,” I point out. As rumor has it, Renner lost his V-card in tenth grade to an eleventh grader named Harley at a tent party. Since then, he’s practically made his way through the female population of our class, as well as the class below. Not that I care.
He gives me a look. “Are you slut shaming me?”
“Not at all. It’s simply a fact.”
He squeezes his eyes shut. “Okay, can we not talk about my sex life? I’m freaking out. I’m not qualified to teach shit. This feels illegal.”
“More illegal than giving a student advice on their educational future? Probably not. Let’s just get through the day without drawing suspicion. Do you have a lesson plan?”
“Yeah. It’s in a binder. I’m really into consent and protection, I guess, because I wrote pages’ worth of notes,” he adds.
“Just read straight from your lesson plan. They won’t even notice.”