Read Online Her Imaginary Husband (Contemporary Romance) by Lia London - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lia London
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Adult, college, friends, husband, Football Coach, Married, Pretends, Plan, Campus Cop, Imaginary, English Teacher
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“I know how you hate lying, and you didn’t even have to.”
Charlie ran both hands through his hair. “Don’t make me do that again, Nik. Besides, what commercial airline pilot has hair like a rock star?”
“You are a rock star! You’re the best!” She tucked her arm back in his. “Now teach me how to talk to an adult male without sending him the wrong message.”
“You could just try not showering. Don’t brush your teeth.”
Nikki made a goofy face. “It worked for you, right?”
“Okay, listen. It’s all about eye contact…”
13~Football
David Pembroke was built like a tank with a brown shag carpet for hair, and was just about as mentally agile. On the Friday of the first home game, he and the other teammates— there were sixteen of them in fourth period! —all wore their football jerseys, as if to taunt her about Coach’s request.
“Class, I’ve got your first essays graded, and…” How was she going to say this nicely? “I think maybe we are not all defining ‘final draft’ the same way. A final draft should be as close to error-free as possible. With some of these…” She winced, looking at the top of the stack. David Pembroke’s essay looked like an alien had sneezed all over it. “Well, what I did was mark errors until I got to the tenth one. At that point I drew a line and stopped reading. I figure if you’re not willing to read your own paper, why should I?”
A few nervous laughs competed with angrier mumbles.
“I’m going to give you the weekend to upgrade your efforts before I actually record the scores. Let me clarify. Most of you had great ideas, but they were just presented incoherently. You don’t want messy writing to ruin the power of your message.”
Nikki waded through the sea of unhappy faces to return their papers. One by one, she heard gasps and groans. One kid yowled, “That’s crazy! I’ve never gotten below a B in my life!”
“Short life. Always room for new experiences.” Her light humor fell flat. She turned to walk back up to her desk and ran right into David. He looked mad. Very mad. His shoulders were back, and he filled the aisle so Nikki could not pass.
“David, sit down.”
“If I don’t get a C average, I can’t play. You can’t do this to me.”
“I’m pretty sure I can, David. Please sit down.” She could feel her temperature rising. What if he gets violent? If he starts screaming? Drawing a deep breath, she remembered some of Charlie’s tips for being assertive.
David took a step closer, flaunting his pecs. She held her ground and looked up the three or four inches into his eyes. Planting her hands on her hips, she closed the gap between them and filled herself with air. “Look, David. I’m just as chesty as you are. Sit. Down.”
“Baaaaaa!” Josh roared and leapt out of his seat as if he’d been ejected. “Burn!” He laughed and grinned at Nikki. “Good one, Ms. F!” His reaction changed the whole mood of the room. “I can’t believe you said that, Ms. F!” cackled Josh, clapping his hands to his face.
David backed away, red-cheeked but no longer furious. Nikki punched his shoulder lightly. “Like I said, you have the weekend to upgrade your efforts. Go win the game, and then tidy this thing up. Run spell-check. Figure out what the green squiggles on the computer are about. I won’t record any grades until after I collect the new versions on Monday.” She turned to the class with open hands. “Fair? You try harder, and I’ll cut you some slack this first time?”
Given that most of them had gone into mild cardiac arrest when they saw their grades, they all thought this was a terrific plan, even Josh who had gotten a B+ . The students spent the next half hour in peer editing or consulting with Nikki on her margin notes, and when the bell finally rang, the whole team filed by Nikki’s desk with smiles or nods.
She got up and followed them into the hall. “Hey, win big tonight!”
“Are you
Charlie ran both hands through his hair. “Don’t make me do that again, Nik. Besides, what commercial airline pilot has hair like a rock star?”
“You are a rock star! You’re the best!” She tucked her arm back in his. “Now teach me how to talk to an adult male without sending him the wrong message.”
“You could just try not showering. Don’t brush your teeth.”
Nikki made a goofy face. “It worked for you, right?”
“Okay, listen. It’s all about eye contact…”
13~Football
David Pembroke was built like a tank with a brown shag carpet for hair, and was just about as mentally agile. On the Friday of the first home game, he and the other teammates— there were sixteen of them in fourth period! —all wore their football jerseys, as if to taunt her about Coach’s request.
“Class, I’ve got your first essays graded, and…” How was she going to say this nicely? “I think maybe we are not all defining ‘final draft’ the same way. A final draft should be as close to error-free as possible. With some of these…” She winced, looking at the top of the stack. David Pembroke’s essay looked like an alien had sneezed all over it. “Well, what I did was mark errors until I got to the tenth one. At that point I drew a line and stopped reading. I figure if you’re not willing to read your own paper, why should I?”
A few nervous laughs competed with angrier mumbles.
“I’m going to give you the weekend to upgrade your efforts before I actually record the scores. Let me clarify. Most of you had great ideas, but they were just presented incoherently. You don’t want messy writing to ruin the power of your message.”
Nikki waded through the sea of unhappy faces to return their papers. One by one, she heard gasps and groans. One kid yowled, “That’s crazy! I’ve never gotten below a B in my life!”
“Short life. Always room for new experiences.” Her light humor fell flat. She turned to walk back up to her desk and ran right into David. He looked mad. Very mad. His shoulders were back, and he filled the aisle so Nikki could not pass.
“David, sit down.”
“If I don’t get a C average, I can’t play. You can’t do this to me.”
“I’m pretty sure I can, David. Please sit down.” She could feel her temperature rising. What if he gets violent? If he starts screaming? Drawing a deep breath, she remembered some of Charlie’s tips for being assertive.
David took a step closer, flaunting his pecs. She held her ground and looked up the three or four inches into his eyes. Planting her hands on her hips, she closed the gap between them and filled herself with air. “Look, David. I’m just as chesty as you are. Sit. Down.”
“Baaaaaa!” Josh roared and leapt out of his seat as if he’d been ejected. “Burn!” He laughed and grinned at Nikki. “Good one, Ms. F!” His reaction changed the whole mood of the room. “I can’t believe you said that, Ms. F!” cackled Josh, clapping his hands to his face.
David backed away, red-cheeked but no longer furious. Nikki punched his shoulder lightly. “Like I said, you have the weekend to upgrade your efforts. Go win the game, and then tidy this thing up. Run spell-check. Figure out what the green squiggles on the computer are about. I won’t record any grades until after I collect the new versions on Monday.” She turned to the class with open hands. “Fair? You try harder, and I’ll cut you some slack this first time?”
Given that most of them had gone into mild cardiac arrest when they saw their grades, they all thought this was a terrific plan, even Josh who had gotten a B+ . The students spent the next half hour in peer editing or consulting with Nikki on her margin notes, and when the bell finally rang, the whole team filed by Nikki’s desk with smiles or nods.
She got up and followed them into the hall. “Hey, win big tonight!”
“Are you
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