When I arrived at Duets, a steady snow had begun to fall. The tip of my nose and cheeks felt frozen, so I knew they were probably bright red. Considering that all of the other staff members had a forty-five minute head start at the bar, I figured I'd probably see some other flushed faces in there.

I put my faux-fur trimmed hood down and shook out my curls. Hood-hair was better than hat-head. I did have my beret shoved in a pocket for the walk home, and by the look of this storm I'd need more than a hat later to keep me warm. Since that was basically my mission for tonight anyway, I looked around to find my target.

Laura spotted me before I found Ryan in the crowd. "Hey Viv, over here!" She waved me over to a corner barstool, where a line of shots were being poured in front of her. I could see her indicate to the bartender that she needed one more.

"Hey everyone!" I smiled at the other guidance counselors and deans that Laura was hanging with. "What'd I miss?"

Megan, the freshmen counselor, accepted her shot and then nodded toward the school librarian, who was climbing off the stage. "A stirring rendition of Hit Me Baby One More Time." She wrinkled her nose. "AP Marco plans on singing Fat Bottomed Girls later."

"I'll have to prepare myself." I chuckled as I accepted my own shooter from Laura, and held it aloft.

Laura lifted her glass. "To our ears. May they survive the crimes against music which they are about to hear tonight!"

Everyone else raised theirs, and we chorused, "To our ears!"

The cinnamon whiskey felt like a warm hug as it traveled down my body and unfurled into my limbs. It made me want to switch from my preferred tequila. I pulled out a twenty dollar bill and added it to the pile on the bar, before ordering a cider with a shot added into it.

My cousin's hands were on my zipper. "Off with this coat. Let's see what you're working with tonight." She managed to strip me, and hang my jacket on the back of her stool, before the bartender came back with my glass.

"Do I meet your approval?" I asked, as I twirled in place to show off my hunter green bodysuit and skin tight jeans.

Laura applauded. "Damn girl! I'm impressed. You've come out to play and I like it. But what prompted this sudden enthusiasm for my game plan?"

My stomach twisted uncomfortably. Generally, I told Laura everything. We had grown up more like sisters than cousins, and she was certainly my very best friend.

But I didn't want to say his name. Not right now at least. My body had just begun to hum nicely from all of the alcohol I'd imbibed and I didn't want to wreck my buzz. So I took a sip from my cider and shrugged. There really wasn't any fooling Laura though.

Narrowing her eyes at me, she chewed at her cheek for a second, then said, "You don't have to tell me tonight. Let's just have fun. I'm gonna look through these songs."

She flipped open the karaoke binder, and made a shooing motion at me. "While you take a walk towards the ladies room, where you'll see a man who needs rescuing from a discussion about grandkids with the attendance secretary."

I took her cue, and moseyed as nonchalantly as I could toward the back of Duets. The lights had been dimmed and the press of bodies became thicker the closer I got to the stage. Why anyone would want to be closer to the caterwauling, I will never know.

I was practically on top of Ryan before I realized it was him. The wardrobe change from his typical work garb of track pants and a school t-shirt or fleece, into some just-snug-enough jeans and a maroon-colored sweater which emphasized his broad shoulders, was an extremely pleasant surprise.

He had already managed to extricate himself from the secretary's clutches, but looked a little lost in the crowd. I watched the back of his head swiveling around, apparently trying to figure out where he should go next.

This was the first time I was close enough to actually touch him, so I did. I tapped on his rock hard shoulder muscle. "Oh hey, Coach Pierce, I was looking for you!"

He turned toward me with a confused look that then morphed into an adorably shy smile. "Oh? Hey Ms. Guiliani! What can I do for you?"

The way his chest looked in that sweater, made me think that the first thing he could do for me, would be to take it off. I smiled wider. "I wanted to thank you for speaking with Tony about his tardiness. He actually arrived on time today."

"Happy to help." Ryan's amber colored eyes shifted up and down my body for a brief moment. "Honestly, if you were my teacher when I was his age, I'd have never been late to class."

"I hope that isn't what you said to Tony." My cheeks burned and I reached out to nudge his shoulder.

God, touching him felt good!

He gave me a sheepish look and lifted one of his toned arms to rub the back of his neck. "Of course not. In fact, I can't believe I just said that aloud to you."

I chuckled. "We'll blame the booze. Can I buy you another drink?"

"Absolutely not. First one's on me."

"No. I insist. It's the least I can do for your help with Tony. Plus, my drink is still nearly full."

He nodded, and when I turned to walk toward the bar, he placed his hand on the small of my back. It felt like I took another shot of cinnamon whisky, but this time the heat travelled to an entirely different part of my body.

After getting him another beer, we found a deserted high-top in the quietest corner of the room. We both leaned against the table and raised our glasses.

I looked into his eyes, which were framed by lovely dark lashes, and asked, "What should we toast to?"

Ryan thought for a moment, then smiled wide enough to reveal a tiny dimple in his left cheek. I smiled back, because I was happy he shared that dimple with me, and because I knew what he was thinking.

We spoke in unison. "To Tony."

Ryan took a swig and put his bottle down. "So tell me something about yourself Ms. Guiliani?"

"Well... let's start with my first name." I held out my hand. "Vivian. Pleased to meet you."

He engulfed my hand with his, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "The pleasure is all mine, Vivian."

Chills ran down my spine when Ryan said my name, because he kind of bit down on his lower lip on the initial V. It was the most erotic way anyone had ever said my name, and it made my nipples hard. It also made me realize how well lubricated I was at this point. I was definitely past buzzed and tumbling into drunk, as I stared at his mouth, imagining what it would be like to lean over and kiss him right now.

He smiled, slow and sexy, and he still held my hand. "Are you okay?"

I smiled back. "What's your deal Ryan Pierce?" I asked, with a noticeable slur.

"My deal?" He quirked an eyebrow and let go of my hand to pick up his beer and take a drink.

I nodded. "Where did you come from? Why are you here? And why are you still single?"

"Well, you're getting right down to business, aren't you? Do guys usually answer these questions honestly on a first date?" He chuckled and took another drink.

"This isn't a date." I picked up my glass and tilted it at him before taking my next sip.

"Would you like to go on a date?" He winked and showed off his dimple again.

"Well, now who's the one getting right down to business?" I snorted into my cider glass.

"Do you always make it this hard on a guy?" He shook his head at me.

"Maybe. It depends."

"On what?"

"On how you answer my questions."

This was supposed to be a fun night, but of course I was turning it into something else, something awkward. I frowned.

Ryan rubbed his forehead. "Is it okay if I give you the Cliff Notes version? Or will that fail me? I've heard that you're pretty tough."

"Have you been asking around about me?" I tried to sound flirtatious, and lighten the mood.

He blushed. "The kids talk."

I nodded. "They do, and so do the faculty. And you... you listen."

I hiccuped and Ryan tried to hide his smile behind his hand.

"I like to think I'm a good listener."

"But not good at talking about yourself?"

He sighed. "Not usually."

"Then I'll accept the abbreviated version." I hiccuped again and smiled

He chewed his bottom lip for a minute. It made me imagine biting it for him, which was quite a pleasant thought.

He cleared his throat. "Well... I'm from Texas originally. But I was an army brat, so we moved around a lot. I'm an only child. My Mom was Filipino. She died from cancer when I was fourteen. Dad never remarried, he barely ever dated again. He died two years ago. Heart attack. I did ROTC to pay for college, so I gave the army eight years of my adult life. I had a serious girlfriend for a few years. She really wanted to get married, so we got engaged. Then I found out that she cheated on me while I was on my final deployment. That was that. I wasted a couple years being angry and directionless. Then decided that I needed a truly fresh start. A good buddy from my old unit lives here, and over the summer, he told me the high school was looking for another PE teacher. So, here I am."

At the mention of engagements and cheating, my mind flashed on Donovan's newly bearded face. Just as I feared, my overly-emotional drunk-self took hold and I couldn't stop myself from welling up.

Ryan was just as good at observing as he was at listening. "Oh man, I didn't think my life sounded so bad as to inspire tears!"

"No... no, it's not that! I promise." I picked up the cocktail napkin from under my glass and dabbed at the corner of my eyes.

He reached across the table and took my hand again. His eyes and voice were gentle. "What's your deal Vivian Giuliani?"

"You honestly want to know?" I looked into the bottom of my empty pint. The silence grew.

Ryan didn't let go of my hand. "I do."

At that moment a bar-back appeared with two fresh drinks for us. He said, "From Laura," as he swept the empties off our table.

I did not need another drink, but I swallowed some more of the liquid courage anyway. "My deal is that... I signed up for some stupid dating app, and they matched me with my ex. I mean... this guy... he messed me up. He broke up with me on the morning of my University graduation! I worked so hard to earn a dual bachelor's and master's in just five years time, and I couldn't even enjoy it. I walked onto the stage in an absolute fog. I thought we were moving in together the following week, but every plan that had been made between us just disappeared."

Ryan reached across to lift my chin up and looked into my eyes. "He sounds like a really selfish asshole."

I furrowed my brow. "But what does that say about me, that the one guy they claim is my soulmate is the one asshole that I already failed at love with?"

"I think it says that you just hadn't met me yet." Ryan winked and took the drink from my hand. "And I also think that you should let me take you home."

I studied Ryan's face for a minute. With his light brown skin, golden eyes and dark hair, he was the complete polar opposite of Donovan physically. Personality wise, he seemed to be as well.

I needed this. I needed someone who would obliterate every memory of Donnie which still held me back. 

Ryan knew what I needed, because he had been hurt too, and maybe he recognized that part of himself in me. Well, I could make him forget his ex-fiancé if that's what he needed tonight.

I nodded. "Okay. Let's go."