Second Chance at Love

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

JOHN'S POV

John was in his office after lecturing his final class that Tuesday evening, trying to get a start on grading the papers the students of one of his upper level courses had turned in. He was a History professor at the University of North Florida with a focus on Archeology, though he mainly taught basic U.S. History and American History to underclassmen. He did teach a couple three thousand level Archeology classes now, though. Sometimes you had to start from the bottom and work your way to the top. Plus, it was an honor to work in one of the top History departments as far as Florida universities went.

He had only managed to make it through one paper and was marking up the second when his colleague, Ryan Galliger, knocked on the door frame. Eyes still on the paper he held as he turned his swivel chair so that it was facing the door, John held up a finger before he finished marking up a paragraph he had read last. Once he had finished, however, he gave his attention to Ryan, who had sat down in the chair that stood beside his desk for students to use when they had to discuss something about an assignment or their grade.

"Guess who's back home, and this time for good," Ryan said. "My wife picked her sister up at the airport earlier today."

"You've got to be shitting me."

"Nope, I'm not."

"But why on God's green earth would Ella move back home?" John asked. "I thought she was loving that research job of hers down in Australia or wherever the hell she's been living."

"It's New Zealand," Ryan said, with a grin planted firmly on his face. "And I know you knew that. You're still sore that she chose her job over you all those years ago after the both of you finished your schooling."

"I'm over it, seriously done with what happened. It's in the past."

"Yeah, keep preaching it, Jackie boy."

"Please don't," John said. "You know I hate it when you call me that."

"Fine," Ryan said, "but you know you need to come over for dinner soon. Renee told me to ask when you're free. Not to mention, the kids keep asking about you."

John had been purposefully staying away from Ryan, along with the rest of his friends who were married with kids, for the past couple months. He had hoped to have settled down by now, but no. He was still painfully single, which naturally meant he was no where near to being a father. Naturally he was jealous because aside from becoming an Archeologist, John had always wanted to start a family. There was just the little problem of finding a woman he could fall in love with that he would want to spend the rest of his life with. He had found her, but she had run off, choosing her career over him. But he wasn't bitter or anything like that.

"And no trying to get out of dinner," Ryan said, reading his mind. "We're not taking no for an answer."

"You know, I'm actually going to be busy getting all these papers graded over the next week," John said. "Can we take a rain check?"

"Sure we —" Ryan started, but was interrupted by the sound of a text message dinging. "Oh, it's from Renee," Ryan said, reading over the message.

John noticed Ryan go stiff as he pocketed the iPhone.

"Something wrong?"

"Wrong," Ryan said, "Oh, no, of course not. She just wants me to pick up some stuff on the way home."

There was something Ryan wasn't telling him. Something that was clearly making Ryan more uncomfortable the longer his colleague remained in John's office.