Chapter XXVI
August 20, 2023
William woke before Casey. Around five in the morning, she kicked him in her sleep,
and he couldn’t fall back asleep. She muttered something about golf. He lay there
for a while, watching her sleep, until he felt like starting to make breakfast. He
had told her he made excellent pancakes, and now he had a chance to prove it.
They had been seeing each other since April, though Casey insisted they keep it
discreet. She didn’t want the school finding out she was dating a student’s father.
They still went to dinner and movies, but William wasn’t invited to any
school-related events.
Since she had break over the summer, Casey spent most of it working on her artwork.
William hadn't seen any more paintings resembling him.
They had agreed that when William had his kids for the week, Casey wouldn’t come
over. She wanted to ease the children into the idea of their father having a
girlfriend. She also didn’t want any accusations of favoritism at school. William’s
son only had one year left at the middle school.
Casey said they might relax the rules if Sam didn’t end up in any of her classes
that year. Schedules hadn’t gone out yet. Sam had never liked art and would likely
sign up for drama again as his elective.
Even with the rules, William felt the relationship was going well. He and Casey had