Ray smiled. "No need to be shy about it."

Then he leaned in close to Noelle's ear. "No need to explain yourself to strangers, either."

Noelle nodded along in a daze, not even registering how flimsy Ray's logic actually was. They weren't husband and wife, nor were they even a couple; just a teacher and a student's parent. Why would they need to sit pressed together like this? It really did call for some kind of explanation.

But her head was too fogged over to think straight anymore. Whatever R