“Innocent little me?” I placed my hand over my chest and pretended to be insulted. “Never.”
Throwing his head back, he barked out a husky laugh. “Mhmm. I’m not so sure I believe that, but I’ll have to take your word for it.” As the last student climbed the stairs and disappeared inside, he lowered the clipboard and stuck the pencil behind his ear, grinning. “My money this year is on Jayla and Everett, but we’ll see.”
My teeth gnashed together as my face burned with anger, and I honestly thought I was going to puke. His comment made me want to scream at the top of my lungs and throw shit. I hated that I couldn’t say anything, that I couldn’t tell him how wrong he was because Everett was mine!
Taking a deep breath, I forced a half-smile and replied, “Well, let’s hope they all behave today.”
Without waiting to see if he was going to keep talking, I hopped up in the bus and scanned the seats to get an idea of where all my kids were sitting, when my gaze met Everett’s, who was sitting a few rows back. Sharing a seat with Jayla.
The flames in my face instantly spread like a wildfire inside of me, fury blistering from head to toe. Staggering the two steps to the first seat, which had been left open for me and Mr. Carroll, I twisted and fell into it while struggling to get enough air to my lungs. I couldn’t believe it. I could not fucking believe it. Wow, I was such an idiot.
My phone vibrated in my back pocket as Liam slid in next to me, still smiling, completely unaware of the volcano waiting to erupt next to him. Then it vibrated again. And again. And again.
I knew it was him. He knew I was pissed. And even though I had him in my contacts as “Rockstar,” I couldn’t very well read the message right then without Liam seeing it too. Reaching behind me, I flipped the switch on the side to silent mode then turned to face Liam and acted like whatever the hell he was talking about was the most interesting thing I’d ever heard for the entire trip there. All the while, simmering right under the boiling mark of me losing my shit.
Less than a half hour later, we disembarked and filed up to the entrance of the theater. I purposely never made eye contact with him, focusing solely on my homeroom students and making sure they were where they were supposed to be and not acting like ass-clowns. My phone stayed buried in my back pocket the entire time, even though I was dying to read the messages.
Once everyone was inside and in their seats — and yes, they were sitting next to each other — I asked Liam to watch over my class while I went to the restroom. Scampering up the aisle and out the door of the theater to the lobby, I darted across the carpeted floor to the ladies’ room and locked myself in a stall. My hands shook as I grabbed my phone and unlocked it.
(Tues 9:24AM) Everett: I can explain.
(Tues 9:24AM) Everett: Don’t overreact.
(Tues 9:24AM) Everett: Stop clenching your jaw.
(Tues 9:25AM) Everett: Freaking out about nothing.
(Tues 9:27AM) Everett: Don’t do that. Not with him.
(Tues 9:29AM) Everett: Acting ridiculous.
(Tues 9:31AM) Everett: Remember what happens when you make assumptions?
(Tues 9:34AM) Everett: You’re pushing it.
(Tues 9:40AM) Everett: Just wait.
I just finished reading the last message when I heard someone walk in the bathroom. Guiltily, as if whoever it was could see me, I frantically turned the phone off and shoved it back in my pocket. Peeking under the door at the shoes of whoever it was, I hissed in a sharp breath when I saw Everett’s black Chucks. What in the…
“We gotta stop meeting like this in bathrooms, Belle. Guess you like the lessons,” he rumbled, his deep, throaty voice speeding up my pulse.
I unlocked the door and pushed it open, stomping out with my brows furrowed and my hands fisted on my hips.
“Have you lost your damn mind?” I whisper-shouted. “You can’t be in here!”
A second later, my back was against the wall and he was less than an inch from my face. The heat radiating off of him surrounded, me and I couldn’t help but melt into him a little bit. “I told you before that I’m not a liar or a cheater, and I wasn’t just saying that shit to say it,” he growled, resting his forehead against mine. “Mr. Carroll assigned us a ‘buddy’, like we’re in fucking fifth grade, that we’re supposed to sit next to. I tried to switch, and he told us we couldn’t. I had no choice at all.”
I opened my mouth to apologize, but he put his finger to my lips before any sound came out.
“I know how it looked. I know I would’ve reacted the same way, and I almost did with how you were acting all fucking buddy-buddy up there sitting next to him.” His mouth tenderly swept over mine, drawing a soft moan from the back of my throat. “But this is the last time we make assumptions. Okay, beautiful?”
“Okay,” I breathed, whiplashed by my own Heckell-and-Jyde emotions. Having always considered myself a pretty level-headed person before, I was quickly learning that was no longer the case when it had to do with Everett Templeton.
“Good. Glad we got that cleared up. We’ll talk more tonight,” he said, as he marched out of the women’s restroom, “and stay the hell away from Mr. Carroll.”
A minute or so later, after I somewhat mentally recovered from what had just happened, I passed Jayla and another girl as I walked out. Knowing we were that close to being caught.
“DUDE, WHAT’S YOUR deal? You’ve been smiling way too fucking much lately.” Billy eyed me suspiciously as I sat down across from him in my normal seat at the lunch table. “And don’t give me that ‘because it’s Friday’ bullshit. I’ve noticed it for a couple of weeks now.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Scott chimed in from next to him. “You’ve been downright friendly when I see you in the halls. Did you finally get your dick wet, or what?”
Sighing, I shook my head and scowled at him. “Why do you always say the stupidest shit?”
He ignored me and shoulder-bumped Billy, snickering like I wasn’t sitting three feet in front of them. “I bet Jayla’s been spending the night with Ashlynn again. I saw the two of them leave together from the bonfire Saturday night. And you know whose room Jayla sleeps in when she stays at the Templetons’,” he sneered.
Billy narrowed his gaze on me, silently asking if what Scott said was true — if I had turned back to the dark side — but before I could answer, the devil herself appeared and lowered herself onto the empty chair next to me.
“Did I happen to overhear one of you boys say my name?” she mused in a sickly sweet voice that grated on my eardrums. “Were you guys talking about the senior trip? Isn’t it awesome that I talked Principal Gentile into letting us have an excused absence the Monday after? Senior Skip Day at the beach!”
“No way! Are you serious?” Scott’s expression brightened.
Smiling arrogantly, she nodded. “Of course, I’m serious. That woman loves me.” She paused to flip her black hair over her shoulder and toss me a bitchy smirk, then added, “I’m kinda awesome like that. You can all thank me later.”
She really was as terrible as she seemed. I can’t believe I’d ever let her touch me, much less put my dick in her mouth.
“Yeah, I won’t be thanking you for shit. I’m not going,” Billy announced matter-of-factly.
“What?” Scott gaped at him. “Why the hell not, dude? I thought we were all hitting the Big Apple together?”
Billy looked unimpressed. “My brother and I are meeting some of his frat brothers down in South Padre. I think I’ll take a few days of unlimited beers and willing coeds over a school-sponsored trip to a play on Broadway and the Statue of Liberty. No offense, man.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t be missed,” Jayla sneered at him. “And those poor girls won’t have any clue how repulsive you truly are.” Nope. Definitely no love lost between the two of them.
“Ashlynn and I aren’t going either,” I piped up, watching the shock hit her first, and then the anger seep in. Loving every second of it.
“What do you mean??
?? she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest, nostrils flaring. “Ashlynn didn’t tell me that. Where are y’all going?”
I stood up and gathered my trash then gave her my best bored look. “I guess because she doesn’t report to you, Jayla,” I smirked arrogantly, “but I’m sure she’ll be thinking about you while we’re living it up in Argentina.”
Walking away before she could say anything else, I went outside to my truck, where I could text with Belle until lunch was over. I hated that I couldn’t just march up the stairs and down the hall to her room and see her in person, but I wouldn’t do anything to risk what we had going. The talking and messaging in the evenings was fun on work and school nights, but they paled in comparison to the weekends we’d spent holed up in her apartment.
After staying that first night with her the day she moved in, the following Friday, I’d gone straight to her place as soon as Ashlynn and I were done with our gig at Empty’s, and didn’t leave until Sunday afternoon. Then last weekend, I’d done the same. We limited our contact throughout the week to texts and late-night phone calls, especially after the close-call at the theater, so on the weekends, it was as if we needed to pack in as much time together as possible to carry us through until the next Friday night.
And no, we hadn’t had sex yet, but we’d done pretty much everything else. Because I liked her so much, I didn’t want her to think it was just about that with us. Even though our initial attraction was purely physical, a magnetic force that wouldn’t be denied, my fascination with her ran much deeper. Plus, I was really fucking nervous. I don’t know why, but because I’d waited this long, when literally every other person I knew was having sex, it was kind of a big deal to me.
I used to say I didn’t go all the way with girls because I didn’t want them to tie that invisible string of attachment to me, forever a part of their “list.” Yet, now I was the one who knew once it happened with Belle, there’d be a bond that I shared forever with her. She’d always be my first. And I wanted it to be memorable, where I could take her on a real date and spoil her the way she deserved.
That’s when an idea hit me.
Digging my phone out of my back pocket as I lumbered across the parking lot, I called my dad, who picked up on the first ring.
“Hey, bud,” he greeted me, concern laced in his voice. “Everything okay? Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”
“Yeah, everything’s cool, Dad. I’m at lunch right now, got another fifteen minutes before class starts back up,” I replied. “I was actually calling to see if you could do me a favor.”
I heard Mom in the background asking what was going on and then him assuring her everything was fine before returning to our conversation “Depends on the favor,” he laughed into the phone. “What’s up?”
Deep breath, then blurt it out.
“Could you get me a room at a hotel in San Antonio for tomorrow night, some place nice, where I could take a girl to impress her? And maybe dinner reservations too? I know Monday is Valentine’s Day and this is kinda last minute, but I thought maybe you’d be able to work your Mason Templeton magic.”
There were a few seconds of quiet before he cleared his throat, and replied, “I’ll see what I can do, but we need to talk about this. I don’t want some irate parent calling me next week because I aided in you taking their daughter somewhere overnight. The last thing we need before this tour kicks off is bad publicity like that.”
“Yeah, no need to worry about that.” I chuckled as I opened my truck door and slid in behind the steering wheel, tossing my backpack on the bench seat next to me. “She’s older, has a job and her own apartment. Her parents don’t even live in Texas.”
Another pause, this one longer. “Like how much older? Twenty? Thirty? My age?”
“Early twenties,” I stretched the truth a tiny bit, then answered the question I knew was next. “I met her at Empty’s on New Year’s Eve, and yes, she knows how old I am. Come on, Dad. You know I’m not interested in these girls here at school. I’ve finally found someone I really like to hang out with and, believe it or not, we have a lot in common. Help me out with this. Please. It’s important to me.”
“Well, this explains the good moods and all of your nights away from home lately.” He half-sighed, half-laughed. “Look, I know you’re mature for your age, Everett, but what concerns me is what a woman in her twenties would want with a kid in high school. Does she know I’m your dad?”
It irritated me that he insinuated she was only interested in me because of who he was, but I knew it was a valid concern and reminded myself that he had my best interest at heart. “She didn’t until after we’d been talking a while. She literally just moved here from Alabama days before we met. Her friend that she was staying with had brought her up to the pub for the party,” I explained, hoping to ease his apprehensions about her.
Eventually, I wanted to introduce Belle to my parents, even though it was still a bit early for all that, but it was important to me that they like and approve of her. I had a feeling she and my mom would get along really well.
“All right, I’m trusting your judgment on this, son. Just please be careful,” he urged. “I don’t know what your plans are with her, but keep in mind we leave in less than five months and will be gone for almost a year. I need your focus on getting ready for this tour.”
“I know, Dad, and I am. I’ve actually been writing again like crazy since I met her. The lyrics are just pouring out of me.”
With a teasing groan, he told my mom, “Get ready, Angel. Everett’s got a girlfriend and is writing songs. I bet you a hundred dollars their first hit single is a love ballad.”
“Shut it.” I laughed, rolling my eyes like they could see me. “I don’t write love ballads, and she’s not my girlfriend. Just get me a room and a place to eat, old man.”
“If she’s not your girlfriend, should I book a room with two double beds then?” he taunted, cracking up afterward at his own joke. God, parents can be so annoying sometimes.
“Goodbye, and don’t you dare,” I grumbled, then disconnected the call as he continued to cackle on the other end of the line.
Immediately, I sent Belle a text.
(Fri 11:53AM) Me: I want to take you somewhere this weekend.
Her reply was instant, which made me smile like a loon.
(Fri 11:53AM) Belle: Like where? Is this a trick? Is this where you take me out in the woods and murder me? :)
(Fri 11:54AM) Me: You really need to lay off the Forensic Files, babe. But no, no woods. Short car trip, nice dinner out, hotel for tomorrow night, maybe a little fun thrown in if you’re good.
(Fri 11:56AM) Belle: I’m always good, rockstar. Better than good, in fact. I was supposed to do brunch with Lindsey Sunday, but I’ll reschedule.
(Fri 11:58AM) Me: That you are, beautiful. And cool. We’ll leave after breakfast tomorrow.
(Fri 11:59AM) Belle: How fancy do I need to be for this dinner? You want heels and sparkly eye shadow and shit?
(Fri 12:01PM) Me: Heels and sparkly eye shadow and shit would be great. I… ugh, there’s the bell. I’ll see you in a couple hours. Don’t bend over in front of me today. That kills me.
(Fri 12:02PM) Belle: I’ll be sure to. Now hurry and get to class. Don’t get in trouble.
(Fri 12:02PM) Me: I’m gonna show you trouble this weekend.
(Fri 12:03PM) Belle: Promise?
PLEASE DON’T ANSWER. Please don’t answer. Please don’t an—
“Hey, chica! What’s up?” Lindsey answered on the fourth ring, spoiling my hope to just leave a simple voicemail to cancel our weekend plans. I hated backing out on her, but there was no way I was passing up on this romantic weekend getaway with Everett.
For three weekends straight, he’d stayed at my apartment and we still hadn’t had sex. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was constantly touching and kissing me while we hung out, that he ate my pussy each night, claiming it was the “best damn dessert” he’d ever had, and that h
e fucked my face like a madman, I might’ve been scared that there was something wrong with me. But somehow, I knew that wasn’t it. He was purposely holding himself back, and even though I was enjoying the hell out of our time together, I was ready to keep moving it forward. I wanted to feel him rooted deep inside me. I craved that connection to him.
“Don’t kill me, but I need to reschedule our brunch to next weekend,” I blurted out nervously, as I paced the floor of my bedroom, still unsure of what I was going to tell her when she asked why, which was surely her next question.
“Why? Is everything okay?” she asked, right on cue.
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes; it was the moment of truth… or lies. “I’m going on an impromptu weekend road trip. Not sure where. It’s all kind of a surprise,” I admitted honestly.
“Really?! Oh, my God, how fun! Who are you going with? The British guy or some other teachers from work?”
I hesitated for a split-second before responding, “Uhh, I’m, uh, not sure—”
“Don’t! Don’t tell me!” she yelled, cutting me off. “If it’s who I think it is, I would rather not know. Not that I’m mad or upset with ya at all, but the less people involved, the better. And even if it’s not him, whoever it is, yes, go and have a good time. That’s what you’re supposed to be doing here — living, exploring, finding yourself.”
“Thank you, Linds. We’ll definitely get together next weekend,” I promised.
“You and I can get together anytime. Don’t worry about it,” she assured me. “And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Like screw a teenager?
After we exchanged goodbyes, I tossed my phone on top of the comforter then padded over to my closet, where I pulled out a small suitcase and began to pack while I waited for Everett to get to my apartment. I wasn’t sure what he had planned for me on our getaway, but as I placed the new sexy lingerie sets I’d picked up on the way home from work in my bag, I was confident I’d look damn good doing it.