Always You (3 page)

Wrenn

My pulse quickened as he
walked into the room. God, he was driving me insane and he didn’t even know it.
Like right now, for instance: his ass in those jeans…

Sigh
. That was probably the best
thing about being a girl—I didn’t have to worry about trying to hide an
erection in the middle of class. I didn’t know how boys did it. He set his
briefcase down on his desk, flinging it open and taking out a stack of papers.
Glancing around the room, he smiled.

“Good morning. Did we all
have a good weekend?”

Murmurs filled the room. I
was too busy staring at him to answer. His gaze swept past me, and for a moment
I thought I saw a smile. Had that been for me? Was he thinking about running
into me at Layna’s?

Seeing Dalton out of class
on Friday had been amazing. Sure, it had only been a five-minute conversation,
but he’d treated me like a person. Every other teacher here knew my story, and
all I ever got from them were sympathetic glances and those tiny little smiles
that say “I’m not going to tell you how sorry I am for you, but I feel
so
sorry for you.”

Ugh
. It was like I couldn’t
escape my past, no matter how badly I wanted to. Thank God none of the other
students knew—not even Kass.

The last thing they needed
was more ammunition to use against me. The days they ignored me were best; I
could handle that. It was the days they decided to pick on me relentlessly that
were the worst. By ‘they,’ I meant Paige, but if she was targeting you, then
everyone followed. It was sad, really.

It was amazing what a sexy,
young, hot male teacher could do for your motivation levels. In the few months
I’d been at this school, nobody had paid attention quite like they did in Mr.
Reid’s presence.

I studied the cause of this
phenomenon as he waffled on about…honestly? I had
no
idea what he was talking about right then, and I was pretty sure
every other student in the room felt the same way. He wasn’t just attractive,
he was down right freaking hot. Surely there was a law against a guy this
gorgeous teaching teenage girls? This was a form of torture. But all the same,
I’d take it.
Yep. I could get used to
this.

I sat back, my eyes on him
as he took in the room. Again, I swear he smiled as his gaze swept past me. I
couldn’t have imagined that twice.

“How did everyone do with
the homework I assigned?” he asked, sitting on the edge of his desk.

That’s right, in my moment
of appreciating the swooniness of my teacher, I’d forgotten we had an assignment
due—just like the rest of the class had. The sound of papers rustling
filled the silence as everyone dug through their folders. I pulled my
three-page summary on the
Magna Carta
and
passed it toward the front.

Out of the corner of my eye
I saw Paige glance at me, then whisper something to her sidekick, Deena. They
both giggled. I forced myself not to react. As much as I pretended I didn’t
care, it still hurt. Nobody wants to be the outcast.

You don’t wake up in the
morning and think to yourself, “Gee I hope they’ve vandalized my locker again
today,” or, “I hope they try and frame me for cheating on another test.” I have
no idea what I did to make Paige hate me so much, but whatever it was, in her
mind it must have been big.

The rest of the period went
quickly. I suppose time flies when you’re not really listening. There were
perks to repeating my senior year. Well, I wasn’t really
repeating,
I
guess. After the accident, it took me a long time to recover—both
physically and mentally. Some things that were covered here I’d already covered
in my old school, and some things I hadn’t. It all depended on the syllabus.
Either way, it would help me get the grades I needed to secure my place in
prelaw at Boston University, and it meant I could graduate midyear.

The bell sounded, scaring
the daylights out of me. My heart was still pounding as Mr. Reid dismissed us.
As I packed up my things and began to walk out, he called me over.

“Wrenn, can I see you for a
moment?” he asked casually. I nearly fainted.

Calm down,
Wrenn. He probably wants to tell you off for not listening in class.

I smirked at Paige, who was
giving me a death stare. I watched her flounce out of the room, knowing I’d
probably be paying for that later.

Approaching the desk, I
waited as he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a DVD. He handed it to
me and I took it curiously, my fingers brushing past his as they wrapped around
the hard plastic casing.

Holy shit.

I forced myself to focus on
the DVD and not the electricity pulsating through my veins from his touch.
Did he feel that?
God forbid if he ever
actually touched me—I’d probably orgasm on the spot. I studied the cover
of the DVD.

Dawn of the
Dead

“Ah, this is the one you
were talking about?” I asked, suddenly excited. I flipped it over to read the
back.

He nodded, his eyes studying
my reaction.

I grinned, secretly happy
that he had remembered me.

“If you can handle this one,
then I have a few others that are pretty good too.”

I raised my eyebrows at him.
“You think I’m going to hide under the bed or something?” I teased him. “All I
watch is horror movies, Mr. Reid. I’m
pretty
sure I can handle this little thing.” I winked at him.

He laughed, running his hand
through his hair, that beautiful smile appearing on his face. Ugh, he was making
me weak at the knees.

Wrenn, say
something else!
I opened my mouth, and then closed it again.
Great, now I look like a freaking goldfish.

“Okay, well, we’ll see. I
mean, this makes
The Birds
look like
a comedy.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, still not
convinced. I pushed the DVD into my backpack and smiled at him. “Well, thanks.
Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow at my aunt’s?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe,” he murmured,
holding my eye contact.

***

“So, what did he want?”
pressed Kassia.

I laughed. I was barely out
of the door when she pounced on me.

“Did you see Paige? Pissed
off, is all I can say. You better watch your back.”

“He just wanted to see how
much of the syllabus I’d already covered in my old school,” I fibbed. I didn’t
like lying to Kass, and I wasn’t even sure why I did. All I knew was that I
felt like I wanted to keep our little connection to myself—for a while,
at least.

Kassia looked disappointed.
“Is that all?” she said, glumly.

“What were you expecting?
That he swept the junk off his desk and threw me down?” I snorted.

Kass grinned at me. “Well, I
like that idea. Not only the idea of him doing that to you, but
me
doing that to you. Or maybe both him
and
me.”

I shoved her playfully,
knowing she was messing around. She had a girlfriend, Trina, who she’d been
with for the last six months. Trina didn’t go to Tennerson. She went to a
public school in town, which was part of the reason Kass didn’t live on campus
this year.

Kass’s parents were very
cool. They accepted her sexuality, and loved Trina, and me, like we were part
of the family. Which felt good. Especially those times when I missed my own
family, so much. Layna was great, but she reminded me so much of my mother that
when I was at my most down it was hard to be around her. If you’d seen them
side by side, you’d pick right away that they were sisters. They had shared the
same blonde hair and brown eyes. Both Jordan and I had taken after my dad, and
Mom had hated that. She used to say she felt left out, because we all looked so
alike.

 
“Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’ll
have you back in time for dinner.” She linked her arm through mine. I nodded my
agreement and whipped out my phone to text Layna and let her know where I was
going.

As we reached the parking
lot, we were confronted by Paige, Deena, and Stacie, all three of them blocking
our path. Paige stood in front, hands on her hips, her lip curled up in disgust

“Well if it isn’t the two
lesbian lovers,” she sneered, as the other two girls giggled. Apparently anyone
who spent time with Kass was a lesbian by association. Kass stepped forward
until she was almost nose to nose with Paige.

“Get out of my way now,
Paige.”

“Or what? What are you going
to do, Kass? Run off and cry into the arms of your little lover?” She thrust
her finger toward me.

I shook my head, anger
boiling inside of me. This girl was such a nasty piece of work. I tapped Kass
on the shoulder. “Come on. She’s not worth it. Let’s just go,” I muttered,
glaring at Paige.

“Yeah, listen to your
girlfriend and run away, dyke.”

Kass began to laugh as Paige
stared at her, shocked. “You know what I think, Paige? I think deep down, you
want me. I think you lie in bed at night imagining my fingers inside of you,
teasing you. I think you’re aching to feel my tongue sliding between your legs,
and you know you’ll never have me.” She smiled sweetly and grabbed my hand,
walking around the three of them, giggling to herself.

“That was brilliant,” I
cried as soon as we were out of sight. “Fucking awesome, Kass. You told her!”
Secretly, I wished I had that kind of confidence. I’d love to take Paige down a
peg or two.

Wrenn

 
As I glanced out the window of Kass’s
Jeep, I thought about my future. And my past. And how I couldn’t wait to leave
this place.

 
“What made you decide to stay at
Tennerson’s?” I asked her. “I mean, I hate it but I don’t have a choice. I know
your parents would let you move if they knew how much shit Paige and her skanks
put you through.”

Kassia glanced at me. The
urge to ask her that had come out of nowhere, and surprised us both.

 
“They’re not as bad as they used to be.”
She shrugged. “Besides, Tennerson’s is the best prep school in the state. If I
want to retain my acceptance at Harvard, then I have to stick it out. I don’t
give a shit about those girls. I couldn’t care less what they think of me. They
are going to get a harsh reality check next year when they go to the university
where daddy bought them their place, and they realize they’re not the top shit
anymore.”

Wow. I wish
I
were that confident in myself.

I hated that I let what
others thought get to me. I never used to be like that. It was like the
accident had killed all my self-esteem.

I couldn’t wait to get to
college. I felt as though, right then, I was in limbo—waiting for my life
to begin. Everything I thought I knew about life and love was gone, yet I
couldn’t move forward just yet. Or maybe I didn’t want to move forward?

Moving on meant accepting
that the past was never going to change. I wouldn’t be having any more late
night chats with Mom about the boys I was crushing on. Or having her comfort me
when my heart got broken. I wouldn’t have another argument with Jordan, or see
him graduate from high school. And Dad wouldn’t be there to walk me down the
aisle on my wedding day. None of my family would be there to see me marry the
man of my dreams. Moving forward was terrifying, and at the same time exciting.
I was so scared of forgetting, yet desperate for closure. No wonder I felt so
damn confused.

“Don’t let her get to you,
Wrenn. You’re so much better than her. Remember that.” Kassia gave me a smile
as she turned the car into the parking lot. Of course she thought this was all
about Paige. She didn’t know about my past.

“Am I that obvious?” I
asked, making a face.

She laughed and nodded.

“I know, you’re right. I’ll
work on it,” I promised, wishing it were that easy.

***

We met Trina in Starbucks. I
stood in line to get our orders while the other two found a booth—and
each othe,r it seemed. They certainly weren’t shy about displaying their affection
in public. They’d caught the attention of every guy in the place—two
pretty schoolgirls making out? Who’d have thought?

Smirking, I turned back
around to face the counter. The guy standing ahead of me turned.

It was Mr. Reid.
Dalton
.

“Hey,” I said, tapping him
on the arm. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Wrenn.” His face lit up. He
rolled his eyes at the line in front of us. “There’s nothing I hate more than
waiting. It’s almost enough to make me walk out, but unfortunately my caffeine
addiction wont let me.”

I giggled. “Yeah, the things
we do for our addictions.”

He raised his eyebrows at me
and I blushed. I hadn’t meant for that to sound so dirty. “So let me guess . .
. you’re a straight-up espresso kind of guy.”

He looked offended. “You
think I’m that boring? I’ll have you know it’s a mocha double-strength latte,
all the way.”

I love the way
his eyes twinkle when he jokes with me.

“Hey, me too!” I smiled.

He chuckled at my
enthusiasm. “So, you’re here alone?” he asked.

I shook my head, and pointed
to Kass and Trina, who were still making out in the booth. I cringed, but he
just laughed.

“Good to see you relaxing.”

“You don’t think I relax? I
relax
too
much. I’m the queen of
procrastination,” I proclaimed.

He smiled and raised his
eyebrows.
Great, he doesn’t believe me.

 
“You seriously think I need to relax?”

“You always look so serious
in class. I know, I’ve only been there a little over a week, but it’s just the
vibe I got from you. You work hard.”

“At school, yes, I’m
focused, because I know where I want to be and what I need to do to get there.
Not only that, but school doesn’t exactly fill me with feelings of happiness.”
I paused, realizing I was teetering on the edge of being too forthcoming. “I
get bullied a lot, so I don’t enjoy school. It’s simply a means to an end for
me. Nothing about that place fills me with warm fuzzy feelings.”

“You handle it remarkably
well,” he offered. He paused, his expression becoming serious. “If it makes you
feel any better, I used to get bullied, too.”

“You?” I said, arching my
eyebrow. I wanted to roll my eyes. This was as bad as those celebrity specials
on TV where they all share their sob stories about being bullied as kids.

“Yes, me.” He laughed.
“What, you don’t think a hip, cool guy like me could be teased?”

I blushed again.

Hip?
I was thinking more along the lines of hot…sexy…amazing…

 
“You blush a lot, Wrenn. You should
really get that under control. It gives away everything,” he said with a wink.
And just like that, he was next in line.

He placed his order,and then
turned around. “What are you girls having?”

I relayed our order to the
cashier. We stood off to the side together to wait for our drinks.

“You didn’t have to buy our
coffees,” I said shyly. “I wouldn’t want to get you into any trouble.”

“It’s coffee, Wrenn, not a
joint,” he smiled and I blushed again. God, I
did
need to work on my
blushing. He chuckled, and shook his head as I ordered.

We stood next to one
another, waiting. Could he see how nervous he made me? I was a wreck. My hands
were shaking, my mouth was dry, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how
wonderful he smelled.

The barista placed our
coffees on the counter. Dalton smiled at me as he reached for his.

“Have a good day, Wrenn.”

Carrying our drinks over to
the booth, Kass stared at me, her eyes narrowed.

“Was that our hot teacher I
saw you talking to?” she accused.

“You came up for air long
enough to see that, huh?” I grinned, setting down the tray. Trina laughed and
reached for her cup.

“Yes. So was it?”

“Yes. He was in front of me,
so we chatted.” I shrugged innocently.

“Do you think he’s hot?” she
asked with a giggle.

I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, do you! You’re hot for
teacher! Go for it Wrenn, slut it up and make him want you.”

“Shut up,” I said, giving
her the finger.

She laughed, taking a sip of
her latte.

“I’m not going to throw
myself at him like the rest of the school population.” I was happy just
admiring the view from a distance.