Always You(17)

“Anyone home?” I called out, dropping my books on the hall table.

Silence greeted me. My heart thumping, I made my way into Layna’s office. I walked over to her desk and sat down, with no idea where to start. The slightest noise made me jump, because I was so sure I was going to get caught. I’d make the worst burglar.

I flicked though some papers and found nothing. The filing cabinet; nothing. The desk drawers; nothing. I was losing hope of ever finding what I needed when I saw it.

Her phone. She was forever leaving it at home. This was perfect. Her phone was the best chance of finding what I was looking for.

Picking it up, I clicked my way to Contacts and scrolled down to Reid.

And there it was. My hands shook as I copied the number into my phone. A voice in the back of my mind was screaming at me. What the hell are you doing? I clicked out of Contacts and navigated my way back to the main screen, setting the phone down exactly where I’d found it, right down to the angle it had been at.

Even once upstairs in the safety of my room, my heart was still racing. I sat down cross-legged on my bed, staring at the number. His number. Was I really going to do this? What if he brushed me off? I took a breath and dialed before I could change my mind.

“Hello?”

Oh my God. His voice sent chills through my body. I nearly ended the call. My voice wouldn’t work, and I was beginning to sweat.

“Hello?” he repeated.

“Uh, hi,” I managed. Fuck, I’m an idiot.

“Who is this?” he asked, his voice curious.

I slapped my hand over my face. Oh God, kill me now. This was getting worse by the minute.

“It’s Wrenn.”

“Oh.” He sounded surprised. And guarded. “Can you hold for a moment?”

“Uh, sure,” I mumbled. This was going really bad. I heard the muffled sound of him talking to someone. A few seconds passed, and then the sound of a door shutting.

“Sorry. I was . . . in a meeting. Are you okay?” he sounded concerned.

I felt so embarrassed. In what stupid fantasy had this seemed like a good idea? He was my teacher, he was five years older than me, and more than that, he was hot, sexy, and capable of getting any girl he wanted. Why would he be interested in me?

“Wrenn?”

“Um, I’m sorry. This was stupid . . . ”

“What is it?” he pressed. Great. Now he sounded amused, like he thought this was funny.

Kill me now. I sighed. I already looked like a fool. How much worse could this get?

“Psycho is playing over in Hallbrook tonight, and I wondered if you wanted to go,” I practically shouted the words down the phone. I slapped my hand over my mouth, so completely embarrassed.

“With you?” he asked, astonished.

“No, with the gardener,” I retorted.

He chuckled, probably at the thought of grumpy old Mr. Landen enjoying anything in life, let alone a movie.

“Look, I just thought it might be something you’d like to do, you know, as friends, but it’s probably a really bad—”

“Okay,” he said, cutting me off.

Huh? Did I just hear correctly?

“Okay?” I repeated, stunned. Surely I must’ve heard him wrong.

“Yes. It’s probably best you meet me there, though,” he added awkwardly.

“Yeah, sure. So it starts at seven. I will meet you there ten minutes before?”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

Yep. I was grinning like an idiot.

Hanging up the phone, I fell back on the bed.

Holy shit.

A wave of nausea ran over me. What the hell was I going to wear? I jumped up and ran down to the bathroom, turning on the taps as I stripped out of my uniform. After soaping myself up, I stood under the stream of water, trying to calm my nerves.

He just sees me as a friend. He probably feels sorry for the poor little orphan with no friends. No matter how often I kept repeating it to myself, a small part of me wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. There was no stopping that part of Wrenn from getting her hopes up. That part of me kept piping up with ridiculous thoughts. Things like, why would he risk his job to meet you for a movie if he just wanted friendship?

Stepping out of the shower, I dried my hair and tied it back into a loose bun, my bangs falling forward and covering my forehead. I wrapped a towel around me and walked back to my room. Now I had to decide what to wear.

I shuffled through my underwear drawer for my nicest bra and thong; a cream-colored French lace set Kass had given me for my birthday, all the way from a trendy Paris boutique.

I was anything but a slut. I had no intention of letting anyone see my underwear today, or anytime soon, for that matter, but I felt good wearing it. Over the top of the bra I slid a dusky pink silk tank, which I paired with my skinny jeans, calf-high black boots, and my warm short black woolen jacket. Finally, I picked out a smoky gray eye shadow that made my eyes look bigger, and a soft pink lip-gloss.

Perfect: I looked sexy, yet casual enough for a movie with a friend. I grabbed my purse and raced downstairs to the kitchen.

On top of the counter, I scribbled a note:

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Going out with Kassia, will be home by curfew.

Wrenn xx

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