Always You(21)

After our deep and meaningful conversation, Kass and I watched movies and chatted about anything and everything. She was in the middle of telling me about the plans she and Trina had for the holidays when my phone beeped. She stopped midsentence and stared at me.

“Is it him?” she pressed.

I fished my phone out of my purse, my hands shaking. It’s probably just Layna. Why the hell would he text me?

I stared at his name on my screen for a good ten seconds before opening the message.

Can I call you?

I texted back.

I’ll call you. Give me five minutes.

“He wants to speak to me,” I whispered, feeling sick.

Kass jumped off the bed and ran over to the balcony. “Go out here. I’ll go downstairs and get us something to eat. Come down when you’re finished.”

I waited until she had left the room before tiptoeing out onto the balcony. The concrete was freezing against my bare feet, but I barely noticed. All I could think about was what he wanted to say to me.

I pulled up his number and pressed Call. Holding the phone against my ear, I clutched at my stomach, waiting for him to answer.

“Wrenn.” God, he sounded amazing.

“Hey,” I said, sitting down on one of the wicker lounge chairs outside the door.

“You’re right. We do need to talk, so if you’re still up for the movie, we’ll go. I think the sooner we clear this up, the better.”

My stomach flopped. The sooner we clear this up? That didn’t sound promising. That sounded like a mess he wanted sorted out before anyone else saw it.

“Okay. I will see you there at seven? We can talk after the movie.”

“See you then,” he said, his voice soft.

***

I trudged downstairs.

Kass frowned when she saw me approaching the kitchen. “That was fast,” she observed, handing me a bowl of ice cream.

I sat down at the table and nodded. “He wants to talk to me tomorrow so we can clear this up.”

“Oh.”

“Exactly,” I agreed. I pushed the bowl away and dropped my head onto the table. “Kass, I’m an idiot.”

“It’s okay. Listen to what he has to say before you get yourself worked up.”

“No, it’s not okay. I’ve made a complete idiot out of myself.”

“Did he kiss you back?”

“Huh?” I asked, not seeing her point.

“When you kissed him, did he kiss you back? Even for the slightest moment?”

I thought back. I’d instigated the kiss, but he had definitely reciprocated it. That was not all one-sided. There had been something between us.

“Yes,” I muttered. “But that’s not the point.”

“What is the point? What do you want from him, Wrenn?” she asked, pointing her spoon at me.

I couldn’t answer that. Did I want him to risk his career, sneaking around with me? No. But I couldn’t ignore my feelings either.





Chapter Twelve


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Dalton

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I stared at the phone after she’d hung up, telling myself over and over that this was the right thing to do. The kiss had been amazing—she was amazing—but it couldn’t happen. If only for the fact that I was her f*cking teacher, this was wrong.

It didn’t feel that way, though. When we were together it felt equal. She was as bright and mature as me. That wasn’t saying much, but she wasn’t your average eighteen-year-old.

Eighteen. I was only twenty-three. She was only five years younger than me, a socially acceptable age difference. The surge of anticipation that had rushed through me when I’d found out she was eighteen had shocked me. I liked Wrenn a lot, but it was only when we kissed that I realized my feelings for her extended beyond attraction. Her comment about how, had things formed differently, we could’ve both been in college at the same time had gotten under my skin.

She was right: I wouldn’t have blinked an eye about asking out a pretty freshman.

God, those lips—so soft and smooth. And the way she’d touched my face had made me numb. My body tingled just thinking about her.

Stop! This wasn’t going to happen. Tomorrow, you are going to tell her that, and then you will distance yourself from her.

Except something told me Wrenn wasn’t going to be so easily swayed. And I knew it wouldn’t take much pushing for me to snap. I have to stop thinking about this or I’m going to go insane.

Opening the fridge, I grabbed a soda and sat down at my computer. I logged into Skype to see if Cam was around. He wasn’t, so I sent him an email.

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Dude,

How’s it going? Let me know when you’re around and we’ll Skype.

Say hi to Amy.

Dalton

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I’d just clicked send when a notification buzzed through from Cam saying he was online. I clicked Call. His face popped up, and I laughed. His usual shaggy blond mop of hair was styled into place, and he wore a suit instead of his usual T-shirt and jacket.

“Nice look,” I snorted.

“Yeah, well, I had an interview, then I had to do this thing for Amy. Anyway, it’s not important. What’s up?”