Always You(28)

“Trust me,” she murmured.

We waited ten minutes—ten extremely awkward and anxiety filled minutes—before we were led to a table...right next to Dalton’s. Kass gripped my arm, nudging me to move. My feet finally found their place. I followed Kass, not letting myself look in his direction.

We sat down. I forced myself to look straight ahead, but out of the corner of my eye I could see him staring at me. I turned to stare back at him, raising my eyebrow at the blonde. He looked embarrassed. I shook with anger. He f*cking should be embarrassed.

I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to be anywhere but here, watching him enjoy his date with the pretty blonde who wasn’t his student.

“What are we doing, Kass?” I asked, confused. “Is this your way of torturing me?”

“Trina is on her way with her brother.” She raised her eyebrows. “Her hot older brother.”

“Please tell me she doesn’t know,” I groaned. I felt embarrassed enough without more people knowing I was in love with my teacher.

“Relax. I said there is a guy here that brushed you off; I didn’t say who he was. We will say it’s him.” She nodded to a guy on the other side of the diner, looking all cozy with a girl. He was around our age. I began to relax.

I kept my eyes on the front entrance, waiting to spot Trina. Finally I saw her.

Fuck me. Kass wasn’t kidding when she said Trina’s brother was hot. He was tall, blond, with muscles in all the right places. He looked like a surfer. If my aim was to make Dalton jealous, this guy couldn’t be any more perfect.

“Now play along, okay?” Kass muttered, smiling at Trina.

“Hey guys, sorry we’re late.” Trina leaned over and kissed Kass on the lips. The brother smirked at me. I blushed, wondering what Trina had said to him. How embarrassing was this? Imagine if he knew it was a teacher I was trying to make jealous.

“You must be Wrenn,” he said, reaching for my hand. I nodded, forcing a smile. “I’m Shannon.” He yanked my arm, forcing me to my feet, embracing me in a hug. Then he kissed me. It was just a peck on the lips, but I stared at him in shock.

I snuck a glance in Dalton’s direction. His eyes were on Shannon, and he looked mad as hell. He looked like he wanted to kill Shannon. I giggled and draped my arm over Shannon’s, and then glanced back at Dalton. He glared back at me though narrowed eyes, his face dark with anger.

It was working!

“You know, that guy’s a jerk. If he can’t see what a catch you are, he doesn’t deserve you,” Shannon murmured, staring into my eyes. His hand closed over mine, his fingers trailing up my arm. I blushed and pulled away. This guy was an ass. But he was an ass who was making Dalton more jealous than I’d seen any man, ever.

“Really? And you’ve figured that out in the last few minutes?” I said dryly, arching my eyebrow.

He grinned, flashing his perfect white teeth at me. I rolled my eyes and reached out, placing my hand over his. Kass winked at me, happy I was playing the game.

“I know a good thing when I see one. When you’re ready to give up on these boys, come find me.” He rubbed his lips together. “Come and see how a real man can treat you.”

I burst out laughing and shot Kass a look. She shrugged helplessly. Was this guy serious? This had to be part of his act. Surely!

“Thanks, but if you’re the definition of a real man, I think I’ll pass.”

He shrugged, his ego not bruised in the slightest. “You’ll change your mind. They always do.” He leaned back in his chair and smirked at me, his eyes narrowing as they ran over my body. Sweatpants and a hoodie? Yeah, I looked hot. If I’d known I was going to see Dalton, I would’ve dressed up.

“Hmm, maybe we should order?” I picked up my menu to hide my smile. This guy was a tool. But it was working: Dalton was furious. I could tell from the way he couldn’t keep his eyes off me. I could feel the anger radiating from him.

I ordered fries and a steak, medium rare.

“Rare? I like a girl who knows how to eat her meat. Do you like eating meat, Wrenn?” Shannon smirked, running his tongue over his lips.

I rolled my eyes, excusing myself, then rushed off to the bathroom. I didn’t need to go, I just needed to get away from this guy’s ego for a moment, and regroup.

I pushed my way through the white double doors on the far side of the restaurant and made my way down to the bathroom. Okay, Wrenn, you’ve got this. I stared at my reflection as doubts began to creep into my mind. What if this didn’t work? What then? I talked big about not giving up without a fight, but really, if he wasn’t interested, what choice did I have?

I walked out of the bathroom and ran into something hard. I gasped. Dalton. He grabbed my arm and yanked me into what looked like a storage room, slamming the door closed. I’d never seen him so angry.

“What are you doing, Wrenn?” he growled, his voice laced with anger. He glared at me, his eyes so dark they were almost black. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I wrestled my arm from his grasp.

“I’m doing the same thing as you. Having dinner,” I shot back.

“You know what I mean. Who’s the guy?”

I snorted. “What business is it of yours?” I asked angrily. “You made it clear that we are over. You have no say in what I do.” I stared him down. “Anyway, it looks to me like you moved on pretty fast. Meeting, huh?”