Always You(3)

Everyone sat anxiously, eyes on the door, waiting for it to swing open. When it finally did, it was so quiet I swear you could have heard a pin drop.

Holy mother of God.

This was our new teacher? My heart was racing just looking at him. He was f*cking adorable.

He had light brown messy hair cut short enough that all he probably did was run a hand through it in the morning, and a crooked smile that sent my stomach into a spin. He was tall, athletic, and oh so sexy.

But what I noticed first were his eyes.

They were the deepest blue I’d ever seen. Beautiful long dark lashes framed them, and you couldn’t help but be drawn in. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was, but there was something about him: something that made me lose all sense of everything else around me.

He looked about mid-twentyish, his tanned skin criminal in the middle of this harsh winter. I glanced down at my own pasty white skin and silently cursed him.

What the hell were they thinking, putting this poor guy in here among several hundred teenage girls, some of whom had been cooped up here so long that the only male specimen they had seen was the middle-aged science teacher with a beer gut that rivaled the belly of a heavily pregnant woman?

That was just asking for trouble, and trust me—no one could quite cause trouble like some of these girls.

He smiled again. Was he nervous? I sure would be. He looked pretty relaxed though, considering what he’d just walked into. He was like a piece of bloody meat in a tank full of sharks. I watched as he sat casually on the edge of his desk, hands in pockets, glancing around the room, apparently not fazed by every set of eyes in the area focused squarely on him.

“Hey, I’m Mr. Reid. Your teacher has gone into labor, I hear, so you’re stuck with me for the next eight weeks.”

God, even his voice was amazing—low and husky; he could’ve done voiceovers for porn ads. He smiled again and I nearly fell off my chair. Kass sniggered next to me. I shot her a look.

“A little bit about me. I’m fresh out of college, and this is my first teaching assignment. I’m originally from a small town just north of Los Angeles. I like good music and classic movies, and teaching is all I’ve ever wanted to do.” He stood up and paced back and forth along the front of the room.

“How about I get to know some of you?” There was a low rumble of giggles, from myself included, everyone thinking just how much they’d like to get to know Mr. Reid. “So I want each of you to stand up, tell me something about yourself, and then ask me something. Sound good?”

We went around the room, girls nervously telling him something about themselves and then asking him a question, like his favorite color, or food. He pointed at Paige. She stood up, her eyes narrowing in on him as she smiled.

“I’m Paige, and I love dancing. I have a very flexible body,” she practically purred. I groaned, embarrassed for her. Why didn’t she just try and mount him then and there?

“Uh, well that’s good for your dancing,” he said, flustered. “And you’re question for me, Paige?”

“Your phone number?” Everyone giggled. Kass caught my attention and rolled her eyes at me.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” He chuckled, turning to Deena who sat next to Paige.

My heart began to pound as it neared my turn. What did I tell him? What should I ask? These seemed like the most important decisions of my life right now. Forget about college, and things that were actually important, all I wanted to was to stand out from the rest of these girls.

“And you?” His eyes met mine and I froze. Kass nudged me with her foot, forcing me back to reality. I stood up, my chair shooting back into the wall. I was the last person.

“I’m Wrenn. I-I’m originally from Washington, and I just moved here a few months ago.” He smiled at me, his mesmerizing eyes making me dizzy.

“What do you want to ask me, Wrenn?” Hearing him say my name made me begin to sweat. I could feel the trickle of perspiration running down the back of my neck. I hated being the center of attention, but being the focus of his attention was almost unbearable. I said the first thing that came to mind.

“Mornings or evenings?” He raised his eyebrows at me, a shadow of a smile on his lips. “Are you a morning person, or a night owl?” I said, feeling the need to explain.

“Definitely not a morning person. I don’t function very well before midday.”

He grinned as I sank into my chair, his eyes lingering on me for another moment, before snapping back to attention.

“Well, let’s get straight into things, huh? If you could all turn to page forty-six, one of you can run over what you covered in your last lesson.”

I forced my attention away from the new teacher and focused on my books. I didn’t need a distraction right now, no matter how sexy the distraction was.

The last year had been hard, and the last eight months had been hell. School was something I hated with a passion. It hadn’t always been that way though. Last year it had been a complete and utter different story. That’s how much things had changed.

Last year I had friends, a boyfriend, and a family.

And I wasn’t surrounded by money-obsessed skanks all day.

Prep school was like my worst nightmare come true. When the thought ‘I wish I’d died along with the rest of my family’ crosses your mind on a daily basis, it’s pretty obvious you’re not in a great place emotionally. This place was hell. No, it was worse than hell, and I couldn’t wait to leave. I was counting the days until I graduated.