He shook his head. “I didn’t do anything. But I’m glad your friend is all right.”
Nodding, she lowered her gaze to her cake. She poked it idly with her fork. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
Carefully, he peeled the wrapping off his muffin, taking ages before speaking again. “I actually wanted to talk to you about the other night, about what happened.”
Katie’s gut clenched. “Oh?”
He looked up, muffin forgotten. “Nothing like that, Katie. I don’t regret it. Truth be told…” He grinned wickedly, making her cheeks warm. “I’m eager to do it again. But I want to know your thoughts on what happened. How are you feeling about it? Any regrets?”
Surprised and slightly uncomfortable, Katie shrugged. “Aside from having to leave the next morning, no. I liked what we did and I would most definitely let you do it again.”
His face broke into a brilliant smile that flashed straight white teeth. “Yeah?”
Uncomfortably hot under his scrutinizing gaze, Katie bit her lip and focused on her cake.
“So what have you been up to?” she asked, directing the conversation to something that wouldn’t make her drag him back home with her.
He waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. “Mostly work. Nothing remotely interesting.”
“I didn’t realize teachers didn’t get a break.”
He shook his head. “They … we do, but I do a few things on the side on my time off.”
Katie grinned. “Sounds ominous. You’re not a hitman, are you?”
He laughed, but it came out sharp and high and he fidgeted as he looked at his muffin like he wasn’t sure where it had come from. “That’s … that’s funny.” He cleared his throat. “What have you been up to?”
Katie shrugged. “Worked at the shop mostly. I renovated the front room and got rid of all that junk my aunt likes to keep.”
“Hence the boxes,” he said.
She nodded. “Hence the boxes. So this morning was a surprise, seeing you, I mean. I wasn’t expecting you to drop by.”
“It wasn’t planned, honestly. I was out on a run and thought I would say hi.” He peered deeply into her eyes, seemingly searching her soul. “I wasn’t sure when I would be able to do that again once school started again.”
It had been something Katie had thought about as well during their late night talks. What would become of them once school started? There was still six months before the term ended and she would graduate and, in her mind, there was only one option really available to them.
Katie took a deep breath. “We should probably talk about that.”
His smile faded and he nodded. “Yes, we should.”
When he said nothing else, she realized he was waiting for her to set the rules, to determine what they would do.
She took another gulp of air. “Well, obviously, we need to be careful, right? I mean, even with what we did not being morally wrong, the school might not see it that way and that could cause a lot of trouble for both of us.”
He nodded again. “Agreed.”
“So…” She bit her lip. “I don’t know. I know the right thing to do would be to stop now before anything happens, but…”
“What, Katie?”
She laughed, sheepishly and without any real humor. “I don’t want to.”
Lip caught between her teeth, she looked up into his eyes, expecting to see disappointment by her lack of commitment. Instead, his gaze was dark and penetrating. When he reached across the table for the hand she’d curled next to her mug, her fingers unfurled and turned over to lace through his.
His features softened. “It’s only six months, baby. We can keep our heads down until then, can’t we?”
Her lips bowed into a small grin. “Yes.”
He pulled her arm to him and pressed his lips to the heel of her hand as though sealing the promise there to her skin. That single caress sent warmth scuttling up her arm to explode across her chest. Her heart tripped over itself.
“I don’t want to stop either,” he murmured, eyes never left hers as his lips traveled up to the hammering little pulse inside her wrist. “Maybe that makes me greedy, but I never said I wasn’t. All I want is to keep you for myself.”
She knew that if the table hadn’t been between them, she would have jumped him and he must have known it too, or he must have felt it, because when he grinned it was almost taunting, like he was daring her to follow through with her urges.
Instead, she smiled back and said, “I should get back to the shop.”
He walked her back without complaint. Katie tugged out her keys, careful not to spill her coffee as she flipped to the right one.
“Will you stay a while, or do you need to head off?” she asked, locating the proper key and slipping it into the lock.
She felt his fingers like lit matches through the thick fabric of her jacket where he took hold of her hips. “I can stay for a few minutes.”
The lock gave with a subtle click. He held the door open for her as she slipped inside. He followed, shutting the door and locking them together in the semi darkness.
Katie pocketed her keys and turned to him. Her fingers reached for the collar of his coat and she dragged him to her.
“How long is a few minutes?” she asked, searching his eyes, which seemed unusually bright against his shadowed features.
His fingers shoved aside the folds of her jacket and reached inside for her waist. She was dragged into his chest.
“Not damn long enough.”
Then he kissed her and all feeling left her toes. She anchored her arms around his neck and rose to meet his greedy mouth.
She would have happily stood there for days, just tasting him on her lips and feeling him in her arms, but he drew away after only a few short minutes.
“This isn’t goodbye,” he told her. “I have every intention of being the first face you see the moment you walk off that stage in six months.”
Katie tightened her arms around him. “Promise?”
His grip tightened on her. “Promise.”
Chapter Nine
Winter break couldn’t end fast enough in Katie’s opinion. With Ashlee’s solitary confinement and not having seen Kaleb since their coffee date, she had nothing but time on her hands, time to think, time to sulk, time to curse whoever invented holidays. Even when she tried to throw herself into work, her mind continued to latch on to the fact that this was by far the worst holiday ever. By the time school finally started again, Katie was ready to kill someone out of sheer boredom.
“I’m free!” Ashlee barged into the shop, blonde curls flying around her rosy face. “I swear I have never been so happy for school.”
Zipping the last pocket on her backpack, Katie slung it on with a roll of her eyes. “Tell me about it.”
Ashlee’s eyes widened as she took Katie in from head to toe. “Whoa, someone is looking seriously hot! Where’d you get that dress?”
The lacy get up with the V collar and tight half sleeves was beyond inappropriate for Canadian winter, but she had tugged on a pair of leggings and knee high boots to keep most of her skin covered. It was definitely not something she would wear on a regular basis, but it did make her look hot and a very naughty part of her wanted that. Since their last conversation, Katie had only communed with Kaleb in texts and phone calls and she wanted his first glimpse of her to pop his eyeballs from his sockets. Metaphorically speaking.
“You think it looks okay?” she asked, tugging on the lacy hem, drawing it further down her thighs.
Ashlee scoffed. “I would lose the leggings, but yeah, totally okay. What’s the occasion?”
Avoiding her friend’s gaze, Katie did up the zipper on her coat. “No occasion. Just wanted to look nice.”
“Uh huh,” Ashlee mused. “For who? Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Sexy?”
Heat crept into her cheeks. “No, of course not.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Ashlee reached over and punched her lightly on the arm. “I
was drunk, but I wasn’t that drunk. I saw you two at the party. He looked half ready to rip your clothes off and screw your brains out where you stood.”
“Jesus, Ash!” She turned away to hide the wave of crimson rushing up into her face. “He did not—”
“Oh, he totally did. I was pretty impressed with his restraint. The guy had a serious boner.”
“You’re insane,” she grumbled, but bit her lip to suppress the grin. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be late.”
“So did you guys do it?” Ashlee prodded as they made their way up the hill.
“Ashlee!”
“What?” She threw her hands up. “It’s a legit question.”
“He’s a teacher,” she reminded the other girl.
“So? Aren’t you guys the same age or something?”
“I’m eighteen!” Katie exclaimed.
“Whatever. Doesn’t that make it like legal?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know!” she added quickly when Ashlee opened her mouth. “We danced. We talked. That’s it.”
It wasn’t that Katie didn’t trust Ashlee to keep the secret. She knew the other girl would. But best friends or not, it was better that only she and Kaleb knew about the hotel.
“So how come you didn’t come home after the party?”
Katie scowled at the other girl. “Because I won the draw thing.”
Ashlee skidded to a halt and nearly tore Katie’s arm off stopping her as well. “Wait. What?”
Katie shook her off. “Yeah, I got a one night stay in the hotel’s penthouse.”
“What?” The look of horror and betrayal would have been comical if Katie hadn’t been freezing. “And you sent me home?”
“You were passed out drunk, Ashlee. Hannah had to take you home. You know she wouldn’t have let you stay. Besides, how much of it would you have remembered?”
“I would have remembered the feel of silk sheets against my skin!” Ashlee shot back. “That’s so not fair. I’m the one who got us invited. I should have been there to enjoy—”
“Then you shouldn’t have drunk past your limit! How many shots did you even have?”
“I was having fun,” Ashlee snipped sharply.
“Yeah, well, your fun nearly got you in trouble.”
Ashlee stilled and Katie mentally kicked herself.
“What?”
With a sigh, she motioned for them to continue walking. “Some guy was trying to take you to his car when I found you.”
“Which guy?”
Katie shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t exactly stop to ask his name, okay? You were unconscious and I had to get you out of there. So I called Hannah and she took you home.”
The silence stretched for nearly ten minutes, broken only by the crunch of footsteps on snow and the odd roar of a car racing past. A black SUV rolled to a stop on the other side of the street, but no one came out and the windows were too tinted to see in. Katie frowned at it a moment before turning it away from her mind.
They reached the school and Katie turned to her friend. “You okay?”
Ashlee, still staring at her snow encrusted feet, nodded. “Yeah, just need to process this. See you at lunch?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
With a wave, they parted ways. Katie ran to her locker to switch books and discard her coat.
First class was Art, all the way in the basement. The smooth laminate stairway dissolved into scuffed, metal planks that bonged noisily in the narrow corridor with her descent. The halls were mostly abandoned by students, which made her guess she would be the last to enter. She normally was. She was only thankful she wouldn’t have to worry about locker locations next year when she would be in university.
Everyone was already at their stations when she hurried in. Mr. Nauling stood at the head of the class, back turned, chatting with the handsome figure next to him. Katie’s heart stopped and sped up at the same time and she suddenly wished she hadn’t worn the black dress. She felt so out of place in the room, like a sore thumb. Maybe it wasn’t too late to run back to her locker and grab her coat. Then he looked up and she nearly lost the grip on her backpack.
The look could only be described as scalding. It raked over her, fast and demanding and left her feeling stroked in all the places that missed him. Her very skin seemed to burn and tingle. She would have cried out if a small part of her wasn't aware of the other figures in the room. Instead, she offered him what she hoped was a neutral smile before moving quickly to her table.
“Welcome back everyone!” Mr. Nauling clapped his hands once before keeping them clasped at his round abdomen. “I trust you all had a good winter break and were able to complete your assignments.”
Katie had made a feasible attempt at finishing hers. She had sketched a garden with a bridge and a stream and some grass, but had never gotten around to painting it. The thing was an outright lie anyway. The majority of her dreams had consisted of Kaleb and very little to no clothing. But that was something the school would definitely not find appropriate. So she had made up some imaginary garden, which she had forgotten all about until that moment.
“If I could just have everyone bring their work to the front,” Mr. Nauling instructed.
Katie groaned and dropped her head onto the desk. This wasn’t happening. What sort of idiot failed art? She’d seen people paint three lines and call it a masterpiece. Yet she was about to redo her senior year because she couldn’t even do that.
Around her, people rose and shuffled off to drop their assignments into the assigned homework basket. Katie hated the stupid thing with a passion. All through first semester, she had secretly thought of ways to set the thing on fire. Instead, it sat on Mr. Nauling’s desk, quietly mocking her. That was how low her life had gotten.
“You won’t learn anything by sleeping in class,” an amused voice said from above her.
Katie raised her head and glowered up into Kaleb’s face. “I wasn’t sleeping. I was cursing this class.”
“And why’s that?”
“I didn’t finish my assignment,” she confessed, showing him her blank sketchpad page.
“Well…” He lightly drummed his fingers on the corner of her desk. “I’m free this evening. I can help you, if you like.”
She sat up straighter and tossed a quick glance around the room. “Is it a good idea?”
He tugged his bottom lip between his teeth and shrugged. “Probably not, but that’s kind of what I’m here for, to help students not fail.” He glanced down at his shoes. “If you’re not interested—”
“No!” she blurted. “I mean, yes. I’m interested. I would really appreciate the help.”
His warm, rich gaze caressed her face a split second too long before he spoke. “Meet me here after school.”
End of day couldn’t come quickly enough in Katie’s opinion. The hours seemed endless no matter which class she trudged into. Her only respite came in Geography where she got to pass notes with Ashlee over which movie they should see that weekend. But the real break came at lunch when she abandoned her books to the confines of her locker and forgot about them for an hour.
“I still think there’s something very wrong about a carrot top wearing pink,” Ashlee decided somberly as they made their way to Katie’s locker after lunch.
“Ash, all I asked was if you wanted to stay over after the movie.” Katie laughed.
“Oh, well that’s a given.”
Shaking her head, Katie reached for her lock. She flipped the dial, barely listening as Ashlee continued her debate about the follies of not matching clothes to hair color.
Snapping her lock open, she yanked open her locker and nearly jumped out of her skin when something tumbled off the top shelf, narrowly hitting her on the head. The manila folder struck the floor at her feet with scarcely a sound.
“What’s that?” Ashlee asked as Katie bent down to scoop it up.
“I don’t know.” She flipped it over and stared at the sight of her name
scrolled across the front in very beautiful loops.
“Open it!”
She jerked it away when Ashlee dove to grab it. “Will you relax? Sheesh.”
She was saved from hearing Ashlee whine when the bell signaled next class.
Ashlee made a face at her. “You better call me later.”
After promising she would, she waved goodbye to her friend, gathered her books and the folder, and hurried to her own class.
“We’ll start with the basics,” Kaleb told her as Katie took her place at a table and went about pulling out her pencils and sketchpad. “Draw a person.”
Katie looked up at him, squinted. “A person? That’s basic?”
He rolled his shoulders. “Well, basic-basic would be to draw shapes, but I’m going on a limb here and assuming you already know how to make a circle.”
She glowered at him when he grinned at her. “Funny.”
Twirling on his heel, he marched away a few steps before spinning back around to face her. “Do your best. Let me know when you’re done.”
Determined not to be the only twenty year old in high school, Katie put pencil to paper. She hated that her fingers trembled, making every line squiggly, even the ones she knew should be straight. Her frustration built with every page she tore out and crumpled.
By her seventh attempt, she was ready to break all her pencils and set her sketchpad on fire.
“Try paint,” Kaleb suggested from the front of the class, where he sat with his own sketchpad open in front of him.
Unlike her, his movement was fluid; graceful sweeps of charcoal over paper. His fingers were blackened from smudging and there was a slight smear on the hollow of his cheek that distracted her for a split second.
“Sorry?”
He raised his head and brushed back a patch of hair off his brow with the back of his hand. “You’re too stiff with a pencil. Try using paint,” he said again. “It flows easier.”
Desperate to try anything, Katie pushed back from her seat and padded to where the paints were kept. She gathered the primary colors, a paint palette and a handful of paintbrushes and headed back to her table.
My Soul For You Page 11