Gideon held out the phone and tried to click on the YouTube app on the bottom of her screen, but her messages opened up instead. He cursed under his breath and tried to swipe out of it and only made it worse with his button mashing. Suddenly he was staring at a message.
It’s torture, Hales. Every time he licks his lips in class, I’m right back in that parking lot with him pushing me up against—
Gideon droppedthe phone on the floor.
“Are you okay?” Megs shot out an arm as he bent over to retrieve it.
“Fine,” he wheezed, snatching it off the all-weather mat.Locked.The screen was locked. Which meant when Megs opened her phone again, she’d see exactly what he’d been looking at. His mind raced for a solution. He could ask her to open it now and hope she didn’t notice, but if she did? His stomach crawled into a hole and died at the thought of sitting there in her car for another twenty minutes with that knowledge sitting between them.
Gideon set her phone in the cupholder. “Not enough data.”
“Huh. That’s strange—” Megs reached for her phone, but Gideon pointed out the windshield. Red lights flashed ahead, and Megs pulled over to the side of the road. Gideon started to sweat.
“I hope nobody got hurt.” Megs watched the ambulance turn, then pulled back into the lane.Right.That put things back into perspective. Still, Megs seeing that he’d seen her text felt like life or death at the moment.
His own drive roared to life with the knowledge thatshe wanted him.He had proof. Every day in class, she was thinking about that night at Sammy’s just like he was. When he was distracted by her, it had been manageable to tamp the thoughts down when he could convince himself his feelings weren’t reciprocated.
But if they were? If every time he looked at Megs, he knew she was thinking about that kiss? Wanting to do it again? No, that would be impossible.And since when did he lick his lips publicly?
Gideon rolled down his window, and Megs frowned.
“Are you too warm? You can turn on the A/C.”
He forced a smile. “I just needed some fresh air.”
She nodded, but didn’t seem convinced. “I’m not going to share those videos. If you’re worried about that. I honestly thought they were good, that’s the only reason I brought it up.”
Gideon exhaled as the cool autumn air whipped through his hair. Megs thought he was acting strange because she’d found the videos. She thought she’d done something wrong. It was all he could do to grip the door handle and not reach his hand across the console.He needed to get out of this car.
When he spoke, his voice was tight. “I’m not worried about it, and I appreciate it. Matt and I loved that band. I’m glad those videos still exist, even if it proves I once had frosted tips.”
Megs snorted. “The bit rate isn’t high enough to make those out.”
Gideon laughed and didn’t roll up the window. There she was, taking him by surprise again.Megs wanted him.That sentence played on a constant loop in his head even as he asked Megs about her new job to fill the silence. He tried to listen, but when they pulled into the parking lot at Champlain ten minutes later, he couldn’t remember anything past her being nervous to start on Monday.
Megs turned off the car, and Gideon grabbed his bag. It was only four thirty. “Weren’t you going to get a milkshake at Sammy’s to celebrate?”
She smiled. “Didn’t think it would be as defensible to stop for dessert in our extenuating circumstance.”
Gideon thought about sitting in the booth across from her. About wanting to share her table and walk her to the parking lot, preferably without destroying her footwear. He nodded and stepped out onto the asphalt, then pulled his bag from the floor. “I really appreciate the ride.”
“And the trauma?”
She had no idea.“Especially that. Good luck tonight.”
“Thank you.” Megs smiled and waved as he closed the door.
Gideon felt like he drew his first full breath as he walked across the parking lot. He looked up and saw a group of students dressed in slinky dresses and tuxes. Was tonight the fall formal? Champlain didn’t host too many extracurricular events, but that was one of them.
“Professor Adams?” Jennifer’s eyes lit up when she saw him. She was about to say something else, when she looked over his shoulder. Gideon didn’t have to turn to know what she’d noticed. Megs. Pulling out of the parking lot.
At five minutes after seven,Megs walked to the car and tried not to wrinkle her certificate. She glanced over to Gideon’s regular parking spot and saw his car was gone. Not that she would’ve done anything if it was still there. After the last awkward minutes of their car ride together, she didn’t know what to think.
Maybe she shouldn’t have told him about the videos. It was next to impossible to keep things purely professional between them. Gideon felt like a friend, not only a teacher, and the more she got to know him, the more she wanted to know. She was like a stupid moth drawn to his flame, even though he’d be the one to burn for her getting too close.
Jennifer had already seen her pulling out of the lot earlier. Megs doubted she witnessed Gideon stepping out of her car, but it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. Especially since Gideon was walking from that side of the parking lot instead of from where his own car was parked.
She pulled her phone out of her bag and had a momentary panic attack realizing she hadn’t checked it since arriving at the school. She’d opted to forego the milkshake completely and do some last minute studying before her final exam. Thankfully, she’d stowed her laptop in the trunk just in case the timing was tight after the hike. It had taken her years of racing around town last-minute with her hair on fire before auditions or appointments to learn that particular preparation skill. Maybe she was learning after all.
