In and out. She smelled like summer.The light switch.He was looking for—
Megs touched his arm, sending straight electricity into his veins, and when something—her nose? Her lips?—brushed his jaw, his world narrowed to those millimeters of sensation. His breathing was ragged as he flattened his hand against the cinderblock wall and turned his head.
Megs was so close, his bones shuddered.He couldn’t act on this yet.He needed to hit the switch and—
Megs’ silhouette lifted her mouth to his, and his world lit on fire. Pleasure surged through him, rolling over him like a wave. He knew he should’ve stopped her, but he didn’t. Not right away. He couldn’t push past the lights exploding behind his eyes or the softness of her lips. She tasted like lemon and honey, and—
Gideon gasped and pushed back, accidentally hitting the light switch with his thumb. He stood there panting, trying to drag his eyes away from Megs’ flushed lips.
“I-I’m so sorry,” she stammered. “I shouldn’t have-I—” Her green eyes were wide and glassy. She bit her lip so hard, he worried she’d draw blood, then bolted for the door.
Gideon watched her disappear into the hall, then stumbled back to his desk in a daze. What had just happened was everything right, and everything wrong. He dropped into his chair, not sure if he was going to pass out or throw up in the trash can under his desk.
After staring at the wall long enough that his heart rate decreased, he was able to clear his head enough to grab his bag and drag himself to the parking lot. He drove home and was about to make himself a sandwich when he opened his email.
The first subject line in his inbox made his stomach drop to the floor. From the Title Nine coordinator at Champlain Community.
Urgent: Review of Conduct Allegation.
Twenty
Gideon didn’t feel much betterthan he had in his classroom as he waited next to the fall festival ticket booth Tuesday evening. He’d read the email at least five times Monday night before forcing himself to eat something. A complaint had been filed against him for improper conduct with a student, but the part that had him scratching his head was thetimeof the complaint. It had been filed Monday morning. Before class. Before the incident with Megs when the lights went out.
He’d stopped by Professor Donna Stace’s office, not to accuse her of filing a complaint after lighting into him that night at the recording studio. He couldn’t prove it was her and didn’t know if administrators would even give him any details on Thursday at the meeting they’d called.
The whole thing was driving him crazy. Mostly because hehaddone something inappropriate with a student, just not before the complaint had been filed. He wracked his brain trying to think of what could’ve triggered it, and came up empty.
Gideon shoved his hands into his pockets. The crisp autumn air nipped at his cheeks, butit wasn't the cool temperature that made him huddle into his jacket. He shouldn’t have come tonight, but the idea of sitting alone in his apartment with his own thoughts had seemed unbearable.
Alli sighed next to him. "Remember when we did that performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in college?" she asked. "You were Bottom, and I was Titania." Alli laughed. "And Matt you were Lysander. You spent the whole play trying to win me over."
"How could I forget?" Matt flashed a charming smile. "Funny how life imitates art sometimes."
Alli rolled her eyes. “Oh stop, you were never interested in me.”
“Only because Gids here had a corner on the market.”
Matt was teasing, he knew that. But as Alli’s cheeks flushed, Gideon thought he might be sick. She didn’t need any more reminders of who they used to be together. Alli had texted him all weekend, and while he’d tried not to give her the wrong impression, he didn’t want to be rude. Then Monday had happened, and he hadn’t gotten back to anyone for the past twenty-four hours.
When he’d shown up here and Alli had run to him with an excited smile, he knew he’d failed on that count. Alli most definitely had the wrong impression, and he didn’t have the energy to deal with it.
Alli sidled up next to Gideon as Matt stepped away to greet Randall who’d just arrived. “I haven’t gone to a fall festival in years.”
“Me either,” he grunted.
She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Are you going to do the corn maze?” Gideon nodded, not fully listening. Alli sighed. “Maybe Matt was right about all this.”
“What do you mean?” Gideon stared hard at the map on the post in front of them.
“Maybe we did all need a little romance in our lives.” Alli grinned. “This wasn’t ever all about the competition. You know Matt. He’s always been one for games and grand gestures. That’s why his books have done so well. It’s what women want.”
Then why was Matt still single?The thought didn’t hold much water since he, too, was still single and he’d never been one for games or grand anything. Except, apparently, ruining his career and the lives of his students.
Alli started to ask another question, but Gideon caught a flash of green over her shoulder.Megs.With a green scarf wrapped around her neck. She was walking toward them from the parking lot.
He’d thought about messaging her all day, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. What would he say?He hadn’t kissed her, had he?Those seconds were a blur, and he couldn’t figure out what reality was. Especially because he knew what the reality had been in his head.
“ . . . so explain yourself.” Alli moved her face in front of his line of vision, and Gideon blinked.
