“I don’t have to go. You wanna do something instead?”
“Kinda.” Her tone is playful. She runs her fingers over my bicep. Her green eyes settle on mine.
I laugh to myself, leaning in again to kiss her. “I’ll cancel with the guys.”
She smiles and gives me a mysterious look, following it up with one of her playful giggles. She’s trouble but I love it.
Our kiss starts slow, but the way she leans into me, the way her fingers curl in my hair, has me wanting more. As always. My heart pounds against my rib cage as I slide my hands all over her.
The bell sounds through the speaker, indicating the class is over. Both of us know we have plenty of time to get to our next class right around the corner. We don’t let up even for a second.
I tilt my head, deepening the kiss, letting myself get lost in her. She trails her lips off mine and leaves soft kisses all the way down my neck. It makes me dizzy in the best possible way.
My fingers brush against her jaw, my thumb tracing the curve of her cheek, and I direct our mouths back to one another. She sighs against my lips, her hands gripping my hair harder, and just like that, I’m completely gone. I could kiss her forever, anywhere, even in this empty classroom.
“Who’s in here?” a male voice calls out, sending a chill through my body. We break apart just as the lights turn on. Ella drops down to the floor in an attempt to hide.
I turn to see the man, knowing I recognize his voice. It’s our home room and math teacher, Mr. Downer.
I interject. “Just us. We’re … we’re looking for something.”
“Yeah, for what?” Mr. Downer sets his hands on his hips.
“This.” Ella jumps up, holding a pencil she clearly just found on the floor. It looks like it’s been through a war—taped back together, stapled, and barely hanging on.
“Good, you found it.” I hold out my hand, ready to claim it, because a pencil like that? Yeah, it’s definitely not hers.
“You might’ve found it faster had you turned the lights on,” Downer says.
“Yeah. I don’t know. I just, I knew where it was,” I say and follow Ella toward the door. Trying to steady my heart rate, I think he knows exactly what we were doing but wants to hear all our lame excuses first.
“You think I’m stupid, Jennings?”
“No, sir,” I insist. Ella doesn’t say anything. She just looks down at the floor.
“Right, because a lost pencil is always a two-person job. Bonus points for making out while you’re at it?”
I can’t help but laugh. Ella’s cheeks turn bright red, as expected.
He steps closer to me, keeping a straight face, and says, “I catch you two playing hide-and-seek again, I might have to let Coach Green know that one of his star players is more interested in playing tonsil hockey than football.”
“Wouldn’t want that, sir.”
“I didn’t think so.”
He looks to Ella. “Fix your hair, sweetheart, and son, for the love of all that is holy, you better get that lip stick off your neck.”
Ella looks to my neck and starts giggling. Mr. Downer shakes his head and leaves with a huff.
“He didn’t seemthatmad, did he?” she asks, fixing her hair.
“I don’t think so, but get the lipstick off me, please,” I plead, stepping closer to her.
Chapter 18
Ella
“I can’t believe you said that to him, babe,” Jesse says as soon as we get in his truck to leave church.
