Beautifully Broken

His girl? What the hell? “Dylan, I’ll see you at lunch. Okay?”

Dylan looks from me to Gavin, then back to me again. “Okay, Trouble Maker. Second day of school and you’re being held after class again. What’d you do to get under the new guy’s skin so bad?”

“Mr. Taylor—” Gavin interrupts. “You’d better get a move on before you’re late for the next class. I won’t excuse your tardiness.”

“Whatever,” Dylan huffs. “Bye, Kitty.”

Dylan rounds the corner and my insides warm as Gavin closes the door. He looks about to turn the lock but seems to rethink it at the last second. Damn. I’m a bit more disappointed than I care to admit about that.

“What’d you need, Teach?” I intentionally use the same flippant name Dylan has for him. By his expression, I can see that I’ve pushed some buttons.

He flings his arm out. “What’s the deal with that tool?”

I feign confusion. “Whatever do you mean, Mr. Cooper?”

“Kat,” he growls.

I bat my eyelashes. “What relevance does my relationship with Dylan have to you?” I know I’m egging him on but I can’t seem to help myself. He has no right to pull the jealous boyfriend act and I’m sure he knows it.

“Are you fucking him?”

I gasp in feigned shock. “Mr. Cooper! Is that an appropriate question to ask one of your students?”

He tugs on his hair. “Damn it, Kat. Answer the question!”

“No.”

He looks surprised. “No? Oh…I thought by the way he was constantly touching you—”

“I wasn’t answering your question,” I clarify. “I was refusing to answer your question, considering it’s none of your business.”

He glares at me. “I think it damn well is my business considering we’ve had unprotected sex twice in the past few days! I need to know how many little boys you’re fucking around with so I know whether or not I have something to worry about.”

“Something to worry about?” I repeat. “As in, whether or not I was being truthful the other night? You’re worried about how much of a little whore I am? Is that it, Mr. Cooper? Have you been asking around about me?”

“What? No. I mean, yes.”

“Which is it?”

He clenches his jaw. “No, I haven’t asked anyone about you. Yes, I need to know if I should get tested.”

I ball my hands into fists. “You know what, Mr. Cooper? It’s none of your business who I fuck. And if you want to call me a liar and a whore, then all you need to know is that I won’t be fucking you. Ever again! But we already decided that, didn’t we, Teach?” I slam my hand down on his desk. “When you bent me over your student roster and pounded into me like you couldn’t get enough. Remember that? You should probably hold onto it for the spank bank because that’s all you’re getting. Think whatever you want about me. Just fuck off, Gavin.”

I storm toward the door and hurl it open.

“Kat, wait!” he calls.

“Gavin, may I have a word with you?” Miss Salas, our drama teacher stands outside the door. “Oh, pardon me; I wasn’t aware you were conferring with a student.”

I widen the door and gesture for her to come in. “He’s all yours. We’re done here.”

As I’m stepping into the hall, I catch a quick glimpse of Gavin. His expression is saying that we’re anything but done.

I THROW MY BACKPACK ONTO THE COUCH as I walk into my apartment after school. I’ve been fuming ever since the end of second period. Who the hell does Gavin think he is? He’s made it very clear that we cannot continue seeing each other, yet he has the gall to behave like that? This is exactly why I tried pushing him away to begin with! He’s so intense—we’re so intense together. I don’t need this kind of disturbance in my life.

A loud knock on the door startles me out of my musings. I hold my breath as I see the man through the peephole.

“Kat, I just saw you walk in there. Open the damn door.”