He smiles. “Only yours.”
“Speaking of…”
I stand up and prop my leg on the end of the chair to unsnap my garter. Gavin watches as I remove my shoe and unroll my fishnet stocking. He’s fixated as I do the same with the other leg. I untie the strings of my bikini bottom but keep them around my fingers, holding them up, delaying the seduction.
“Is that why you came here? For this?” I release the strings and allow the material to float to the floor.
He bites his knuckles. “Fuck. What are you doing, Kat? What happened to that line you were so fond of drawing?”
“It was erased the minute you requested a private dance.”
I climb onto his lap, fully nude while he’s fully clothed. I’m sure if I looked down, I would see the evidence of my arousal all over his jeans. I grab the glass and take a healthy sip, needing a moment before I put myself out there. His hands are lightly brushing over my back, down my arms, and across my thighs.
I nibble his full bottom lip. “Why are you here, Gavin?”
He gulps. “I saw the sign out front. I had to see if my suspicions were true.”
Ah, the wonderful sign Marcus had insisted on posting, much to my dismay. Come meet our newest Princess, Red. This buxom brunette will make all your fantasies come true.
“And now that you know? Now that we’re here like this? What’s next?”
He hangs his head on my shoulder. “Nothing,” he whispers. “Nothing can come next. I shouldn’t be here; I just had to know.”
I’m instantly irate. I can’t believe I fell into this trap again. How many times do I have to make a fool out of myself before I learn? I jump off his lap and grab my robe off the back of the door.
“Kat, wait!”
I pull the collar together and open the door as my eyes fill with tears. I hold my hand up to stop him. “I believe your twenty minutes are up.”
“No, they’re not.”
“I don’t want your fucking money; I’ll have the club refund you. Goodbye, Mr. Cooper.”
I slam the door and run into the dressing room right before the waterworks break loose.
“WHERE WERE YOU DURING SECOND PERIOD?” Dylan asks.
I shrug. “I skipped.”
I couldn’t bear the thought of facing him this morning. After Gavin left the club on Wednesday, I faked sickness so I could go home early. I couldn’t handle the thought of him staying there watching me dance all night. He may have left right after I did—who knows—but I couldn’t take the chance. I think the only reason I made it through my shifts over the weekend was because I knew he was out of town.
I’m still angry, but mostly at myself for letting him get to me like this. I feel so lonely without him. I know how ridiculous that is but I can’t seem to stop myself. I’ve had very little growing up, but I’ve never felt like I was missing much before he came into my life. Now, I feel like there’s this gaping hole inside of me that only he can fill. The only time my chest doesn’t hurt is when he’s nearby. I felt it the first time we had sex. I was bereft the moment he left my body and every minute that he hasn’t been inside me since.
“What do you mean you skipped? You don’t skip.”
“I just didn’t feel like discussing The Scarlet Letter this morning.”
“Where’d you go?” Bree questions.
“Library.”
“You skipped Lit class to go to the library?” Dylan says. “You realize how ironic that is, right?”
I say nothing and take a bite of my apple.
“Miss Kennedy, may I see you in my classroom for a moment?”
&nb