Always You (Love Hurts 1)

“I guess you will. ‘Night, Dalton.”

Chapter Five

Wrenn

My pulse quickened as he walked into the room. God, he was driving me insane and he didn’t even know it. Like right now, for instance: his ass in those jeans…

Sigh. That was probably the best thing about being a girl—I didn’t have to worry about trying to hide an erection in the middle of class. I didn’t know how boys did it. He set his briefcase down on his desk, flinging it open and taking out a stack of papers. Glancing around the room, he smiled.

“Good morning. Did we all have a good weekend?”

Murmurs filled the room. I was too busy staring at him to answer. His gaze swept past me, and for a moment I thought I saw a smile. Had that been for me? Was he thinking about running into me at Layna’s?

Seeing Dalton out of class on Friday had been amazing. Sure, it had only been a five-minute conversation, but he’d treated me like a person. Every other teacher here knew my story, and all I ever got from them were sympathetic glances and those tiny little smiles that say “I’m not going to tell you how sorry I am for you, but I feel so sorry for you.”

Ugh. It was like I couldn’t escape my past, no matter how badly I wanted to. Thank God none of the other students knew—not even Kass.

The last thing they needed was more ammunition to use against me. The days they ignored me were best; I could handle that. It was the days they decided to pick on me relentlessly that were the worst. By ‘they,’ I meant Paige, but if she was targeting you, then everyone followed. It was sad, really.

It was amazing what a sexy, young, hot male teacher could do for your motivation levels. In the few months I’d been at this school, nobody had paid attention quite like they did in Mr. Reid’s presence.

I studied the cause of this phenomenon as he waffled on about…honestly? I had no idea what he was talking about right then, and I was pretty sure every other student in the room felt the same way. He wasn’t just attractive, he was down right freaking hot. Surely there was a law against a guy this gorgeous teaching teenage girls? This was a form of torture. But all the s

ame, I’d take it. Yep. I could get used to this.

I sat back, my eyes on him as he took in the room. Again, I swear he smiled as his gaze swept past me. I couldn’t have imagined that twice.

“How did everyone do with the homework I assigned?” he asked, sitting on the edge of his desk.

That’s right, in my moment of appreciating the swooniness of my teacher, I’d forgotten we had an assignment due—just like the rest of the class had. The sound of papers rustling filled the silence as everyone dug through their folders. I pulled my three-page summary on the Magna Carta and passed it toward the front.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Paige glance at me, then whisper something to her sidekick, Deena. They both giggled. I forced myself not to react. As much as I pretended I didn’t care, it still hurt. Nobody wants to be the outcast.

You don’t wake up in the morning and think to yourself, “Gee I hope they’ve vandalized my locker again today,” or, “I hope they try and frame me for cheating on another test.” I have no idea what I did to make Paige hate me so much, but whatever it was, in her mind it must have been big.

The rest of the period went quickly. I suppose time flies when you’re not really listening. There were perks to repeating my senior year. Well, I wasn’t really repeating, I guess. After the accident, it took me a long time to recover—both physically and mentally. Some things that were covered here I’d already covered in my old school, and some things I hadn’t. It all depended on the syllabus. Either way, it would help me get the grades I needed to secure my place in prelaw at Boston University, and it meant I could graduate midyear.

The bell sounded, scaring the daylights out of me. My heart was still pounding as Mr. Reid dismissed us. As I packed up my things and began to walk out, he called me over.

“Wrenn, can I see you for a moment?” he asked casually. I nearly fainted.

Calm down, Wrenn. He probably wants to tell you off for not listening in class.

I smirked at Paige, who was giving me a death stare. I watched her flounce out of the room, knowing I’d probably be paying for that later.

Approaching the desk, I waited as he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a DVD. He handed it to me and I took it curiously, my fingers brushing past his as they wrapped around the hard plastic casing.

Holy shit.

I forced myself to focus on the DVD and not the electricity pulsating through my veins from his touch. Did he feel that? God forbid if he ever actually touched me—I’d probably orgasm on the spot. I studied the cover of the DVD.

Dawn of the Dead

“Ah, this is the one you were talking about?” I asked, suddenly excited. I flipped it over to read the back.

He nodded, his eyes studying my reaction.

I grinned, secretly happy that he had remembered me.