I shake my head. “Is that what you’re so upset about? I haven’t told anyone. I would never tell anyone. And you can’t either! How was I supposed to know that you would be my freaking teacher? Trust me, I have just as much to lose as you do if anyone finds out about this. You can’t tell Principal Edwards. Please, Gavin. This town is so small. They already know too much.”
He studies me as he takes in my words. “How old are you?”
I lower my head and whisper, “Eighteen.”
“Jesus,” he mutters. A few seconds later, he takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “How old were you on the night we met?”
I look him straight in the eye. “Eighteen. It was my eighteenth birthday.”
He rakes a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath. “We met in a bar. Last time I checked, the legal drinking age was twenty-one.”
“I’m aware,” I say with a clipped tone.
He glares at me. “Now is really not the time to push my buttons.”
“Really?” I challenge. “Are you going to give me detention?”
His nostrils flare. “Kat, don’t.”
“Don’t what, Gavin?”
“Don’t play games with me! I can’t believe this is happening.”
The bell rings, indicating the start of class. “Why isn’t anyone pounding on the door?” I ask.
He begins pacing the small space in front of me. “This is my planning period.”
Ah, that explains why he wasn’t worried about locking us in. No one would question his need for privacy during this time. I know it’s twisted, but I can’t help thinking about what Bree said earlier as I glance at his desk. I could easily imagine being on my knees in front of him, freeing his perfect dick from his slacks and taking him into my mouth.
He looks at the desk and back at me again. “What are you thinking about?”
“You probably don’t want the answer to that, Mr. Cooper.”
He closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. Upon opening them he says, “What class are you supposed to be in right now?”
“No class,” I reply. “This is my senior project study period.” At McKinley, all seniors have a project due at the end of the year which is like a master’s dissertation, but on a smaller scale. We work on it throughout the year and have a free period each day dedicated toward making progress. We have a closed-campus so most students spend that time in the library.
He walks over to his desk and takes a seat in the chair. “That’s…convenient.” His eyes roam over my body. “So is that dress.”
“Did you really just say that?”
He props his elbows on his knees and holds his head. “Habit,” he explains. “When I’m with you, I lose all rational thought. There’s something about you that makes me feel…reckless.” He tugs on his hair and groans, which I’m learning is his way of coping with stress. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have said that.”
I walk over to his desk and rub my hand through his hair. He falls into my touch and rests his head against my stomach. “Gavin…I’m sorry. I’m sorry about lying…about putting you in this position. And I’m sorry that I freaked out the other night and left like that. I know what you mean about feeling reckless. Since I’ve met you, I’ve seemed to throw all my carefully crafted rules out the window. I have those rules for a reason, yet with you, they don’t seem to matter.”
He puts his hands on my hips and looks up at me. “We can’t do this.”
I place my hand on his cheek. “I know. Please promise me you won’t say anything to Mr. Edwards. He can’t know about this.”
“You have nothing to worry about, Kat. I’m the one in the difficult position here. Anything that I tell him would be confidential.”
I shake my head furiously. “That’s not true. That office is the central hub for gossip in this town. Believe me, I know from personal experience. I know they’re not supposed to talk about students, but they do. Please don’t report this. We did nothing wrong—we didn’t know. They can’t know, Gavin. I can’t go through it again.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “You’ve had an affair with a teacher before?”
I grimace.
“No. God, no. It was something else—something I don’t want to get into. Please just trust that a new scandal would do nothing but distract me. I can’t afford a distraction this year. I need to maintain my grades. I’ve worked too hard to blow it now.”