CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“How long are you going to be?” Declan asked over the phone, and I giggled at his impatient tone.
“Not long,” I assured him. “I just need to grab a report from my desk that I need to complete before Monday.”
It was mid-morning on Saturday, and I’d swung by the elementary school to pick up the report I’d accidentally left in my rush to get out of the building last night.
The school administrator had asked each teacher to put together a report on how we could improve our students’ learning experience, detailing all the resources and materials we would need to facilitate such tasks, as well as an estimated budget for the supplies.
The report was due early next week, and it was what I should have been working on last night instead of my manuscript.
Truth be told, I’d chosen to put it off, hoping to use it as an excuse to get out of whatever weekend plans Seth had concocted for us.
The joke was on me, though. Because rather than spending the weekend with Declan like we’d planned last night after an amazing session of phone sex, I actually had to work on the report.
“Why don’t you bring it with you and work on it at my house?” Declan asked.
“That’s the plan,” I mumbled. “If I can find it.”
I rummaged through the drawers on my desk and was about to take a hammer to the locked supply cabinet when footsteps reached my ear.
I was so frustrated at having foolishly left my classroom cupboard keys that it took me a while to parse the sound.
Heavy, sure, and slowly approaching the open door to my classroom.
I froze, ears trained on the sound.
It was no secret that some teachers and other staff members came in on the weekends to prepare their classrooms and work areas for the upcoming week. But when I’d walked the halls just ten minutes ago to get to my classroom, the school was empty.
My heartbeat picked up pace—though I wasn’t sure why—beating so wildly that blood rushed to my ears.
I was probably alone in the entire building with whoever those footsteps belonged to.
And it was clear they knew where they were going because their footsteps were confident, never once faltering or backtracking.
A part of me wanted to call out to the approaching persona, but then I remembered I was half black, and that was probably my Caucasian side talking.
And since no part of my African ethnicity was willing to listen to her, I was safe.
For now. Plus, everyone knew that was how you died in a horror movie.
“Declan,” I whispered into the phone, still pressed to my ear.
“Why are we whispering?” he whispered back.
“I think there’s someone here. I mean… in the school. But when I walked through earlier, the building was empty.”
“Where exactly are you?” he asked, his tone remaining hushed.
“I’m in my classroom. I’m about to hide behind this cabinet, but my door is open.”
“Why don’t you check and see who it is?”
I frowned, though he couldn’t see it. “Are you crazy? That’s how people die in horror movies!” I whisper-shouted.
Declan laughed, and the sound vibrated through the phone and down the hall.
Wait.
Down the hall?
I was moving before my brain could finish processing what I was hearing.
Exiting my classroom, I came face-to-face with a smiling six-foot-three redhead with perfectly scattered freckles and sparkling green eyes.
Declan leaned casually against the opposite wall, muscular arms folded across his chest, and his shirt sleeves pushed up, showcasing his wealth of tattoos.
Slowly, with deliberate and precise movements, he reached up to tap his earbud, ending our call.
My body was in motion before I could even think about what I was doing, as I flung myself at him with the full force of the breakfast burrito I’d eaten that morning.
Laughing, he caught me mid-leap and spun me around in a circle before his lips descended on mine. And my world felt alive again—brighter and more promising somehow.
The kiss was wet and deep and just as sensual as I remembered. His lips felt right, like home, and I melted against his strong body as he sucked my tongue into his mouth, causing me to let out a shameless moan.
When my chest started to grow tight, and I felt like I was about to pass out, I tore my lips away from his to suck in a much-needed lungful of air.
“What are you doing here?” I panted, surprised yet happy to see him.
“Well,” he started. “You insisted on taking an Uber instead of driving. Which, okay, makes sense, since we’re going to be together the whole weekend, and I’ll be doing all the driving, anyway.
And two, you stopped here to grab your papers, which would have meant a second Uber.
So I figured, why not just come pick you up?
Save you the trouble of ordering another ride. Plus, I get to take you on a picnic.”
I smiled.
My Uber idea sounded reasonable enough, but what I didn’t tell Declan was my actual reason for insisting on a ride-share instead of driving. I wasn’t sure why the thought kept bouncing around in my head, but the second I thought of it, I couldn’t dismiss it.
I suspected Seth might have bugged the car.
Or, at the very least, installed some kind of tracking device.
Because the very next day, after Declan and I had our first date, Seth had asked to borrow the car so he could get the air pressure checked.
And since he’d never volunteered to do that before, I was highly suspicious.
Of course, it didn’t help that after he’d returned, some hours later, he was wearing a smug smile that seemed directed straight at me every time I so much as glanced in his direction.
Declan was the one part of my life I didn’t want mixed up in my mess with Seth, and I vowed to keep Seth’s scheming away from him for as long as humanly possible. So, if that meant a ride-share instead of driving, then so be it.
I beamed up at Declan. “A picnic, huh?” I asked sweetly.
He blushed. “You, uh… mentioned a couple of nights ago that you’ve never been to a picnic. So I figured we could use the afternoon to do just that. The snacks and supplies are already loaded in my car. I just need you to say yes.”
Butterflies took flight in my belly—drunk on excitement, and something else that I refused to acknowledge. Not because I didn’t want to, but because it was far too soon to.
“Of course,” I said excitedly. “I would love to go on a picnic date with you.”
“Awesome,” he mumbled. “Now, how about we find that report of yours so we can get going?”
I nodded and led him into my classroom. And together, we got to searching.