Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 179189 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 896(@200wpm)___ 717(@250wpm)___ 597(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 179189 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 896(@200wpm)___ 717(@250wpm)___ 597(@300wpm)
If it ever was just that.
* * *
Hailey
When I get to school, I no longer feel the heavy burden of having to deal with my mom’s boyfriend. After that cry-party last night, I feel much stronger, and I know I won’t let him stomp all over me again. He can come get me himself if he wants, but I’ll greet him with a fucking shovel.
In class, I can’t keep my eyes off Thomas. He’s always so cocky, and he always exudes an aura that makes people look at him. He radiates power—but not the bad kind, the noble kind. When I said I was falling head over heels for him, that was an understatement.
His class is pretty much the only one I pay attention in, mostly because of his face and that smile.
After class, I wait until everyone is gone and then follow him to his office. He picks up a stack of papers as I close the door, the noise making him look over his shoulder.
“Hailey.”
I jump in his arms and smash my lips onto his, surprising him.
When our lips unlatch, he smiles and shakes his head. “Okay, what did I do?”
“Nothing,” I muse. “I just wanted to do that.”
“Hmm … do it again.” He licks his lips, and I lean forward for another peck.
“Are you feeling better?” he asks.
“Yeah, much better. I had a bit of a headache earlier because of the apple martinis I had, but I took a painkiller, and it’s gone now.”
“Good …” He grabs a sheet of paper and holds it out to me. “Now that you’re here, I wanted to give you this. It’s a test so you can see if you’ll pass the actual test.”
“So it’s a cheat sheet?” I say, frowning.
“No, these are different questions,” he says, smiling. “Hey, I would never abuse my power.”
I narrow my eyes at his witty comment. “Right …”
Suddenly, the door slams open. I turn my head in shock, dropping almost everything in my hands.
“Natalie?” Thomas’s voice sounds much higher than normal.
Natalie.
That woman … She’s the one I saw him with when she drove him to school that one time. The one Lesley was talking about. Oh, god.
“Come with me,” she says, holding open the door like some bulldog with a face that matches.
Thomas doesn’t even protest. He just takes a deep breath and walks right past me.
“Thom—Sir?” I say, quickly catching myself in the act of being unprofessional.
“He won’t be here for a while, so it’s better if you just go home,” Natalie says, and she places her hand on Thomas’s back as she escorts him out.
A chill runs up and down my spine seeing her walk with him.
I go out after them, but when Thomas glances at me over his shoulder with a look that predicts thunder, I know I can’t go with him.
* * *
Thomas
I stand in the middle of the room as she slams the door shut and sits her ass down on top of the desk in the corner. I cross my arms when she gazes at me with a criticizing look.
“I told you to quit doing what you were doing,” she says. “It’s not just rumors anymore now. I just heard from a student that he saw you in a girl’s dorm room.”
My stomach turns upside down, and I suck in a breath to keep myself together.
“Is it true? You’re sleeping with a student?” She makes it sound like it’s disgusting.
I nod, frowning.
“Jesus, Thomas …” She sighs and rubs her forehead with her palm. “Goddammit. Why’d you have to do this?”
There’s no point in denying it now. “It just happened, okay? We met in a club. I didn’t know she was a student.”
“Yeah, well, you blew it. You should’ve quit it as soon as you found out, and now, I discover you’ve been fooling around with her behind my back?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Yes, it is,” she snaps. “It’s time you stopped denying it and faced what you did. After everything I did for you … this is how you repay me?”
“This has nothing to do with you.” My hand balls into a fist.
“Yes, it does because now I’m faced with a dilemma I don’t know how to solve. Don’t you realize you’ve gone too far? You can’t fix this anymore, Thomas. It’s too late.”
Fuck. I swallow away the lump in my throat. Is she doing what I think she’s doing?
“Sit down,” she says.
“No …” I shake my head. I can’t believe it.
After all the trouble I went through to hide my affair with Hailey, it still got out.
“You know there’s no other option.”
“Fuck that,” I say, refusing to acknowledge what’s happening. “I’m outta here,” I say, turning around.
“Wait! We’re not done talking yet.”
“I am,” I growl.
I storm out the door before she has a chance to say another word.
I don’t want to hear it.