“Asher,” Tessa breathes, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Just because an injury screwed your career doesn’t mean who you are changes. You’re still a gifted football player. You just have something holding you back a bit.”
My gaze meets hers, and I’m instantly drawn to her. I glance down at her lips, and her tongue juts out to moisten them, only making me crave her more. No. Bad fucking idea. I force myself to look away.
“You should go, before someone sees you in here.”
Her breath hitches, as if that wasn’t what she expected, and she takes a step away. Just when I hear the door open, however, I call out.
“And Tess?” She turns back to look at me. “Make sure no one finds out about this.”
“Whatever you say, Mr. Hawthorne.”
I can’t help but watch as she walks away, wondering what the fuck I’ve gotten myself into.
COLBY’S LAUGHTER ECHOES THROUGHOUT the room. He throws his head back and grips his stomach as he cracks up at my misfortune. I take the stress ball in my hand, throwing it directly at his balls. A smile grows on my face as I hit my target dead on and watch him hunch over in pain. Serves him right. Bastard.
“The fuck, man!”
“Oops?”
His eyes narrow to slits. “Asshole.”
The second I left the school, I called Colby and told him to meet me at my place ASAP. I needed someone to talk to about my perpetually bad luck, and being as he’s the only one who knows about the girl from the bar, he was the one I called. Thankfully, he answered and told me he’d be right over. Then again, he’s not exactly helpful right now.
“I’m so glad you find this amusing.”
He continues to chuckle as he wipes the tears from his eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just, this shit would only happen to you.”
Getting up, I go over to the wet bar in my living room and grab another glass of whiskey. It’s well needed, and well deserved, after the day I’ve had. Before this morning, a part of me still hoped I’d run into her again at some point. I didn’t plan on starting anything serious, mainly because she doesn’t seem like the type to want monogamy but also because I’ve tried giving my heart away once, and it didn’t end well for me. To put myself through that kind of shit again, I’d have to be a goddamn idiot.
“So, how did you find out?” he questions. “You looked over your class lists the other night. You didn’t recognize her name?”
I shake my head. “The first name, yeah, but the last name was different. I know she’s not the only Tessa in the world, so I thought it was just a coincidence. Turns out, she lied.”
“Damn.” He takes a sip of his beer. “What are you going to do?”
It’s a question that has been running through my mind all day. I know what I should do. I should go to Jon Hyland and tell him I need Tessa transferred out of my class. However, he’s going to ask why, and being as it’s only the first day of school, I can’t exactly use the excuse that she’s disruptive in class or anything. There’s also the insanely fucked-up part of me that wants to see her every morning. To be able to sneak glances at her when no one is paying attention. To analyze her handwriting like some sort of fucking creep.
I know it’s a recipe for disaster, and bound to bite me in the ass, but maybe if I can manage to keep enough distance, it won’t be so bad.
THAT NIGHT, DESPITE HOW intoxicated I got while Colby was here, I lay in bed wide awake and unable to get comfortable. No matter what I do, nothing can shake the thoughts of Tessa from my mind. Even after finding out she’s a student, she remains that breathtaking, confident bombshell I spent a crazy, sex-filled night with. The way she stood there today, completely sure of herself and every one of her actions, fuck! It was hot.
As I get in the shower and turn the temperature to ice cold. All I can think about is how many ways this can go wrong. The only thing I can do is hope it doesn’t blow up in my face.
Like I said, recipe for disaster.
THE NEXT MORNING, I get to school and head into the teacher’s lounge. Trent is already there, going over lesson plans while he drinks his coffee. I pour my own cup before going over to join him.
“Hey, Asher,” he greets me. “How’d your first day go yesterday?”
I shrug. “It wasn’t the worst thing in the world.”
“No one gave you a hard time? Sometimes these kids try to see how far they can push the newbies, learn what they can and can’t get away with.”
“Eh, nothing too bad. I think it helps that I coach the football team, so all the players know not to mess around.”
He nods. “That’s a good advantage to have. You should’ve seen the seniors from last year.”
“That bad?” I ask, taking a sip of the brightest part of my morning.
“One of them, the captain, was the one I told you about. He was the son of the district attorney. Therefore, he thought he was invincible. He and his friends always came to class late and didn’t even care that they were being disruptive.”
Sounds like how I was in high school. “You didn’t discipline them?”
“I couldn’t,” he sighs. “Carter’s dad had Hyland in his back pocket. It was stupid to even attempt to stand against those kids. They even managed to corrupt my favorite student, Delaney Callahan. Though, she still managed to graduate valedictorian, so maybe there’s hope for her after all.”
The name catches my attention. “Callahan? As in Tessa Callahan?”
Trent looks up and cringes. “Ah, so you’re the sad soul that ended up with Tessa in your class.”
“She’s in my first period.”
He nods. “Well, yeah. Tessa is Delaney’s twin sister. She should have graduated last year as well, but she skipped too many days and ended up needing to repeat part of her senior year.”
Twins. So, that would explain the girl she was at the club with—the one who looked just like her, only not as confident and daring. It also explains why she’s turning nineteen in a few months and still in high school. Okay, at least I know she wasn’t lying about her age, again.
“What’s her deal?” I inquire, trying to get some more information on her, even though I know I shouldn’t. “What makes her so bad?”
Tapping his pen against the table, he leans back in his chair and locks his gaze with mine. “Tessa Callahan is like a forest fire—reckless, unpredictable, and nearly impossible to manage.”
7
TESSA
“Oh, come on. You have to come. It’s like a senior’s rite of passage. We get the best seats this year,” Lennon argues.
I shut my locker and roll my eyes. “You’re forgetting, I’ve already done the whole senior year thing.”
“No, you skipped the whole senior year thing, hence being here again and not at college.”
My brows furrow. “Remind me again why I’m friends with you.”
She grins sweetly. “Because I’m amazing and you love me.”