Page 29 of Dangerous

“Are you saying I’m hot?”

I faux gasped. “What? How could you say such a thing. I don’t recall that word coming out of my mouth at all.”

“Sure, you didn’t.” He winked as I rolled my eyes. As if he didn’t already know how attractive he was. Every time we went out together, women were always checking him out. Even during our impromptu trip to Winnipeg, women kept coming up to me and telling me that he was a keeper. But that didn’t mean I needed to feed his ego. Even before the other students knew of my closeness to Liam, they were already talking about Ethan. The girls suggested that if they had to lose Mason, at least his replacement looked as good, even if he wasn’t as built.

It was the thought of Mason, of what he’d done, that had me hesitating instead of giving him an immediate answer of no. I didn’t want to date anyone else or kiss anyone else. Peter, Jason, and Jarrod had a hold on my heart and despite wanting the break, it didn’t mean I was looking for someone else. But Mason had succumbed to the pressures put on him by all the women throwing themselves at him. He’d caved, started drinking, and changed from the sweet boy/man to someone who left me alone at a party when I was drunk. Alone so he could go fuck someone else despite telling me that he wanted me. I didn’t want that for Ethan. I wanted to protect our friendship, protect him from the women unless he found someone that he wanted to let in closer. But could I do it? Could I really pretend to be his girlfriend? And what would that do to my relationships with Jason, Jarrod, and Peter?

So, yes, I hesitated. I wasn’t so self-centred that I would jump right in without examining the possible repercussions.

A knock on the window, startled me, giving me the excuse to take the time and space I needed to think about my answer. “Guess we’re being paged. Is it alright if I don’t answer right away?”

“Of course.” He patted my thigh before he reached for his door handle to open his door. “I sprung this on you, but I’ve been thinking about for a couple of weeks. Giving you the same time is the least I can do. But”—he leaned in and lowered his voice—“please don’t leave me to the vultures while you’re deciding.”

Now that was something I could promise. “I won’t.”

22

Katy/Katherine

Iwalked with Ethan to his homeroom since it was on the way to Mr. Taylor’s classroom. People continued to whisper my name which floored me. Wasn’t there enough other stuff to talk about? I mean, even though we were small, things still happened. I’m sure someone slept with someone. Wasn’t that how the two high profile couples of our year split? Weren’t they cheating on their significant other with the person from the other couple? I wasn’t sure since I really didn’t want to know any of the gossip, but I was positive that something like that had managed to penetrate the barriers I’d put in place. And even if they weren’t true, wouldn’t that have been more exciting to talk about than whether or not I had surgery to get my figure back after being pregnant with a secret baby that no one knew about. Despite my best efforts, when I heard that comment, my eyes rolled so hard in my head I wondered if I could give myself a concussion from the movement.

Tired of it all, I switched my focus from trying to ignore what was being said about me—to be honest it never really workedbecause I was always listening to protect myself—to watching how my schoolmates interacted with Ethan. He came from a popular family, giving him instead street cred so it wasn’t like he was starting at the bottom of the social pile. Not that he would have because the compliments I’d given him only touched the surface in the looks department. He really did look hot even I would tell him that. So, it wasn’t surprising that girls flocked to his side, wanting to sway his interest. Not even if they thought he’s gotten me pregnant. But what I saw surprised me. They were aggressive. More aggressive than I expected. A complete shock when you considered how I’d grown up with these girls, watching them interact with Mason and others.

Crap. They really were vicious. They grabbed onto him, pressing into his personal space so that their boobs were rubbing over his arms, his chest. Some even patted his ass or try to brush his dick with their hands as they cut in front of him. And their touches were only secondary to what they said. Comments were made about how they could show him a better time than I did or how they’d love to carry his next child.

It made me sick. It made me want to pull him to a stop and tell him I’d do it. That I’d be his fake girlfriend. But before I could, toward the end of the hallway wing where the daycare was located, stood Peter.

A sharp pain stabbed my chest. Despite him—them—telling me that they were okay with me going out, okay with me doing things other teenagers did because they wanted me to experience things that they were able to, I wasn’t sure if that covered having a boyfriend or more specific a fake boyfriend. I remembered them saying something about seeing other guys, but I’d tuned them out, knowing I’d never do that, that I’d never push someone else in their face while I was with them. Not after experiencing the pain, I’d felt every time I saw them with a woman before they’d admitted their feelings for me.

Although, I wasn’t seeing them, wasn’t in a relationship with them… was I? Did that change things?

“This is me. See you at lunch?”

I nodded, unable to pull my gaze from Peter who’d stopped to talk with Mr. Taylor outside the classroom I was headed to.

Each step toward them felt like I wore forty-pound weights around my ankles. Standing in the hall, wearing his navy dress pants, his perfectly pressed sky-blue button up shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, Peter was a vision. Although, he always drew my attention no matter what he wore. And that bothered me. He shouldn’t still have such a hold on me. Not when he’d hurt me—inadvertently—so much over the years, lied to me or at least withheld the news about Liam from me until he was forced to tell me.

I didn’t want to see him, to be near him, but the universe wasn’t kind that way. He was everywhere. Last year, I’d been excited to know that he’d finally be my teacher, ensuring I saw him every day, and now, now it was just a reminder of what we’d had. Yet I wouldn’t give up that time together. I craved it.

How pathetic was I?

“Good morning, Katy,” Mr. Taylor greeted while Peter gave me a little head nod and smile. Something I didn’t mind since we’d already spoke this morning and with my emotions on a hair trigger for some reason, I didn’t need him to speak and tip the floodgates open.

“Good morning.” I held out the food container to Mr. Taylor. “I made these for you as a thank you for everything these past few weeks.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw when Peter’s eyes momentarily lost their happy sparkle as Mr. Taylor lifted the corner of the lid. His reaction confused me because I’d already told him that I had some set aside for them. So, why did it bother him that I brought some for Mr. Taylor as well?

“These smell amazing. Did you make them?” Mr. Taylor reached into the container, broke off a little piece, and brought it to his mouth. “Mmm. It’s so good. I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait until lunch to dig into them.”

“Maybe I should keep them with me to protect you from yourself,” Peter joked as he tugged on the dessert container.

“No way. Get your own. These are mine and you’re not getting your grubby hands on them. Katy made them for me.”

Before Peter could say anything, I jumped in. “Glad you like them. And don’t worry about Mr. Evans, I made some for them, too.”

“Having a baby isn’t enough. Now she’s trying to seduce the teachers, too.”

“Hey, I’d do her. She’s probably a freak in bed.”

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