Page 6 of As Long As You Kiss Me

Chapter 2

The bell rang as Jackson gave out the final instructions of the day. “Make sure you read chapter two and then answer the questions at the end of the section.”

“Bye, Mr. Carr,” drawled Alyvia, the blonde who sat on the front row and batted her eyelashes at him every chance she got. Her words sounded like honey when she talked, and that was a very bad thing. He didn’t want anyone accusing him of anything with a high schooler.

He’d been lucky to land the job at Maple Creek High School teaching American History. After his lifelong dream of having a military career was dashed after getting injured in action, he’d had to find a new dream. And that was teaching history to high schoolers.

Jackson stacked up the papers he needed to grade and put them into his backpack. He’d gotten used to carrying everything in a backpack when he was in school, and he continued the habit now that he was a teacher. It was his first job out of college, and he was nervous about it. So far, the kids had been great. His students seemed to really like him, especially his stories about the military. And he hadn’t gotten any spit wads shot into his face, either so that was how he knew he was succeeding.

But there was always tomorrow for that. He just hoped his tough military exterior would be enough to keep them in line. If they found out what a teddy bear he was inside, it would all be over for him.

Zipping up his backpack, his mind wandered to the kiss he’d had with Sully the week before. He still hadn’t made it to her ice cream shop, but she’d been on his mind quite a bit. Tyson was probably rolling over in his grave, knowing his sister was kissing his best buddy. That was why Jackson had never tried dating Sully back in high school, even though he’d thought she was funny and beautiful. He’d had a crush on her for as long as he could remember. He’d dated around in college some, but he hadn’t been with anyone serious. None of them came close to making him feel how he’d felt around Sully.

But now he had an entirely different reason to stay away from Sully. She could never find out that he was responsible for Tyson’s death. If she knew, she’d never speak to him again.

Jackson zipped up his backpack and headed out into the hall.

“Jackson, can I have a word with you?” Greg Dawson, the chemistry teacher, called him into his room as he passed. They’d gone to Maple Creek High School together back in the day, but they’d never gotten along. Jackson was a jock, while Dawson was a big science nerd. Greg seemed to hold it against him. Even now. Jackson had never been mean to him, so he wasn’t sure what Greg’s problem was.

“What’s up, Greg?” He stepped into the classroom.

“We’re looking to start a program for kids who are behind in school to help them get the help they need. We want to match them up with tutors. The tutors can put the volunteer experience on their college applications, and the kids who are behind get the chance to catch up.”

“That sounds great.”

“We’re hoping it turns out to be,” Greg said.

“So why are you telling me about it?” Had that come out as rude as it sounded? He hadn’t meant it to, but why was Greg going on about something that didn’t have anything to do with him?

“We want you to head it up.”

“Me?” It was only his second week there. He was still getting the hang of this teacher thing. Sure, he’d done his student teaching, but this was the first time he was a real teacher. All official and shiny and new. And Greg wanted to complicate that with a big project. Not that he thought it was bad. He just had a lot on his plate with getting settled back in Maple Creek. His new house had a lot of problems, and he spent most of his extra time fixing up leaky sinks and ripping up flooring. But he’d gotten the house for a great price, so it was worth it. It just meant a lot of extra work for him.

“You’re the new guy. You still need to prove yourself. This is the perfect way to do it.” Greg smiled at him like he was enjoying his discomfort.

“Why are you telling me this instead of the principal?”

“Oh, you’ll be hearing from him soon. I was just giving you the heads-up.”

How nice of him. Well, it could be a lot worse. At least he’d be helping kids out. He just didn’t like the way Greg had to take it upon himself to tell him, when it had nothing to do with him. Or did it? “So are you working on the project too?”

“No. You’ll be the one in charge of it. I’m just the messenger.”

So it really didn’t have anything to do with Greg. How annoying. “And who asked you to be the messenger?”

Greg smiled at him. “I’m just happy to help.”

Sure he was. “Thanks for letting me know, I guess. I’ve got to get going. I have a leaky sink at home that’s calling my name.”

“Have fun with that.”

“Fun. Yeah, that’s the word I was going to use.”

“Jackson.” The principal came into the room. “I was hoping to talk to you.”

Greg gave him a know-it-all look that got under Jackson’s skin.

“About the tutoring?”

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