Page 23 of Thinking It Over

But the experience had left its mark, and Jasper’s heated mouth against mine, his tongue stroking against my own as he’d tugged me close was a memory I’d savor. Busyness be damned.

A knock on my open door drew my attention. I greeted Barb with a smile, but it lost its sparkle when I saw her serious expression.

“Do I want to know?” I asked.

“Quite possibly not.” She stepped into my office, a wad of paper in her hands, and closed the door behind her. The action had me tensing. Barb needing privacy was never a good sign.

I indicated for her to take a seat.

“Larry has just been to see me,” she said as she sat at the other side of my desk. “He found these taped to the southside building.” Papers were placed on my desk, and I scooped them up.

The image was gritty, no doubt due to an old camera and the dark. My heart stuttered, heat tearing through me, anger in its wake. Despite the dark, it was clear who was in the image. Jasper and me, on my doorstep, arms around each other and mouths locked together. I shuffled through the papers to discover the images were the same.

“He passed by the building a couple of hours ago but said there was nothing on the walls then. He’s done a search since, and these are the only ones he can see.”

I clenched my jaw, trying to wrap my head around what I was seeing.

“All students are in classes, and there were no phys ed classes, so I don’t expect any students have seen them,”she continued, and I looked up, making eye contact for the first time, not quite sure what I expected to see. The look on her face indicated she was livid on my behalf, helping me remember to draw in a breath and exhale. I needed oxygen. I needed to get my brain working.

Frowning, I shook my head, glancing at the photo and then at her. “I don’t understand why or who would do something like this. What were they trying to achieve?”

Barb pursed her lips before saying, “The whole thing is ludicrous. Could it be a student, simply stumbling upon you and a new teacher and thinking they’d have some fun?” From the doubt on her face, it was clear the argument was weak to even her own ears.

Sickness churned in my stomach, and I struggled to grasp on to a single emotion. One thing I wasn’t was humiliated. Not by the kiss, not even by the picture. But that a moment between the two of us had been abused this way pushed my anger to fury level.

The board knew I was gay, and while I’d never made a public announcement about my sexuality, considering it wouldn’t be expected for me to do so if I was straight, I did not, nor would I ever, hide who I was. I was open about my previous relationship, the only one the community would have known me to have. I’d had previouspartners, but the last one before Rupert was before I lived locally.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked. “How shall we handle this?”

I exhaled, not holding back my frustration. I’d have to tell Jasper. The knowledge hit me hard. This was the last thing that he should be dealing with. As a young and new teacher, he was so much more vulnerable than I was. My stomach lurched.

“Austin.” I snapped my gaze to Barb’s. “There was nothing malicious in the image per se. No slurs, nothing derogatory written around.”

“Other than a complete invasion of my privacy and Jasper’s.” My jaw cracked this time when I ground my back teeth. “And who the fuck was outside my house? It’s not like I live in easy access to town.”

“Should I call the police?”

I shook my head again. “No. But I will reach out to Hank.” He was one of the board members and was a good guy. “I’ll let him know, ask how he wants me to handle it, make an official statement should we need it, and it looks like I also need to disclose the news about me and Jasper, just to be safe.”

A sympathetic smile was directed my way. “I’m so sorry you have to put up with this sort of nonsense.” A different kind of smile then spread across her lips. “And Jasper, huh?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, Jasper.”

With a tilt of her head, she fixed her eyes on mine. “It makes sense.”

“What does?”

“Since he started, you’ve been less grouchy.”

“Me, grouchy?”

“Yes, you. After that sorry excuse for an ex did a number on you, and to be honest, for quite a while before that, you haven’t been yourself.”

My eyes widened in surprise. I worked my ass off to make sure I came to work positive and got my job done. And I tried to ensure my personal and professional lives didn’t cross over. But considering that was now horseshit, since I was dating a member of staff, clearly I wasn’t as good at keeping everything together as I thought. “Was it that obvious?” Guilt burrowed its way through me.

“Only to me, I think.” She cast me a wink. “And I know what you’re thinking, and no, your shitty love life didn’t impact on your ability to do your job.”

I laughed loudly, the action freeing and relieving some of the tightness in my shoulders. “Thank you,” I said, so grateful that the woman before me was her own level of badass.

---