Page 10 of Barefoot Chaos
Then the person attached to said ass, straightened up and spun around, hearing my audible gulp.
"Heavens to Betsy! Wha-- What are you doing here?" Hessa's voice came out breathless, from between plump lips defined by red lipstick. Her hand lay over her chest, highlighting the rapid rise and fall of her breasts from behind yet another sweater set, this time in royal blue.
Her glasses were sliding down her nose again and I took a step forward to push them up for her. She straightened up, pushing her shoulders back. Her movement stopped mine in my tracks.
That's right. I wasn't here to touch her. Or oggle her delicious body. I was here about Care Dare.
I took a deep breath, elongating the exhale, hoping to clear my dangerous thoughts and stay focused on the task at hand. When I felt like I was at least partly under control, I took the final steps to put me in front of her, a safe distance kept between us.
"I'm sorry to have startled you, Hessa. I'm here to speak to the teacher in charge of the senior Care Dare program." There. That came out perfectly calm.
"You're speaking to her." Hessa spun around her desk and had a seat in her chair, crossing one leg over the other, causing her skirt to climb a few inches shorter. Did she wear these clothes in front of hormonal teenagers?
She motioned for me to have a seat in the first student desk before her. I sat, though I preferred to stay standing where I could see her legs from behind the desk. The deciding factor was the uncomfortable tightness of my shorts. I didn't need her to see that if this conversation were to stay strictly business.
"What is it you want to know?" she asked when I was seated.
"Could you tell me about the program? Why the dares? What kind of dares? Who oversees the dares?" I kept my tone friendly. I'd learned early on to remain calm. Getting angry only put the other person on guard and kept you from seeing eye-to-eye.
She tilted her head and looked down her nose at me, making me wonder if that was the face her students saw on a daily basis. "I'd be happy to answer your questions if you would first tell me why the sudden interest in my program."
I studied her face, trying to decide if I should tell her what was happening on my beach, or remain vague and hope she still talked to me. What I saw of her at Career Day convinced me to be straight with her. She genuinely cared for her students, I'd bet my life on it.
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on the small piece of wood that was supposed to be a desk surface attached to my metal chair. "I've pulled two people out of the ocean in the last week. Both of them referenced a 'dare' that made them do stupid stunts. I want to know if these incidences could have anything to do with your Care Dare program."
Her eyes widened as I spoke. "Absolutely not, Kai." She leaned forward on her desk too, close enough now I could drown in her golden brown eyes. Eyes that looked like they'd lived lifetimes already and were five steps ahead of me. "As you may have noticed, it's called a Care Dare. Meaning lots of time, supervision, andcarego into these dares.Neverdo we allow a child to be harmed. These dares are less about stunts, and more about personal growth, in whatever form that would help the child the most. I'm sorry you've had to rescue two people this week who were doing things they shouldn't have, but that has nothing to do with my program."
I leaned forward as far as I could. "Two people are in the hospital, Hessa."
She jumped up, anger spotting her cheeks, those brown eyes flashing. "And I'm sorry about that. But show me the evidence. How are they connected to my program?"
I sat back, unable to provide that for her, realizing this conversation had gone way off course. I'd guessed she was devoted to her students, but I underestimated her passion.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I see. You have no evidence. Then I can't help you. I wish you luck, and I hope no more foolishness requires your aid."
And with that, I was thoroughly dismissed.
I stood slowly, if only to irritate her further. I stood directly in front of her, my face only inches from hers. I liked her passion. I didn't like that she clammed up on me, or chose to argue with me, but her passion excited me on a fundamental level. What is life without passion?
"Do all your male students have crushes on you, Ms. Woodland?"
She gasped and I smiled, picturing her clutching a pearl necklace had she been wearing one, so great was her indignation.
"I didn't take you for a blackguard, Mr. Kane."
I shook my head, refusing to be distracted by her fancy words. "When you're ready to talk to me about this without shutting me down immediately, you know where to find me. I don't wish to accuse you. I came here today to understand it." In parting, I traced my finger down her arm, wanting a feel of that soft skin again, getting an even better reaction when I saw her shiver.
I smiled and walked out.
I'd never had such a wonderful time at high school before.
Hessa
I'd never been so happy to see someone leave my classroom. One, because he was accusatory and I didn't appreciate that. Two, because he was purposely trying to rile me up with that comment and that touching. Three, because I got to admire his backside as he walked away from me. And what a backside it was.
Once my heart rate had returned to normal, I sat back down and grabbed the file out of my drawer. The one I'd been digging for when he came in my classroom. In it, I had all the current Care Dares my seniors had submitted. I flipped through each one as I sat there, looking for any dare that might involve the ocean. So far, only two had anything to do with water and the dares had only been submitted. They hadn't been approved by me, nor had the students acted on them, to the best of my knowledge.
I wrote the two names on a Post-it and made a note to talk to them tomorrow. I wanted to make sure they hadn't taken the dares into their own hands. I scoffed at the idea, but if there was even a small doubt in my mind, I wanted to lay it to rest.
