Page 14 of Burn for You (Flirting with Forever 3)

“Yes, and thank you for listening to my rant.” I press my lips together and then force myself to blow out the breath I’d been holding. “Okay. Time to face the firing squad.”

Zoey pats my arm. “Hang in there. It’ll be okay.”

Chapter 8

Damon

I’ve got my students and Piper’s working on assignments at their desks. It wasn’t exactly what I’d planned for the day, but with our classes reading different books at the moment, it was easier to have them work quietly on their own. Fifty kids at once is a lot to handle.

Fortunately, these are all good kids, and I haven’t had any issues at all beyond the moment her class realized what we were reading versus what they were reading, and a whole lot of whining broke out. I’ll admit to having laughed a little on the inside at their dismay. I’m sure Piper will be enthused to discover her students are about to revolt, wanting to read something fun.

“Guys, I’m just going to the workroom for a second to check in with the office and see when we can expect Ms. Mathison.”

The students nod in response and get right back to what they were doing, so I slip out the door. My head swings left when I hear the clicking of heels coming toward me from around the corner right before Piper appears. Her face is strained, and it falls when she sees me. She hurries more quickly toward me, but I hold out my hand palm out in front of me. “Hey. No need to hurry, they’re fine.”

She comes to a stop right in front of me. “I’m sorry you had to cover.” She glances down at her bag and her lunch container. “I’m going to set this in the workroom.” She gestures toward the door. “I’ll just be another second.”

My brow furrows as I study her, and before she can move, I reach out, grasping her elbow gently. She looks completely stressed out, and at the same time, I can tell she’s not feeling one hundred percent, either.

Her lips part as she glances down at my hand. I let go and tuck my hand into my pocket. “No need to rush. Like I said, they’re working on the assignment you gave them that’s due next week. Everything’s fine.” I try to keep my voice calm and steady, as she seems like she could flip out at any second.

She nods and walks toward the workroom, throwing an, “Okay, thank you,” over her shoulder.

I follow.

If you ask me why, my answer is simple. I don’t know. I have no freaking clue. The kids are fine, but now I have no need to contact the office because she’s already right here. Someone tell me why I’m standing here. Watching her class has been no big deal, however, I can see Piper’s made a mountain out of a molehill—this reminds me an awful lot of my middle sister, Esme—and Piper’s close to a meltdown of epic proportions. It’s written all over her face. I don’t know where it’s coming from, but I feel an intense need to make sure she’s okay.

She puts her food in the fridge, then whirls around to her desk, sorting through things, pulling a stack of papers out of her bag, mumbling to herself, and shaking her head. She doesn’t realize I’m observing every agitated move she makes. I hate to do this to her again, to bear witness to her having another “moment,” but here we are. I can’t leave her like this. She plops down into her chair, wraps her arms around her middle, and leans forward, her face contorting in pain.

That’s all it takes to set me into motion. I sit down next to her, wheeling my chair toward her. My chest tightens and my voice comes out gruff. “Piper, what’s wrong? Should you even be here?”

She turns her head, eyes widening as it finally hits her that I’ve been here this whole time. Her eyes blink shut, and she straightens herself. “I just need a minute.”

The lightbulb finally goes on over my head. Rummaging through a drawer in my desk for a second, I finally come up with a bottle of Midol that my little sister Elena asked me to hold onto for her in case she ever needs it during the school day. It’s completely against school policy to leave medications anywhere except with the school nurse, but Elena has always had me wrapped around her little finger. Since our father passed away ten years ago, I’m the only father figure she’s known and I’d do just about anything for her—apparently, that includes storing feminine medications, as well as other products for her, in my desk drawer.

My hand wraps around the bottle, squeezing it tightly, not sure if I’m about to overstep one of those male/female coworker boundaries in a big way. All I can think is that if she was one of my sisters—which she is so not—I wouldn’t hesitate. Decision made, I set the bottle on the corner of Piper’s desk, sliding it over to her.

When her eyes light upon the bottle, she freezes in place. She lifts a hand to reach for it, but pulls it back to her lap, and folds it with her other hand. Her voice is low and she seems a little perturbed, if I’m not mistaken. “Are you kidding me right now?”

I stand up and shrug. “They’re Elena’s, but you’re welcome to them, if it will help.” I start to wonder if I made the right decision after all. Should I have done that? Does she think it’s weird that I had those in my drawer? That I’d offer them to her? Fuck all, I’m just trying to help her. I don’t even know why I care.

But I do.

Her forehead creases for a second before she glances at me, then snatches t

he bottle, opens it, and shakes a few pills into her hand.

“Water?” My lips twitch at how irritated she seems.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out in a concentrated stream through her plump lips. Lips that I’ve never really noticed before, but I sure do now. She nods, eyeing me carefully. I grab a bottle from my stash in the workroom fridge and hand it off to her.

She takes the medication, and drinks half the bottle of water before she stops. The whole time, I’m watching her throat move as she swallows.

I can’t take my eyes from her. I know I should be getting back to the classroom—back to our classes—but my feet are unmoving, seemingly full of lead, keeping me hostage in the room with her.

She peers at me from under her lashes. “I’m fine, Damon. Thank you. I’ll be right there.”

I nod and quickly exit. I don’t know why I’ve started to look at Piper with new eyes, but I’d better figure my shit out and fast.

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