Page 30 of Burn for You (Flirting with Forever 3)

Piper smiling up at me.

Piper in her sexy-as-hell red dress.

Piper and her alluring bare neck.

I gaze longingly at the woman in the photo, wanting to drop an open-mouthed kiss on her soft skin. She’s so damn tempting. I press my lips together. But I’m probably on her shit list right now because of the field trip.

Mom snatches the phone from me and looks at the screen. Her lips purse while she studies the two of us together in the photo. “Piper Mathison, right? She always was a pretty girl. Smart, too. I know her mama. Her parents think the world of her.”

“Her parents are ridiculously hard on her.” I watch Mom’s mouth drop open before I look down at my plate and concentrate on my food, putting a forkful of quiche into my mouth and chewing, unable to enjoy it at all. Thinking about the way I’d heard Piper’s parents treat her sours my mood.

The silence at our usually chattery table unnerves me. Slowly, I glance up and see all four pairs of female eyes on me. “What?”

Elena cracks first, wrinkling her nose. “I knew you liked her.”

Like her? She’s the most infuriating woman on the planet, but I guess she’s okay. “Well, I’m only telling the truth about her parents. I overheard them on a phone call with her last week. It wasn’t pretty. It was also—and Elena, you aren’t to breathe a word of this at school—very awkward because it was obvious that they are pressuring her in a big way.”

Arabella’s brow creases. “What do you mean?”

I shake my head, giving her a rueful grin. “We’re up for the same position. It was about that.”

“Nooo.” Esme sucks in air through her teeth.

Mom tilts her head to the side. “Well, that’s problematic, isn’t it?”

“From a coworker standpoint, it’s definitely an issue.”

Elena, ignoring me and seemingly oblivious to the position we’re in, takes another bite of her muffin and around the mouthful says, “You should totally date Ms. Mathison.”

I groan. “One, you shouldn’t be talking about her. She’s your teacher. And two, not likely. We … argue. A lot.” No way am I telling them that I’m half-sure if Piper and I ever really got into it, we’d probably end up attacking each other with our lips.

Almost as if she’s reading my mind, Arabella snickers and hides her mouth from Elena with her hand and mouths at me, “Is that what it is? Or is it foreplay?”

Another groan bursts from me. “Nope. Bella, don’t go there.”

“What?” Elena looks between us, wondering what she’s missed.

“I have someone else I’m interested in, and Piper’s not happy with me right now anyway.”

Elena’s head pops up from where she’d been nose down in her muffin. “Wait, did something bad happen after I shut—” Her eyes meet mine and she freezes. “I mean when you got locked out?”

“Tell me you didn’t do that.”

Esme’s, Arabella’s, and Mom’s gazes bounce back and forth between me and Elena like a ball in a tennis match. Elena’s face flushes. “I-I was just trying to help.”

“You locked us outside in thirty-degree weather and no one could hear us because the entire student body was sliding to the right and kicking! What the hell, Elena?”

“Was anyone hurt?” Mom eyes me carefully from the other side of the table.

I growl, “No, not if you don’t count my dress shoes, which are ruined. I ended up carrying Piper all the way around the damn building in the snow, messed up my suit pants, and nearly froze my feet off doing it.”

Esme, who is our hopeless romantic, sighs. “I’m just imagining how this all went down in my head. How sweet you are, Damon.”

“Well, I’m afraid she doesn’t think I’m sweet anymore because I’ve had to do things to get that department chair position that she’s not going to appreciate.”

Mom shakes her head, closing her eyes. “Oh, Damon.”

Bella squints at me. “Wait a sec. Did you say you were interested in someone else? Tell me you met someone on Tryst!”

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