When Summer Ends (20 page)

He shook his head quickly. “No, definitely leave the jeans
on. It’s fine, just get in.”

He walked round to his side as I grabbed the couple of soda
cans from my seat and put them on the floor along with the papers and candy
wrappers. I threw my bag in the back and sat down looking at the mess on the
floor, laughing in disbelief.

“Will, how on earth do you eat all of this junk and still
stay in shape?” I asked, motioning to the floor. There was easily ten different
empty candy wrappers casually discarded there.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “I have a lot of time on my hands
so I work out a lot. I’m still running the classes at the ski slope so that’s
kind of a workout in itself too.”

I smiled at that. “Start any snowball fights lately?” I
asked. I grinned as I remembered our first proper date.
Still one of the
best nights of my life.

He laughed. “No, there are no rebel girls there that like
getting hit with snow. Besides, I have to throw out people who start snow
fights, it’s against company rules.”

“So if I came by there one night while you were working, and
started a snow war, would I get thrown out?” I questioned, smirking at him.

He grinned. “No, but you may get your ass handed to you.”

I laughed at the challenge in his voice.
If my memory
serves me correctly, Will enjoyed that night almost as much as I did. Well, I
thought at the time he did anyway.
“Maybe I will.” I waggled my eyebrows at
him.

We were almost at my house now, and I was a little
disappointed. This was the first time he’d been like this with me since he
broke it off. I didn’t want it to end yet. I’d had a week without him, and I
didn’t want another one. Wasn’t up to me though - he was the one that broke up with
me, not the other way around, so I had no choice in the matter, much to my
disappointment.

He pulled up outside my house and stopped the engine, turning
to face me. He had that slightly pained face on again.
Does he not want this
time to end either? Or is that just wishful thinking on my part?

He leant through the gap in the seats, fumbling in the back
for my bag. As he straightened himself up he was a lot closer to me because of
how he was leaning. His eyes were locked onto mine making my whole body burn
with excitement. It suddenly felt like someone had set a hundred butterflies
loose in my stomach. His breath was blowing across my face making my lips tingle
with the need for his to be pressed against mine.

He didn’t move away, he just stayed there looking at me, as
I was him.
Oh, Will, please kiss me.
It didn’t matter to me that he was
a teacher, or that I was a minor. When something is right you just feel it -
and I definitely felt it, my whole body felt it. He was the one for me. The one
that would drive me crazy and make me laugh even when I was sad. He was the one
I wanted to hold me when I cried, the one I wanted to call when I had happy
news. He was just the one.

I could barely breathe. I wanted to throw my arms around his
neck and crush my lips against his. I wanted him to hold me and tell me that
we’d work something out, that he’d figure it out because he wanted me as much
as I wanted him.

He was looking at me softly, tenderly, just like he used to
look at me. I could feel my heart crashing in my chest as his eyes flicked down
to my lips for a split second before returning to mine. His mesmerising grey
eyes trapped me in his intense gaze as he slowly started to inch his face
closer to mine. I smiled and moved forward too.

Just as our lips were an inch apart my cell phone rang. Will
jumped back quickly into his own seat, almost pressing against the door in a
bid to be further away from me. I frowned as my heart sank down to my toes.
So
near but yet so far.
His face hardened again and I knew the moment was over.
I wouldn’t get another chance because he didn’t want me. That was just the
sexual tension sparking up. That was all I was to him, something fun he could
amuse himself with and get his jollies with.

“You should go inside and answer that.” He turned back to
the windshield and started the car before gripping the steering wheel so tightly
his knuckles were white.

I sighed and nodded. I wouldn’t let this upset me again. I
needed to stick to the realisation I’d had over the weekend - worse things
happen to people all the time and they cope with it. Our breakup wasn’t a
tragedy, it was just something unfortunate, but it was part of life. Heartbreak
was something you got over in time. I just prayed that I could get over him
quickly because this pain was almost unbearable.

“Thanks for the ride.” I grabbed my bag and climbed out of
the car not looking at his stupid handsome face again as I headed inside. I
didn’t bother to answer my cell, I’d call them back whoever it was. I didn’t
want to speak to the person who ruined my kiss with Will. Technically it wasn’t
their fault, but I couldn’t help but be a little annoyed with whoever it was.

My parents weren’t home so I went straight upstairs and
headed into the shower to wash off the vinegar smell. As I stood under the
spray I replayed the moment in the car.
Would he have kissed me if my cell
phone hadn’t rung? If he had kissed me would that mean that we could be
together, or would he have just brushed it off as a mistake afterwards? Maybe
he would have kissed me and realised that I was the one he wanted too, and he
would have asked me for another shot.
I stood under the water for a good half
an hour just playing out ‘what might have been’ in my head.

Chapter Thirteen

I hardly slept that night. All I could think of was how close
his lips had gotten to mine and how his mouth had twisted into that sexy little
smile that seemed like it was just for me. I’d never seen him smile like that
at anyone else. That had to mean something, didn’t it? Over the course of my
sleepless night I had somehow convinced myself that it
had
to mean
something. He felt more than just a sexual attraction to me, he had to.

I decided to stick to the decision I’d made over the weekend
- worst things happened all over the world every minute of every day, and I
shouldn’t let this upset me anymore. But at the same time I decided I needed to
try and work through it. If he felt anything for me then it was worth a shot. I
needed to talk to him and see exactly what was going on in that sexy head of
his. If he told me that it was just a sexual attraction then I would let it go
and move on, if he wanted me for more than that then we’d have to work
something out. I refused to be confused any longer. He either needed to admit
it or leave it, that was final. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop caring about
him overnight, but if he didn’t want me then I would try my hardest to forget
him.

The next morning after hardly sleeping and contemplating my
options in my head; I felt and looked awful. No amount of make-up was going to
cover up the dark circles I had under my eyes so I didn’t even bother trying to
disguise them. I pulled on the first clothes I saw in my closet, and went
downstairs to wait for Amy to come and pick me up.

When I heard her horn, I walked as slow as possible to the
car. I knew she’d give me the third degree about letting Will go and moving on,
the same as she did every morning. I held my breath as I climbed in. I was
right, the fifteen minute drive she was telling me over and over just to date
someone else. She was going on and on about Oliver Hawk - apparently she’d
heard that he liked me and wanted to take me out. She even suggested that I
sleep with Nick again in a bid to help me get over my ass of an ex, those were
her exact words. I just smiled and nodded along, not wanting anymore
confrontations about it. I couldn’t make any firm decisions until I’d spoken to
Will.

When we got to school I made up the excuse of needing to go
to the office, but instead made my way to his classroom. This was it; once and
for all I was going to find out what he meant by that yesterday. He had one
chance and one chance only. If he wanted me then he needed to admit it.

Though as I trudged in the direction of his classroom, I
started to doubt myself.
What would a guy like Will see in a girl like me
anyway? Will is awesome, funny, smart, caring, and when we were together he was
the best boyfriend ever. What the hell would I have that would keep him
interested in me? Nothing, that’s the answer. I’m not good enough for him at
all. I’m going to make myself look like a total moron doing this - just like a
stupid schoolgirl crushing on her teacher. Wow, I suck!
I wanted to stop
walking, but my stupid legs kept taking step after step of their own accord.

I stopped outside his classroom and took a deep breath,
trying in vain to settle my nerves and pluck up the courage to go through with
this moronic plan.
Be brave, Chloe!
Just as I was about to walk in I
heard laughter. I stopped dead in my tracks and sneakily glanced in to see Miss
Teller, the drama teacher, standing way too close to Will. She was giggling and
flicking her hair over her shoulder as she smiled at him seductively. I
couldn’t see what he was doing because his back was to me, but no doubt he
liked the attention.

Miss Teller was gorgeous and was pretty young for a teacher too;
she was probably only about twenty-six or so. Most of the boys in school had a
crush on her. Not that I blamed them. She was tall and athletic looking, with
long blonde hair, big blue eyes, and a larger than average chest, which she had
no problem showing off teasingly in her revealing shirts.

I felt jealously boil up inside as she put her hand on his
forearm. “That was funny. You really have made this place interesting, Will,”
she purred, looking at him through her eyelashes.

“I’m sure this place was plenty interesting before I came
along,” Will responded, shrugging. I noticed that he didn’t move his arm away
from her hand. I had the strong urge to rush in there and rip her damn arm off
for her.

“You want to meet up at lunchtime and get something to eat
offsite today?” she asked, smiling seductively.

Oh God, please say no!

“I can’t, I have a lot to do, sorry,” he replied.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but deep down I recognised that
he hadn’t actually turned her down; he’d just said he had a lot of things to
do. He hadn’t said a flat out ‘no thanks, not interested’.

“Oh, okay never mind. You still okay for after school?” she
asked, looking at him hopefully.

“Yeah sure, I said so didn’t I?”

Oh my gosh, he’s seeing her after school?
He
turned her down for lunch but is going out with her after? Wow, that hurts so
much.
I felt my heart start to beat faster in my chest. He really was
finished with us, and that little scene yesterday was just a mistake.
Damn
it, the stupid jerk-face! Is he doing this on purpose to hurt me? Building my hopes
up just to crush me again?

“Great.” She smiled.

“Just come meet me here after or something.” He shrugged
casually.

I suddenly realised that their conversation was probably
coming to an end, and I was just standing in the doorway listening. Miss
Teller’s attention was firmly fixed on Will at the moment, but the minute she
turned a bit to the right she’d see me and know I heard their little flirting
session.

I moved back around the corner, trying not to listen to
anything else. I couldn’t hear any more flirting, it was too painful. My whole
body hurt where I was so tense.

She walked out of the room and smiled to herself as she
sauntered past in her black pencil skirt that showed off her pert behind. Suddenly
I felt incredibly underdressed in my jeans and loose fit sweater. All of the
guys in the hall smiled at her as she walked past and turned to get a look at
her ass.

My hands were shaking a little with both jealousy and shock.
Why the hell am I so surprised about this? Miss Teller is beautiful and actually
a really lovely lady too. Why wouldn’t he want to date her?
Over the course
of the night I had gotten my hopes up for us to be together again. It looked like
there was no chance of that now. He’d already moved on to someone better and
more suited to him.

The click of a door closing drew my attention. I looked up just
as he walked out of his classroom. I didn’t have time to get away before he saw
me. I clenched my hands into fists, feeling both angry and betrayed. For some
reason it felt like he’d cheated on me, even though he hadn’t. I wanted to
punch him and scream at him in front of everyone so they would know that he
made me feel like a cheap piece of meat.

He looked at me shocked for a second before stepping closer
to me, concern crossing his face. “You okay? What’s happened?” he asked,
bending to look at me. His eyes found mine as his warmth and smell surrounded
me. My stomach started to ache.

“I’m perfect,” I muttered, trying to appear unconcerned,
pretending that his little plans with the hot drama teacher didn’t bother me in
the slightest.

I turned to walk off, but he caught my hand and pulled me to
a stop. When he didn’t let go of my fist I turned back to look at him
curiously. I glanced down at our hands and tried my best to ignore the little
thrill that was going through my bloodstream just because he was touching me.

“Are you allowed to grab a student, Mr Morris?” I hissed.  

He frowned angrily and let go of my hand quickly. “What’s
wrong?” His tone was coloured with annoyance because of my comment.

“Why would anything be wrong?” I asked, shifting my heavy
bag on my shoulder.

“You look upset, your hands are shaking, and your eyes are
doing that little twitching thing they do before you cry,” he stated, crossing
his arms across his chest making the muscles in his forearms tense. I hated
myself for suddenly wishing those arms were wrapped around me.
Focus, Chloe!