Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 97337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
I also realized we’d both been sitting here for five minutes without acknowledging the other’s presence. He might get away with it, pretending not to have heard me come in, but what’s my excuse? I had none.
I cleared my throat and was thankful once again for the glasses that covered my eyes from the world. They’d come in handy this time for a whole other reason but it was good enough. There was still the issue of me greeting him though.
“Hello Drake, you’re here early.” Did my voice always have that breathy quality to it? And why was my heart beating so fast? I’d only said hello. All the same, it felt like he could see right through me with that look of his.
He didn’t answer me right away and I grew more gauche and uncomfortable under his watchful gaze. It was hard in that moment to remember who was the adult in the room.
I wanted to crawl under the desk to escape his blatant stare. But it was then I realized that his stare didn’t make me uncomfortable in the usual way. That it was my own thoughts I wanted to hide from.
Instead, the way he looked at me made me feel hot and twitchy. It made my body tingle in all the right places, or wrong, depending on who you were asking.
“Good evening Ms. Parks.” I almost jumped out of my skin when he finally returned my greeting. And he still hadn’t looked away. If he’d leered at me, or smirked in that knowing way I maybe would’ve been able to overcome some of my angst and write him off as just another cheeky teenage boy using his charm on the older woman.
But there was none of that in the look he gave me. Instead he looked at me through the eyes of a man. Of someone way above his years, which made my situation so much stickier.
Then I had to ask myself it he was purposely doing this. There was nothing remotely suggestive about his look, no lewdness attached to the open stare, but that light in his eyes, what did it mean? I felt almost trapped in his gaze and could not look away.
I only breathed again when the others came trickling in one by one and I honestly can’t remember much of what was said in class afterwards, but I know I hadn’t made a complete fool of myself because none of the kids were laughing their heads off by the end of it.
It did seem like Drake was picking up a lot of my slack though. Either, by diverting the other students’ attention or asking me something to snap me out of it when I seemed a little dazed.
But how did he even know that his voice had that effect on me? How much had I given away tonight? And what kind of trouble am I going to be in now that he knows like he seemed to?
My lack of experience made me wonder all these things as fear and intrigue battled each other inside me. Could I trust him not to tell his friends about my awkwardness? Or would he see it as just my natural shyness and leave it at that?
I was flustered and anxious the longer I sat there. And each time he looked in my direction my temperature went up a few degrees, to the point that it was all I could do to stay seated behind the desk and not make a run for it.
Drake
Damn she’s skittish. I’d been having fun watching her blush and fidget around in her seat, but then I got the feeling she was really uncomfortable which wasn’t my intention at all. I didn’t know what to make of her behavior. If only I could see those eyes.
I could’ve taken it easy on her once I realized my stare had taken us to another level, but I didn’t want to. That new feeling of excitement made me want to push the limits as any teen worth his salt would.
So I kept looking at her, calling her to me with my stare. And every time she’d sense me looking, as much as she resisted, she couldn’t help looking back at me.
Of course I was careful not to let anyone else in on our little byplay, but to be honest, it was kind of fun doing it right there in front of everyone else who were none the wiser to what was going on right under their noses.
When class ended that night I left with the others but instead of leaving school grounds right away, I found an excuse to hang out by my truck so that I could wait for her to come out and get into her car. Hers and mine were the only vehicles left in the lot and it was getting dark at this hour. I was already feeling just a little bit protective of her tiny ass.