Free Always You by Missy Johnson Page B

up, the better.”
    My stomach flopped. The sooner we clear this up? That didn’t sound
promising. That sounded like a mess he wanted sorted out before anyone else saw
it.
    “Okay. I will see you there at seven? We can talk after the movie.”
    “See you then,” he said, his voice soft.
    ***
    I trudged downstairs.
    Kass frowned when she saw me approaching the kitchen. “That was fast,”
she observed, handing me a bowl of ice cream.
    I sat down at the table and nodded. “He wants to talk to me tomorrow so
we can clear this up.”
    “Oh.”
    “Exactly,” I agreed. I pushed the bowl away and dropped my head onto the
table. “Kass, I’m an idiot.”
    “It’s okay. Listen to what he has to say before you get yourself worked
up.”
    “No, it’s not okay. I’ve made a complete idiot out of myself.”
    “Did he kiss you back?”
    “Huh?” I asked, not seeing her point.
    “When you kissed him, did he kiss you back? Even for the slightest
moment?”
    I thought back. I’d instigated the kiss, but he had definitely
reciprocated it. That was not all one-sided. There had been something between
us.
    “Yes,” I muttered. “But that’s not the point.”
    “What is the point? What do you want from him, Wrenn?” she asked,
pointing her spoon at me.
    I couldn’t answer that. Did I want him to risk his career, sneaking
around with me? No. But I couldn’t ignore my feelings either.
     

Chapter
Twelve
    Dalton
    I stared at the phone after she’d hung up, telling myself over and over
that this was the right thing to do. The kiss had been amazing— she was amazing—but it couldn’t
happen. If only for the fact that I was her fucking teacher, this was wrong.
    It didn’t feel that way, though. When we were together it felt equal. She
was as bright and mature as me. That wasn’t saying much, but she wasn’t your
average eighteen-year-old.
    Eighteen . I was only twenty-three.
She was only five years younger than me, a socially acceptable age difference.
The surge of anticipation that had rushed through me when I’d found out she was
eighteen had shocked me. I liked Wrenn a lot, but it was only when we kissed
that I realized my feelings for her extended beyond attraction. Her comment
about how, had things formed differently, we could’ve both been in college at
the same time had gotten under my skin.
    She was right: I wouldn’t have blinked an eye about asking out a pretty
freshman.
    God, those lips—so soft and smooth. And the way she’d touched my
face had made me numb. My body tingled just thinking about her.
    Stop! This wasn’t going to
happen. Tomorrow, you are going to tell her that, and then you will distance
yourself from her.
    Except something told me Wrenn wasn’t going to be so easily swayed. And I
knew it wouldn’t take much pushing for me to snap. I have to stop
thinking about this or I’m going to go insane.
     
    Opening the fridge, I grabbed a soda and sat down at my computer. I
logged into Skype to see if Cam was around. He wasn’t, so I sent him an email.
     
    Dude,
    How’s it going? Let me know
when you’re around and we’ll Skype.
    Say hi to Amy.
    Dalton
    I’d just clicked send when a notification buzzed through from Cam saying
he was online. I clicked Call. His face popped up, and I laughed. His usual
shaggy blond mop of hair was styled into place, and he wore a suit instead of
his usual T-shirt and jacket.
    “Nice look,” I snorted.
    “Yeah, well, I had an interview, then I had to do this thing for Amy.
Anyway, it’s not important. What’s up?”
    “Not much, dude. Just wanted a familiar face to chat to.”
    “Aww, poor Dalton’s not homesick, is he?” Cam tsked as I laughed.
    “Fuck off. I’ve had a hard week. This just keeps getting worse.”
    “That bad?” He winced, scratching his ear.
    “Let’s just say I’m making this much more complicated than it needs to
be,” I sighed. Did I tell him about Wrenn, or not? I wanted to, but something
was stopping me. The less