Free Playing Hooky (Teach Me Tonight) by Lily Rede, Jane Gaudet

PLAYING HOOKY
    THE
WHEELS TOUCHED DOWN in paradise and Molly Callahan felt free for the first time
in months. As they taxied to the small island airport, she caught a glimpse of lush
tropical vegetation and beyond that, the crystal blue waters of the South
Pacific.
    Finally .
    Nine
weeks without papers to grade, homework excuses, detention slips, confiscated
electronics, parent-teacher conferences, and chalk dust on everything she
owned.
    And
two weeks of those nine will be spent in this heaven .
    It
wasn’t that Molly didn’t love being a middle-school science teacher. Every
year, her sixth and seventh graders astounded her with their energy, their
curiosity, their huge potential – the world was in front of them, and though
she’d only been teaching for a few years, it was such a kick to see some of her
former students going on to be high school science stars.
    I
must be doing something right ,
she thought as she re-packed her carry-on luggage, making sure she hadn’t left
anything behind on the fifteen-hour flight.
    Too
excited to feel the jet lag that was sure to knock her off her feet in a couple
of hours, Molly stepped off the plane with the other passengers and crossed to
the little airport main building to go through Immigration and Customs. The air
was muggy and sweet, and within moments, her brown hair was sticking to the
back of her neck. But Molly didn’t care, thrilled when the beautiful copper-skinned
woman who stamped her passport offered her a smile and a warm, “Welcome to the
island.”
    It
wasn’t hard to find the resort escort in Baggage Claim waving a sign with her
name on it. He was a compact, muscular young man, who cheerfully slung her bags
over his shoulder and led her to a jeep waiting outside.
    “The
boat is waiting to take you out to the island.”
    As
they drove the winding road to the marina, Molly took in her tropical surroundings
with satisfaction – this trip may have cost her a good chunk of her savings,
but it was totally worth it. Two whole weeks of sun, sand, and maybe a
vacation fling if she hit it off with a hot cabana boy. No students, no
parents, no family. Molly felt a slight twinge of guilt, knowing she’d
have to face the wrath of the Callahan clan when she got home, but quickly
dismissed it.
    I’m
an adult. I don’t have to do what my parents tell me to do.
    Defiance
was easier from a few thousand miles away. If she’d been home, Molly knew she’d
have been bullied into attending the huge annual family reunion and spent two
weeks babysitting young nieces, nephews, and cousins and getting harassed by
her mother for not dutifully providing her with grandchildren like her six
other siblings. It was tough being the only single one.
    For
once, Molly just wanted some time to herself. She had voiced that shocking
notion over Friday-night mojitos with her sister-in-law Bree, who had
understood immediately.
    “You
need a vacation, hon. Something on the other side of the planet where you can
lie on a beach…”
    “And
snorkel…”
    “And
meet some smokin’ island guy and get laid…”
    “Bree!”
    Her
petite, blonde, cherub of a sister-in-law just laughed.
    “Oh
come on, Molly. You never bring guys home to meet the folks. According to my
spies in the PTA, you never date. You work too hard…”
    “Spies?”
    “And
you’ve resisted all my attempts to hook you up with my brother.”
    Molly
had squirmed uncomfortably at that. Bree was fixated on the idea of setting her
up with Jack Roman, her anthropologist brother, on the grounds that Hey,
you’re both scientists was a good foundation for a relationship. There were so many things wrong with that.
    “Jack
is a great guy, Bree, but he’s too – ”
    “Too
what?”
    Too
everything.
    It
wasn’t just that the man was a genius, she thought resentfully, but he was
gorgeous in a way that made good girls think about naughty things before their
minds completely blanked, making them look like nitwits, and famous thanks to