he was just a nice guy, she decided. As she thought back on the last few days, Grace realized she didn’t know what she would have done without him. And how much she was going to need him in the days and weeks to come.
With a big smile on her face, Grace settled beneath her covers. She slipped her phone under her pillow, prayed her dream would continue, and drifted slowly back to sleep.
As soon as her alarm clock blared, Grace knew two things. One, she was definitely suffering from a “sorry” hangover. And two, before the day’s end she would regret returning to school.
Later as she stood outside her third period class, Grace was pretty sure about the latter with clarity. So far, she’d been late to first, second, and now third period.
She should have stayed home.
The sound of tapping keystrokes greeted her as she walked into the classroom. As she made her way to her seat, she was ignored by everyone. That is, by everyone but Zeke. He was sitting in her chair. Comfortably, by the look of it. With his arms folded over his chest, and his feet crossed and resting on the table next to her keyboard.
In any other class, she would worry they’d both get into trouble for socializing. Not this one. They had a teacher, technically, but he didn’t actually teach. Instead, the class was taught by this dandy thing some computer-programming genius designed. Their teacher, Mr. Turner, spent class time reading Sports Illustrated, keeping up with his sports stats on his iPhone, or stepping out to “use the restroom.” Yeah, right.
Zeke grinned. “You’re late, Miss Morgan.”
Grace heaved the backpack over her shoulder, letting it thump loudly to the floor. Her muscles were strained with exhaustion. “I know,” Grace said. Zeke scurried to get out of her seat, while Grace simultaneously flopped tiredly into it.
The playful light in Zeke’s eyes disappeared as concern crept over his face. “Is something wrong?”
Grace’s head swayed from left to right. “I’m fine, just tired.” She blew air from her lips hard enough to dislodge the chunk of hair that annoyingly fell into her eyes. “I see you weren’t kidding about making sure I saw you this morning.”
“I’m a man of my word.”
“It would seem so,” she said.
Zeke dropped into an empty seat next to hers and leaned over, tapping her on the hand. “Do you have plans later?”
Grace pasted on a smile, but internally, she groaned. Not wanting to be reminded of the meeting with the attorney later, she wished there was a way out of it. “Actually, I do. Why?”
“I don’t have to work tonight and thought you might want to get a coffee or something.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t. Maybe some other time?”
“Sure,” he said. “Another time. I better get to work… two rows that way.” He tipped his head in the direction of his desk, then gave her a wink before he made his way that way. Grace snickered a little and watched as he walked to his seat.
Any normal girl would be falling all over themselves for Zeke. After her moonlit rendezvous with Darius, however, Grace’s mind’s eye was too focused on him. She probably would never see him again, but knowing that didn’t stop her thoughts from wandering back to Darius. Nor did her fears.
Since she was a little girl, Grace had been no stranger to the destruction that the death of love leaves behind. After her dad had left, Grace heard her mother’s crying through the thin walls of her bedroom night after night. When silence finally fell, she’d sneak to her mother’s door and peek through the crack. Each time, her mother had her father’s pillow clutched to her chest.
Grace swore then that she’d never let that happen to her, never let someone steal her heart and then destroy it. This sudden attraction to Darius brought back those memories and frightened her. His whole bad-boy allure made her want to send reason packing. But that would just be stupid.
Grace leaned back into her uncomfortable wooden seat and sighed, knowing she should probably be hoping that the redhead was his girlfriend so she could avoid the train wreck of possible heartbreak altogether. In spite of her effort, her mind kept flashing back to the first time she saw Darius, standing nonchalantly under the awning. The way the moonlight intensified his allure, and the easiness with which he leaned against the brick of the building, only left her wanting to relax into him. Her