When Summer Ends

by Isabelle Rae

  His shoulders stiffened, and his eyes flicked to me. I nodded quickly, encouraging him to just agree and give it back at the end of his class so that she wouldn’t cause more trouble. His frown deepened and his jaw clenched as his eyes moved back to her. “Fine, you can get it back at the end of the lesson. I suppose it’s a little unfair for me to deprive you of it for the weekend,” he forced out, speaking through his teeth.

  I relaxed. Just another half an hour and the class would be over, and then I would be free of her and her ridiculous demands. Well, until I needed to go and muck out her horses anyway.

  He turned and walked back to his desk, shoving her iPod in one of his drawers and slamming it shut forcefully. “Let’s just get on with the lesson,” he snapped angrily. Half of the class groaned because he was now in a sour mood, which probably meant more homework being piled on tonight.

  The rest of the lesson passed without incident. Erika didn’t push him or say anything wrong, but she just sat there filing her nails the whole time, not even pretending to listen. I could tell by Will’s angry expression that he wouldn’t be putting up with much of her crap, which didn’t bode well for our situation at all.

  When the bell rang I deliberately packed my books slowly, making sure Erika left the room before I did. I couldn’t get her comment out of my head about her ‘giving him a try’. What if she decided she wanted to blackmail him into kissing her or something? I knew I was being more than a little pathetic though, that was one thing I knew Will wouldn’t do. He would rather quit his job. I still lingered behind her though, making sure she stayed the hell away from my man.

  She sauntered up to him, holding out a manicured hand for her iPod, a satisfied smile on her lips. He didn’t say anything, just dropped it into her hand, his whole body tense and stressed. I longed to rub my hands over his shoulders and massage some of that tension away for him. I’d need to wait until Saturday night for that though.

  As soon as she was out of the room, Amy and I walked out too, I dropped a little note onto Will’s desk on the way past. I hadn’t written anything on there, just drew a smiley face, hoping it would cheer him up a little. He smiled weakly at me, and I made a mental note to call him as soon as I was off of school grounds so he could get the anger out of his system. He obviously needed to rant about her or something.

  I linked my arm through Amy’s as we walked to the lockers. “So, you seeing Ryan this weekend?” I asked, wanting a little bit of normality for a change, today had been crazy.

  She nodded, grinning happily. “Yeah, I’m bringing him over to meet my parents this weekend,” she said excitedly.

  I put on a fake smile to cover up the jealously I felt because I couldn’t do that with my boyfriend. I didn’t realise just how much I was going to miss the small things in a relationship. “That’s great. He’ll do great with your parents. Your mom will really like him,” I said, nodding enthusiastically.

  She sighed dreamily and nodded. “He does great with everything.”

  From the corner of my eye I saw him walking up the hallway towards us. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” I quoted, nodding at him. She squealed and threw herself at him as soon as he was close enough. I laughed and rolled my eyes. “See you two lovebirds later. Call me and let me know how it went,” I said, making a hasty retreat to the front doors before they started making out in front of me like lovesick puppies.

  As I walked out of the building, I saw Sam’s car parked in the drop off, no parking zone at the front of the school. He was leaning against the side of his car, his face tilted up towards the sky, his eyes closed, obviously enjoying the sunshine. It was times like this that I wished I had a glass of water or something else that I could throw at him.

  I walked up and jabbed my finger into his ribs, making him jump and look at me shocked. “Oh, hey,” he chirped, grinning happily.

  “Hey, Sam-bo,” I replied, laughing as he tried to grab me. He hated that new nickname. I laughed and dodged his hands, pushing them away from me, laughing. “Sorry! Sorry, just quit it!” I squealed.

  He smiled and rolled his eyes. “Stop with the whole, Sam-bo thing, Chlo-blow,” he said, smirking at me. I stuck my tongue out at him and he just laughed, pulling me into a hug. When he let go he looked around the quickly emptying parking lot. “So, where’s the girl I need to seduce?” he asked, raising one eyebrow, obviously liking the challenge.

  I smiled sadly. “I think she left already. It’s okay, that wouldn’t work anyway.” I shrugged.

  He pursed his lips and nodded. “It’s okay, I have a better plan anyway,” he informed me, waggling his eyebrows.

  I felt the excitement build up inside that he had a plan. I silently prayed it wasn’t along the lines of Amy’s: Let’s dig a hole, push her in and throw in a pack of wild dogs, plan that she suggested earlier. “Oh yeah?” I prompted, looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue and tell me his genius idea that was going to save the day.

  He nodded. “We just need to wait until the right time, then I’ll fix everything for you and my brother,” he said confidently. His eyes were still raking over the parking lot and school grounds. I stood there silently at his side, just waiting for whatever he was looking for to show up, not really having a clue what was going on in his brain. Sam really was strange at times.

  After a couple of minutes, his eyes lit up, and he stood straighter. “Who are they?” he asked, nodding in the direction of the school building.

  I frowned and glanced in the direction he nodded. I got even more confused when I saw who it was that was walking towards us from the main building. “That’s Mr Young and Mr Bentley. Why?”

  He grinned at me wickedly, his eyes playful. “You can thank me later,” he said quietly.

  Thank him? What on earth…

  He grabbed me, pulling me towards him and crushed my body against his. Before I even had time to decipher what he was doing, his lips crashed against mine, kissing me forcefully.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I whimpered against his lips and put my hands on his chest trying to push him off of me. He turned me quickly so his back was to the approaching teachers, his lips left mine, and I opened my mouth to shout at him, but he spoke first, “Shh, I’m saving your ass!” he whispered, kissing me again before I could respond.

  He pulled me closer to him and I had no idea what on earth he was doing. Sam pinned me against his chest as he continued to kiss me forcefully. I shook my head slightly, and he pulled out of the kiss, his eyes still playful, a smirk on his lips.

  “Oh so that’s what he sees in you,” he mused. I stomped on his foot, which just made him laugh. He finally let me go and just as I was about to shout at him and punch him in the arm, he turned to the two teachers who were now only a few feet in front of us. Oh great, on top of everything now I’m going to get detention for PDA on school grounds! Sam smiled at them and slipped his arm around my shoulder. “Oops, sorry. My bad. You’re not going to give my girlfriend detention, are you?” he asked, pulling an adorable pouting face to the annoyed looking teachers.

  Girlfriend? What the heck is going on in that pea brain of his?

  Mr Young frowned. “You shouldn’t be doing this on school grounds, Chloe. I suggest you leave that kind of thing for a less public place.”

  I gulped and nodded. I was so going to kill Sam for this, but that was nothing compared to how pissed off Will was going to be that his brother had just kissed me. I felt a little satisfied smirk creep onto my lips when I thought about that. Serves him right, stupid jerk!

  “Yes, Sir. Sorry,” I muttered weakly.

  Sam smiled and stepped forward. “I take it that you’re a teacher at my girlfriend’s school?” he asked, smiling politely.

  Mr Young nodded. “I am.”

  Sam’s smile grew more pronounced, and I got even more confused. He looked so proud of himself for some reason, but I just didn’t get it. “Okay great. I was just wondering if I could go in and speak to my brothe
r. I know I’m not a student at the school so I was wondering if I needed a visitors badge or something so I could go to his classroom? It’s important,” Sam said, giving him the ‘little boy lost’ look.

  Mr Young frowned, looking just as confused as I was. “You’re brother? Is he a student here? I’m sure he’ll be out in a minute,” he answered, shaking his head.

  Sam shook his head. “No, my brother’s a teacher here. Will Morris. I really need to speak to him about something real quick. Do you think I could have my girlfriend show me the way to his classroom? We could stop by the office and get a visitors pass if we need one…” he trailed off, looking thoughtful.

  Mr Young’s eyes flicked to me, and I worked hard to keep the confusion off of my face. Sam had just lied and told a teacher that I was dating Will’s brother. How exactly would this help? Had Sam completely lost the plot?

  Mr Young looked back to Sam. “You’re Will’s brother?” he asked, looking a little taken aback.

  Sam nodded. “Yep, he got the brains, and I got the looks.”

  I snorted at that comment; Will unquestionably got both in my opinion.

  Mr Young smiled at the comment. “I didn’t realise that Will even had a brother. And you’re dating one of his students? That must a little awkward,” he mused.

  Sam shrugged. “It’s not my problem. They seem to cope with it okay though. You get on quite well with my brother, don’t you, Chloe-blow? We’ve been seeing each other for a couple of months now, so I guess they’ve had time to get used to it. Right, Foxy?” Sam lied, smirking at me.

  “Yep, Sam-bo,” I replied, grinning as his arm tightened on my shoulders, crushing me against the side of his body. He really hated me calling him that.

  Mr Young nodded, looking a little taken aback. “I can’t see a problem with you going into the school. Visitors are supposed to sign in though, so if you could just pop to the office first and sign in. Tell them that Mr Young said it was all right for you to come in for a few minutes.”

  Sam was grinning proudly, but I still couldn’t see how this would help. Maybe I’m just being dumb? “Great, and it’s nice to meet you, Mr Young, Will’s mentioned you before,” he said nodding and turning on the charm. “I’m Sam by the way.”

  Mr Young smiled and nodded. “Nice to meet you too. Go on in then,” he suggested, nodding at the front doors. Sam’s arm tightened on my shoulder as he led me towards the building.

  I elbowed him in the ribs as soon as we were out of earshot. “What the hell was that? You know your brothers gonna kick your ass for kissing me!” I hissed.

  Sam laughed and shook his head. “He won’t, I’ve just saved your asses. Now you have two teachers to witness that you’re dating a teacher’s brother. Who the hell is gonna believe one stupid student over three teachers? No one.” He smirked at me. “I’ll take that thanks now.”

  I gulped. He’s right, if Erika goes to the Principal she’ll have no evidence at all, and now Will and I have two respected teachers that have seen me kissing his brother! Oh my freaking goodness, this is awesome! How did I not figure this out straight away?

  “Sam, you’re a freaking genius!” I practically screamed as I threw my arms around his neck, hugging the life out of him.

  He patted my back. “Yeah I know. Just tell Will not to kick my ass or anything for doing that, okay? Back me up a little? Tell him I didn’t even once try to slip you the tongue,” he said, laughing.

  I laughed and punched him in the arm lightly. I can’t believe this! Jeez, I love Sam so much! “You’re the best, you know that, right?” I asked, looking at him gratefully. Will had such a terrific family, he was so lucky.

  Sam nodded, smirking cockily. “So tell me then, Foxy. Who’s the better kisser?” he asked, slinging his arm back around my shoulder and motioning up the hallway for me to start walking.

  I looked at him sarcastically. “You, obviously!” I rolled my eyes and ignored him shooting me a smug expression. I led him to the office and stopped. “Are you really gonna go in here too?” I asked, biting my lip a little nervously.

  He nodded enthusiastically. “Yep, I’m gonna go write my name in that visitors’ book so that everyone knows I was here today with you. Extra evidence,” he explained, winking at me and taking my hand, interlacing our fingers.

  I laughed as he pulled me into the office and up to the desk; he smiled sweetly at the receptionist who was sitting there. “Excuse me, I was just speaking to Mr Young, and he said that I needed to sign in as a visitor,” he said to the receptionist.

  She looked between him and me curiously. “What exactly can I do for you?” she asked, pushing her glasses up her nose.

  Sam smiled. “I just really need to speak to my brother, he’s a teacher here. Will Morris.”

  Her face brightened at the mention of Will’s name. Ooh, someone obviously has a soft spot for my boyfriend! “Really, you’re Will’s brother?” she asked, grinning happily as she pulled over a visitors’ book.

  “Yeah, can you not see the family resemblance? I know I’m better looking than him,” Sam joked, running a hand through his hair.

  She laughed, well, more like giggled, and I smiled at how charming Sam could be. No wonder he’s a player, he isn’t even trying, and he could have this middle aged woman if he wanted to. “I suppose there is a slight family trait there,” she admitted, nodding. “So, if you’ll just sign in then. I’ll call him and tell him that you’re here,” she instructed, passing him a pen.

  Sam shook his head. “Don’t bother. My girlfriend will show me the way, won’t you, Foxy?” he asked, winking at me.

  I grinned and nodded, dropping my eyes to the floor so I didn’t have to lie right to her face. “Yeah, I’ll show you to his classroom.”

  He finished signing the papers and passed the book back to her. She smiled flirtatiously. “If you could just come back and sign out when you leave. This is all just a formality in case there’s a fire or something, we need to know who’s in the building,” she said, waving her hand at the book dismissively.

  “Sure,” Sam agreed. “Does Chloe need to sign the book too, to show that she’s still here with me in case there’s a fire?” he asked, cocking his head to the side, looking cute as a button. Wow, Will has that look perfected too!

  The lady frowned. “I don’t think so. You’re a student aren’t you, Chloe?” she asked, looking at me.

  I nodded and opened my mouth to speak, but Sam cut me off, “I think there should be some record that Chloe’s in the school too. Otherwise you might think she’s gone home like the other students. If there actually was a fire there would be no record to say that she was still here with me,” Sam mused, pursing his lips thoughtfully. He was a very accomplished liar; I’d give him ten points for being convincing.

  The receptionist nodded, still looking unsure as she pushed the book towards me. “Maybe you should, there’s no harm in being on the safe side.”

  Sam laughed. “It’s best to cover all bases, and having Chloe’s name down there just offers everyone some more protection,” he agreed, looking at me slyly.

  Holy crap, pure genius! Now, not only do I have two teachers and a receptionist know that I was his girlfriend; I’m also signing myself in as a visitor with him! We owed him big time for this.

  When we were done, he held my hand, swinging it happily as we walked up the hallway towards Will’s classroom. Just as we got to his door, it opened, and Will stepped out. He stopped, jumping a little because he obviously wasn’t expecting people to be right outside his door.

  “Whoa, you scared me. What are you two doing here?” he asked, smiling but looking confused.

  Sam winced and raised our intertwined hands to show him, while I just blushed like crazy. Will’s eyes flicked to me. I smiled apologetically, praying he wouldn’t be mad at me for this. “Shall we go into your room?” I suggested weakly.

  He frowned, his eyes flicking back to our hands. “Yeah?” he said, but it sounded more like a question as he
stepped back into his room, holding the door open for us. I pulled my hand out of Sam’s as soon as we were through the door and stepped to Will’s side. Immediately his hand went to the small of my back. I would imagine it was some sort of subconscious possessive gesture.

  “Don’t get angry with your brother, he just fixed everything with Erika,” I pleaded, pushing the door closed and flicking the lock on it this time. There was no way I was getting caught like that again.

  His frown deepened as he shook his head. “Fixed everything? What are you talking about, and why were you two holding hands?” he asked, looking thoroughly confused and still really stressed from what happened in his lesson earlier.

  I looked at Sam, waiting for him to explain. I moved closer to Will, loving how his arm snaked around my waist without him even seeming to think about it. “So, I just kissed your girlfriend in front of a couple of teachers,” Sam stated, shrugging as if this were an everyday occurrence.

  Okay, I wouldn’t have started like that!

  Will’s jaw tightened. He raised one eyebrow at Sam, already looking seriously annoyed. “That had better be a joke,” he warned.

  I gulped, and Sam shook his head. “Nope, no joke. I just saved your ass and told a couple of teachers that Chloe and I are dating. That way when the girl goes to tell the Principal about you two kissing, you have other people to witness that she is, in fact, dating your brother.” He smiled proudly, obviously pleased with his plan. I was certainly pleased with his plan. Will on the other hand…

  “You fucking kissed my girlfriend? Sam, what the hell is wrong with you?” he growled, his arm tightening on my waist.

  I put my hand on his chest. “I think it’s an excellent plan. Seriously, think about it. Two teachers now believe I’m with Sam so that explains why you and I might appear a little closer than student and teacher. Sam just signed us both in to the building as visitors too. There’s now documented evidence to say that Sam and I came in here together. It’s a brilliant plan,” I explained, looking at him pleadingly. I didn’t want him angry with Sam; we really owed him big time for this.