“There are two criminal statutes you need to concern yourself with.”
“Criminal statutes?” Vivi asked, concerned.
“The Indecent Liberties with a Student statute-”
“Indecent Liberties with a Student?” Vivi repeated, horrified.
“And the Intercourse and Sexual Offense with Certain Victims statute,” Piper finished.
“This is bullshit. There is no victim,” Lane argued.
“Regardless of the student’s age, those statutes state that a teacher less than four years older than the student would be committing a Class A1 misdemeanor. Punishable by jail time, public service, house arrest, etc. Under the circumstances, I could get you off with a hand slap at the most. However, if convicted, Vivi would then be required to register on the North Carolina Sex Offender and Public Protection Registry.”
Vivi started to shake. Her eyes started to water. “Oh, God.” She couldn’t breathe. “I’m…I’m a sex offender?” Feeling claustrophobic, she turned her whole body, struggling to get out of the booth. Piper jumped out, crouched down in front of her, and shoved Vivi’s head between her legs.
“You’re not a sex offender,” she soothed. “Those laws are designed to protect children from predators. Lane certainly isn’t a child, and you certainly aren’t a predator. You’re just caught inside the technical language right now. If this ever went before a judge, I would defend you and would get you off. I promise. Breathe.”
Vivi popped her head up. “But the damage would already be done.”
Piper shoved her head back down. “That’s why it’s good we’re talking about this now. So you and Lane both understand the seriousness of the situation.”
“I feel sick,” Vivi groaned.
“Beauty,” Lane cooed, pulling her hair back from her face and holding it behind her. “You’re fine. We’re fine. We’ve got this.”
“We don’t have this,” she protested from between her legs. Vivi looked up into Piper’s blue eyes and confessed. “I couldn’t keep my hands off him Friday night. He scored seven touchdowns,” she cried.
Piper bit her lip and winked at Lane as Vivi put her head back between her knees. “I understand. I’m crazy about Vance Evans and if somebody told me I couldn’t touch him I’d have my head between my knees too.”
“Oh, Lord. You two are ridiculous. If anyone should be crying here, it’s me,” Lane said. “I’m the horny teenager for God’s sake. Vivi, this is nothing we can’t handle. It’s eight months until graduation, and we thought we were going to be in separate states anyway. The law says we can’t have sex. It doesn’t say we can’t be crazy about each other.” He looked up at Piper. “Can I kiss her?”
“Kissing on the mouth is not against the law. By either party. However, Lane, obviously it wouldn’t do either of you any good to be seen kissing.”
“Obviously. What else isn’t against the law?”
“What else do you have in mind?”
“Skyping?”
“As long as it doesn’t involve indecent or lewd acts.”
“Can I touch her?”
“That’s a gray area I wouldn’t advise getting into.”
“But if she trips and falls in the school hallway right in front of me, I could help her up, right?”
“Of course. You can touch any part of her body that’s not considered sexual. Her hand, her arm, her elbow-Look, let’s be realistic. As long as the two of you aren’t caught with your pants down in a compromising position, you’re fine. But rumors and gossip, well, that will take the two of you down a whole lot faster than a judge or jury will. So play the part of indifferent teacher and student for the next eight months and play it really well. Figure out a way to have fun with it. Y’all are too young not to be having fun. Just lay off the sex and everything will work out fine.
Vivi raised her head and took in a deep breath. “Lane needs a beard.”
“Excuse me?” Lane said.
“You need a girlfriend.” Vivi sat up and took in some deep breaths.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Piper agreed.
“I’ve already got a girlfriend, thank you,” Lane reminded them. “And under the circumstances, she’s pretty much a handful. The last thing I need is another one.”
“It would fend off rumors and gossip,” Piper said.
“There are no rumors and gossip.”
“Yes, but it would completely divert all attention away from the two of you. It would go a long way to keep any rumors from getting started.”
“We are going to go a long way to keep them from getting started. Trust me. We will not be caught with our pants down.”
Piper moved back into her side of the booth. “Who knows about you two?”
“Our parents,” Lane said as he rubbed Vivi’s back. “The principal. And my buddy, Lam. And Lam’s not going to tell anybody because I’m keeping an even bigger secret for him.”
Piper’s eyes widened. “Hmm. Must be some secret.”
“Well, it’s not going to send anybody to jail.”
“Oh, God,” Vivi moaned, crossing her arms on the table and dropping her head onto them.
“I’m sorry, S.B.,” Lane said. “Come on, lighten up. I’m not letting anything happen to you. You gotta know that by now.”
Piper’s eyes darted between Vivi and Lane before coming to rest solely on Lane. She smiled at him. A warm, personal smile. “You love her,” she stated with fascination.
Vivi saw Lane’s face pop up to look at Piper. “How could I not?”
Piper tilted her head and gave Lane a look as if to say “aww.” She started nodding her head, smiling at the two of them. “So the fact that you’re not going to be getting any for the next eight months?”
Lane raised his hands in the air in wonder. “Will be exactly like it was before I met Vivi. Geez. Do I look like the kind of guy who can’t go without sex?”
Piper laughed. “You look like a guy who doesn’t need to. You look like a guy who has girls hanging all over him.”
“The kind of guy who enjoys strip clubs, right?” Vivi chimed in.
“Definitely,” Piper said. “Though I may be painting all good-looking men with a broad brush at the moment. Vance, I just found out, has quite the reputation. Pretty sure it started when he was in high school.”
“Mmm,” Vivi said. “I’ve heard stories.”
“I’d love to hear them. But, maybe we better get Lane graduated before you and I start down that path.” Piper reached into her yellow leather tote, saying, “Okay, when are we meeting with this principal?” She pulled out a pad of paper and pen.
“You don’t have to do that,” Vivi stated half-heartedly. She’d actually love Piper and all her sunshine to have her back when she faced Principal Levendusky.
“Oh no. I’m all about falling in love at the moment. I mentioned Vance Evans right? So, I’ve just joined your team. Now, tell me everything your principal knows.”
“We told him the truth,” Lane said. “That we met at the beach, have been dating long distance for months, and as soon as I saw Vivi enter the classroom, I left to drop the class.”
“Does he know that you’ve been intimate?”
“Ah, yeah. I sort of let that one out of the bag.”
Vivi rubbed a hand over Lane’s. “He knows. That is why he asked me to contact a lawyer. I guess so we’d come to this conclusion on our own.”
“But he didn’t suspend you? Until this matter was resolved?”
Vivi shook her head. “He needs me.”
“How does he need you?”
“I was offered this job because he’s down two teachers and nobody else can teach statistics. And I’m cheap. Beginning-teacher’s salary and all that.”
“Huh. We can work with that.”
“What do you mean?”
“We want him on your team, too. We’d like him to sign an acknowledgement that you came to him immediately, as soon as you were aware there was a conflict of interests. That wa
y, he’s on the hook for being aware of the circumstances surrounding your previous relationship. If push came to shove, he’d have to testify to it.
“In return, Vivi, are you willing to sign a statement acknowledging your preexisting relationship with Lane, saying you are aware of the statutes we’ve talked about here, and will refrain from a sexual relationship until he is no longer a student at Wilson?”
“We can still kiss, right?” Lane asked.
“You may kiss her. On the lips, in private. Like you’d kiss your grandmother or your sister.” Piper said.
“You just killed that for me,” Lane grimaced.
“Vivi, you don’t have to sign this,” Piper said. “I’d just like to offer your principal a reason to sign the acknowledgement and give him peace of mind. This is your call.”
Vivi looked to Lane.
“Sign it,” he said. “You’ve wanted to be a teacher your whole life. No way am I standing in the way of that.”
“See, when you talk like that, I’m very tempted to jump you.”
“It’s already on the calendar, Sleeping Beauty. May sixteenth. If I don’t jump you first.”
Chapter Seventeen
After the mortifying meeting with Principal Levendusky and Lane’s parents where Piper used her lawyer speak to announce that Vivi and Lane would refrain from having a sexual relationship while he was a student, September flew by. Lane was busy winning football games and visiting colleges. And as he predicted, out-of-state schools had started to show up. It seemed like he could go just about anywhere.
Vivi was busy creating lesson plans, grading papers, fending off advances from Mr. Liskey-the very cute, very preppy, thirty-year-old geometry teacher-and getting to know her cheerleaders.
Most of the girls were ambitious, a few were really sweet, a couple had a terrible case of foul language, and several seemed boy crazy. Vivi didn’t want to throw stones. She was boy crazy too-crazy about Lane Kettering. She had even gone so far as to use his latest football stats in her Monday Statistics class lesson plan. If she couldn’t touch him, she could at least hold up his record-breaking season for everyone to see. So, when the girls she was advising got to discussing boys, and dates, and clothes for their dates, and boys, she let them.
On the last Monday of the month, instead of their regular practice, both the JV and Varsity squads met in Vivi’s classroom. She told them she’d arranged for a special guest speaker, Annabelle Devine, well-known in Henderson as The Keeper of The Debutantes.
Because of Annabelle’s passion for adhering to old school etiquette, Henderson’s debutantes were well known for their grace and charm, not to mention their kickass parties. Annabelle also held a paying job as the Mid-Atlantic Field Representative for her national sorority. She had a real knack for getting and keeping coeds out of trouble.
The moment Annabelle walked into the room, she had the girls’ undivided attention. Fresh, sophisticated, and completely feminine in her beautiful white dress and long, flowing red curls but powerful in her presence and attitude.
It was an etiquette lesson on manners and grace, and the benefits of being very, very selective about the boys you date. Vivi’s cheerleaders ate it up. She noticed they all sat up a little straighter the more Annabelle talked.
Annabelle went on to discuss the main topic Vivi had asked her to address. Giving examples of the trouble some of her sorority sisters had gotten themselves into over the years and the ramifications it had on their personal lives and their careers.
The girls were full of questions at the end, asking Annabelle everything from how debutantes were chosen, to the dos and don’ts for getting into a sorority. They asked about handling sticky social situations, turning down dates gently, and even wanted to know Annabelle’s opinion on how to ask a guy out. Vivi was surprised when they asked about handling their parents more effectively. This led into a lively conversation about what to tell your parents and what not to tell your parents.
That was a bit of an eye-opener.
Annabelle concluded by challenging the girls to consider what their dream job might entail. She suggested they start thinking about their interests, talents, and passions now, and how those could be turned into a satisfying career. She gave herself as an example, and then led into the new business enterprise she was taking on with Vivi’s cousin, Lolly-The House of DuVal-exclusively designed debutante gowns and party dresses. Then she gave out her business card.
Vivi had to hand it to her. No moss would ever grow under Annabelle’s feet.
The next day, the Annabelle Effect took hold. Vivi noticed the change in her cheerleaders right away. They came to school better groomed with their uniforms mended, cleaned, and pressed, and conducted themselves with a little more sophistication. She didn’t know how long all that would last, but figured it would serve them well at present since the nominations for the Homecoming court were about to commence.
It was two weeks later when Vivi realized Homecoming was going to be her undoing.
She tried to stay calm, breathing in and out, as she drove home late one Thursday afternoon in the middle of October. Things with Lane had been good-really good considering-since that second game of the season. Now, six wins later, the two of them had fallen into an easy pattern of quick glances during the school day, notes at the end of class, and long Skyping sessions at night. A small shell had mysteriously appeared on her desk September first, with “8 Months” written on the interior with a very fine black Sharpie. Another shell had been added to it on October first, counting down to “7 Months.”
She’d left them right where he’d placed them.
The two of them had barely kissed twelve times since their rendezvous after the seven-touchdown game. Lane was busy. Really busy. Busy with coaches and football and schoolwork and the press. And she was busy, too. Busy figuring out the politics of being a teacher, preparing lesson plans, tutoring students, grading papers, and keeping the cheerleaders in line. Vivi was satisfied with how things were going in all areas of her life. She did hold a secret hope that over the Thanksgiving holiday, she and Lane might be able to meet somewhere out of town-maybe in Raleigh, maybe at his brother’s home in Charlotte-and spend some quality time together without the risk of being exposed. They couldn’t have sex, of course, but she missed being his girlfriend twenty-four hours a day.
However, now she feared the writing was on the wall after six weeks of keeping their relationship quiet. It happened innocently enough. She was checking in on the JV squad cheering that afternoon and decided to drop in on the Varsity girls to see how the new pom-pom routine for Homecoming was shaping up. She caught wind of a conversation between the captains, the girls she counted on to be frank with her regarding all things. She just didn’t want to be in on this particular one.
“I really want Lane Kettering to ask me to Homecoming,” pretty brunette Olivia said to Stacey. “We are working on term papers together in English, and he’s really been…”
Vivi held her breath.
“…helpful. He’s not a dumb jock. I mean, I know he’s no saint, but,” she grinned, “if I were his date, I wouldn’t want him to be anyway. So, I’m trying to gently hint we’d have fun together.”
“Well, he’s got to go, right? He’s on the court.” Stacey said brightly. “I haven’t seen him with anybody else, so maybe you should just ask him.”
Vivi’s heart started racing, and her feet followed suit. She got the hell out of the gymnasium and went straight to her classroom where she began to talk herself down. Olivia could ask Lane to Homecoming over and over and Lane would say no. She knew it. She trusted him and his feelings for her and she…deep breath…knew this was not going to be a problem.
Knew this was nothing she had to worry about.
She was a teacher. She just needed to get her head back into that game. Pull it out of the high school drama that was happening around her-none of her business anyway-and remember who she was. And that worked…right up until she remembered her con
versation with Lane at the beach. The one where she insisted he enjoy his senior year-in college-without the burden of a long-distance relationship. This is why they had agreed to limit themselves to texting the first of every month. So Lane could enjoy his senior year and she could focus on beginning her career. Then they would meet in Myrtle Beach again, a year later, to see where things stood.
Well, crap, she thought as she packed up her tote and headed to her car. It was still Lane’s senior year-albeit in high school-and really, when better to be engaged in a social life? Especially if you were the freaking star running back and looked like Lane Kettering?
“Ahhh, damn,” she sighed as she stopped completely, staring at the side of her car but seeing nothing at all. This was really gonna hurt.
She held it together until she got home and told her mom not to call her for dinner. She claimed she had a migraine and was going to lie down. And she did. Under her covers. Her head buried under her pillow so no one could hear her sobs.
She had to let Lane go. Maybe not for good, but certainly for now. And that thought just made her sob harder.
She didn’t want to let him go. She depended on Lane’s level head to sort things out, loved his enthusiasm about football and life, loved how he took care of her even in the most subtle ways. They felt so prefect together. Had from day one. He was easy to be with. Fun. Kind. And oh, man, how he turned her on. The thought of some other girl enjoying the Lane Kettering she knew…
Heartbreak.
Frantic, sobbing, heart-wrenching, this-is-so-not-fair, anguish.
A half-hour later, the pendulum swung over to selfish, impractical, jealous, I’m-not-letting-him-go-and-no-one-can-make-me resolution.
Tough shit if this was his senior year. And tough shit if Annabelle would suggest she watch her language. And tough shit if O-liv-i-a wanted Lane to take her to Homecoming.
Get your own damn boyfriend and keep your grubby hands off mine.
Vivi dried her eyes, resolved.
Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom Page 70
