Tinley dragged him onto the dance floor once things really got rocking, and Lane tried not to notice her enormous rack moving to the music. Unlike her cousin’s gently alluring gown, Tinley’s dress was nothing but white, glittery, body-hugging sequins with a low-low neckline and a low-low-low back. It wasn’t necessarily out of place in the room, but it did attract a lot of attention for what it showed off.
Apparently, Tinley liked to show off.
Lane had left his jacket at their table, but right now Tinley’s hands were working on loosening his bow tie. Then they were on his shoulders and drifting down his chest, his stomach, and…what the hell did she just touch?
“Tinley. Jesus.”
“Just wanted to see what you were packing.”
“You did not just cup my junk on the dance floor.”
She smirked.
“What is wrong with you?”
“What is wrong with you? Stop being such a pussy and let’s have a little fun.”
“A pussy? You’re wasted.”
“I’m not wasted. I’m dancing. I’m young. I’m not stuck on some old teacher who’s never gonna give me what I want.”
“No, you’re stuck on some old guy on LinkedIn who lives on the other side of the country.”
“Yes, and until he moves back, I told him I am playing the field. And right now, you’re the field I want to play on.”
“Well, that’s a big problem for you because the equipment on this field is all locked up. And only your cousin knows the combination.”
“Pfft. Pretty sure, given half a chance, I could figure out the combination to your…equipment.”
“That’s a half a chance you’re never gonna see.”
“I can be persistent.”
Lane grabbed Tinley in his arms and hugged her to him, whispering in her ear and making it appear as if she was his dream date for the prom. “If you want some action, you need to look elsewhere. In fact, I’d appreciate it if you’d look elsewhere aggressively so you and I can have a big public break up at the end of the night and there’d be somebody willing to give you a ride home.”
“So this is the thanks I get?” she feigned. “For saving your sorry affair with my cousin? I swear Lane Kettering, you are so booooring. You’re probably a lousy kisser.”
“Don’t try to bait me. It isn’t going to work.”
Tinley laughed, stepping back out of his embrace. “I bet I could get you to kiss me if Vivi weren’t here.”
“There’s pretty much an entire room full of guys willing to kiss you. You can have your pick.”
“But none of them are you,” she pouted. “And if no one has seen you kiss me, our big break up is never gonna fly. You need to kiss me. For your own good.”
“Really? Are you listening to yourself?”
“Kiss me.”
“Nope.”
“Chicken!”
Lane burst out laughing.
“You are,” Tinley claimed. “You’re afraid to kiss your seventeen-year-old prom date because it might upset your statistics teacher.”
“I’m not afraid of anything.”
“Prove it.”
“Stop goading me.”
“Prove it. Here, I’ll help.” Tinley launched herself into Lane’s arms, pressing her lips against his as he staggered back into other dancers.
“Hey, man! What the hell?” he heard as Tinley opened her mouth and tried to swallow him whole. Her feet were off the floor and his balance was precarious trying to keep them from falling. His hands were all over her, searching for something to grab on to in order to pull her off, and his anger was escalating.
Tinley wrapped him up harder, pressed his mouth to hers and kept right on kissing him until he felt like every last breath had been sucked from his lungs. When she finally let him pull them apart, he was gasping and furious.
Tinley stood in the center of the dance floor, laughing. At him.
“You think that’s funny?” he said, wiping at his mouth.
“I do,” Tinley said.
“I’m in love with somebody else,” he yelled. “You know that!”
“Vivi’s a boring math teacher. I really don’t get why you’re so hung up on her,” Tinley shouted back.
“Vivi?” Olivia Thompson asked.
“My cousin,” Tinley answered, rolling her eyes.
Lane snapped out of his tirade then. He took a look around and saw that they were the center of attention, at least on this part of the dance floor. Big ears and wide eyes all taking in the argument between him and Tinley.
“Who’s her cousin?” somebody asked.
“I don’t know. Her last name is DuVal,” some helpful bystander answered.
“Vivi DuVal?” somebody asked. “Sounds familiar.”
Lane grabbed Tinley by her arm and spun her around to head off the dance floor. “Please, not another word,” he begged her. “We may have just outed your cousin.”
“Shit! Lane, I really didn’t mean to do that.”
“Yeah. Neither did I.”
Vivi was having a surprisingly good time with Phil Liskey. He was an attentive date. He had great insight into most of the kids at the prom, having known them for all four years they’d been at Wilson. It was obvious to Vivi why he was well liked and why the senior class had voted for him to be a chaperone at the prom. Phil was fun. He loved teaching. Loved his students. And he was a very good dancer. In fact, many girls other than her cheerleaders approached Mr. Liskey and drew him out on the dance floor.
Vivi happened to be dancing with Lam when the scuttlebutt on the other side of the dance floor broke out. They didn’t see what happened and really weren’t aware of anything going on at all. Until a number of giggling girls raced up to them and asked Miss DuVal her first name.
“Vivian,” she told them proudly. “My parents named me Vivian Leigh after the famous actress.”
“What actress?” The three of them stood there confused.
“Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind?”
They shrugged.
“Girls. Please tell me you’ve heard of the book Gone With the Wind,” Vivi insisted.
Blank stares. “No, but we did just hear Lane Kettering profess his love for a Vivi DuVal. And now we’re pretty certain he meant you.”
“What?” Vivi scoffed. “Why, that’s…ridiculous.”
“What’s ridiculous?” Phil asked, coming to join her and Lam as the song ended.
“Lane Kettering has a thing for your date, Mr. Liskey. Better watch out,” the girls said before giggling and walking away.
Phil turned toward Vivi, folding his arms over his chest. “So my suspicions weren’t unfounded,” he said. “I knew that kid was pissed off about me asking you to the prom. I just figured-” Phil stopped talking as his eyes lit up. As if the fog had suddenly cleared and he could see everything that had been in front of him all along. He scowled and pulled her abruptly off the dance floor.
“Miss DuVal?” Lam called.
“It’s okay, Lam,” she said over her shoulder.
Once they were on the sidelines, up against a wall, Phil laid into her. “A football player?” he growled. “A fucking high school football player? That is your mysterious boyfriend?”
“Phil, please. Hear me out.”
“Oh my God. All this time you’ve been turning me down because you’re screwing Lane Kettering.”
“I’m not screwing anybody,” Vivi said, exasperated. “Trust me.”
“He’s always in your classroom after Statistics. He and his diversionary sidekick. It was right under my nose this entire time. No wonder none of the other teachers ever heard you mention a boyfriend. Because you couldn’t. Because fucking a student is against the law.”
“I am well aware. In fact, Lane and I can both recite the Intercourse and Sexual Offense with Certain Victims statute. We’ve got the Indecent Liberties with a Student statute down pat too. Would you like to hear them?”
When Liskey just rolled his
eyes, Vivi went on. “Look, Phil, I have too much respect for the teaching profession to knowingly violate the law. I love this job. I’ve worked too hard to put it in jeopardy.”
“But you admit there’s something going on between you and Kettering. I’m sorry Vivi, but I’m informing Principal Levendusky about it first thing Monday.”
“I’ll join the two of you for coffee, because Principal Levendusky already knows.”
“What?”
“I told him myself the first day of school, right after Lane walked into my Statistics class.”
“The principal knows you’re screwing Lane Kettering?”
“I’m not screwing Lane,” Vivi said softly. “Phil, the truth is that I’m in love with Lane. I’ve worked really, really hard to keep my hands off him for the entire year. We met at the beach last May. I didn’t know he was a student at Wilson when I took this job.”
“What do you mean you didn’t know? How could you not know?”
Vivi blushed. “I knew he was a senior. I just assumed he was a senior in college.”
“What?” Phil said, starting to laugh.
“It’s not funny,” she said, smacking his arm.
“I don’t know. It’s starting to sound a little funny.”
A slow song started. “Come dance with me,” he said. “Start from the beginning. Tell me everything. And, you know, do your best to make me believe it.”
“I don’t care if you believe it,” she grumbled, letting him take her hand and lead her onto the dance floor. “I’m tired of hiding it. It’s hard work denying who I love, and frankly, it feels just as wrong. So I’m done with that. You can go ahead and get up on stage with the band and tell everybody about Lane and me. I’m tired of denying it.”
“Oh, no,” Phil said.
“What?”
“Looks like somebody else might be tired of denying it.”
Chapter Thirty Two
Lane was willing to take the heat. What the hell did he care? He wasn’t going to see half of these people again for a long time after graduation. He was heading to the Midwest. And the only thing he wanted to take with him was his heart. So if he had to pour it out in front of the entire school to protect Vivi DuVal, he’d do it.
He tapped the microphone a couple times like he was a rock star. Thought it was kinda funny when he said, “One, two, one, two, testing,” into the thing. Shit, that last swig from Tinley’s flask must be getting to him.
“Okay,” he started. “The band has agreed to give me thirty seconds to address a rumor going around. The rumor, in case you are one of the three people who have yet to hear it, is that I’ve got a thing for Miss DuVal.” The woo-hoos and whistles that went up were deafening. Lane started to laugh. He had to wave them all down before he could go on. “You’re right. You’re right,” he said. “She definitely is smokin’ hot.” A lot of cheers went up. “But there’s a rule about teachers dating students,” Lane said, prompting a lot of boos. “Yeah, I know. But rules are rules. And you know I’m a rule follower.” He grinned. “I mean, there isn’t anybody here who’s breaking a rule right now is there?” Laughter and catcalls resounded through the ballroom. “Okay, okay. I’ve got about ten seconds left, so let me say this. With all due respect to my beautiful prom date, who happens to be Miss DuVal’s cousin-I’ll let y’all figure that out-the moment…the moment I have that diploma in my hand, I am asking Miss DuVal out.” Cheers erupted. “I’m not letting Principal Levendusky stop me,” he said as if he were leading a cheer. “I’m not letting my mother stop me,” he yelled and everybody laughed. “And Mr. Liskey, you’ve got a big fan club here, and that Prince Charming stuff worked like a charm. But even you are not going to stop me. Your days are numbered, man, because I am gunning for your prom date.”
Lane handed over the microphone to the lead singer and jumped off the stage. Tinley was there, throwing her arms around him, and his teammates were there pounding him on his back. And then the crowd parted and up waltzed-literally waltzed-Mr. Liskey and the love of his young life, the smoking hot statistics teacher in a sorority girl’s dress. Vivi. His Vivi. And they were both smiling.
For the first time in about nine months, Lane Kettering breathed a sigh of relief.
It was going to work out, he told himself. It was all going to work out.
The storybooks must have gotten it all wrong. Sleeping Beauty was never meant to end up with Prince Charming. Not when she had the power to make him feel like Superman.
Chapter Thirty Three
Bump.
Hmm?
Bump, bump.
What the hell?
Bump-bump, rock, rock, rock.
Vivi opened her eyes and groaned. “I do not believe you’re toeing my ass…again.”
“Ah, come on, Sleeping Beauty,” Lane said, lying down wet and drippy on the beach blanket beside her. “It worked out so well for me last time.”
She turned her head toward him and pouted. “You left me this morning. Alone.”
“I let you sleep in while I went for my run. I’m a student athlete, S.B.,” he said while rolling over onto his back. “Gotta keep in shape.”
“This Notre Dame stuff is totally going to your head.”
“Fighting Irish. Long, proud history.”
“You mean long, cold winter. I’m not sure I’m gonna look good in Ugg boots and a parka from November until April.”
“When you come out to see me, you can wear whatever you want. I’ll happily keep you warm.”
“Yeah, but what if your classes are on the other side of campus from my classes?” She rolled over on her back as well and closed her eyes against the sun. “I think I better get a pair of Ugg boots. And a parka.”
Vivi felt the shade created as Lane loomed over her. She opened her eyes.
“Is there something you forgot to tell me?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Nope. I didn’t forget. I had it all planned out to tell you in bed-this morning-right after I used my mouth to commit a lewd and indecent act. Because I can do that, you know. Touch you. Wherever the hell I want. Because I am no longer employed as your statistics teacher. In fact, I am currently enrolled as a graduate student at The University of Notre Dame.”
Ruggedly handsome, completely tantalizing Lane Kettering grinned down at her. Big. Like she’d just delivered the best news ever. And then his grin shifted, sort of making him look more like the Big Bad Wolf. He was definitely making her feel like Red Riding Hood. Or…lunch.
“Come on,” Lane whispered before rolling off the blanket. He held out his hand to Vivi.
“Where are we going?”
“To get naked in the water.”
“We’re not getting naked in the water.”
“We are sooo getting naked in the water,” he said, swooping in and pulling at her hands to tug her up into a sitting position. “And I probably ought to warn you. Your bossy-teacher shit? It just jacks me up.” He leaned over, put her hands around his neck, and then wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her up against his body. He leaned down, flipped her legs into his arms and then looked right at her as if to say, “I’m Lane Kettering and this is my world.” They started toward the water.
“I really liked when you did this last year. Of course, I was feeling woozy at the time.”
“How are you feeling now?” he asked as his feet splashed into the surf.
“Humbled.”
He cocked his head, his green eyes curious, as he studied her.
“All you did for me. For us. A year of sacrifice.”
“Pfft. I was highly motivated. When times got tough, I just pictured last night. You, flat on your back, on a king-size bed in my uncle’s condo.”
“My horny teenager is back.”
“Yeah, but as you know, this is no longer my rookie season.”
“You made the all-star team your rookie season.”
“Yeah? Good. This season I plan to break a whole lot of records. Especially in the lewd and indecent dep
artment. Starting with public sex in the ocean.” He turned his back on the breaking surf as he moved them out deeper into the water.
“I’m certain there are rules and regulations about this sort of thing.”
“Nobody’s looking at us.”
Vivi looked toward the beach. The late morning hour was bringing a lot of activity. People staking out spots on the beach, setting up umbrellas, and laying out towels. “We’re the only ones in the water. Everybody will be looking at us.”
The water lapped around her shoulders. Lane turned her in his arms and guided her legs around his waist. “Let ‘em,” he said. “We’ve been dodging being seen together for a year. It feels good to have free access to your lips,” he said leaning in for a kiss, “and your hips,” he laughed, kissing her again, running his hands around her hips and cupping her ass. “Jesus, you are hot. Make sure you buy a big puffy parka. That’s the only way I’m going to get any studying done. “
“Oh, you’ll be studying. I’m not about to let my favorite statistics student squander his college education.”
“Sounds like I’ve already got my own personal tutor all lined up.”
“We’re going to college,” she said, smiling. “Together.”
“The world is full of big dreams, S.B. Somebody’s got to live ‘em.”
THE END
Thank you for reading Tempting Vivi.
If you’d like to read more about Annabelle, the Keeper of the Debutantes, who helped Vivi shape up her Cheerleaders, pick up Playin’ Cop, Heroes of Henderson ~ Prequel.
Buy Now
Vivi’s dress-designing cousin Lolly gets caught up in a hilarious love triangle in Good Cop, Heroes of Henderson ~ Book 1.
Buy Now
Piper Beaumont, the adorable love struck lawyer gets her man in Bad Cop, Heroes of Henderson ~ Book 2.
Buy Now
And Josh McCourt, the geeky football coach who sent Lane’s touchdown video off to Notre Dame has his own little romance in Taming Molly, Heroes of Henderson ~ Book 2.5.
Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom Page 78
