Page 82 of Give Me Strength

Gilbert: You have nothing to apologize for.

I should’ve been honest with you from the start.

Me: You had your reasons.

Gilbert: None that justify keeping it from you.

Just know that I never meat to hurt you.

A beat passes. I throw caution to the wind.

Me: Where are you? I need to see you.

Gilbert: I’m not so sure that’s a good idea right now.

Me: Oh.

I’m sorry I asked.

You need space too.

Three dots appear, disappear, then appear again.

Gilbert: That’s not what I meant. And I don’t need space from you. You consume me, Ash. I can’t see you and not touch you. And once I touch you, I won’t be able to stop. It’s been three days, twenty two hours, and forty-nine minutes since I was last inside you. All it took was three words for my dick to demand I rectify that. So no, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for me to be near you right now.

Fuck.

I don’t think as I type out my response.

Me: Where. Are. You.

Gilbert: Patience, baby. Let’s meet tomorrow at our café.

AFTER dance practice.

I start typing out my reply, when the rest of his response comes through.

Gilbert: I know it’s in a public place, but I need to do this with my head clear and my dick NOT in the driver seat. I promise I’ll tell you everything you want to know.

Frustrated, I plop down on the covers and fling my hand over my eyes.

Now, why does he have to go and be reasonable about everything?

34

ASHLYNN

I arrive at the café thirty minutes early, my stomach in knots, my heart pounding in my chest. It’s bad enough that I have to pause outside, and take a moment to gather myself. Last night, I barely slept a wink. I tossed and turned all night long, his blunt words playing in my mind on repeat. None of the three icy cold showers I took could damper the raging lust coursing through my veins.

Then this morning happened.

I got called — summoned, more like — into one of the conference rooms at Bluegrass, just after first period. Mr. Greenfield, Aunt Bonnie and Russ were present, along with three suits from Greenfield & Barrett Legal Group, and even more on the other side. Make that sides. Plural, as in Principal Richardson, the Guidance Counselor Thompson, Coach Hughes, their lawyers, and some more suits from the school district.

All there for little ol’ me.

And I came out of that meeting wealthier than I already am.

A normal person would feel bad that three people got fired and one of them is going to jail for other things, but I’m not normal. And they had it coming. As it so happens, I’m not the only student these three have done this to. I don’t even care that the school’s going to have to do some serious damage control because of this, and for years to come. But I was positively giddy that Mr. Greenfield threatened an even noisier lawsuit if there’s any whiff of slander to my name.

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