Page 22 of Steel & Jenna
Jenna smiled widely. “It did, but I know what you mean. No one but us, right?”
“Right,” he concurred.
When he went to drop his hands from her face, Jenna steeled her grip. She spoke quicky, like she was afraid of losing her nerve. “Just because I’m not ready to sleep with you doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep kissing you.”
“There were a lot of ‘not’s in that statement, but I’m pretty sure you just said youwantto keep kissing me.”
Jenna nodded enthusiastically.
He grinned. “Fuck, sweetheart, you have my permission to kiss me anytime you want.”
“Same,” she vowed.
Jack did just that, though he had to remind himself of where they were and keep it far too short for his liking. Pulling away, Jack took her hand. They walked into the elementary school together. Jack headed for the cafeteria.
Mrs. Zarin was standing outside talking with another teacher. When she spotted Jack, she smiled and motioned for him to wait. Jack pulled Jenna to a stop and watched as Mrs. Zarin said something to the other teacher, touched her arm, and then walked towards them. The other teacher headed back inside the cafeteria. A rush of young voices could be heard clearly until the door closed again.
“Jack, you’re early,” Mrs. Zarin said with a kind smile.
“Jenna got me out of detention,” Jack responded. He nodded between the two women. “Jenna, this is Mrs. Zarin, Lilly’s teacher. Mrs. Zarin, this is Jenna Scanlon, my girlfriend.”
A blush appeared on Jenna’s cheeks, though this time Jack wasn’t sure why. Jenna released Jack’s hand to hold out her right to Mrs. Zarin. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“You as well.” Mrs. Zarin shook Jenna’s hand and then turned her attention back to Jack. “Can we speak a moment?”
“You can speak freely,” Jack told her. He reclaimed Jenna’s hand. “Jenna knows everything.” Well, noteverythingbut he had no intention of keeping secrets from her. If they were going to go the distance Jack wanted them to, honesty and open communication were key. No topics could be off limits.
He’d seen what happened to relationships where secrets were kept and he refused to let that become him and Jenna.
Mrs. Zarin’s eyes glanced between the two of them, even dropping once to take in their clasped hands. Jack wasn’t sure what she saw or was thinking, but there was caution in her eyes when they met his. Like she was trying to quietly tell him not to move too fast, to be a teenager and have a teenage relationship.
Well, fuck that,Jack’s eyes replied. He didn’t care if what he felt was too soon, both for how little time he and Jenna had known each other as well as their young ages. He wasn’t the sort to make rash choices or even to flip flop with decisions. Heknewfrom the moment their eyes had met that Jenna was the one. It might be too soon to say the words to her, he’d admit that, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel them.
“Lilly had a bit of a hard day,” Mrs. Zarin finally said, breaking the silence. “Apparently, not even the youth of this town can be spared the rumor mill.”
Rage heated his blood. Jack cursed under his breath. “Who said what?” he growled out.
Mrs. Zarin’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Why, so you can teach them a brotherly lesson? It will only make matters worse, Jack.”
“No one—” Jack started, but a pull on his arm drew him back. He hadn’t realized he’d taken a step forward towards Mrs. Zarin.
In a much calmer voice than Jack felt, Jenna asked, “What happened, Mrs. Zarin?”
Again, those eyes flashed between Jenna and Jack. Dropping hervoice, she told them, “A little boy called Lilly a bastard and the daughter of a whore.”
Motherfucker… They were in fuckingfirst grade!How did a little boy even know what those words meant? More likely, he didn’t and was only repeating what adults around him said. “Who?” Jack demanded to know.
“The boy has been punished and his parents informed of the situation,” Mrs. Zarin said sternly.
Jack growled in frustration. It didn’t matter if she held to her principles and refused to tell him. Jack would get the name out of Lilly once they were away from the school.
“Some good did come of the situation,” Mrs. Zarin pressed on. “A little girl stood up for Lilly. The two of them ate lunch together and played hopscotch together at recess.”
Well, that was something.
“That’s sweet,” Jenna said lightly. “So Lilly made a friend?”
Though her expression was happy, Mrs. Zarin looked a bit uncomfortable addressing Jenna in regard to Lilly. “I believe so.”
