Read Online Ever After Drake by Keary Taylor - Free Book Online Page A

anymore,” I
say as I shake my head. I hug myself tight to him.
    “ Oh, Mr. McCain!” someone
calls from behind us. “Already snagged the new teacher!”
    I turn to see some senior leering at
us. He and his buddies smile and laugh.
    “ Nothing I want you to see
here,” Drake calls. “Move along gentlemen.”
    They hackle for a moment longer and
finally go into the stands. It’s nice that the students respect
Drake enough to give us space, even with the teasing. It’s easy to
tell Drake is a well-loved teacher.
    “ You know the crap we’re
going to get if we really do make this public,” he says, looking
down at me. Despite his cautious words, his arms around me don’t
loosen one millimeter.
    “ Let them bring it on,” I
say, leaning into him again, letting my lips hover a breath away
from his. “So long as we don’t get fired, I don’t give a
damn.”
    “ I don’t think I’ve ever
heard you swear before,” he chuckles.
    “ That’s how much I don’t
care,” I smile.
    He presses a soft kiss to my lips,
brushing my nose with his. “Okay. We should probably talk to
Principal Riker about it though. He may accept it a bit more if he
doesn’t feel like we’re going behind his back.”
    “ Meet me at his office at
seven-thirty Monday morning?” I say quietly.
    “ I will be
there.”
    Hand in hand, we walk into the
stands.

 
     
    CHAPTER
EIGHT

    “ Good morning, Mr.
McCain,” I say Monday morning. He and I walk side by side, having
arrived at the school at exactly the same time. The morning is
chilly and misty. The school grounds are quiet and just starting to
get light.
    “ Good morning, Miss Ray,”
he says while giving me a side look and a smile.
    Drake holds the front door open for me
and we step into the silent halls.
    “ So, what do we do if he’s
not okay with this?” I ask quietly. My heart is racing and
threatens to beat out of my chest. My palms feel sweaty and I swear
my vision is failing. I’ve just barely gotten this teaching job. If
I screw this up this early and get fired, no other school is going
to ever want to hire me again.
    “ We’ll run away together
and live somewhere far, far away,” Drake says in a tone that sounds
dead serious.
    It brings a little bit of a smile to
my face. But I’m still scared out of my mind.
    The walk to the office feels very long
and all too short at the same time. Suddenly, finally, we are
outside the doors. Drake stops and turns to me before he opens
it.
    “ Whatever happens in
there, I want you to know it’s been worth it,” he says seriously.
He takes my hands in his and my heart is now in a dead sprint. But
unlike just a moment before, my vision is crystal clear and all I
can see is this incredible man who has made my life amazing. “I
have zero regrets.”
    “ Me either,” I say, a
full-fledged smile cracking on my face, and the words are so true.
It means everything that Drake cares enough to risk this, and that
I would do the same for him. I lean forward and he meets me half
way, his lips assuring me that even if I do lose my job, this is
right where I am supposed to be.
    “ Come on,” he says,
backing away reluctantly. He opens the door and we both step
inside.
    Principle Riker is sitting at his
desk, scrawling something on the pages before him. He doesn’t look
up when we come in, but he does wave us in to sit down. With
shaking hands, I sink into a seat across from him. I may look like
I still belong in high school, but for the first time in years, I
feel like I’m in high school again. Sitting before him, about to
confess to him that I’ve done something wrong.
    Drake and I sit before him for two
very long minutes before he finally puts his pencil down and looks
up at us.
    “ Good morning,” he says
with a smile that I can’t tell if it is friendly or annoyed. I’m
not sure about much of anything at this moment.
    “ Morning,” I mutter
quietly.
    “ Thanks for meeting with
us, Sam,” Drake says. His voice sounds