Within the Shadows (Complete, Savage Series #1)

Chapter Three

“Hey Mom,” I begin Friday morning, grabbing a banana from the counter and peeling it, taking a bite and swallowing it before continuing, “I’m just letting you know I won’t be coming home from school today.”

“Why not?” She asks, checking the time on her wrist watch and not remembering what I said. “I’m spending Spring Break with a friend and he’s leaving this afternoon after school so-”

“He?” I swallow hard and nod, “Yeah, but he’s gay and we’re going with his boyfriend’s family. They’ve got a cabin in North Carolina and we’re all staying up there.”

“Is he the one who picked you up yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s his name?” I pause, frozen.

“His name? Haven’t I told you before?”

“No,” She crosses her arms and glares. “You haven’t.”

“Oh! Well his name’s Greg Reynolds. We have the same Chemistry class and that’s how we met - we were paired together in a lab experiment.” Which isn’t a lie - there is a Greg Reynolds and he was my partner in an experiment, he’s just not gay - or my friend for that matter.

“So I’m going to go now, I’ll see you next Sunday when he drops me back off.” I say in the awkward silence, unsure of her reaction. She stands there, processing everything I’ve said as I walk out and jump into Jordan’s car, once again. Good thing she doesn’t care enough to intervene.

“Hey, Jordan.” I greet him with a warm smile, throwing my bags in his back seat. He drives down the road, my hand gently grasped in his.

“You ready for the 12-hour drive tonight?” I groan and inquire, “What’re we going to do before the drive, after school?”

He sighs and shrugs. “Probably just hang out at my apartment, or something.”

“Your apartment? You’d let me in?”

“Of course.” He laughs, tightening his hold on my hand. “Why, does that make you feel uncomfortable?”

“No, it makes me feel… special, knowing that you’d let me see that part of your life.” He smiles when I intertwine our fingers and parks in the parking lot.

“Well you are special in my life, so I want to share these things with you.” I giggle at his compliment and he drops my hand, guiding me to his classroom with his hand on the small of my back. We discuss the trip and whatnot a little bit before class, and once the bell rings, I anxiously start my day.

“I’ve only for a few more papers to grade and then we can go to my apartment.” Jordan mumbles after school, pencil in his mouth as he sorts through a few more things and makes a few marks.

“So you’re almost done?” He makes a sound and nods his head, consumed in his work. I wrap my arms around his neck from behind and put my chin on his shoulder, breathing lightly on his neck.

“You’re a huge distraction, you know that?” He teases me lightly before I make the move of kissing his neck. Jordan laughs and grabs my hands, pulling me around him and sitting me in his lap. “Don’t worry sweetheart, almost ready. You want to speed things up?” I nod and he hands me a paper and a worksheet. “Grade this and I’ll be done.” I grade the paper as quickly as possible, circling the final score.

“You sure do move fast when you want to.” He says, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I giggle and slap his shoulder, him planting his soft lips upon my cheek.

“Can we go now?”

“Yes!” He exclaims with a laugh, intertwining our fingers and dragging me out to his car. He continues to hold my hand in the car as we drive away from the school, going down a few unfamiliar roads in silence. We make some small talk but stay quiet until we reach his apartment complex.