Page 58 of Midnight Curfew

The things I do for my family.

Students start drifting in, laughing and talking, but I don’t look at them as I write their first question on the board. I’m teaching Introduction to Philosophy and Principles of Ethics, only about eight to ten students in each class. Apparently, the kids like to get the easy credits out of the way in the summer. We’ll see about that.

I breathe long and deep, trying to calm my heart down. If Callum is here, no time like the present.

Anna-Katherine skips up to my side, and I know it’s her because she smells like her mother’s perfume. I glance down and wink at her, making her smile. Grabbing a stack of lined paper off my desk, I hand it to her and turn around.

“Anna-Katherine is our helper this summer.” I gesture to Callum’s stepsister. “She’s passing you out a piece of paper. Using both sides, define ‘freedom.’ ”

And I point to the board where I just wrote the exact same thing.

Anna-Katherine starts circulating, smiling at everyone. Today, she wears jean overalls with a red T-shirt and her hair in a ponytail tied with a red ribbon.

A girl takes the paper, looking confused. “We should handwrite it?” she asks, as if it’s so archaic.

I cock an eyebrow. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Rolling up my sleeves, I head for the door.

“What do we call you?” someone gripes.

“Please don’t,” I reply.

I escape, heading downstairs and checking the main offices first. If he didn’t just drop her off, then he’s either in a meeting with other boosters or in the administrative offices.

With only a handful of summer classes taking place, the hallways are quiet and clean. But before I get to the north end of the school, a thud echoes to my right. I head down the corridor, smelling the palms and flowers in the courtyard, the wind cooling my already damp skin under my shirt.

The door to the gym is open, and I step in, immediately seeing Callum standing at the edge of the basketball court. With his back to me, he looks up, and I follow his gaze.

One of the new coaches hangs from a rope, clutching it with his legs and one arm as he reaches over, trying to hang another thick rope onto a hook. His shirtless torso gleams in the sunlight streaming through the high windows as his muscular thighs flex.

I slide my hands in my pockets, straightening my spine and darting my eyes back to Callum.

He doesn’t move. It doesn’t even look like he’s breathing as he watches the man, about his age—fresh out of college—tighten every muscle in his abs and arms.

“Do you want to try it?” he calls down without looking.

Callum jerks his chin, and I can see the smile from the side of his face. “Another time.”

I try to inhale, but I can’t get much air in.

Walking up, I stop next to him, gawking at the pretty boy on the ropes, too.

“Come to plead your case?” Callum asks.

“No,” I tell him. “I’ve come to make your game more fun.”

I meet his eyes, seeing his brows raise, his interest piqued.

I cock my head, taunting, “I think I can be in St. Carmen at midnight Friday night and make it home without being caught.”

He blinks, looking amused, but he doesn’t believe me.

I lower my voice, inching closer. “I think I can be right under everyone’s nose, in fact, and be in absolutely no rush.”

He chuckles to himself and lifts his eyes, scaling them down the man’s body.

My cock twitches. “Stop looking at him,” I bite out.