AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had to start somewhere.
And that girl was my everywhere.
“Time management, Joseph,” Miss Lane snapped, giving me the evil-eye glare that she reserved especially for me as I waited for her to fill in my red book. “Last warning.”
Like I gave a fuck.
I was here for two reasons.
The blond at my desk and the baby in her belly.
Ignoring Podge and Alec, who were trying to grab my attention, I moved straight for my desk, not stopping until I was in the seat next to hers with our knees brushing. “Molloy.”
“Joe,” she replied, keeping her gaze trained on the copybook lying open on the desk in front of her.
Without a word, I retrieved the earphone waiting for me and popped it in.
Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” filled my ears, and fuck if it didn’t pour salt in my already gaping wounds. Like always, she reached under the desk and took my hand in hers, but when I entwined our fingers and squeezed back, she turned in surprise to look at me. “Hey, stud.”
“Hey, queen.”
“Nice shirt.”
“Nice legs.”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
I winked.
“You’re…” she whispered, studying me with wary eyes. “You?”
“No.” Resisting the urge to bow my head in shame, I held my ground and forced myself to keep eye contact. “But I’m…trying.”
To give this girl what she needed.
What she deserved.
It was too much—her, the moment, my feelings, the way my heart beat for her—it was all too fucking much. And still, I remained completely motionless, letting her take her fill.
“Joe.” Her fingers tightened around mine. “Joe.”
“Just have to get through one hour at a time, right?”
With tear-filled eyes, she nodded rapidly and gave me a pained smile. “Right.”
______________________
Struggling to concentrate on a word of what was being said around me at lunch, I shivered in my seat as the most horrendous cold sweat bled through my skin. The lads were talking about hurling, the girls were chatting about babies, and I was fucking drowning in the horrors of withdrawal.
“I need something,” I admitted, turning in my seat to face the only reason I had to not throw the towel in and be done with the pain. “I need something, Molloy.”
“Jesus, Joe, you’re burning the hell up,” Molloy replied, reaching up to wipe a bead of sweat from my brow. “Are you—”
“No, I’m freezing,” I assured her, snatching her small hand up in both of mine. “But I need something or I’m going to be sick.”
Panic filled her eyes. “You can’t.”
“I have to.”
