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“I wanted to help kids like me. Everyone wrote me off except him.”
It wasn’t difficult to see how much his students cared about him. She didn’t blame them. He was easy to like. “You must be an amazing teacher.”
“Don’t let this fool you. I’m garbage at math.”
She dipped her head forward and laughed. “How do you get away with that?”
He leaned in so close she caught a whiff of what had to be fabric softener. Damn.
It had been a long, long time since she’d been this close to a man, and every beacon in her body was flashing a giantGosign in his direction. It was a fight to keep her breathing steady when his lips barely brushed her ear.
“Don’t tell anyone, but I’m only staying one class ahead of them.”
Jesus, she couldn’t cope. He was downrightadorable. It should have been the furthest thing from sexy. And yet she’d never wanted him more.
With a wink he pulled back, muscles flexing as he breathed deep, clearly gearing up for something. “I struggled as a kid. I’ve always hated how rigid the system is for kids who don’t learn in the exact way the program is built for. Incentives are there for the school, but not the students. As teachers, we’re expected to deliver results that make other people look good. Somewhere along the line, everyone simply forgot the whole point of teaching was toeducate. Every day, it gets more difficult, and no one— from the teachers to the students— has enough support. It might not be much, but if I can take some of that burden away from the kids I teach, you know, find ways to get them to that next level without all the other bullshit hitting them along the way, I’ll be happy.”
“Wow.”
Indy had goose bumps. Exactly how inappropriate would it be to kiss him right now?
Ethan rubbed a hand across his neck, that damn bicep popping. She better get a stegosaurus before the end of the night, because he was intent on torturing her. “We bury these kids under hours of homework, make it impossible to get considered for a job without putting them thousands of dollars into debt, and then wonder why so many want to become overnight celebrities. It’s hypocritical bullshit.” He sighed. “I want to be better, do better, for them. Tests and knowing the right answer all the time are not the end-all. We should be showing them that life isn’t always about being right, but about learning and growing.”
It may have been the sexiest thing Ethan had ever said. This side of him, filled with passion and purpose with a side of righteous fury, was single-handedly turning Indy into a horny puddle of goo.
Feeling brave, she bumped her shoulder against his. “I hated all my teachers,” Indy admitted.
Ethan had the grace to look surprised. “Oh?”
“I was always getting into trouble for not paying attention. It was all so boring. I wanted to be writing instead.”
She wondered what he was like in the classroom.
“I’m glad I never had you as a teacher, though,” she added, aware of the heat of him beside her. “I probably would have failed on purpose. From the looks I got when I came to visit you, I bet half the parents are in love with you.”
“Are you jealous?”
She flushed from tip to toe. “What? No. Of course not. Why would I be—” Indy snapped her mouth shut in the face of Ethan’s amused grin. “Oh, stop looking so happy about it.”
“I have good reason to be happy. You like me. I’d be a lot happier if you’d go to dinner with me.”
Damn her alabaster skin. She could probably cook an egg on her forehead right now. “Stop distracting me. I’m trying to help you.”
Ethan chuckled and resumed cutting. But Indy couldn’t stop thinking about something Summer had said. She put her glue stick down. “Are you always so up-front about what you want?”
Ethan stopped, faced her. “Not always, no. Usually I keep it to myself.”
“Then why?”
Slowly, Ethan brushed the hair away from her eyes. “You inspire me, I suppose. Is that okay?”
Summer was only half-right. Ethan may not have a lot of experience making his wants known, but boy, when he decided to go for it, he really went for it. Earnestly. Endearingly.
As his hand fell away, the brush of his knuckles knocked the air from Indy’s lungs. “Yeah,” she whispered. “It’s okay.”
“Good,” Ethan said.
He scooted closer on the couch cushion. “You have to know that whatever you’re thinking right now, I’d do it.”
