She's a student teacher and he's her mentor for her senior year internship. She's ready to learn and he, to teach. But are they ready for the consequences of blurred lines?
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As I climbed into bed later that night, I couldn't stop smiling. Tonight was simply perfect. And as much as I didn't want to admit it before, there was no denying that I was insanely attracted to Kyle Stephens. And the fact that he was surrounded with such a loving family only magnified those blurred feelings.
It was clear where his manners came from. His mother was such a sweet lady and I was happy that Cassie had a woman like that to look up to. It was something I longed for, but gave up on a long time ago. I hadn't heard from my mother since she left my father when I was eight. The last memory I had of her was watching her pull the car out of the driveway when I was peeking out my bedroom window. I hadn't seen her again since.
It was just me and Dad, and I was okay with that. He was the best father he knew how to be. I knew it couldn't be easy raising a girl alone as a single father, but I never felt alone. Even when he had to leave for his business trips, he made time for me every single night. Before bed, he'd read me a story over the phone. My grandmother, Vivian, did her best to help out, but she was in her late sixties when I was growing up and was completely set in her ways. Her way of handling things was for me to be in bed by nine p.m. sharp and awake early enough to help with breakfast before school.
We never had the bond that I'd longed for. I'd wanted someone to talk to about boys, about life. And she did her best in her own way, but most of what I learned was books. That was when I fell in love with the idea of finding my knight on a white horse who carried me away into the sunset.
But as time passed by, the knight clearly became a distant memory. The white horse faded into the background. And the sunset died a slow death into the distant horizon. The realities that he didn't exist quickly settled in.
"You okay?" Robby asked as he rounded the corner to my room. He hopped up on my bed and turned sideways, lying his head right beside mine on my pillow. "You didn't say much when you came home. You seemed like you were in a bubble. Something I need to know?"
I shrugged and slid in close to his shoulder. "I don't know..."
"Come on, Ken," he said. "You'll feel better to get it off your chest. What's going on?"
I sighed, knowing he was right, but saying it out loud was scary. It made it real and not just in my own thoughts.
"I think I may be crushing a little on Kyle." And as soon as I said it, I held my breath, waiting for his advice.
"Kyle?"
"Yeah, Kyle...you know...my teaching mentor?"
"Girl, I'm just messing with you. Of course I remember that little hot thing." He smiled sincerely at me. "And it's probably pretty damn normal to like him. I mean, he's off-the-charts fucking hot. And he's smart. What's not to like?" He paused. "Wait...is he single or are you crushing on a married man?"
