Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Eli

First day of my senior year. I should be flying high, knowing this is the last year I'll be stuck in this school every day.

School has never been fun for me. It's been a means for me to play sports, and that's it. If I could just be homeschooled and still play on the travel teams throughout the school year, I totally would. Rules state though that you can't play with a travel team while playing on a high school team as well. So, unless the entire world of high school sports shuts down and everyone went to travel, I'm stuck here.

As I walked out the door this morning, my mom gave me this expression of worry and concern. I had to stop her short before she tried to lecture me for the hundredth time about Liza. I know we need to act like we don't know each other. I know I need to stop every urge in my body to not grab her and kiss her right in class.

I know.

Doesn't mean I like it.

But I know.

First period goes the same as every boring first day of school in the past, and when I exit, I go to the couches that our parents bought us our freshman year so we can hang out in comfort during the passing periods.

I'm in my own world as everyone in our crew teases Dalton about something that I'm not fully paying attention too.

I need to make some kind of contact with Liza before I walk into her class, so I pull out my phone, change her contact name to Melissa, just in case someone sees who I'm texting, and text her.

Good morning.

She's quick to respond.

You can't text me while we're in school.

I changed your name to Melissa. No one will know I'm texting you.

She doesn't respond, so I type out one more text as the bell rings.

I had to at least say hi since I won't be able to in class. See you soon.

I put my phone away and head to class, not bothering to talk to anyone else. I've got too much on my mind to deal with whatever drama they are all discussing that's already happened on the first day of school.

I enter the class, only to see Liza sitting at her desk, staring at her phone with an expression that tears me in two. I walk past her desk and tap it with my fingers, getting her attention before choosing a seat in the corner of the front row because, yes, I want to be able to stare at her whenever I want. If this is the only time I'll get to actually see her, then I want to take full advantage.

After I sit down, I look her way and notice her eyes open wide as she motions her head like I should have sat in the back. I don't try to hide my smirk as I sit a little taller, making sure she knows I'm sitting right here.

Dalton is the last person to enter, and when I see the only open seat is behind Natalie, I cover my mouth to laugh to myself. Natalie hates every one of us TimeLand kids, but in her eyes, Dalton is the top douche of us all. The way she despises him is almost comical.

The bell rings, and Liza officially starts the class by standing in front of her desk. "Welcome, everyone, to Econ. My name is Miss Hernandez. Before we begin, let's just get a few things out of the way that already came up today." She smiles as she brings her hands in front of her to tally off the items she's about to say. "Yes, I just moved here. Yes, I already graduated college. No, I can't be your date for prom. And, yes, I have a boyfriend."

She laughs, which lets us students know right off the bat that she can be playful with us, which I appreciate more than she knows. There's nothing worse than a strict teacher, and if I didn't already know her, that introduction would have definitely set me on the right path to thinking this class was going to be just fine.

"So, now that we have that out of the way"—she walks back to the opposite side of the desk, grabbing the class roster—"when I call out your name, let me know who are you so I can match your face to your name."

She makes it through a few names before she calls out, "Eli Jones?"

"I'm right here." I hold up my hand, grinning when our eyes meet, loving that I get to actually stare into her eyes for this brief moment without anyone knowing or suspecting anything before she moves on to the next name on her list.

I make it through the day much easier than I thought I would and head to practice, feeling more juiced about the year and how this is going to work with her teaching here. Of course, I want to go to her classroom and lock the door behind us, but if this is all I get, it's better than nothing.

My mom was right when she compared us to a military couple. I get to see her every day, and I get to stare at her the entire time since she's my teacher. Almost sounds like a win-win—almost.

"You ready, my guy?" Ben says, slapping his arms on my shoulder pads as I finish putting on my shoes.

I stand up, more pumped now that I have the first day behind us. "Hell yeah. Let's do this!"

After practice, I hop in my truck and dial Liza's number before I even exit the parking lot.

"Hi," she answers timidly.

"Melissa, how was your first day?"

"Um, good. Do you have someone in the truck with you?"

I laugh out loud. "No. Do you really think I'd call you with someone in the truck?"

"Well, you called me Melissa …"

"I was just trying to be playful. I told you I changed your name in my phone. That way, people can guess all they want on who Melissa is, and it will never be tracked back to you if anyone ever sees my call log or text messages. You should probably do the same, just in case."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. What should I call you?"

"Nothing lame, okay?"

"You mean I can't put Fabio or Romeo?"

"Don't you dare. That screams fake name. It has to be something believable."

"How about Jake?"

"Jake it is. So, tell me about your day."

"You tell me. Did I come off as weird or annoying when I taught?"

"Why would you even ask that?"

She sighs. "You just never know. I don't want to sound like I'm trying too hard or think I'm still young enough to be cool when I'm not."

"You are absolutely cool. The coolest teacher at the school, for sure. Did people actually ask you to prom or if you had a boyfriend?"

"Yep. Two prom and three boyfriend questions in the first period alone. That's why I thought it would be funny to start class off that way, just to get it out of the way and move on with our day."

"It made me happy that you said you still had a boyfriend."

She pauses, and I give her the time she needs to think about how to respond. "I didn't know?—"

I cut her off, "I do. I'm still your boyfriend, and I promise to be more someday. We will make this work. We might be on a bit of a pause, but that's only physically. If I get to see you every day and talk to you like this, then I'm totally okay with that."

"I am too. We just can't get caught."

"We won't. How could we? Change my name in your phone, and there you go. I promise I'll be a good boy and I won't try to kiss you at school."

"But we can't be seen anywhere together. If someone sees us …"

"I know. And though I hate it, I agree. These towns are too small. We'll keep our distance. I just need to hear your voice, and I'll be fine."

"Yeah. I think we can make this work. You can't tell anyone though. Not your parents, my aunt and uncle, your friends—no one."

"I promise. This will be our little secret."

I feel like the weight of the world was just lifted off of my shoulders and I can finally breathe. Knowing we figured this out makes me pumped for the rest of the year. This is supposed to be the best year of my life, and now that I'll have her by my side, even in secret, excites me to no end.