Art teacher Stone Larrabee dreads parent/teacher conferences. One following Christmas break becomes especially awkward, when a man with whom he shared a hot anonymous hookup and a nasty argument afterward walks in. Edison Watts.<br><br>The moment they’re reunited, sexual sparks reignite. Too many conflicts force Stone to decree there can never be anything between them but the one night, though, even as fate keeps throwing them together throughout the school year, and developing feelings become hard to ignore.<br><br>Some problems are easily solved while others, including the reason for Edison’s initial attraction to Stone and the chip on Edison’s shoulder bigger than the high school’s football field, prove more difficult. Stone can teach, but he decides must also be willing to learn and grow. When Edison promises to do the same, can they find a way to make one and one equal two?

Substitute Teacher

July seemed to go by as quickly as the flash from one firework. Before Stone knew it, he was hugging Edison goodbye for five whole weeks. “I’m going to miss you.”


“I’m going to miss you, too, Stone.”


They were on the street across from Stone’s, a beautiful scenic route that took them and the dogs up a secluded road with nothing but rocky hills and greenery.


“I’m going to miss being so close,” Edison said, a leash around three fingers, those on his other hand intertwined with Stone’s.


“Goodbyes aren’t supposed to be a big deal, though.” Just about to the intersection that would bring them back to the apartment building, it felt like more than the end of a walk.


“When we get back, I’m going to kiss you. Wide awake this time, we’re going to kiss, because I’m going to be able to convince you, once and for all, that it’s you I want and not…not anyone else.”


Chapter 30