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

“Okay, everyone, take a seat and we’ll get started.”


The classroom was about half full. A couple of students had come back after not passing the last test. The group, ranging in age from teen to elderly, took another minute or two to quiet, as Stone stood at the front at the whiteboard. “I’m Stone Larrabee, Art teacher by day, Equivalency Tutor by night. Welcome. Throughout the next six weeks—”


“Sorry, late again.” Edison came barreling in like a bull, literally carrying one, a barrel, not a bull, a small half barrel, actually, filled with apples. “Here.” He set it down on Stone’s desk. “An apple for the teacher, one for every day I was gone, each one kissed by lips I wished could kiss you.”


“I swung by a farmer’s market on my way over and kissed each one coming here from there,” he claimed. “I have lip balm on, so you’ll see the mark.”


“Edison, that’s so sweet. Are you taking the class again?”


Chapter 31