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

“We’ll see if it’s any easier with an extra human in the mix.”


The bathroom was spacious. “Damn, your shower is big.” Edison had seen it before but was apparently still impressed.


“One of the apartment’s best features.” It was a walk-in-style, huge, and now more than ever, Stone was grateful for that. “I lucked into it, really.”


“When we’re done with the dogs, what say we do a little more painting?” Edison was already trailing watered down trickles of color with his finger. “You’re a beautiful canvas.”


The dogs calmed quickly enough, allowing themselves to be cleaned, and then rubbed partially dry with two huge, fluffy towels.


“Who wikes being wub a dub dubbed?” Edison asked.


“Let’s fill the peanut butter toys to keep them occupied,” Stone suggested. “And this time, we’ll leave them on the other side of a closed door.”


Chapter 33