At 16, Stacy Evans dropped out of high school in the hopes of moving on with his life. But four years later, he's stuck in an abusive relationship with Lamar, a "friend with benefits," and works long hours at a dead-end job just to get by.<br><br>Then his mother enrolls him in a program to earn his GED. There he meets Darian, a woodshop teacher who is everything Stacy's friends are not -- smart, successful ... and who seems to take a personal interest in helping Stacy turn his life around. The two develop a rapport that keeps Stacy after school just to spend extra time with him. In intimate moments alone, they grow closer than just student and teacher.<br><br>On the right track for once, Stacy has a chance to choose between his troublesome past and a promising future with Darian. But his jealous friends won't let him go so easily.

Stepping Up to the Plate

These thoughts spun through his head, trying to pin down that laugh, those eyes, trying to adhere the man firmly into Stacy’s mind. He didn’t know how to take Darian yet, where to place someone like him within his realm of experience—attractive, flirtatious, open and friendly, someone who liked him or was at least curious about him…or was that just being nice?


A teacher, which in Stacy’s opinion couldn’t be any of those things, least of all attractive, but Darian was young enough to still be what Stacy considered an option and Lord knew he wasn’t hard on the eyes. Stacy liked the shade of his skin, not as dark as Lamar’s and Colin’s but a bit deeper than Ange’s. Chocolately, a little cool, dusky, as if he stood beside a pool at midnight and the water’s blue reflection played across his features


So where did someone like that fit in Stacy’s world? How was he supposed to respond to the guy, to file him away, to categorize him? How was Stacy supposed to respondto him?


Chapter 23