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

What would he do on the weekend, when the school wasn’t open? I could try the shop,he thought. Darian’s workshop was on Crater Road—Stacy could take the bus down there and it would be the two of them again, no classroom surrounding them, no school hemming them in. The thought excited him more than he wanted to admit.


But it was getting late. “Almost three,” Darian said, pushing his stool away from the desk as he stood. “I’ll bet you have better things to do than hang around here with me all day.”


“No,” Stacy replied, a little too quickly. “Not really.” Darian’s indulgent smile made him blush, and he hurried to find something else for them to talk about, something to keep them here longer. The thought of going home to his empty apartment—or worse, to Lamar—made him desperate to stay. “So I guess you and Dean are pretty tight?”


Slowly Darian’s smile disappeared. Oh shit.Before he could answer Stacy was stammering, “I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me, I just thought—”


Chapter 50