J.M. Snyder

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

Someone to tell him to go for it, or give him the encouragement to make the first move, or something. Deep down he’d wanted his mother to…if not approve of Darian, at least show some interestin him, for Christ’s sake. She could’ve asked what he was like or pointed out that he appeared to be a step up from the other guys in Stacy’s life. Instead she got in his face about it, like he was nothing more than a piece of jailbait trying to grind away at some stodgy old perv. He just likedthe guy, Jesus! And even if they did hook up, he wasn’t underage any more. And Darian sure as hell wasn’t that much older.


Fuck it. If she didn’t want to know about Darian, then she shouldn’t have asked him about school. And if he had known she would make such a production out of it, he wouldn’t have answered. Damned if he’d make that mistake again.


Chapter 61