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

He didn’t know yet, but every minute brought him closer to finding out.


As the hands of the clock crept towards noon, Stacy grew anxious. Even Darian’s flirtatious manner couldn’t set him at ease. What if James hated him? Stacy couldn’t seem to shake the question out of his head. What if they just didn’t hit it off and Darian decided his son was right, Stacy was a waste of his time, he wasn’t worth getting all hung up about…what then?


He spent the morning cutting down chair legs for a custom order. Twice the front door chimed when someone entered the shop and his hands froze in mid-task, as solid as the wooden blocks he held to the table saw. Both times he glanced up toward the front of the store and waited, praying it wasn’t the kid yet, it wasn’t time. Then he heard Darian’s loud voice call out, all business. “Hey, how you doing today?” or “Let me know if you need any help,” and Stacy turned back to the saw with a sigh of relief.


Chapter 94