Young teacher, the subject of schoolgirl fantasy... She wants him so badly, knows what she wants to be... Temptation, frustration, so bad it makes him cry (Don't Stand so Close to Me, The Police)

CHAPTER ONE

Still sweaty from running the track, Rebekah Rose passed Mr. Fields’ Chemistry room, peeking inside to see the three cheerleaders gathered around the young teacher’s desk. His black tie was undone, resting sloppily against his white dress shirt, his dark, wavy hair mussed after a long day of pacing and lecturing. She hurried on, thankful that she wasn’t one of those brainless twits vying for his attention. Any girl who could so easily be drawn in by a guy just because he was cute and…

OK, so he was interesting. Over the past month since he’d arrived at Walnut View High School, she’d noticed that he tended to get off on “bunny trails”, describing things he’d learned about outer space. His chocolate eyes would get this ravishing glow, and a gentle smile would curve his lips as he discussed his favorite topic, especially when he’d describe what it would be like for earthlings to inhabit another planet.

During those times, Bekah had caught herself standing inside of a glass building, where the atmosphere was technologically controlled, looking onto Mars’ red landscape and wondering what it would be like to wander outside. With the decreased gravity, running would certainly be entertaining. It would be almost like flying. Weightlessly drifting up like a balloon and then floating back down.

Back down- to reality.

She continued along the empty, after-school hallway and smiled at the approaching, petite brunette, whose long, wavy, golden-brown hair dwarfed her small frame. Her brown eyes beamed with excitement as she exclaimed, “Hey, Girly! I’ve got a hot date tonight, and would seriously love to borrow your black dress.”

Bekah stared at her friend as she stepped in beside her. “Why my black dress? You’re two inches shorter than I am, so it’s not exactly going to show much of your legs, if that’s what you’re looking for.” Bekah was 5’6, Alice 5’4, but they’d been told that they look like sisters, even though Bekah’s hair was darker, layered, and fell just below her shoulders. They both had brown eyes, but Bekah’s were darker- much darker than she would have liked.

Alice cackled, then crackled her chewing gum, blew a bubble, and stopped, wearing a devilish grin. Bekah turned on her heel to give her friend an ‘absurd look’, with her eyebrows screwed up and mouth twisted.

“I’m going out with a church boy,” Alice announced.

“A church boy? A goody-goody, church boy?”

“You’re a church girl, so what are you complaining about?”

“Yeah, I’m a church girl, and that’s how I know that the church boys are goody-goody as hell,” Bekah laughed. “So, who is this dude, and how did you meet him?”

“Not all church boys are goody-goody,” said a deep voice behind her.

Bekah spun, and immediately scolded herself for smiling at the tall, dark haired boy she didn’t recognize. His bright, green eyes danced as they scanned over her, his pink lips fastened in a flirty grin. He wore jeans and a plain, black t-shirt that revealed gently forming muscles, and his chest was broad for a guy of around seventeen or eighteen. “I’m looking for my brother’s room,” he said. “Dan Fields.”

“That way,” she pointed to her right. “Around the corner, two doors d- Wait, you’re Mr. Fields’ brother?”

“Yeah. Ryan.” He held out his thick hand, which Bekah happily accepted, shaking while gazing into his green gems. “And your name?” He prodded.

“Rebekah Rose,” she said, swallowing. “And this is Alice.”

“Hey.” Alice sounded a little bored, and Bekah imagined that was because the girl was eager to pick up the black dress from Bekah’s house. Alice was usually sweet and attentive, but get her mind on a hot date, and to hell with the rest of the world.

“Nice meeting you,” said Ryan, releasing her hand. “Hope to see you again.”

“Well,” Bekah flirted. “If you can get your brother to bring you to the homecoming dance, I’m sure I’ll see you there.” She never had been shy about letting a guy know she liked him. She wasn’t usually so blatantly obvious, but damn, there was something subtle and hot about Ryan Fields- maybe he was a church boy with an edge? Sexy. Yeah.

“I’ll definitely talk to him about that… But…” He closed one eye and lifted his chin. “How old are ye, Lass?”

She grinned at what she guessed was an imitation of the Irish or Scottish accent. “Almost seventeen. Is that too young?”

“Heck, no.” He ran the back of his hand along his forehead. “I’m actually only twelve, but… you know…” he shrugged, and she giggled. Then blushed for giggling like a cheerleader.

“You’re awfully tall for twelve,” she teased.

“True, that. My brother keeps telling me I’m eighteen and it’s time to grow up, and I keep insisting that I’m twelve, but, well, he won’t believe me, you know?” He finished with another gentle grin, and it was then that she noticed his hair was wavy like his brother’s. She imagined that when he finished growing, he would further resemble Mr. Fields, nicely filled out in all the right places. Her face felt a little hot as she remembered the way her teacher’s arms sometimes bulged as he wrote on the chalkboard- but one could only see that when he wore short sleeves, which wasn’t often.

Enough of that school girl silliness. No admiring of teachers allowed. Tall church boys with bright, green eyes, however…

“So, I’ll mention this dance to my brother and see if I can worm my way in,” Ryan said, and Bekah hoped he meant it…. Really hoped he meant it.

After he disappeared around the corner, Alice stepped up to her, shaking her head. “Damn, Girl, I’d say that guy has the serious hots for you.”

“He’s not bad himself.”

“No, he’s not,” Alice admitted. “But why go for a guy you’re probably not going to see every day? There are guys here at Walnut View who like you… for instance…” They rounded another corner and started down a set of stairs. “Kevin Murphy,” Alice whispered loudly, and Bekah’s stomach flipped.

“Goody-Goody. No thanks.” Kevin was perhaps the only student who wore a dress shirt, dress pants, and tie every single freaking day of his life. He wasn’t bad looking, with blond hair and bright, sky-blue eyes, but he earned straight A’s and was probably a member of every honor society known to mankind. Bekah liked him…but he was just too… ‘perfect’. Goody-goodies are always too perfect. And perfect lacks character… too shiny, too extraordinary.

The perfect guy for her would be the one who could be “bad” when he needed to, but tried not to be bad when he simply wanted to… a guy who isn’t afraid to bend the rules to meet a good end. Like Luke Skywalker. He’d disobeyed Yoda’s orders and went to rescue Han and Leia in The Empire Strikes Back. True, he was a fictional character, but there are men like him in the world, stepping out of the box in order to help another human being.

A real life example would be the men and women who helped African American slaves to freedom, despite the way Southern Society frowned upon such actions.

She’d been reading The Scarlet Letter for English class, and found herself wishing that one of those wimpy Puritan men would have stood up for poor Hester Prynne, and reminded everyone of Jesus’ famous words: “He who is without sin, let him first cast a stone.”

Too bad Nathaniel Hawthorne hadn’t written any good heroes like that into the story.

OOOO

Dan stared at the sleek, red marks in front of him. The cheerleaders had finally left the room, allowing him to sulk at Rebekah Rose’s poor paper. She seemed to pay attention in class, and she always took notes, so what the hell was the problem and how should he handle the problem? Straight confrontations tended to put the students on the defensive, even though they should expect intermittent chastisement from their teachers.

Growing up, he’d been privately tutored, but anytime one of his teachers sharply pointed out an ongoing issue, his first reaction was to make excuses for why he’d fallen short. Maybe that was just his pride and not all students would respond that way, but he’d noticed the stubborn glare from more than one of his kids as he’d gone over school work with them.

This was the first time in the past month that he’d had to seriously consider confronting Rebekah, though. She’d started out doing fairly well, but now… These equations looked like they were done by a fourth grader, and judging from the talk he’d heard in the teachers’ lounge, Rebekah was normally bright and well-accomplished, earning around a 3.5 GPA. So what was getting in the way? A guy? Too many extra-curricular activities? God forbid… drugs? Or was his teaching not up to par?

“Hey, Bro!”

Dan looked up. Ryan approached, wearing a cheesy grin, his tennis shoes squeaking across the floor. “What are you so happy about, Guy?” Dan asked, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms, which were a little sore from a hard game of racquetball the night before. Funny, because he lifted weights on a regular basis, so he shouldn’t feel sore, but he guessed it was because he’d been moving in ways he wasn’t used to moving.

The girl he’d been seeing from church knew the game well- a little too well, as she’d beat the hell out of him; so now one of his goals was to repay that ‘favor’.

“Just met a cute girl in the hall,” Ryan wiggled his brows, pulling a desk chair up and taking a seat, his lanky legs sprawled out in front of him. “Rebekah Rose ring a bell?”

Talk about coincidence. “Yes, it does.” He smiled. “You like her, huh?”

“You kidding?” He whistled. “Nice.”

Shaking his head, Dan lifted his pen and flipped to the next homework paper. Rebekah was indeed a cute kid, and if he was six years younger, he’d probably be chasing her himself.

“She told me about the homecoming dance… think I could get in?”

Dan looked up, frowning. “Of course, why couldn’t you?”

“Because I don’t technically have a date.”

“If you like her, come ahead, and I’ll get you in.” Dan marked the first problem on Lynn McComb’s paper and groaned. “Damn, what is going on? Am I that crappy a teacher?”

“What is it?” Ryan leaned over.

OOOO

Bekah handed the dress to Alice, who received it with a grin, and immediately began de-clothing. “Crap, wait!” Bekah ran to the door to keep her little sister, Kristin out.

“I don’t care if your sister sees. I’m not taking off my bra and underwear or anything,” Alice rolled her eyes, turning to the full length mirror. “God, I need some vodka.”

“Later. In the park,” Bekah said, grimacing at her nasty, pink bedspread, Pepto-Bismol walls, and the lacy clothe hanging over her round end table. Some day her mother would give her the money to redo this putrid room.

Three, small knocks sounded at the door just as Alice was reaching behind her to zip up the dress.

“What, Kristin?” Bekah asked.

“Can I come in?”

“No! Go play.”