Bianca's stomach rolled as she walked up the front walkway to the middle school she would be teaching at for the day. She hadn't ever been this nervous in her life, but she wanted so much to make a good impression and do a good job. Her hands shook as she opened the door and made her way to the front office.The office was hopping, lots of talking and students coming in and out. It surprised her to see some of them at the school this early. A young woman sat at the front desk, a telephone to her ear, already looking stressed to the max."Hi, I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go. My name is Bianca Hawks, and I'm substituting today," she explained to the woman she assumed was the secretary."Oh hi! Sorry, it's a little bit crazy in here today. We also had a few bus drivers need subs, and now they're all running behind. Some of them didn't even pick up their kids, so that's why we have these kids in here – parents had to drop them off, and now they're making complaints." She took a
Later that night, Bianca logged into her email account to see if she had been added to any more sub jobs or to see if her professors had sent out any new assignments. There was one email from Stacey in her inbox.Intrigued, she opened it.Bianca, It was nice to meet you today. I realize this was your first time in a school in this capacity, so I thought it might help you to know a few things. Please don't take this as me talking down to you, I liked you upon meeting you today, so take this in the spirit that it's meant to be – helpful. Never, ever cuss when you're at school – unless you are friends (and I mean friends) with the person that you're talking to. I know that your boyfriend was probably an asshole, and if we had been out at a bar, like say, Wet Wanda's, that would be fine, but some of these teachers will chew you up and spit you out. Same with the note from your boyfriend. Don't let him cuss in those again. Smaller things have lost teachers jobs. I like you and I thin
"You wanna go home with me?" Jagger asked as he came out of the back room, putting his cut back on.She was still glancing periodically at Money Bags, but gave Jagger her full attention when he came to stand in front of her. Casually, he took one arm and placed it on the bar, before placing his other arm on the other side, effectively boxing her in."I would love to, but I have stuff I need to do tomorrow," she sighed, putting her hands in his belt loops and pulling him towards her.He leaned down, nuzzling her neck with his mouth. "That sucks," he groaned. "I was really hoping to spend some time with you tonight"Agreement was on the tip of her tongue. "How about you come home with me?"His eyes flashed in genuine surprise. "You sure?" "If you are. I mean, if you can't because you need to be at the clubhouse, I understand.""No, that's not it at all. I'm actually off duty right now. You just want me to follow you over on my bike?""Yeah, that way if you need to leave
"I could get used to this. With you here, I'm not cold."Jagger laughed. The two of them were lying on her couch, watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory. He had laid down first and opened his arms for her. With only a little bit of hesitation, she had fallen into those arms and pulled a blanket over them. For over an hour, she had snuggled so tightly against him that he didn't know where he ended and she began. If asked, he might even say that this would be a defining moment of his life."That's all I am to you? A heater?" He put his hand over his heart. "You wound me."Moving her head to the side so that she could look at him, the grin that came over her face was contagious. "Speaking of wounding you, when did you take that picture to put on my phone?"He cracked up in earnest now, laughing so hard she could feel his abdominal muscles contract. "I was wondering when you would see that. You didn't have a picture of me on there so Layne took one of me for you.""Why were you T
Bianca awoke to sunlight streaming in from the blinds they had forgotten to close the night before and a heavy arm resting across her stomach, holding her closely. Entwining her fingers with Jagger's, she gave his hand a light squeeze. Not enough to wake him up, just enough to let him know she was there. He answered by tightening his arm around her and burying his head deeper into her hair. She could feel the scrape of an unshaven face on her neck. It was intimate and the epitome of all things that happened in relationships. A small smile worked its way across her face and she sighed happily.She had slept through the night for the first time since the gunfire outside the apartment, feeling safe with him there. It wasn't that she felt like someone was going to break in and maim her at all times, but there was an uneasiness about being a female living alone. With him, she could let her guard down. Gone was the fatigue that normally dragged her down and the low-lying hum of wariness th
"Bianca, you in here?" Meredith asked as she knocked on the door."Yeah," she grinned from her spot on the couch. "Studying as always."Meredith watched as Bianca lifted the book so that the cover showed. Having a seat next to her, Meredith got comfortable. "I hope you don't mind that Tyler brought me.""Not at all. Like we talked about earlier, I just don't have that many girlfriends so it's always kind of weird for me if you want to hang out."Glancing up, Bianca looked at the other woman closely. Meredith looked more melancholy than usual, not the perky individual that Bianca was used to. "Are you okay?" she asked gently, setting her book aside.Tears popped to Meredith's eyes and Bianca blinked in surprise. Just what the hell was going on that would make this vivacious person cry? It wasn't long before tears streamed down Meredith's cheeks in earnest. "Hey, I'm not good with other people, much less when they cry."At those words, Meredith giggled. "I know. Emotions m
"Why are you lookin' at me like that?"Bianca shook her head and looked away. She had been staring at Layne, she realized. Taking a drink of her Margarita and dipping a chip in their queso, she looked back at him. "You probably think I'm crazy, but I feel like I know you from somewhere else besides the club."From where he sat on the other side of the table Tyler smirked, as did Jagger. "Go ahead, assholes, laugh it up." Layne took a drink from his beer bottle and ran a hand through his hair. Reaching over to the side of the table, he grabbed a toothpick and put it in his mouth, chewing on the end."What's so funny?" Meredith asked. She had also gotten the feeling that she knew Layne from somewhere, but didn't know where. "Yeah, why are you guys acting like it's some secret?"Layne cleared his throat and lifted his eyebrows. "You might remember a few years ago—it was all the rage for members of the service to ask celebrities to their balls?""Oh yeah," Meredith smiled.
"It's colder than a well-digger's ass out here." Jagger shivered as he pulled his bandana up around his mouth and breathed heavily into it."No shit." Layne stomped his feet to try to get some warmth into his body. "This weather makes my damn leg hurt," he grumbled."Well you'd never know it by lookin' at you. You're a fighter."Layne had heard that his whole life, and while he agreed, it sometimes just annoyed him. "I'm not special at all. Some of my friends didn't make it back from over there.""You think that's why you joined up with us?" Jagger asked, pulling a cigarette from his pack. He held it in his hand, appearing to contemplate whether he really wanted to light it or not. That would require him to move his bandana over and might make him more cold."Don't know," Layne shrugged. "Maybe I just have a death wish and I never really knew it."That, Jagger could understand. From a young age he had been force-fed Christianity and God. He knew without a doubt that was why