“Jace, you’ve been coming in late these days. Anything you want to tell me?” Gared, my boss at the garage, asked the moment I walked in around 10:30 with my toolbox in one hand and my coverall slung over my shoulder.

“Not really, just been dealing with some stuff,” I muttered, heading straight for one of the cars he had assigned me yesterday. The other guys snickered as I passed, laughter under their breath, and I couldn’t tell if it was about me, but I wasn’t about to ask.

“I have deadlines to meet, Jace. You need to be on time, or there’ll be no payment for you,” Gared said before disappearing into his office at the far end of the work area.

He owned Gared and Sons Motors. Used to be in the business of selling cars until he got shut down for some shady deal no one really knew the full story about. Now he fixed cars for a living, and after my father’s disappearance, with bills piling up and a mother and sister depending on me, I had no choice but to work here. Not that there were many options anyway, not with my criminal record.

There were four of us working for him. I didn’t mind their company, but most times, they were just too damn brash.

Tom, the lanky one, strolled up to me with a greasy rag in his hand. “Heard there’s a new beauty in town.”

I focused harder on the engine in front of me. I knew exactly where this was going, and I had no desire to entertain it. I had been trying to push out the memory of Aria kissing Mr. Rowe yesterday, but the image wouldn’t leave my mind. I didn’t need Tom making it worse.

“Heard she’s staying in your apartment. That true?” he pressed, leaning too close.

“Not my apartment, she’s my neighbor, Tom. Now get off and get back to work.” My tone was sharper than I intended.

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “Woah. What’s got you so riled up? Lila complain about something again?”

I shook my head, refusing to take the bait. I just wanted to get through today’s workload and head over to the diner to see my mom and sister.

“I’m sure you’d like this one. I also heard she’s been sleeping with Mr. Rowe. Not even a week in town and already tossing it around.”

The screw in my hand slipped and clattered onto the floor. My head snapped toward him. “Who told you that?”

Tom smirked, sensing he’d struck a nerve. “Oh, now you’re interested in what I have to say?”

“Cut the crap, Tom. Who told you?” My voice was tight, edged with anger I didn’t want to show.

Flin rolled out from under one of the cars, wiping his hands. “Who else do you think, Jace? We were at the diner for breakfast when Lila and her friends strolled in, giggling all over the place. She walked right up to our table and told us she saw Mr. Rowe spend the night at the new girl’s place.”

My jaw clenched. Damn it, Lila. Rumors in a small town spread like wildfire, and more often than not, the girl paid the heavier price.

“That is not true. Aria didn’t sleep with Mr. Rowe. He only came over to help her set up her bed frame,” I said, slamming the car hood shut.

“So what are you saying? Lila lied?” Harry called out from the far corner. The others stopped what they were doing, waiting for me to confirm or deny.

“Of course Lila lied. That’s what she does, lies and lies and lies.” My voice rose, rage spilling through.

I didn’t even know why I was this angry, why it mattered to me so much to defend Aria. But it did. She didn’t deserve to be dragged through the mud like this.

“I’ll handle this. In the meantime, I want all of you telling people the truth. Got it?”

They nodded. I yanked off my gloves, tossed them onto the bench, and stormed out. I couldn’t let this poison her school before she even had a chance.

———————————————

Aria ️

Maya stopped by to pick me up so we could walk to school together. It felt nice, really nice having someone to call a friend.

She was talking a mile a minute while I drifted off in thought. My mind wandered back to the breakfast I’d made that morning, my very first attempt at cooking on my own. Sure, I’d burned the eggs twice, but the third try turned out edible. Not just edible, good.

I was so proud of myself. It wasn’t going to be that hard to manage on my own. I’d prove my dad wrong sooner than he thought. As long as I could avoid the grumpy neighbor and his delusional girlfriend, I’d be fine.

“Aria!” Maya’s voice snapped me back. I blinked at her. “Sorry, my mind wandered.”

“I said you should come over to my place today. I want to show you my tattoo photograph collection.”

My brows shot up. “Your tattoo photograph collection?”

“Yeah. They’re amazing. I’ve got shots of Cardi B’s, some from Eminem, and I think there’s even one of MJ.”

I laughed. “Maya, I don’t think Michael Jackson had a tattoo.”

She crossed her arms. “Nope. Pretty sure he did. I didn’t spend five hundred bucks on that picture for nothing.”

I shook my head, still laughing, when suddenly the laughter froze in my throat. My stomach flipped, and I ducked behind a pillar, crouching low.

Maya’s eyes widened. “What are you doing? Why are you hiding?” she hissed, crouching beside me.

“Shhh,” I whispered, peeking out just as he walked past.

Why was Daniel here? Was he… was he still a student?

As soon as he passed, I stood quickly, brushing off my jeans like nothing happened.

Maya squinted after him. “Were you hiding from Professor Rowe?”

The air caught in my lungs. “What do you mean, Professor Rowe? He’s the guy who works at the store, not a professor.”

She blinked at me like I’d grown two heads. “Yeah, he owns the store, but he also teaches art here. I told you about him on your first day, Professor Rowe, the total hunk. Remember? He couldn’t make it to class then, but we’ve got him first period today.”

My hands trembled slightly as I tried to steady myself. “You… you didn’t tell me his name was Daniel.”

“That’s his first name. How do you know that?” Maya asked, frowning. “And why are you acting so weird?”

Panic pressed tight against my chest. The images from last night crashed back in vivid detail, me tumbling onto him, me kissing him, me tugging at his jeans… and then kissing him again in the hallway.

I had almost slept with him.

Not just him.

My professor.