The One with First Chapter Friday
Curious what this event is about? Organized by fab indie author Elizabeth Barone, First Chapter Friday is a fun way for a few authors to give readers sneak peeks into their works-in-progress. Participating with me are: Elizabeth Barone, Noree Cosper, J.C. Hannigan, and Mina V. Esguerra.
What’s in it for YOU: a printed, signed copy of the first chapter of everyone’s (minus me) first chapter of their WIP! Each author has done as I have, and posted their first chapter at their blog, but we’ll all be pulling winners from our email subscription list. So from mine, FOUR people will win, each winning one of the first chapters. Four winners from the others will each win a copy of MY first chapter.
How to win: RSVP to the Facebook event page, then sign up for each author’s newsletter! Easy peasy, right? Be sure to sign up for my newsletter, too, so I can draw winners! You can do all this in about 5 minutes!
What am I sharing with you? The first chapter of AS YOU BREATHE AGAIN, aka Farm Boy Book. It’s the second in my The Walker Boys series! I’ve been trying to write this one for the better part of a year, and it’s finally coming together. Note: this is not the final version, as it’s only been through one light edit.
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“You know, this always looks a lot easier in the movies.”
Twisting around as best as she could in the tiny-as-fuck closet, Delaney Shaw tugged her shirt over her head. She wasn’t sure how long they had before gym period was over, but she wasn’t going to waste a second with Sex On a Stick in classroom 202. She’d been eye-sexing him all week, waiting for this moment.
“A lot of things look easier in the movies,” he grunted, practically tearing off his shirt. “Like playing golf, getting a job, and hooking up in an elementary school supply closet.” His g’s were soft, slip-sliding out with the hint of a drawl, probably the product of growing up somewhere in the south. Right now Lanie needed him to do other things with his mouth, and if he wanted to go down south on her, well that was fine.
“Shut up,” she hissed, stepping out of her skirt in one fluid motion, “and kiss me.” Her panties hit the floor next, a whoosh of cool air kissing her thighs.
“Yes m’am.”
As soon as his mouth touched hers, she wanted to crawl inside this moment, because her brain went quiet. There was no thinking ahead or wondering if this was a disaster waiting to happen. Lanie wasn’t really a “plan for the future” kind of girl to begin with, so right now the only future she wanted to think about was the next few minutes and nothing else. Just him. Just touches and heat and his tongue gliding against hers. His hands cupping her through her bra, the thin silk suddenly irritatingly in the way. He slid his hands around to the clasp, fumbling with it.
Breaking their embrace, Lanie reached behind her back, undoing her bra for him. God knew it wasn’t the first time. Bras were kryptonite to some guys, but Lanie wasn’t going to let that stop her. As it fell to the floor, she didn’t miss the appreciative way 202 eyed her breasts. Most guys had a hard-on for that kind of thing when it came to girls with an abundance of blessings in the chest area—but time and place. She didn’t blame him, or any of them. If they’d had time, she’d be setting cruise control at a slower pace so she could take her time with him.
“Eyes on me,” she whispered, moving slightly to the left. The last thing she wanted was a broom all up on her when she wanted 202 all up on her.
Taking charge, she looped her arms around his neck. He didn’t hesitate to kiss her, but he seemed afraid of making the next move. Any other time, she’d be down for all kinds of foreplay, but they were on the clock here. And okay, the only way this had a prayer of working was if they got aligned right, and neither of them stepped in a mop bucket, but dammit, she needed this. She needed to lose herself in 202, and no, she didn’t want to know his name or get his number.
Moving her lips to his neck, Lanie dropped her hands to his pants and worked on undoing his belt. She kissed and licked him lightly, unzipping his pants at the same time. It would have to be a quickie, but it would also be a hell of a lot better than the nothing she’d had recently. She hadn’t gotten off without the help of something battery-operated in too long.
“Have you ever done this before?” He sounded almost breathless.
“Here?” She smirked. “No, sugar, but this isn’t my first rodeo. Why?”
“It’s mine.” He met her eyes, suddenly looking younger than she’d realized.
Fuck her life, was he serious? Oh this was so not her week. If there was an award for Most Laughably Bad Week Ever, Lanie was the sole contender right now. First prize was apparently trying to seduce a virgin while the smell of cleaner hung in the air.
“Are you serious?” Reaching for her skirt, she tugged it over her hips, fastening the wide belt. She hadn’t even thought about him being inexperienced, just assumed he’d carpe’d as much diem as she had in college. Even if his college experience was a few years more recent than hers. Whoops. Apparently she was wrong, and now she wasn’t getting any.
Again.
Aaaaand her lady boner was gone. Fuck this week. Fuck it as hard as she wished she was being fucked right now. She growled under her breath as she struggled back into her bra and shirt.
“Look, I’m sorry, but it isn’t going to happen.” Her shoulders slumped. Didn’t he know better than to go around in New York City being honest about his virginity?
“You mean here?” 202 squinted, thinking. “If you can wait until tonight, I can see if my mom will go out with some friends—”
Making a face, Lanie shoved his shirt at him. He looked confused, like a lost puppy. Some other time, he would have been adorable. There still wasn’t any chance she would have slept with him, though. God knew she had enough issues of her own without deflowering someone.
“No, I mean at all.” Drawing back her shoulders, she sighed. She definitely wasn’t watching the way his muscles bunched as he put on his shirt. “If this really is your first time, it sure as hell isn’t going to be with me.”
Forcing herself to take a deep breath, Lanie made a hurry-up gesture at 202. She didn’t know what the protocol was for getting caught hooking up on school grounds, but she wasn’t keen on finding out for sure. She needed out of this situation, now.
“But I thought…”
She nodded. “I know. You’re great, really, but I’m not emotionally equipped to deflower someone.”
His face fell. “Okay. If it helps, I promise I’m not gonna morph into a stage 5 clinger.”
“You did not just reference Wedding Crashers.”
“If I actually did, does that earn a shot with you?” His dark eyes sparkled at her until she pulled the cord, sending them into darkness.
“Sorry,” Lanie offered, backing out into the hallway. “Get back with me when you’ve had all kinds of safe sex and I won’t feel bad about corrupting you.”
She was back in her classroom, the bell signaling the beginning of last period shrilling at her, before she realized she’d left her panties in the closet.
Yep. Worst. Week. Ever.
___
“I’m sorry…” Lanie worked on keeping her tone even and unclenching her fists. “Can you repeat that, please?”
Leaning forward in her chair, Lilah Summers sighed. “No, I’m sorry, Delaney. I know how much you love teaching, so it breaks my heart to tell you this, but it’s out of my hands. We won’t be renewing your contract for another school year.”
Even hearing the words a second time didn’t make them real. They floated through Lanie’s mind, staying just outside her grasp. Teasing her with her worst fear. She felt numb. The pressure of Lilah’s fingers around hers barely registered.
“But next year would be my third year here.” She swallowed once, twice, forcing herself to stay ahead of the lump forming in her throat. “I need it to get tenure or I’m…” The word was there, but it wouldn’t come out, stuck somewhere between her pride and disappointment. “Jobless.”
Lilah frowned. “Yes. I fought for you, but with the recent budget cuts and the decision to extend tenure to two other teachers, we just don’t have room for you here. I deeply wish we did, because I think you are a wonderful, caring teacher.”
“I can’t believe this.” Standing, Lanie circled her chair, unable to face her principal. Lilah took her under her wing when Lanie began teaching her, and through the insane policies, the late nights, the pencil-thin budget for her classroom—Lanie thought there was a place for her here. She didn’t take much seriously, but teaching meant a lot to her.
“If there’s anything you need…”
“I need a job.”
Lilah’s gray eyes were already filling with tears by the time Lanie realized how razor-sharp her words were. The older woman recoiled slightly in her chair. The color fled her cheeks as she folded her hands together, worrying them.
“Lilah, that was uncalled for.” Lanie clutched the back of the chair she’d sat in on so many occasions: hopeful when she was first hired, excited during those first months, stressed later, when she supplemented her classroom needs with her own funds. She couldn’t imagine never stepping inside Lilah’s office again. “I just…it doesn’t feel real.”
Without a teaching job secured, Lanie would be officially jobless in a week. She’d worried when the end of the school year approached and she hadn’t heard anything about her contract, but she’d told herself that she was kick-ass at her job (supply closet hook-ups notwithstanding). She worked late, went all out decorating her classroom, and her kids loved her. She made their classroom a safe haven for all of them, and loved watching them learn. Loved seeing their faces light up when they came in on Monday mornings and saw her waiting. Some of her kids didn’t have the most stable of home lives.
Having them in her life grounded Lanie like nothing else ever had.
“What are you going to do?” Lilah asked gently.
Shrugging, Lanie met the principal’s gaze. She honestly didn’t know. She had to work. Anna Shaw would kick her ass if Lanie told her she’d essentially been fired and had no game plan. Her Mama raised her to make the best of every situation. Even one like this.
“I guess I’ll be job-hunting.” Lanie scowled at the thought of sending out resumes and hoping she landed an interview. At best, she was looking at a long summer of working retail and knocking on doors every chance she got. But she’d do it. She had to teach. Had to make a difference.
“Please know I’m always available as a reference.” Lilah smiled at her. “I wish we could have kept you here. You are a terrific teacher, Delaney.”
Sensing the conversation was over, like her teaching career, Lanie stood. “Thanks, Lilah. I really do appreciate you and all you’ve done for me.” She worked up a smile she didn’t really feel, and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.
Once she was outside the office, Lanie leaned against the wall, needing the support. Her legs were shaky things, incapable of holding her on their own at this moment. She had just lost her job. She was twenty-five. She was supposed to be past this stage in her life. She didn’t have the “But I’m barely out of high school!” excuse to cling to at this point, couldn’t say she was new to adulthood. She was supposed to know what she wanted to do, and be doing it. Not looking forward to a summer of asking “Do you want fries with that?”
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, jolting her out of a grease-soaked nightmarish glimpse into her future. Lanie pulled her phone out of her pocket, glancing at the new text. It was from Quinn. Lanie read the text, only half comprehending what she was reading. Then it hit her, the first thing to break through the panic in the last hour.
Quinn. Lanie latched onto her best friend like a lifeline, using the thought of her almost-sister to pull herself to shore. She made a dash for her classroom, closing the door firmly behind her and collapsing into her desk chair.
Quinn, who Lanie hadn’t seen in months. Quinn, who lived in a picturesque Southern town, complete with tractor pulls and town festivals. Quinn, who had a guest room and, in the last year, had become open to pretty much anything. Quinn, who would hopefully love a visit from Lanie. Even if it was just a week or two, it would mean getting out of the city and a chance to catch her breath.
Before she could second-guess the idea, Lanie dialed her best friend’s number. When Quinn picked up, slightly breathless, Lanie smiled at the voice, as familiar to her as her own. She’d missed her Q over the past months, and this was the push she needed to make up for being a shitty friend recently.
“Hey you. What are you doing this summer?”
Meet Lanie Shaw
So…that’s my Lanie. Sex-positive, kind of a player, loves her friends like whoa. What do y’all think of her?
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