Preservation Read Online Free PDF

Fiji.”
    “Now there’s a woman after my own heart,” Carter slapped his hand to his chest, sighing dramatically. “I’ll let you know if we win.” He started for the door.
    “Uh huh.”
    “You’ll know if we do. I’ll be the one streaking on Pike Street.”
    “ Goodbye , Carter.” I chuckled and shooed him out the door from the sofa, drifting to sleep as soon as he was gone.
    ***
    The alarm clock startled me from the bedroom and I sat up, confused when I realized I’d spent the entire night on the sofa. I dashed to my bedroom to shower and change before heading to work. My short morning shift passed quickly and I caught the Rail to school, thrilled when I stepped foot into Mr. Campbell’s class ten minutes early. He looked just as surprised as I did when I wandered to my seat, smirking slightly at the sight of my unhurried stroll.
    “I’m impressed, Ms. Parker.”
    “As am I,” I let out a breath and sat down, taking my time with my laptop and textbook.
    “How did the paper go? Did you get to work on it at all? No doubt your life revolves around it...”
    I stopped plugging in my charger when I realized he was making conversation and being a smartass, staring at me, waiting for me to respond. I looked around the room, just to make sure it was in fact me he was talking to. His familiar haughty tone and body language were present, but his hazel eyes were softened, an engaged flicker present in them.
    “Yeah, actually I did. I think it’s better, but I’m going to see what Mrs. Meyer has to say about it tonight.”
    “Mind if I take a look at it again?”
    “Um...” I froze, unsure if I wanted him to read what I’d revised. The piece was already very personal and this would be off the record, outside of class...
    I bit my lip and nodded, leaning into my book bag to retrieve it. Can’t hurt, I guess. I met him at the front of the classroom and tried not to ogle him as he scanned the page, twisting my fingers together as I watched his brow furrow as he made his way down each page. Whatever cologne he was wearing wasn’t helping the annoying reality that he was definitely attractive. Hhhmm, that scent. Twenty-seven or twenty-eight? Nah, can’t be older than twenty-eight. He pushed his golden brown hair back, running his fingers through it.
    Scratching my chin, I cleared my throat and leaned in closer to see the line he was reading. He didn’t stop me, just slowly held up one finger to signal me to wait, intent on maintaining focus. Students began trickling into the classroom and I became antsier, tugging at the corners of my jacket.
    “I’ll have to finish it after class,” he finally spoke, scanning the page from top to bottom. “You put yourself in this, didn’t you?” He turned to look at me, his eyes still soft, sincere. Whoa. Those eyes are...whoa.
    “Don’t we always put ourselves in our work?”
    “Well, to an extent I believe we do, yes. But this is so raw. Someone can’t write a protagonist like this unless she is familiar with some of these situations, these emotions. It’s really honest.” He licked his lips and handed me the paper, nodding to students as they greeted him, but kept his gaze on me.
    “Wow. I don’t know what to say to that. I guess I just gave myself away.” The red on my cheeks deepened and I looked down.
    “There’s no shame in honesty, Kate—Ms. Parker.”
    “You can call me Kate,” I lifted my chin to meet his eyes again. “Thank you.”
    “I’d love to finish it after class, will you have a few minutes?”
    “Sure. My next class isn’t until two thirty.”
    “Good.”
    When class ended, I squirmed in my seat, watching him read as he sat on the edge of the desk, the same intent expression on his face as before. He ran his fingers over his chin and I found myself distracted by the stubble there, wondering what it’d be like to run my fingers over it too. I stood up and stretched, shaking the thoughts. Swooning over the sexy professor would only