Lessons in SECRET (2 page)

“And we can’t kiss
at yours.”

“No, we can’t.”

“If-if you want to
see me or something, my friends would help us.”

“I
do
want that. I’ll call you later, okay?” he asks, holding out his
phone so I can enter my number.

“Okay,” I tell him,
but I feel some of that confidence I just showed leave me.

I may not have much
experience around guys, but even I know a brushoff when I hear one.
He said the kiss was good, but would he really tell me if he didn’t
like it? Probably not. I should’ve let some of the guys my friends
made me flirt with at the bars kiss me. Then at least I’d know what
I’m doing.

“Perfect,” he tells
me when I hand the phone back to him. “I’ll talk to you soon,
Isabelle.”

“You can call me Isa.
My friends do.”

He nods and walks away.
Once he’s out of view, I thump my head back on the wall. I know
better than to crush on the hot guy. It didn’t work for me when I
was skipping grades in high school and college, so why would it work
for me now? I’m still that same girl. The one with the giant brain,
and social skills I’ve been trained to know, but can’t use
properly. Who really wants that?

* * *

Mason

It’s ten o’clock
and I’m still looking at my phone like it’s a snake about to bite
me. I want to call Isa. No, I need to call her. But I know I
shouldn’t.

She’s some kind of
“secret” secret agent, and I’m, well, I’m me. This would not
turn out well. For either of us. I’m nothing if not a masochist,
though, which is why I finally tap her name and call her.

“Hello.”

“Hi. It’s, uh,
Mason.”

“Oh. Hi.”

She sounds hesitant and
surprised that I’m calling. “Did you think I wasn’t going to
call?”

“Honestly? Yeah. I
mean, ‘I’ll call you later’ is one of the biggest ways to brush
someone off, right?”

“I don’t want to
brush you off.”

“You don’t?”

I should. “No, I
don’t. I told you I loved kissing you. I want to do that again.”

“Me too.”

“I’m sure I don’t
have to tell you that we can’t show any of this at school.”

“I’m not a
teenager, Mason. Mase. I mean, Mr….I mean…what should I call
you?”

“At school, it’ll
have to be Mr. Wells. Outside of school, you can call me anything you
want with that sexy mouth of yours.”

She laughs, and we
spend the next hour talking. About everything and nothing. I was
attracted to her before, but now I really like her. Even though I
know it’s going to turn out really badly. For both of us. They say
the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, but I’ll do
everything I can to make sure she doesn’t share my fate.

Isabelle

The private school I’m
“attending” wants to be seen as progressive, so there’s no
dress code. My friend and co-worker, Stella, filled my closet with
clothes from Topshop, but after a month here, I think I may have her
go more upscale. These girls look like they walked off a runway, and
while I’m holding my own, my labels aren’t up to par with theirs.
My “parents”—who are actually friends of the Society—are
supposed to be super wealthy, so I need to fit in.

When the popular and
sleazy Kurt approaches me, I realize that maybe my clothes are just
what they need to be. After all, when he saw me at a local hotel and
tried to recruit me, I was in jeans and a t-shirt. “Isabelle,
you’re looking good, but I could help you look better.”

He reaches out to rub
the tuxedo collar of my black dress, and I throw up a little in my
mouth. Really, I swear I do. “I’m good, but thanks,” I tell him
as I start to walk away.

The plan is for me to
play hard to get for his little after school club. Which isn’t hard
since it
would
be
hard to get me. I just had my first kiss, for God’s sake. I’m not
ready to be a sex-for-hire worker yet. Or ever. I knew from my first
day with the Society that this kind of mission would probably come
up. I even initiated the mission after he approached me, but it
doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with it.

“People don’t tell
me ‘no’ very often, and the ones who do tend to change their mind
pretty quickly. This is your only warning, beautiful. You
will
be mine, whether you plan to be or not. It’s inevitable. I’ve let
you be this last month, but my patience is starting to wear thin.”

“Is there a problem
here?” Mason asks from behind me.

“No, Mr. Wells,”
Kurt says with a smirk. “Isabelle and I were just discussing some
employment opportunities I thought she’d be interested in.”

“Were you interested,
Isabelle?”

“No, I really wasn’t.
I need to get to class.”

I practically run from
them both. I want to take down Kurt, and kiss Mase, so they’re both
dangerous to me at the moment. I text Reina as I walk into my English
class and take my seat, letting her know that things are escalating.
I tell her I’ll fill her in more after I’m done here for the day.

“Isabelle?”

I turn to see one of
the most beautiful girls in the school sitting behind me. She’s got
curly brown hair and flawless mocha colored skin. She’s also biting
her lip and looking a little nervous. “That’s me.”

“I heard you with
Kurt. You can’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Turn him down.”

“Um, yeah, I can do
that.”

“He’ll find a way
to get you. It’ll be easier on you if you just give in.”

“Did he do something
to you?”

“Just tell him yes,
okay.”

“No.”

“Well then, I’m
sorry in advance. Please remember that I warned you.”

She darts out of the
chair, and the classroom, before I can ask her anything else. I’m
not sure what she was trying to warn me about, but it can’t be
good. I’m glad I have that meeting later. Even if I can’t stop
what’s being planned for me, maybe I can try to be prepared.

* * *

Mason

That little bastard is
planning something for Isabelle. I know he is. He’s wanted her for
his harem since before she started school here a few weeks ago, and
he’s not about to give her up just because she says “no.” I
know why he’s pushing so hard, too. It’s that damn virginal vibe
she throws off.

I know she doesn’t
even realize that it’s there, but it is. I’d be lying if I said
it wasn’t part of what attracted me to her in the first place.
There’s not much sexier than a woman who doesn’t even know just
how sexy she is. I nearly fell over when she told me to kiss her. I
wasn’t expecting it, but I wasn’t complaining either. Especially
when my lips were finally on her.

There’s a special
place in Hell for guys like me. I know it, yet I’m still pursing
something with her. It’s not a relationship—it can’t be. But I
do want something. More than I’ve wanted with a woman in a long
time. And that right there could destroy us both.

I manage to push those
thoughts out of my mind for the next few class periods, but then she
walks in wearing that damn dress. It’s like a sleeveless tuxedo on
top with some black lace covered material in between the lapels to
make it more respectable. It fits close to her slim body before
flaring out into a tiny skirt with pleats at the top, and lace at the
bottom. Her mile long legs are on display, and even though she’s
wearing flats, I replaced them with heels in my lunchtime fantasy. I
should’ve never kissed her. I knew it, but I did it anyway. Like I
said, I’m definitely going to Hell.

“Hi, Mr. Wells,”
Grace says to me as she sits down in the front row and licks her
lips.

She’s been making not
so subtle passes at me all year. I have no interest in her, other
than the fact that I know she’s the proverbial cash cow in Kurt’s
operation. One of the only girls who’s participating by choice, not
blackmail. She’s also one of the most beautiful girls in the
school, and one of the richest. Her participation would make no sense
if I hadn’t seen her in action. She loves the thrill, and the sex.
She still shouldn’t be selling it, but it isn’t up to me to get
her to stop what she wants to do. And if I tried to get personally
involved, I know it would send the wrong message. I just have to
trust that Isa will do her job, even if it may make my life a lot
harder.

“Hello, Grace.”

“I couldn’t quite
figure out my homework for last night. Can you help me after school?”

“The tutoring lab is
open after school. They can help you.”

“I want
your
help. I’m sure my parents would appreciate any help you could give
me.”

She knows she’s got
me. Like I said, she’s one of the wealthiest girls here, and her
father has a large amount of influence. I can’t afford to lose my
job. “Okay, after school. You can meet me in the tutoring lab.”

“I’d rather meet
here,” she says, pouting at me. Yes, pouting, like she’s a little
girl. I’m sure she thinks it’s sexy, but to me it’s not.

“Tutoring lab.”

“Fine.”

I glance over, and Isa
looks like she wants to murder Grace. Dammit. She has to keep her
emotions out of this if she’s going to succeed. I need to remind
her of that next time we’re alone. No one can know that anything’s
going on with us. It’s more than just my job at stake, and if she’s
the professional I’ve been led to believe that she is, she should
know that as well as I do. This is definitely going to be harder than
I’d planned for it to be, but now that the wheels are in motion,
there’s no stopping the train that’s headed our way. I can only
hope that we both survive it.

* * *

Isa

School stayed weird all
day. Kurt kept alternating between leering and smirking at me, and
Grace hit on Mase hard during class. Also, I couldn’t get the
conversation with that girl out of my head, and I’m, well, I’m
just exhausted from all the subterfuge. This is why I rarely go out
on missions. I’m much more comfortable working behind the scenes,
helping with research for everyone else’s assignments. But I signed
on to the job, and completed all the training, so I need to pull my
weight. And this mission
was
my find. So here I am.

“Hey Double G, how
was school today?” Nate asks me with a smirk as I walk into Reina’s
office.

I flip him off, before
responding. “Aren’t you just adorable? Did you shoot anything
today?”

“No,” he says
laughing. “But you just flipped me off.”

“I did.”

“I didn’t know you
knew how.”

“Leave her alone,
man,” Matt says.

“It’s okay. We all
know that when I came here, I wouldn’t have done that. But I’ve
found that I enjoy silently telling people off that way.”

“Our little girl’s
growing up,” Matt tells me with a voice full of affection.

“She’s not a little
girl, and you need to stop treating her like one. Isa’s been a
valuable part of our team for over two years now,” Reina tells him,
trying to sound firm, but she’s smiling too.

“Are you going to
punish me tonight for being bad, Princess?”

“Matt! We are at
work. Try to remember that,” she says, her cheeks turning red. It’s
rare to see Reina blush, but Matt can always do it.

“Oh, I do remember,”
he says with a smirk.

“Dear God,” she
says, dropping her head into her hands.

Nate and I exchange
amused glances as Matt tries to make it up to her. “Sorry, Rei.
I’ll behave. Until we’re alone.”

She starts shaking with
laughter, and we all join in. “You wouldn’t know how to behave if
you tried.”

“For you, I do. Oh
hey, there’s some practice right there,” he tells her, referring
to their upcoming wedding.

“Just don’t forget
how to say it on the big day.”

“Never.”

“I can’t be the
only one scared with how cute they’re being with each other, can
I?” Nate asks me.

“Nope. It’s a
little scary, but wonderful at the same time.”

“Sorry. I’m sure
Isa didn’t ask us to meet so that we could put on a show for her
and Nate,” Reina says, trying to stop from smiling.

I’m so happy for her.
We all are. She’s finally got Matt, even if it’s just for a year
of marriage. I may not have experienced it myself, but I believe in
true love. That phenomenon where you feel like you’re one with the
other person and you’d do anything and everything for them. Reina
and Matt are the poster children—or adults—for that. And I don’t
think they’re going to be done after that year. I can’t dwell on
that now, though. I need to tell them about my day.

“It’s okay, but I
did have a mission related reason for calling all of you here. Kurt
made his move today. I blew him off, and he told me that I would be
part of his little group whether I wanted or not. Then, a girl came
up to me and said she was sorry ahead of time for something.”

“Fucking little
shit’s going to set you up for something so you have to join,”
Matt says.

“Yeah. I’m pretty
sure he is.”

“Isa, I know you
wanted this mission, but I’m getting a bad feeling about this. The
risk may be too high for you,” Reina tells me.

“It’s fine,” I
say, but that’s not how I feel. “I’ll do whatever I have to. I
know a couple of the girls, like Grace, think they want to be doing
what they’re doing, but others didn’t join voluntarily. And
whether Grace realizes it or not, she doesn’t really want this life
either. I can’t let this continue.”

“I can assign one of
the other women to go undercover.”

“No. I can do this,
Rei. I promise.”

“You need to go see
your man and let him fuck you,” Nate says suddenly.

“Wh-what?”

Nate sighs, and then
looks at me. “We all know that you haven’t…you know…done the
deed before. I know you won’t have to sleep with the guys who hire
you. The A-Team will make sure that doesn’t happen. But I can’t
imagine that Kurt, or someone else if he’s not the top guy, won’t
want to try you out. I don’t think you want to have your first time
be with a pimp.”