Beautiful Burn

by Adriane Leigh

  “I know. You have to understand, I'm married. Her parents are well-known and even more well-respected in this town.”

  The quiet resonated in the darkened space separating us. “Then why did you take off your wedding ring?” Her hollow words hung thick in the air. I worked the empty space on my ring finger where the platinum band once resided.

  “It didn't feel right.” I finally answered her.

  “I'm not sure this does anymore either.” Her words were so quiet, so final, it chilled my heart.

  “I can’t lose you, you’re the only person in my life I can actually be myself around. Even if everything else goes away,” I referred to the sexual tension we'd been flirting with up until now, “I need your friendship.”

  “Reed,” she murmured. I hoped she was cracking. Prayed I’d gotten to her. I couldn't explain Auburn's hold over me, but she'd somehow managed to breathe life into my wounded heart.

  “Please,” I whispered as I clasped a hand around her neck and pulled her to me. “Please, Auburn,” I breathed against her lips.

  I felt her body melt into mine when her fingertips dusted along the sensitive skin of my neck, hands locking behind me as she pressed her forehead to my lips. We stood holding each other, our breaths the only sound interrupting the complete stillness. “We should get back to class,” she said after a few long moments. I could tell she was still wary, but I would do better. I had to do better. The possibility of losing her had become a risk I couldn’t take.

  “Maybe I should ditch the rest of class.” She pulled away from my embrace. “I could look thoroughly fucked and not even know it.” I heard the smile in her voice and my heart stuttered back to life.

  “Too suspicious. Here.” I pulled the phone from my pocket and lit up the flashlight. “Watch your eyes.” I warned before I flashed the light at her face. I smoothed a smudge of her eye makeup from one lash line. “Beautiful as ever.” I placed a kiss on her nose.

  She half smiled as she ran her fingers through her loose hair. “I'm sorry I over-reacted.” She stepped into my arms the next moment and I instinctively wrapped her in my embrace.

  I rested my forehead on her shoulder and breathed a content sigh. “I think I nearly went crazy without you the last week. People talk about soul mates or kindred spirits, I don't know if I believe in any of that, but it felt like being burned from the inside out when you ignored me. I burn for you, Auburn. You’re my beautiful burn.” I finished, unsure if she was even ready for me to unload all the baggage I carried.

  “Reed.” She whispered my name against the shell of my ear and tears sprung to my eyes when I found myself overcome with emotion. “I'm so sorry I ignored you. I was so overwhelmed, just having you in my life the last few weeks has left me in a tailspin, and it scared me.”

  “We can always go at your pace, Auburn. With any of this.” I interjected.

  “I know. It's not that we were moving too fast, but just the fact that you were in my life at all. You were so out of reach for so long, suddenly I'm here and you're here and you feel the same way. Everything about it just scared me, and knowing we can't be together, at least not in public, breaks my heart.” Her voice cracked, but after a moment she took a breath and continued. “I feel like there's more going on that you don't want to tell me,” she pulled away and cupped my face in her gentle hands, “but I want you to know I will always, always be here whenever you want to talk. Anytime, day or night, I'll be here.” She finished, a reassuring smile on her face.

  “You leave me speechless.” I murmured, ducking my head back into her shoulder and pulling in deep breaths of her soothing scent.

  “We should get back,” she said after a few peacefully content minutes. I groaned in protest before loosening my hold on her. No amount of time with her was ever enough.

  I gave Auburn's hand one last squeeze before cracking the door. A quick perusal showed no signs of anyone. I pulled Auburn out behind me by a clasped hand, before we both instinctively released when we hit the bright, fluorescent light of the hallway.

  When we returned to the classroom, a few students looked up, but most continued writing feverishly. Auburn sat at her desk and looked up at the clock. My eyes followed hers to find we’d been gone for nearly fifteen minutes. I settled behind my desk directly across from Auburn as she picked up her pen and started writing in a flowing longhand that I’d come to recognize after years of teaching her.

  At three forty-five, I stood and announced that writing time was over. I cast a glance at Auburn as I explained how far I expected them to read in “Lolita” by the next class, and the few themes I wanted them to think about as they read. My eyes settled on Auburn's again. Her dark eyes looked a little alarmed as she pressed a hand at her neck, rubbing aggressively. My eyes narrowed as I wondered what the hell she was doing, but I continued talking. I dismissed the class and watched as they ambled up and deposited notebooks on my desk. Auburn tossed her's on the desk and shot me a weird glance before rubbing her neck again, then filed towards the door with the others.

  “Hi, Reed.” The last student in my class stepped up, clutching her notebook with a wide smile. Oh shit. This didn’t look good.

  “Hey, Steph.” I smiled brightly. I'd seen Steph around town for years, but never had the chance to talk with her beyond a causal greeting. “What’s up?”

  “I read “Lolita” a few summers ago when Oprah recommended it. I loved it. I totally thought Humbert was a creeper at first, but the way he loved her was so innocent. I think she played him though. She was a first class manipulator—hey, what’s that on your neck?” She leaned in, the heavy odor of her perfume assaulting my nostrils.

  “Um…” I ran a hand over the spot on my neck she was eyeing.

  “Looks like a bruise.” She frowned before continuing on about “Lolita.” I didn’t hear the rest because suddenly I knew what Auburn had been gesturing to. We’d checked her over, but hadn’t thought to check me. I’d bet my savings that Auburn had left a bruise on my neck when she was sucking. I hadn’t thought she’d done it that hard, but I couldn't remember much considering the level of intensity that had taken us.

  “I hate to cut this short but I've got an appointment to get to. Can we continue this discussion during the next class?” All I could think about was bailing out the door and getting to a mirror as quickly as possible.

  “Of course.” Steph's eyes darted from the bruise at my neck and back to my gaze. “I just wanted to tell you I was really enjoying it, even on the second read.” She stood waiting a few beats longer than average. “I'm glad. Have a good evening, Steph.” I smiled politely as I watched her leave.

  Five minutes later, I slipped behind the wheel of the Blazer and flipped the mirror down. “Son of a bitch.” I swiped at the purpling bruise just above my clavicle. I hoped like hell no one else had noticed that I'd walked out with a perfectly pristine neck and came back fifteen minutes later with a hickey fresh enough to be a darkening shade of eggplant.

  ***

  That evening I laced up my running shoes and pulled the first sleeveless running shirt off the pile of UV-protected tees I'd just purchased and slathered my arms with sunscreen, before taking the steps two at a time for an evening jog. I'd been so busy, and with the last six weeks taking their toll, I'd cut it out completely.

  I took it slow, jogging the few blocks of main street before taking a side street down to the water's edge. My muscles felt tired and weak, protesting the exertion that they one time had welcomed. I hit the paved path that followed the shoreline and sped up.

  My feet pounded the pavement as I ran, my mind swirling with equal parts excitement and frustration. Not only had the closet encounter earlier today with Auburn left me breathless and desperate to see her again, but Mel had been blowing up my phone the last few days, looking for another fight, I was sure. I'd answered a few of her texts, mostly to keep her from stomping over to my apartment and starting something. With all the worry swirling in my brain right now, Mel's accusa
tory anger was the last thing I could bring myself to deal with. I was trying to focus on myself, eating healthier, taking vitamins, and seeing our couples therapist for private appointments. I didn't even know if Mel knew I was still seeing Dr. Warner, though he'd already told me she wasn’t. It didn't matter, I wasn't going for us, I was going for me. And while I hadn't yet told the therapist about Auburn, I'd told him everything else. It was the one time a week I could vent about Mel, divulge that my parents' perfect marriage had left me feeling with much to live up to and like a failure if I signed on that dotted line, and how the adjustment of all of it left me fearful and anxious.

  I was glad that I could finally get back to running and settle into some sort of routine. Running had always been my outlet and I hadn't even realized how much I'd missed it until I'd taken a break from it these last few months.

  When I reached the one mile mark my muscles screamed and my body swayed with weakness. I reluctantly slowed my jog to a walk, disappointed that I couldn’t run the three miles that I'd been running each day this spring. I stopped at one of the boulders dotting the path and stretched my legs, keeping my muscles loose as I gazed out at the west bay where Auburn and I had rowed our first night together. I stretched my arms behind my back, pulling at my sore shoulders in the hopes of staying flexible for the way home. After a few minutes of stretching and realizing that my body would not take any more of a beating today, I turned for home, taking it slow and getting lost in my thoughts the entire way.

  I wanted to give Auburn everything, but I could close my eyes and see the headlines. High School Teacher Seduces Student. The local news would have a field day. The media attention in our small state alone would prevent me from getting a job. I kicked at a rock on the pathway as I tried to figure out some way to have it all. I'd been working on my doctorate in the hopes of one day working as a professor at the local college, maybe if I buckled down I could breeze through the remaining classes in a few years and start as an adjunct professor, leaving me free to date Auburn, free from scandal and gossip.

  A few weeks ago I would have said I didn't know what my future held and that fact shook me to my bones and left me paralyzed with anxiety, but with time, that feeling had dissipated. Auburn had said it was our time, but I still couldn't shake the memory of the look of quiet disappointment on her face. There'd been more she was saying, something that left me with the sense that I didn't have the time with her I thought I had.

  seven

  I sent her an email the following morning.

  Meet me tonight at the entrance to the resort off of highway 31.

  I reclined back in my deck chair basking in the warm morning sun with a cup of coffee and a baseball hat pulled low over my eyes. The chime indicating a new email sounded a minute later.

  Uh…ok. What’s there? was her reply.

  It’s a surprise. 8pm. I briefly wished I could just text her, but I wasn't ready to take that risk yet.

  Yes, Sir. she answered.

  The blood pumped a little slower through my veins, thick with the insinuation of her reply.

  I sat outside the entrance of the Pines Resort off of highway 31 later that evening. Auburn pulled up a few minutes after me and stepped out, tucked her phone in the back pocket of her black shorts and stepped up to me. “I'm all yours,” Her hand dusted down the front of my jeans. The short shorts she ran around in always left me clutching at control, but her hands on my cock had me on the edge of exploding.

  “Get in.” I growled, gesturing to the other side of my old Blazer. I hopped behind the wheel, adjusting the painful ache between my legs, and drove a few yards along the shoulder before pulling into our destination.

  “We're going to the drive-in?” She grinned and looked at me, then back to the drive-in theater sign that dominated the roadway. “So what’s the main attraction tonight?”

  “It’s a surprise.” I paid for two tickets before giving her a playful wink.

  “Necker’s Lane?” Auburn laughed when I chose a spot in the last row.

  “I swear, it’s not what you think, well, not until you showed up in those shorts anyway.” I grinned, my plans for a sweet evening now happily replaced with something altogether dirtier. “Come on.” I opened my door to meet her at the back of the Blazer. With the tailgate open and the back seats removed, there was plenty of room for us to lie down and watch the movie. I started making a bed of the half dozen blankets I'd brought. I tossed a few pillows around and then held a hand out.

  A smile split her face, the hugest I’d ever seen, and with that one look I knew it was all worth it. Whatever the future held, that smile made everything worth it. She giggled as she crawled across the bed on her knees before snuggling down into the nest I'd made. “This is amazing!” She spread her hands over the soft fabric of my white comforter, pulled straight from my bed. I loved the thought that I would go home with her scent on it.

  That idea was shaken from my head when a flying pillow walloped me. I grinned and tossed it back. She caught it as the momentum of the pillow sent her dark hair flying in a pretty puff around her face. Satisfied, I dropped back with a laugh on the stack of pillows and blankets. “See? Best view, right here.” I gestured to the oversized screen.

  “I should know by now not to doubt you,” she said as she burrowed into the comfort the blankets offered. “You are the teacher, after all.”

  “Watch it,” I growled with a half smile. The sunset finally dipped below the horizon and before long, the opening credits were rolling.

  ““Lolita”? This is amazing! How did you --”

  “They have special request night. I put in Lolita a few weeks ago.” I answered her unfinished question. Her excitement was palpable, and the happiness that settled within me that I'd brought that smile to her face left me feeling a sense of content that'd been missing from my life of late.

  “Wow. I'm sort of blown away.” Her voice softened. “No one's every done something like this for me before.”

  “I'm glad I'm the lucky one.” I grinned.

  “Thank you.” She stretched an arm across the soft cotton and gave my hand a thoughtful squeeze.

  “Drink?” I pulled a bottle from each of the six packs I'd brought. A beer for me, girly shit for her.

  “Mike’s Hard Lemonade?” She frowned as she held the sweaty bottle in her hand.

  “You want a beer?” I passed her the bottle I’d just uncapped.

  “Yes, please.” She smiled sweetly before taking a long drink. Her throat contracted and my eyes followed the line of it down to her collarbone and the shadowy cleavage revealed by her shirt. But tonight wasn't about taking, it was about sharing.

  I grabbed another beer for myself as the opening scenes of the movie played. Auburn watched riveted, soaking up the old classic. I watched the movie too, but I also snuck glances at Auburn. She made small comments throughout the movie and I soaked up her words. I drank in the way her eyes conveyed every thought she had. I reveled in these moments because I was afraid we would only have these moments. Simple though they were, I found myself realizing that the simple moments in life were the most profound.

  Auburn nestled closer to me. Close enough that I could feel our bodies humming in the empty space that separated us.

  Her leg brushed against mine as she shifted again. “Is everything okay?” I leaned into her, fully aware what was on her mind. Those chocolate brown eyes shot to mine, before glossing over with something that made my dick pound. The look of a woman wet.

  I brushed a hand up the inside of her thigh as I took her lips with mine. Softly at first, tentatively, but when she placed her hand on my chest and pushed her hips to me, all systems were go.

  We were frantic, desperate, rushed. Like we were starving for each other.

  Auburn did that to me. She lit me on fire and made me burn and ache in ways I didn’t even know were possible. My beautiful burn. I needed her.

  “Get out of your shorts,” I grunted as I pulled the zip on my jeans. She
pushed the fabric down her legs and I smiled when I found her without a scrap of underwear. “Naughty girl, you wanted me to fuck you tonight?” I whispered in the filtered moonlight as I watched her.

  “Yes.” The answer was short and quick, astoundingly frank, as she laid back on the nest of blankets. I was going to fuck her – a student – in the back of my truck. My dick throbbed and my brain fogged as I fell down over her, my cock finding the place it'd been craving between her legs.

  “Oh God, Reed,” she moaned when I dragged my cock up her heated center, teasing at her entrance and hitting every bundle of nerves on the way. She ran her fingernails across the skin of my back and I arched and shuddered, grinding my hips while my hands grasped at her sides to hold her against me.

  “Ride me. I want to watch you fuck me.” She nodded in hasty response when I backed away, my cock twitching at the stark contrast between the heat between her thighs and the cool night air. I laid back on the blankets and pulled up my shirt, wanting to feel her skin on skin everywhere.

  Auburn placed her hands on my muscled stomach, ran circles with her fingertips along the etched lines of my abs, and teased her lips at the tip of my cock. Passing by, but never going home. “Auburn,” I growled in warning before handcuffing her wrists with my hands.

  “Mmm...yes?” She oozed innocent sex appeal. She was my Lolita.

  “Fuck me.” I stilled her wandering hand. Her eyes met mine and we both stilled before a slow grin split her face. Her eyes, hooded and dark with lust, fell down my body, appreciating what she saw. Her fingertips trailed across the sharp angle of my hipbones and then to my cock, sitting erect and throbbing, reaching past my navel.

  She grasped it in her hand and in a move that surprised the hell out of me, sank her mouth down on my cock. She sucked and grasped with her hand, riding the high and taking me higher, before moving back down and hitting the end of her throat. My hands threaded through her hair and held her head in my palms tightly. “Take my cock all the way, baby,” I grunted as I pressured her to swallow the tip of my dick. A gasp escaped my throat when she did it and the mounting pressure built further. My hands loosened and Auburn pushed off, wiped her lips, and with eyes that burned with captivating lust, she stretched across the bed of the Blazer and fished a condom out of her purse. She tore it open with her teeth and with that devilish glint in her eye, rolled it with agonizing slowness down my shaft. When she finished, she wrapped her small fist around my pulsing cock and teased it at her entrance. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she sat down on my cock with a force I hadn't expected. Sheathed between her legs, buried in her scorching hot body, I fucked her until I lost my mind.