by Zuri Day
“I left messages on Saturday and yesterday.”
“You’ve got my undivided attention now. What’s the emergency?”
They walked into the teachers’ lounge. Although she’d already had two, Gwen poured herself another cup of coffee just for something to do while she waited to hear what had Adam’s drawers in a bunch.
Adam placed his cup beside hers for Gwen to fill. “So…where were you?”
“Really, Adam, I don’t see where what I do on my off days is any of your business.”
“I’m making it my business.”
“Well, you do that. I’ve got a class to teach.”
“Have you forgotten that you’re still on probation?”
“Is there something regarding my classroom, the curriculum, or some other school-related matter that we need to discuss?”
Adam eyed Gwen for a long moment. “Yes. Be in my office at four o’clock.”
Carol squelched the urge to go knock on Ransom’s door. Instead, she honked as always. A moment later, Isis ran out, her long, thick braids bouncing behind her. Ransom stepped just outside his door and waved at Carol and Kari. They waved back.
Carol rolled down her window. “I called you yesterday.”
“I was in LA,” Ransom said, walking down the sidewalk toward the curb. “On a job site.”
“You know what they say about all work and no play.”
“I played a little.”
Yeah, and I know just who you were playing with. Carol knew she needed to step up her game in the goal of getting Ransom. But she also knew he was a man who didn’t like to be pushed. So she tried to keep both her voice and the conversation light. “I hope the woman knows how lucky she is.”
Ransom knew Carol was fishing for information; he didn’t intend to give her any. “Listen, I have some business to take care of tonight. Is there any way Isis can stay over at your house until around eight o’clock?”
“Sure. She can even spend the night if you run late.”
“I appreciate that, Carol. I’ll give you a call if the meeting runs later than planned.”
Ransom waved a final time and then bounced back into the house to text Gwen.
“Is your seat belt fastened?” Carol asked Isis as she pulled away from the curb.
“Yes.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s good. How was your weekend?”
“Fine.”
“What did you and your daddy do?”
“Nothing. I went over to Grandma’s house.”
“Oh, really? The whole weekend?”
“Yes. Well, not Friday night. Just Saturday and yesterday.”
“Oh, what did you do Friday night?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? Didn’t you have fun when Gwen came over?”
“Miss Gwen didn’t come to our house.”
“She didn’t?”
“No.”
Carol frowned at the thought of Isis lying to her. Had Ransom told her to do it? That had to be it. Isis wouldn’t know to hide the relationship on her own. Which only means one thing, Carol thought as she turned into the school’s drop-off circle. Ransom is definitely screwing her. I’ve got to work fast.
Gwen smiled as her phone beeped, indicating a text message. Ransom, she thought. He’d been texting her all day.
Only two hours until your lesson. It starts at six o’clock sharp. If you’re late, I’ll have to spank you.
Gwen looked at the clock. Where had the hour gone? She hurriedly straightened her desk and placed a stack of papers into her tote bag. Picking up her purse, she checked her desk a final time to make sure she had everything. She intended to go directly home after the meeting.
“Sorry I’m late,” Gwen began as she rushed into Adam’s office. She stopped when she saw Joanna sitting there as well. “Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll just wait outside.” She turned to leave but Adam’s voice stopped her.
“Come back, Gwen. Joanna is meeting with us as well.”
“Oh, okay.” Gwen sat in the chair next to Joanna and placed her tote bag and purse on the floor. She noticed Joanna had a couple of folders on her lap, and what looked to be an outline of some sort. “Should I have brought my lesson plans?”
Adam began speaking as he walked to his office door and closed it. “I asked Joanna to bring in a proposal she shared with me last week. I want to make it the standard for first-grade instruction here.”
Gwen was immediately rigid. She had worked hard on her lesson plans, had charted out the next two months. Each week’s emphasis was well thought out, coinciding with what the students had learned previously and what she planned to teach next. Field trips and other activities had been coordinated with this format in mind. Adam was well aware of this, Gwen knew. He was the one who had approved her outings.
Still, she tried not to overreact. “I’m sure Joanna’s plan is great,” Gwen said calmly. “But I am very happy with the progress my students are making using the plans I’ve developed. I’ve worked very hard to make sure these student lessons are diverse, creative, and stimulating. I know we’re still in the first trimester, but I believe their grades, and the parent feedback, will bear out the fact that my formula is working.”
“That may be,” Adam countered. “But I’ve made my decision. Joanna, give Gwen the folder with her new lesson outlines.”
Joanna passed the folder to Gwen. When Gwen made no move to take it, Joanna simply let the folder drop in Gwen’s lap. Gwen imagined slapping Joanna into the next semester, but decided not to give them the pleasure of knowing they’d pissed her off.
“Because this new format is Joanna’s design, I want you to work with her closely, Gwen, for you two to meet at least once a week throughout the remainder of your probation. Joanna will make sure the lessons you’ve prepared are within the guidelines of this new formula she’s developed.”
“You’re joking, right?” Gwen asked Adam.
“Am I laughing?” he shot back.
Despite her best effort, Gwen was unable to control her temper. “You’re asking me to have Joanna approve my lessons?” she asked with barely veiled incredulity. “Do I have to remind either of you that I have a decade’s worth of teaching experience under my belt, not to mention a master’s in education and several accreditations from some of the finest institutions in the country?” She looked from Adam to Joanna, who sat with a smug look on her face.
This child doesn’t know how close she is to seeing stars, and I don’t mean Brad and Angelina. Gwen had to almost bite her tongue to keep from cursing both Adam and Joanna out. She was so angry she could barely think. She knew if she didn’t get away soon, she couldn’t be responsible for her actions. “I’m not sure what this is all about, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to make a change this major with the school year already started and the current lesson plan already under way. Children need structure, and I question the wisdom of switching everything around so abruptly.”
“Your concern is duly noted,” Adam said sarcastically. “Now, if there’s nothing further, I’d like Joanna to go over the plans with you this evening. Perhaps you’ll want to do it over dinner. You can charge it to the school.”
Gwen stood. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. I have plans tonight that cannot be changed.” She reached down for her tote bag and put the folder Joanna had given her inside it. “I’ll go over the plans tonight, Joanna,” she said, looking her in the eye with a calm demeanor that took a Herculean effort to pull off. “Perhaps we can meet before school tomorrow, a coffee at Kristy’s.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Joanna said, mimicking Gwen’s answer. “Do you think she can call me tonight, Adam, just so I know that she’s read the new lesson plan and doesn’t have any questions regarding it?”
“I’ll call you,” Gwen said before Adam could answer. “If that’s it for this meeting, I really need to go.”
27<
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Gwen was still seething when Ransom arrived promptly at five minutes to six. He knocked on her door and was surprised when she opened it, let him in, and then without a kiss or a hug marched toward the kitchen. “Your brother is an asshole,” she threw over her shoulder.
It was not the greeting he expected. “That may be so,” Ransom said smoothly, following Gwen into the kitchen, “but we’re not going to let whatever happened during the day affect our evening. Especially if it involves my brother.”
“But—”
“No buts. Well, maybe this one.” He placed his hands on Gwen’s butt and lifted her onto the counter where he proceeded to kiss her senseless. Gwen’s stiff back loosened as Ransom worked his magic, and before long her pocketbook, as Miss Mary called it, was vibrating like it had batteries.
“Come on, let’s take a shower.”
“Together?”
Ransom nodded.
“But I thought you said—”
“And I meant it. No sex until October.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
“Exactly what I said. Now, quit stalling.”
Gwen’s heart thumped so loudly she thought Ransom could hear it. She felt if she left the kitchen she might never find the way back to herself. “But what about the food?” she asked lamely.
“We’ll eat later.”
Gwen shivered, but not from cold. It was from the way Ransom drank her in with his eyes as she undressed. When she suggested he take off his clothes at the same time, he shook his head and said, “I want to watch you.”
After she’d undressed, Ransom took off the signature black tank top and black jeans he wore. He stripped, quickly, methodically, but his eyes never left Gwen’s.
To her credit, Gwen stifled a gasp when Ransom pulled down his boxers and his manhood sprang up, poised and ready. It was long and thick and the most beautiful penis Gwen had ever seen. She swallowed once, and again. There had only been one guy before Joe, and those two men’s appendages together could not equal one Ransom. Her lack of diverse sexual experience made her wary, wondering if she could even accommodate him, let alone satisfy his needs.
“We’re not going to do that yet, remember?” Ransom said, correctly reading her mind.
“I wasn’t thinking about that,” she said.
Ransom laughed and picked her up. “Yes…you were.”
Ransom carried Gwen to the bathroom and gingerly put her down. He turned on the water and stepped back for Gwen to get in first. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and returned a moment later and joined her in the shower.
“What’s that?” Gwen asked.
Ransom unscrewed the lid from a bottle of liquid soap. “An aphrodisiac.”
He placed a dab of the amber-colored liquid in his hands and rubbed them together. Then he placed his hands on Gwen’s wet body, creating a bubbly lather with his strokes. He ran his hands over the length of her body, caressing her thighs, running a finger along her feminine folds.
All of Gwen’s senses were enraptured. The feel of Ransom’s hands on her body, the sight of his long hair, black and wet against his tanned skin, the sound of his voice as he told her all the things he planned to do to her, the taste of his tongue when he wasn’t talking, and the smell of the soap: cinnamon and vanilla and something else she couldn’t quite define.
When they finished showering, Gwen stepped out of the tub and reached for a towel.
“Not yet,” Ransom said, picking her up once again and walking into her bedroom. He dried himself quickly, laid a second towel on the bed, and told Gwen to lie on it. He put on a pair of sexy black boxers and then reached into his bag for another bottle.
“What’s that?” she whispered.
“Edible lotion,” he replied.
Gwen shivered, and again, not from cold.
Ransom started with her toes. He lotioned and licked each one. The lotion mixed with the moisture still on Gwen’s body, making her skin feel soft and silky smooth. Ransom continued up her legs, thighs, hips and stomach, lotioning, licking, over and again. He played with her navel and discovered she was ticklish there.
“Ooh, stop it, Ransom,” Gwen said, laughing.
Ransom stopped.
“No, don’t stop,” Gwen corrected. “I mean, ah!”
Ransom’s hot mouth on Gwen’s wet nipple took her breath away. She squirmed under his assault, her passion paradise longing to be touched and licked, as had the rest of her body. She resisted the urge to take his hand and put it where she wanted, to put his fingers inside her. Yet she could barely stand it. Her body yearned for release.
“Spread your legs,” Ransom quietly commanded.
Gwen did as she was told. Ransom stared at her for an agonizingly long moment. Gwen felt herself grow warm and wet under his intense gaze. Suddenly she remembered the taunts of her youth: that her breasts were too small and her legs were too skinny. She closed her legs and covered herself with her hands.
“Don’t. You’re beautiful.”
“I’m not. I’m skinny and my titties are—”
“Just the right size. Now move your hands and spread your legs for me. And close your eyes.”
Gwen obeyed her instructor. Seconds seemed like hours as she waited to see what Ransom would do. Finally, she felt something light and soft on her skin. It was a feather, she realized, as Ransom moved the object over her highly sensitized body. When he rubbed the feather between her legs, she thought she’d die from the pleasure. And when his fingers replaced it, she almost did. He touched her with the precision of a surgeon, and the patience of a painter. He seemed to know just where to touch, and when he placed the tip of his finger on her G-spot, she had as intense an orgasm as she’d ever experienced. It took her a moment to realize the scream she heard was her own voice.
She was still shuddering when Ransom lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms.
“Feel better?” he asked, after a tender kiss.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life,” Gwen admitted. “But what about you? You must be frustrated right about now.”
“My time will come,” Ransom said. He smoothed Gwen’s hair down, and wiped a bead of perspiration from her face. “Right now, it’s all about you.”
Gwen nestled closer to Ransom and put her arm across his chest. She was happier than she’d ever been, and ready to go against every rule she’d imposed upon herself to be with this man. She decided to call Joe the following day and see if there was any way their court date could be moved forward. Maybe there had been a cancellation, maybe they could talk to someone with connections, pull some strings. Gwen wanted to do whatever she could to be with Ransom, totally and completely. She wanted the whole world, let alone Sienna, to know that this was her man.
“Gwen.”
“Hmm?”
“Tell me what Adam did that had you so upset when I arrived.”
“Why do you want to hear about that now?”
“So that the next time I see him, I’ll know why I’m kicking his ass.”
28
Gwen pulled into Kristy’s crowded parking lot. She knew she was going to need all the help she could get today, and decided that a large double-Dutch hot chocolate would be the perfect way to begin it.
Or close to perfect anyway. After lying next to Ransom the previous night, she knew that waking up in that same position would be the absolute crème de la crème. She was glad she’d talked with him about Adam too. He was very sensible about the whole thing, his ass-kicking comment not withstanding. But after listening to what had happened at school, he suggested she not make a big deal out of what Adam and Joanna had done.
“It’s obvious that Adam wants you, and Joanna wants to be you,” he’d said while holding her. “Your best move will be to keep it chillin’ like Bob Dylan, B-fly. Follow Joanna’s changes to the letter and continue being the brilliant teacher you are. Act like what they did doesn’t affect you at all. They won’t know what to make of your actio
ns and when they realize you’re not going to be pulled into their antics, they’ll leave you alone.”
His advice was so sensible Gwen felt as if Ransom, and not Adam, were the older brother. When Gwen called Chantay late the night before, she had agreed—both with staying calm where Joanna was concerned and with Ransom kicking Adam’s behind. She’d also added that if Joanna kept tripping and needed to get jumped, she’d come down and help a sistah out.
Gwen eased into the aromatic coffee shop. There were several people in line, including a group of high school kids. Gwen tried to get Kristy’s attention. When Kristy nodded a greeting, Gwen threw up two fingers. Kristy nodded and Gwen moved out of the line. While waiting for her order, she sent a text message to Ransom:
Good morning, teacher. When is my next lesson?
Within moments, her phone beeped with his reply.
We need to talk about that.
Gwen smiled, and texted back.
Hmm, can you give me a hint?
Gwen heard Kristy call her name and motion her over. “What’s up, Kristy?”
“You, girlfriend. Barely here a month and shaking things up in this town.”
“How’s that?” Gwen’s phone beeped. She looked down to read Ransom’s message and didn’t catch Kristy rolling her eyes.
Two hints: Long. Slow.
“Carol was in here yesterday. Let’s just say her conversation was about you and it was nothing nice.”
“Carol doesn’t know me and she definitely doesn’t know my business. So you might as well disregard whatever she said.”
“That may be true, but you might want to watch your back regardless. Some people think that girl has a screw loose.”
“Well, thanks for the info, Kristy. And for the chocolate.” Gwen took a five-dollar bill out of her wallet and laid it on the counter.
“Pick your money up, girlfriend. That ‘Monday morning mover’ is on me.”
“You’re the best, Kristy.” Gwen put the five dollars in the tip jar, winked at the cheerful coffee shop owner, and answered her phone.
