“Come in, Elena.” He was smiling broadly at her. If he had called her to say that it was time for her to leave, at least he could have some solemn expression on his face. She stood right there where she was.
“I told you about the scholarship, didn’t I?”
“Yes, Mr. Andrews. I … I am trying to meet the ends. I’ll come up with the amount somehow.” She had no idea how.
“Oh, there is no need for it anymore.” He waved her off. What did that mean? “Your account has been settled for the rest of the year.” What?
“I’m sure, Mr. Andrews, there has to be some fault. I haven’t made any payments.”
“I have.” The chair before her turned, and Jonathan Winston’s face came into view. “You didn’t think I’d let you worry about the money, did you, sweetheart?” His voice was dripping with honey and his face filled with mock love. But she knew what was beneath that mask, and she back stepped.
“What are you doing here?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Of course, I came to see you, sweetheart. When I learnt you were in financial trouble, I took the first plane to Seattle to take care of my baby girl.”
Mr. Andrews was looking at them with admiration. If only he knew better.
“I don’t need your help or you in my life.” She gritted her teeth. Though her heart was trembling like a leaf in a storm.
“If you don’t mind, Mr. Andrews, can I take my daughter for lunch? I promise to bring her back in time.”
“By all means, Mr. Winston. She’s all yours.” No, no, no.
“Come, sweetheart.” The next minute, her father was taking her by the elbow. She resisted him, but his grip was steel tight.
“Stop creating a scene, Elena. You are embarrassing yourself.”
“Leave me alone. Why are you here? Can’t you just mind your own fucking business?” They were out in the parking lot when she yelled at him, and before she could predict, his fist hit her across the jaw. She yelped in pain as her tongue tasted blood.
“Mind your tone, Elena. This is no way to talk to your father. Get in the car now,” he ordered her.
“Or what? You’ll hit me again? Then hit! Because that’s all you know. That’s the only thing you know. You are a fucking coward.”
Jonathan’s hand went into the air again, and she clenched her eyes shut. But the blow never came. All that came was the sound of a grunt.
“You fucking touch her again, and I’ll break every finger of yours, asshole!” Chase’s voice rose, and she opened her eyes to see him entangled with her father.
“Chase!” she cried. But he was busy exchanging blows with Jonathan. “Lennie?” Trent’s voice came, and he was right beside her.
“Stop them, Trent. He is going to hurt Chase.” She was crying.
“Your dad?” he asked, and she nodded. Next moment, Trent had joined Chase.
Chase, Trent, and Jonathan, all three sported bruises on their faces. But the coward that her dad was, who only knew how to raise hands to his wife and daughter, escaped the battleground. “I’ll be coming after you. We are not done here.” Jonathan looked at Chase murderously before getting into his car.
“Chase!” Elena rushed towards him and hugged him tightly. He winced. “What were you thinking?” she questioned him. Instead of answering, he caught her face and caressed her bruise. “He hit you. What else was I supposed to do, love? No one touches what’s mine.” His voice was feather soft. “Are you okay, Elena?” Trent asked, and she turned to him.
“You didn’t have to get into the fight as well,” she admonished him.
“I had been waiting for this day for four years. I wish I could have served a few more punches. I’m not satisfied. Think he’ll come again?” Trent asked. Though he meant it as a tease, Elena looked up at Chase’s face. He was staring down at her.
“No, he won’t,” she answered Trent’s question and then Chase’s earlier question that she never answered, “I’m going to fire a harassment case against my father. I’m not going to let him rule my life anymore.”
Chase gave out a loud sigh. “About time, love.” And then he took her in his arms and kissed her. If someone asked for the definition of heaven from her, she’d definitely say that this was it. His kiss spoke of everything that needed to be said, but no words were enough to describe it. “You are my forever, babe,” he whispered in her ear. “
And this is just the beginning,” she completed. This was definitely the beginning of forever for her.
Mr Lance The New Teacher
She Walks in Beauty. Yes, tell me of her. Tis you my darling, you light up the night with your radiance and give the muses their inspiration. Lord Byron knew no one else to write about, no other maiden that could capture the heart of any man. There is a love, so powerful that it can never be contained. So awesome that it can never happen but once in a lifetime. It knows no bounds, no limits. It obeys no laws or restrictions. Lord Byron knew such love all too well. Come my darling. Take my hand. Let us walk in beauty together...BZZZZZ BZZZZ BZZZZZ
Liana hit her alarm clock. She had been dreaming. It was 6:15 and she still had a few more minutes to lay in bed before she had to get ready for school. Why couldn’t life be more like my dreams. She thought about her upcoming week. It would be the last week before Christmas break, the last one to endure before freedom. Her phone began to buzz. It was her boyfriend, Jamal, with his typical good morning text. She liked him, he treated her really well and there was nothing wrong with him. But, she never felt a fire inside for him. I can’t be too greedy, she thought. Why should she, her life was pretty good. She was tall, athletic, good looking, and popular at school. And now that she had turned eighteen, she was legal, which opened a world of possibilities to her. At times she found herself fantasizing about older men, but quickly pushed those thoughts aside because it was taboo, and she didn’t want her mother to know. Her father would have gone crazy at the idea, but he had passed away a few years back. That made life harder for her, and especially for her mother, who now had to shoulder twice of the responsibility. Liana’s life changed too, as she found that she was more responsible for meeting her mother’s emotional needs.
Liana grabbed her journal. It was her habit to write down a few thoughts in the morning. She Walks in Beauty. She wrote it down. It was her favorite poem by Lord Byron. He was a romantic poet and during his time many of his works were banned. They were considered immoral. They were graphic, spoke of forbidden love and went against the mores of regency England.
Liana got up and jumped into the shower. She ran her hands down her body and enjoyed the feeling of her soft, smooth, ebony skin. Liana had always felt that she was beautiful, and there were few that tried to dissuade her of that opinion. As beautiful as she was, however, she had never done too much with a guy before. Sure she had her boyfriend Jamal, and had always been popular with guys and dated in the past, but she never felt like any of those guys were worthy of being her first sexual experience. Maybe she had too high of expectations.
Despite her innocence, Liana maintained her body, making sure every inch of it was shaven at all times. Her chest was small, and perky, and as she continued to run her hands down her body she imagined a guy doing the same. It excited her. I’m running behind.
Liana jumped out of the shower quickly, and started to get dressed. She planned to wear jeans and a shirt that day, nothing out of the ordinary for her. I’ve got a boyfriend already, she thought, justifying her plain garb. She made one final check in the mirror, and thought she looked great. Her bubble butt and long legs were hard to ignore no matter what she put on. She ran downstairs and made cereal. She only had a few minutes to spare before she had to burst out the door.
“Is that you honey?” It was Liana’s mom.
“Yes, it’s me, I’m just getting some cereal before I have to run out the door,” said Liana.
“Oh, okay, I just wanted to ask if you had tickets for the Christmas Dance this weekend.”
“Yes, I have ha
d them for a while now. I am going with Jamal.”
“Oh that is wonderful to hear. Have a fun day at school.”
“I’m off to learn, mom,” she yelled. He mother was getting ready for work herself. Liana jumped into her car and started the drive. She turned on the radio, and Christmas music began to play. I love this time of year.
The drive to school was peaceful, that is if she left early enough. Liana thought about her favorite stories. Romeo and Juliet. She loved the idea of true love. But why couldn’t it be real? Why did it only happen in the pages of a book?
She pulled up, parked in the senior lot, one of the best perks of being the elder statesmen at the school. Liana had one more semester of high school after this one. It was going by fast. She thought back and wondered if she had enough good memories to satisfy the old lady version of herself. What a weird way to look at it, she thought. But maybe it wasn’t. Maybe we should be trying to live for memories. She hopped out of her car and started walking to school. As she looked around at her fellow classmates she noticed how everyone was divided into cliques and groups. There was social stratification. This was the way of high school, she knew. And really, is is the way of the world. You are never free to do what you want, for the judgment of others makes sure of that. Liana entered her school and walked down the hall that led to her class. Her first period was English Literature, by far her favorite subject. As she made her way down the hall, she noticed someone different standing outside the door greeting the students. It must be a sub, she thought.
“Goodmorning,” said the new teacher.
Liana just nodded. When she sat down, she realized that she felt different. Not just different, but good, really good. The substitute was very good looking, she had noticed that. He was probably in his late thirties to early forties and looked to be right in his prime of physical condition. She had seen attractive men before, but for some reason her body was physically reacting to this guy.
The bell rang, and sub closed the door. “Hi class, my name is Lance Hunter, I will be your new teacher as Mrs. Croneswipe is pregnant with twins and will be teaching another class when…”
Liana couldn’t hear the rest of what he said. This guy is going to be our new teacher. I get to see this guy every day. Did he say his name was Lance Hunter. What a sexy name. He passed out an assignment for them to do, but Liana could no more do schoolwork then she could lasso the moon. All she could think about was her new teacher. Why did he make my body react like this? Was this guy a god? a romantic hero come alive? There seemed to some kind of irresistible magnetic pull on her. It would not let go or relent. It was constant. And she loved it. She must know, it was in her nature to find out. Liana thought back to her favorite romance stories, to Lord Byron, and thought about the passion and electricity they must have felt. Maybe this is what that is like.
“The assignment I have passed out, is a series of questions concerning Romeo and Juliet. We will be going over the play for the next few days. As you know, it was written by William Shakespeare during the Elizabethan era. Now what has captured the hearts of readers for the past four hundred years, is the depth of love in the play.”
Some of the guys in the class rolled their eyes, but Liana sat at the edge of her desk, listening intently. This was her favorite story, told by a man that looked like the perfect fulfillment of her deepest longings. She was in heaven.
Lance continued. “You see Romeo and Juliet were from two feuding families. Romeo was from the Montague house and Juliet from Capulets. They were forced to meet in secret, and do everything in secret. They even consummated their love in secret. Their love knew no bounds. It was not concerned with the decorum of the day or the will of their parents or anything else. Their love was one of passion for each other. It was a total devotion that can only truly be understood by those that feel the same way. Now few of us will ever feel that way in our lives. Many would say that even if we do feel that way we should suppress it. They might tell us that forbidden love is forbidden for a reason, but I saw that is nonsense. I say that if anyone in this class is fortunate enough to feel like this, they should never let it go.”
Liana felt like she was going to swoon. She felt equal parts deep passionate romantic desire and a burning sensual fire between her legs. Romance and sex cannot be separated, she knew, and never felt guilty for associating the feelings.
“If you have any questions on the reading, raise your hand, and I will come to your desk to off my help,” said Lance.
I can make him come talk to me, I have permission to be right beside him. Liana decided that she should try to work on the assignment for at least a few minutes instead of just asking for help right away. She didn’t want to look too obvious. Her heart was now racing. She looked around, and felt like everyone was watching her, like everyone could notice that she was infatuated with the teacher.
These questions are hard, too hard...hard like I’m sure Lance is...in certain places. She shook her head, she couldn’t focus. She looked back up at her teacher. He was standing at the front of the class, observing, making sure everyone was on task. She had to know what it was about this guy. He wore dress shoes, not the shiny ones, but nice leather ones. Her gaze went up, noticing his nice, black dress pants that did his long muscular legs justice. His belt matched his pants. Then Liana looked at his shirt. He was wearing some kind of flannel dress shirt. Maybe that was part of what turned her on so much. He must be really confident in himself to wear that, she thought, he looks like a lumberjack. There was some kind of indefinable quality about him that Liana tried to measure. His skin tone was tan, sort like a cowboy. He looked over at her, and she put her head back down. Liana sat in the front row, so Lance could see everything she did.
Finally, when Lance sat down and focused on the computer Liana was able to get a good look at his face and really analyze it. He had a strong jaw line, but there was also a softness. He had blue eyes that were simultaneously piercing and predatory, and also relaxed, confident, and calm. He seemed to embody every good physical characteristic. He looked sophisticated, yet rugged and masculine. He looked confident and in charge, but also like someone that would listen, and understand. His face had a lot of character and seemed to have emotional depth. Liana began to daydream and imagined him carrying her off into the sunset, or sitting with her by a crackling fire at Christmas or walking with her on a beach. He got up again. Liana pretended to work.
“Do you have any questions on the assignment,” asked Lance.
Liana’s heart skipped a beat. There was now no denying the intense physical power that he had over her. His softest words seemed to melt her. It was as if he was the personification of every virtue that she had ever admired. Time seemed to pass slowly, as the intensity of the moment seemed to stifle her.
She could not bring herself to speak or even utter a sound, but merely nodded her head and pointed to one of the problems.
“Oh yes, this one here. This is one of the more tricky problems, so you will have to bare with me,” he said with a gentle but intelligent and masculine voice.
I need to bare with him. I want to BE bare with him, she thought. Why do I keep thinking like this? Then like a bolt of lighting it made sense to her. This man, Lance Hunter, was sex personified to her. Everyone had their own ideal, the perfect form that no reality could match. This was Liana’s. But reality matched. Liana listened as his smooth voice seemed to massage the words, sensualizing the numbers, and the fractions, and the variables. It didn’t matter, he could read her the phone book and she would be driven wild.
“Do you understand now,” asked Lance.
Liana could only nod her head. Lance walked to the next student, and she cursed herself for not even talking to him. He probably thinks I’m stupid. The rest of the period she spent regretting her failed interaction with him, and her only solace was the he would be back the next day.
*****
“So how has your day been going so far,” asked Jamal.
Liana w
as caught off guard. She hadn’t even thought about her boyfriend all day, for the only thing she could think of was Lance. “It has been going pretty good so far, I guess,” she replied with insouciance, hoping that the conversation would die out soon.
“Oh, ok, well that is cool. Mine has been pretty good. You know that test I didn’t study for, well I got my grade back and…”
Liana cut him off in her mind, blocking out what he was saying. Normally she didn’t find him to be insufferable, but right now she felt like he was a prepubescent obnoxious twerp prattling on about the inane minutia of high school life. She wanted more than that. She wanted Lance. One day I will tell Jamal how I really feel. Or one day he will just snap and leave me. She didn’t care either way.
When lunch finished, Jamal got up, expecting Liana to walk with him to his next class as she always did. She followed tradition, not wanting to deal with any drama so that her mind could engage in unfettered reverie. They walked through the halls together, and Liana realized that her path would pass by her first period, and she hoped to get another glimpse of Lance. Lance...Lance...Lance...She said to herself. That name, it is short, poetic, firm, strong and...my obsession. Liana realized that Jamal had asked her a question.
“Excuse me, what did you ask me?”
“Is there something on your mind, you have been ignoring me all day,” said Jamal.
“Um...no…well yes, I am just thinking about the Christmas party this weekend.
“Oh ya, the masquerade ball, that should be a lot of fun. I have my mask picked out already, do you have yours?” asked Jamal.
“Ya, it is a simple one,” replied Liana.
“Sometimes those are the best ones. Do you want to get there early?” Asked Jamal.
“I am not sure if…”
Liana saw Lance walking through the hall towards his class. His hair seemed to flow majestically as he moved, with the freedom and ease of a young movie star, but with the dignified organization of a CEO. He had it all. Their eyes met. Liana looked away. Did he notice me? She felt insecure. He probably had just looked her way, she reasoned. There is no way we just had a moment, she concluded.
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