by Parker, Ali
“Good, I don’t want you to do that. All I ask is that you don’t do anything at school that could be seen by others.”
I laughed. “You mean don’t slam you against the wall and kiss you?”
She nodded. “That would definitely be off the table.”
“But what about putting you on the table?” I asked in a raspy voice. “On your desk?”
She slapped at my arm. “Stop. See, that. That kind of thing makes me hot and flustered and I won’t be able to think straight. You can’t do that. You can’t whisper naughty bits in my ear and expect me not to be affected. You are dangerous.”
“I think I like being dangerous,” I said close to her ear.
“I think I like you dangerous as well, but my sensible side will not be ignored. Nothing at work. Well, my work and your school. I can’t risk it. I don’t want suspicion. I’m going to be struggling to deal with the guilty conscience as it is.”
I smiled, my face hovering close to hers. “I can help you cope with that guilty conscience. I have the perfect way to help you forget all about what you shouldn’t be doing.”
She pushed me away and got to her feet. I stood beside her, waiting for her next move. She was on a mission to get back to my waiting truck. I wondered if I had pushed too far. I hadn’t meant to. I was enjoying the casual flirting. I liked being playful and teasing her a little.
We got to the truck and she looked around the parking lot, acting like we’d just robbed a bank. “Leila?” I questioned, wondering if maybe she had seen someone from the school.
“Shut up and kiss me,” she whispered, pushing me against the passenger door of my truck and laying one on me.
I kissed her back, my arms going around her and hugging her close to my body. She abruptly pulled back and looked up at me. I smiled. “Okay, then.”
“I didn’t want to risk it there.”
I nodded. “I get it.”
“Now, I’m starving. Let’s get some lunch.”
I grinned, opening the door for her and closing it once she was tucked inside. I got into the driver’s seat feeling good about where things were going. “You’re sure you’re okay with all this?” I asked her again.
“I’m sure I don’t want to not be with you,” she said.
I chuckled. “I’m not sure that’s an answer, but I’ll take it.”
“I’m going to ask you right now to please be patient with me. I’ll probably be a little weird if I see you on campus. I don’t mean to be, and I don’t want you to take it the wrong way, but I need to come to terms with breaking the rules. I’m not a rulebreaker.”
“Breaking the rules is half the fun of life,” I told her.
She groaned. “Not for me. I’ve always followed the rules. Life has taught me I don’t want to be on the bad side. I like being good and never worrying about anyone suspecting me of being bad or shady.”
I nodded, knowing it would be wrong to try and convince her to live on the wild side. I wasn’t exactly a rebel. I’d followed the rules and honestly wished I had been brave enough to break them on occasion. Life was too short to play by somebody else’s rules. “Okay. I won’t try and persuade you to the dark side.”
She scoffed. “I don’t think you’re quite the rebel.”
I winked. “But I can be. I like being bad.”
“I have a feeling you are going to bad for my reputation.”
I gave her a sexy grin, waggling my brows. “Only if you’re lucky.”
Chapter 35
Leila
I felt a little giddy. I loved the first day. The looks on the faces of most of my students told me they didn’t share that excitement. Most of them looked like they would rather be anywhere but in front of me. I was sure half of them were asleep with their eyes open.
I already missed Christopher. He had been such a joy to have in class. He was the ideal student for a professor to have. I loved how engaged he had been and how he had been able to actually have a conversation about the subject matter. I missed him.
I glanced down at my watch and cringed. I had done it again. There was so much I wanted to get out and it just never seemed to fit into my class time. No matter how many times I tweaked the first lecture, I was always running short on time. I could talk for hours.
“Thank you everyone,” I said clapping my hands together. “Some advice that I know past students would pass on to you is read the syllabus. Pay attention. Read. The. Material.”
I didn’t feel like they were listening as they packed up and drifted out. I sighed, a little bummed that I wasn’t going to get one of those awesome students this round. I flopped down in my chair, making a few notes about what I didn’t get to cover. That meant I would have to shave something off the next lecture.
“Hey,” I heard Christopher’s voice.
My head popped up and I couldn’t stop the smile. “Hi there. What are you doing? Repeating the class?”
He chuckled. “I would in a heartbeat. I enjoyed the lectures.”
I groaned. “I’m glad you did. I can tell you the thirty people that just walked out of here do not share your appreciation.”
“I’m sorry. They don’t know what they are missing out on.”
“Are you here to see me or are do you have a class?” I asked.
He jerked his head across the hall. “I got out of class about fifteen minutes ago. I figured I would hang around and say hi—just hi.”
“Thank you. Are you taking Ancient Religions?”
He nodded. “I am. With Rawlins.”
I grimaced. “I’m sorry.”
He burst into laughter. “You could have warned me.”
“He’s awful.”
“You’re not wrong,” he muttered. “I’m disappointed. I don’t think he likes history. Period. How does a man who hates history, obviously hates teaching, and hates people in general, get into this line of work?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. He has been nasty to me from day one. We are not friendly neighbors. If he could leave a bag of poo on my doorstep, he would.”
He was chuckling, his blue eyes dancing as he looked at me. “As long as it’s not a steaming pile of poo.”
I rolled my eyes. “I just hope he takes early retirement.”
“He teaches another class I was thinking about taking next semester, but I don’t think I will. I don’t want it that bad.”
“I’m sorry. That is really tough.”
“Can I take you to lunch?” he asked.
I hesitated before nodding. “Sure.”
“Are you sure? If it makes you uncomfortable, I understand.”
I got up from my chair. “I’m comfortable. I’m hungry. Let’s do this.”
He nodded, not reaching out to touch me like he usually did. I appreciated him respecting my need to keep a professional appearance at school. We chatted as we walked to the café that I was beginning to think of as our spot. I was hoping no one would see him and automatically think he was a student. They’d think he was a friend or visitor or maybe, my boyfriend.
I looked over at him and admired his good looks and the quiet dignity that seemed to emanate from him. There was something to be said for dating an older man. His confidence in who he was drew me in. I liked being with someone who didn’t overcompensate for insecurities by being overly confident.
We found a table towards the side of the eating area that was relatively quiet. “Did you just have the one class today?” I asked him, taking a bite of the toasted BLT.
He nodded. “Yes. I’m taking a very light course load. I don’t want to be swamped with homework. Olin is talking about playing baseball and I want to make sure I’m available for every game and maybe even to watch a couple of practices.”
“That’s a good idea. I think a kid needs a parent almost more in their teen years than when they are younger.”
“I agree. I have to admit I wasn’t the best father the first fifteen years of his life. I’ve got some time to make up for.”
“Wh
y don’t you think you were a good father?” I asked him. “You seem like a good person in general.”
He smiled, using a napkin to dab at his mouth. He had impeccable manners. “I worked. A lot. Way too much. I think he was probably about three when I started my own real estate firm. It was a lot of work and I spent a lot of time away from home. I missed a lot. I don’t want to miss anything else.”
“Are you officially retired?” I asked.
He nodded. “I am. I sold my business. I have no desire to start another one. That part of my life is over.”
“But you’re in school,” I pointed out. “What do you plan on doing with a degree?”
He smirked. “I don’t know that I necessarily want a degree. I want knowledge.”
“Ah, I see. You want to enrich your brain.”
“Exactly. I have recently found an interest in religion. Not religion per se, but I want to know what’s out there. I feel like I’ve lived my whole life in a box and never questioned what else there was. I accepted death as a part of life. Now, I need to know everything there is to know.”
I slowly nodded. “Because of things that have recently happened?” I asked softly.
His soft, yet sad smile made me want to hug him. “Yes.”
“I think that’s smart,” I told him honestly. “I think knowledge is truly power. I love to read and read and read. I’m not all about Greek mythology. I love just about anything. I just love to fill my head with knowledge.”
“If more people read instead of playing video games, I would feel much more confident about the future of our species,” he quipped.
I giggled almost choking on the bite of the sandwich. “We sound like snobs.”
He was unapologetic. “I don’t think it’s snobbish to want more for our future generations. I remember when Olin was maybe ten. He wanted an iPad and a new Xbox and new headphones. I was making good money and I found myself in line at Target with everything he asked for. I looked over at the next line and saw a little kid in a cart, headphones on and playing on a tablet. His mom had a Bluetooth piece in her ear and her phone in her hand. I looked the other way and it was a similar scene with older kids. I got to the checkout and told the woman I had changed my mind. I went home and talked with my wife and we decided to limit the technology.”
“Wow. I bet you weren’t the favorite parents.”
He shrugged. “We did give him the iPad and some generic headphones, but the apps were monitored, and we encouraged learning, not gaming. I think we lost that battle when he turned about fourteen. I just hope we did enough to get him on the right path.”
“I admire that. That couldn’t have been easy with all the other kids that age playing nonstop.”
“Thank you. It wasn’t a big deal, but I hope it gave him a good foundation for learning in the future.”
“I’m sure it did,” I assured him.
I admired him for sticking to his guns. I imagined it would have been tough for him to be the bad guy. He couldn’t use the excuse the family couldn’t afford the gadgets. He had to man up and take the heat from a kid that would not have been happy to have been shut down. I had never had to worry about something like that.
I took another bite of my sandwich. My eyes scanned the café, always on the lookout for anyone who might recognize me or him. My eyes damn near bulged out of my head when I saw Dean Johnson shaking the hand of another professor. I hadn’t even seen the professor before then.
I looked at Christopher. “The dean,” I hissed.
He whipped around. “Where?”
“Don’t look,” I squeaked.
“I’ve never met him. I don’t know what he looks like. Which one is he?”
“He’s over there,” I whispered, sliding out of my chair.
He looked at me. “What are you doing?”
“I have to get out of here before he sees me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think he’s going to notice if you skulk out of here?”
“No. I’ll call you later.”
I turned and walked towards the door, praying like hell he didn’t notice me. I was already practicing what I would say if he saw me. I’d lie. I would lie like a damn dog. I would tell him I just popped in for a quick bite. I felt guilty about denying Christopher, but he knew. I had made it very clear that I wasn’t okay with the fraternizing at work.
When I made it to the door, I stopped and looked back at Christopher. He was watching me with a smirk on his face. The dean was within feet of him. I watched with a feeling of dread in my stomach. Maybe he’d seen me get up and leave after all. He was probably going to ask Christopher where I had rushed off to.
“Oh god,” I breathed, waiting to see what would happen next.
Christopher looked at me and then at the dean. The dean had his back to Christopher. Then, without warning, Christopher pointed at me, making crazy faces and drawing attention from a few of the other diners. My eyes widened with horror. What was he doing? He only smiled bigger before dropping his arm before the dean turned back around.
I rushed away, heading back to my classroom. I was so going to make him pay for his teasing. As I walked, I couldn’t help but smile. I supposed it was a good thing he had such a good sense of humor about the situation.
That had been a close call. No more lunches in the café. I had thought I could play it off, but there was no way I could. My face would always give me away. I sucked at lying and I would never be able to tell anyone that Christopher and I were casual acquaintances.
It was best just to avoid those kinds of situations in the future. I sat down at my desk, my notes from the first lecture still sitting on the stack of papers. I heard the buzzing sound of my vibrating phone in the pocket of my blazer.
It was a text from Christopher.
Have a good rest of your day. I’ll call you tonight. By the way, he never said a word to me. Your secret is still safe.
I smiled and quickly sent him a text back before slipping the phone back into my pocket. I had another class to prepare for. The brief time I had got to spend with him had made the day a lot better. I wished like hell things were different. I would love to eat lunch with him every day. It would definitely be a nice pick me up on a day when I was questioning my choice to teach.
Chapter 36
Christopher
I pulled into the garage and noticed the empty spot. I checked the time. Olin said he would be home right after school. I wasn’t going to panic and start blowing up his phone. I’d give him a few minutes to check in before I hunted him down. I was desperately trying to take a soft approach to parenting, but it went against every fiber of my being.
I was used to being in control. Olin was a smart kid and I had to trust him. Giving him the car was the first step towards showing him I did trust him. I got out of the car and was just to the door when I heard the garage door opening.
I watched Olin pull the new Nissan Maxima into the garage. “Were you waiting for me?” he asked as he climbed out.
I smirked. “No, I just got home. I trust you.”
He gave me a look. “Sure, you do.”
“How was school?”
He shrugged. “Boring.”
We walked into the kitchen together. He immediately went for the fridge. “Did you turn in that report that was due?”
“Of course.”
I chuckled at his confidence. “It will be an A.”
“It better be. Me and Jennifer spent a lot of time on it.”
“She helped you?”
“I told you we were doing homework,” he said with a sigh. I watched as he popped some leftover spaghetti into the microwave before going to the pantry and pulling out a bag of chips. I missed the days when I could eat like a teenage boy and not worry about gaining twenty pounds while I slept.
“Are you two still seeing each other?”
He frowned at me. “Seeing each other? That sounds very adult-like. We’re not seeing each other. We’re hanging out. We like
spending time together. No big deal.”
“She’s your girlfriend,” I stated.
He groaned. “No. God no. Stop. Just stop. I’m not talking about that stuff with you.”
“Why not?” I asked a little offended. “I’d like to know. Can I meet her?”
“No.”
“How old is she?”
“Seventeen,” he answered.
“Oh, an older woman,” I teased.
“By like six months.”
“Pretty?” I pressed, hoping he would open up.
He smiled. “Yes.”
“What does she look like?”
I kept it cool, opening the fridge and pulling out the chicken legs I had bought for dinner. I didn’t want to act like I was too interested. That would only make him shut down.
“She’s a cheerleader for basketball and plays softball. She’s got long brown hair and really pretty brown eyes.”
I nodded, my back to him. I didn’t want him to see me smiling. I couldn’t let on that I was enjoying our conversation. “Sounds nice. Good family?”
“I don’t know. She gets good grades.”
“That’s a good thing. Does she drive?”
“Yes,” he answered. “What are you making for dinner?”
I turned around and looked at him. “Fried chicken. You should help me.”
He scrunched up his nose, taking a bite of the reheated spaghetti. “No thanks.”
“This girl, Jennifer, I bet she would like a guy that can cook her a nice dinner on occasion.”
He scoffed. “I don’t think so. I’m not going to cook for anyone.”
“I cooked for your mom,” I told him.
“You did? When? I never saw you cooking except on the grill.”
I laughed. “Your mom, she was way out of my league back in the day. I was a struggling college student and couldn’t afford to take her to a nice dinner. Your mom, damn, she was a beautiful woman. She was so much prettier than I thought I could ever get. I had taken her out on a few dates and wanted to see her again, but I was broke. I invited her over to my tiny apartment and offered to make her dinner. She agreed and well, the rest is history.”
