by Lucy Lambert
I miss his kisses, I thought before I could stop myself.
“Let’s just get this over with.”
When it ended, my cheeks hurt from the smile I’d plastered to my lips. “That’s all, right?” I said.
“Should be,” one of the cameramen said.
“Good. I have to get back to work,” I said. I got up and marched away.
Alex followed. He cornered me out in the hall. “Charlie, wait. I’ve had time to think about what happened and what we said that night. And Charlie, I want to tell you that I…”
I sensed what he wanted to say. My stomach clenched. I broke out in goose bumps all over. I didn’t think I could take it if he said what I knew he wanted to say.
“No!” I cut him off, holding one imperious finger up. “Don’t you dare say that! Not now, not ever. We’re better apart. I can see that, so should you. We were never meant to be.”
I started walking around him, but he grabbed my shoulders. “You’re wrong about that.”
Before he could say any more, I shoved him away and stormed down the hall. This time, he didn’t follow me.
I was certain I’d get a talking to from Mr. Stockwell for that, but I didn’t care.
The whole time I walked away from him, I wanted to turn around and run back to him. I kept myself going by telling myself this was the right thing to do if I didn’t want to risk getting hurt again.
It was Monday again.
I sat at the desk, waiting for my first class. In front of me, I had exactly 37 marked midterms waiting to be returned. It had been on Great Expectations, and I have to say my own expectations had been exceeded.
I still needed to find a way to reach those three who didn’t like handing things in.
I wondered if maybe the students remembered more because of Alex being around, commenting on it, and talking to them.
At the back of the room, the fluorescent bulb I’d neglected to replace buzzed and blinked. As soon as the weekend came, I resolved to trek to Home Depot and pick up a replacement.
As usual, Tyler walked into the room first. “Hey, Miss M.”
“Hey, Tyler,” I said.
I looked around at my room. The plain, white-painted cinder block walls which I tried covering with motivational posters. The rows of lights between the stained tiles of the drop ceiling. More and more students came in, sitting at their desks, sending final texts before I dropped the proverbial hammer on cell usage.
I miss him, I knew, looking at the spot by the door where he liked to preside over the room.
It was a chapter in my life I wished would finally end.
I stood up to start class. Tyler raised his hand.
“Yes?” I said. This was different. Usually I had to ask a question before someone offered an answer. And they knew I didn’t let anyone go for restroom breaks for the first ten minutes.
“You’re always there to offer advice or help,” Tyler said, “And this time we wanted to be the ones to help you.”
There was a murmur of agreement from the class. I frowned. “Tyler? What’s going on?”
“We just want you to hear what he has to say, that's all,” Tyler said.
Before I could ask who, the door opened. I turned and saw Alex standing there.
“Sorry, I had no choice but to pull out the big guns,” he said, nodding towards the rest of the classroom.
I was furious.
Of all the stunts he could have pulled!
“Out!” I said, storming the door. I forced him out into the now empty hall. “What are you doing? There is nothing about this that is okay!”
“You’re right. There’s nothing about this that’s okay,” Alex said, motioning to the space between us. “You’re right you know. I screwed up. Bungled that whole thing. But now you’re just torturing us both.”
My throat burned. I felt jittery all over. “Alex, why are you doing this?”
“Because I love you, damn it. And I sure as hell won’t stay away from you.”
“I can’t believe you said that. I told you, you could never say that to me.”
He grabbed my arms. I shook free. I slapped him. My hand stung. His face went red and he grabbed me again. This time he kissed me. It was a savage, passionate kiss that made my knees turn to loose elastic bands.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Then I pushed him away again.
“Some things in life are worth the hurt. Some things, some people, are worth second chances,” he said, “You of all people should know that, after what I’ve seen you do in class and out.”
“Alex…”
“Charlie Morgan. I love you and I’m not going to stop loving you. No matter what you say. So choose your next words wisely. Because we could be great together, and I think we could only be wrecks apart,” he said, his voice raw.
Everything boiled up in me all at once. The hurt, the fear of being hurt, all the anger I’d bottled up and all the anger I’d not.
I watched his eyes searching mine. Waiting, hoping. I don’t think he’d ever looked so handsome as he had at that moment. So intense and focused. No one had ever looked at me like that before.
And then, just like that, all those other feelings dropped away. Or rather, I let go of them. Let myself let go of them.
I touched his cheek. “Okay,” I said.
“Okay?” He echoed.
“Yes,” I said.
Before I could blink he had me in his arms again. This time I didn’t push him away. I intended to never push him away again.
Epilogue
“Are you sure about this?” I said, looking down at the open trunk of his Mercedes and then down at my luggage.
The summer breeze stirred the warm air around my bare legs, which stuck out from my shorts. I wriggled my toes in my sandals.
“Certain. One hundred percent,” Alex said. He took my luggage and put it in beside his.
“It’s just that I usually teach summer school. This will be the first time I haven’t since I started.”
He put his hands on my shoulders and kissed the nape of my neck, his breath even hotter than the breeze.
“Charlie, they insisted you take this time off.”
“But…” I said, looking up at my building.
Rufus barked from the back seat, his head stuck out the window.
“Look, even he agrees with me,” Alex said.
When I thought about it, I didn’t feel so bad. After Christmas, Alex had announced that he’d be sponsoring Thomas A. Edison High. New facilities, new texts, the whole shebang. Of course, I told him I wouldn’t allow that. I wouldn’t let him play favorites just because I taught there.
So he went and did the same for the whole school district. And he had a pilot program going for the entire city that he hoped would extend state-wide in a year or so.
I’d agreed to that.
And somehow he’d made me agree to a summer vacation. At his villa in Tuscany. He said the Clooneys had their place along the same stretch.
Alex had taught me a lot about letting go of things in my past, letting myself get on with my future. A shared future, now.
“Okay,” I said, leaning my head back against his shoulder.
“Okay?” He said, smiling down at me.
“Yes,” I said.
THE END
About the Author
Lucy just loves to write romantic stories filled with steamy scenes. She hopes her audience enjoys reading them as much as she enjoys writing them.
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