When He Stays: A Student Teacher Romance

by A. R. Breck

  "Damn. I'm sorry, Mya. I got totally wrapped up in… you know. And I meant to call you last night, but once I got home I totally crashed." I frown, not wanting her to be upset with me. "Did something happen or something?" I ask, suddenly curious on what happened at the party on New Year's.

  "Not shit. Same old, same old. Leah and Sawyer gabbing on each other. Lane asked me out, you know, the usual." She rolls her eyes, but her cheeks turn a little rosy.

  "Huh… wait! You and Lane are dating?!"

  Mya shakes her head yes, rolling her eyes again.

  I laugh. "Why are you rolling your eyes?"

  "Because - it's Lane. He's such a goof. I don't even know if I want to be dating him." She leans in close and whispers, "He makes me happy though, you know? And it doesn't hurt that he's good in bed." She winks at me and laughs as I shove her away from me.

  "You are such a slut, Mya." I laugh.

  "Whatever, you love me." She makes a kissy face at me.

  I wrinkle my nose in disgust. "Hey, I don't know where those lips have been." I duck out of her path.

  "Well, would you look at that." Mya says out of the side of her mouth.

  I shut my locker and turn towards her. "What?" Looking around, my eyes go wide at the site. Brock and little miss Melanie - who has gone through a transformation of sorts and now looks absolutely stunning. They are walking hand in hand, an obvious statement to their coupling.

  I smile; glad that Brock found someone that makes him happy. We have still been friendly, but he hasn't been nearly as flirtatious as he was during the beginning of the year. I think he finally caught on to the fact that I wasn't interested in him like that. Or maybe he just fell for Melanie. Either way, I'm happy for him.

  We wait for them to pass and then start walking towards first period. Upon entering, the first thing that I notice is that Mr. Lennington is not in class. The second thing I notice is that in his place is a lady who looks like she is barely old enough to be out of college, let alone teaching at a high school. She is drop dead gorgeous, with long, sleek black hair, a pencil skirt and blazer over a white top. And her high heels make her legs look like they are about a mile long.

  Sitting down in my seat, I whisper to Mya, "Who do you think that is?" I know that it isn't a substitute. Mr. Lennington was working in November when he had pneumonia. The guy will never call in.

  Shrugging, she says, "I don't know, but we're about to find out."

  Leah walks in and gives us a who's that look, and we both give her a how the hell am I supposed to know? shrug.

  As the class quiets down, Mr. Lennington's replacement stands up and announces herself. "Hello everyone, my name is Ms. Radke. I will be taking over your class for the next few weeks as Mr. Lennington had a family emergency he had to tend to."

  Everyone starts speaking at once and asking questions like - 'Did someone die?' 'Did he have a heart attack?' 'I knew something was going on with him." And it keeps going like this until Ms. Radke raises her hand to silence the class.

  "I don't have any other information at this time besides he is out for a few weeks. As I hear more, I will share with you guys what I can. Now, let’s start with today’s lesson." And with that, no one makes a peep once she begins the lecture.

  Scrunching up my nose, I blatantly show off my distaste for our new teacher. She is like a miniature version of Mr. Lennington, but with a killer body and a nice outfit. Ms. Radke drones on about who knows what, and my thoughts start drifting to Alec. I feel bad for leaving him hanging this morning, but I am still upset about last night. I know that he loves me - I can tell by how he looks at me, how he touches me, how we make love. It's just... every once in a while, I swear I can see this tiny little wall erect, and I saw it when he told me I should go home. I felt… discarded.

  But I also know that I need to cut him some slack. He is risking so much by being with me at all. I'm sure it scares the hell out of him. Why wouldn't it? He could go to prison.

  Ugh.

  Now I just feel terrible for skipping out on him this morning. As first period comes to a close, my entire desk is nearly vibrating from the shaking of my foot. Once the bell rings, I practically fly out of my chair giving some half assed goodbye to Mya and Leah. The last thing I notice before I leave the classroom is them both giving me confused looks. Oh well, I will have to explain everything to them later.

  I hurry to my locker and swap out my books, then curse under my breath when the urge to pee hits me. I speed walk to the bathroom, hoping to make it to Alec's class before other people get there so we can have a moment alone. I want to apologize for leaving him hanging this morning.

  When I turn the corner to walk into his classroom, what I see makes me stop in my tracks. Ms. Radke, leaning way too far over Alec's desk, showing off way too much cleavage, and standing way too close to my man.

  What. The. Fuck. Is. This. Shit.

  Leaning back up against the door, I try to peer in without them noticing me. How the hell did she get here so fast? I swear I didn't take more than a minute or two. The only way she would have gotten here before me is if she sped to get here. That slut. And why isn't Alec shoving her away?

  Feeling way too pissed off to not say anything, but knowing I should just walk away, I do the one thing I shouldn't - make myself known.

  Clearing my throat, I watch as two heads snap up towards the sound of an intruder - me. Alec looks relieved and somewhat hesitant. Ms. Radke looks irritated and a little sheepish. Sliding off of his desk in a way that shouldn't be done in school, she walks over to me. "Callie, is it? You were in first period, right? Is there something that I can help you with?" She is seriously talking to me like I'm a first grader.

  Squeezing my hands into fists, I relish in the feeling of my nails digging into my palms so that I don't flip my shit or burst out crying. "I'm fine, Ms. Radke." Her eyebrows lift to her hairline from my tone. "Just here for class." I walk past her, not even looking at Alec on the way to my desk. I come busting my ass to get here to apologize, and this is what I see? Fuck both of them.

  I plop into my desk and pull out my headphones, plugging them into my phone and turning on my A Day to Remember playlist on full blast. Out of the corner of my eye I see Ms. Radke make her exit and then Alec walk up to me. I'm sure he realizes at this point that there is not enough time to shut the door and hash this out. But, he does walk up to my desk and I see his mouth moving over and over again, mouthing out my name. Probably trying to get me to quit acting like a child.

  I don't fucking care anymore.

  I see some students start to trickle into the classroom, and Alec runs a hand over his face before he turns around and heads to his desk. And this is how the rest of the period goes. Alec looks exasperated but has to go through his lesson or else he will blow our cover. I keep my headphones and don't do a damn thing the whole period. I watch Alec out of the corner of my eye, watching him glance up and me every so often and try to remain professional, but I know him enough now to notice the tic in his jaw is giving away his irritation.

  When class is over, I grab my things and head out the door, not even taking out my headphones to listen if he has anything to say.

  He found someone his age, obviously. I'm not going to sit around and listen to his sorry ass break up speech. She was leaning so close to him that it looked like she was about to fall into his lap. Or suck his dick. Either one.

  It wouldn't have lasted anyway.

  Everyone leaves eventually.

  * * * *

  I barely speak the rest of the day. My anger has slowly dissipated and in its place is sadness and exhaustion. I received a couple texts from Alec wanting to meet after school. All I do is glance at my phone and shove it back into my purse, completely ignoring everyone. I don't want to listen to Alec's excuses. And honestly, I don't think I am strong enough to handle his rejection. My life already feels like it's hanging on by a thread.

  Yeah, maybe I have become a strong, better person while living here. But
I don't think I'm strong enough to handle another heart break, or another person leaving me. Just thinking about it settles this ball of dread in the pit of my stomach, one that makes me want to curl up into a ball.

  Except, I can't do that. Because I have to work, which is where I am now. Although, from the looks of it, I think Elaine is going to be kicking me out soon.

  "Girl, you are scaring the customers away with that scowl of yours. What is the matter?" She sets her hands on her hips, giving me no room for wiggling out of this one.

  "I'm just - I'm just having issues okay? Boy problems, you know." There I said it, kind of.

  She frowns. "Boy problems are the worst. What happened?" She releases her waist from her hands, walking over and gently laying one of her hands on my back.

  "I just - I don't know what’s going on. And I am too scared to answer him in fear of us breaking up but I'm even more scared to get my heart broken. I thought we were fine, but I saw him with another girl today." Tearing up, I angrily swipe them away as they fall down my cheeks, hating this weakness that I'm feeling.

  She gasps. "You saw him kissing someone else?" She nearly screeches.

  "No, not technically. She was just leaning into him. It looked intimate, but I don't know. It just didn't look good, you know? And I really love him." I choke up at the end, putting my rag down and covering my face with my hands. I fucking hate crying in front of people.

  Elaine runs a soothing hand up and down my back. "Shh. There, there. It's okay. I think the first thing you need is a nice cup of coffee to help dry up those tears. Then, I think you need to go home early. Go and talk to your lover boy, this mystery man you refuse to tell me about." Lifting an eyebrow, she pleads for information with her eyes, but one look in my eye and she sighs, knowing that I won't spill the beans.

  "I'm not leaving. I just - maybe need a minute to cool off. And that cup of coffee does sound good." I give her a watery smile.

  "That'a girl!" She gets to work making my cup of coffee and continues on, "You need to talk to him and see what's up. Quit being in this limbo because it is obviously driving you mad. If he wants to be with this other girl, so be it. There are plenty of fish in the sea. You guy are only in high school, just wait until you get to college, you will have hot guys falling at your feet." She says, coming up and handing me my steaming cup of hot coffee.

  That's the thing though. I don't want to experience any other fish in the sea. I like the fish that I've already caught. Alec and I, we have created our own sea, one that only we reside in. I only see him. The question is - does he only see me?

  The rest of the night goes a little bit better than earlier in the day. After so many text messages from Alec, I just decide to turn my phone off. Once I get home, I will deal with our mess. Elaine tries to keeps me entertained for the remainder of our shift, and even manages to make me laugh a couple of times.

  As we close up the shop, Elaine gives me a hug. "Give me a call if you need anything. You know I am always here for you, right?"

  "Yes. Thank you." I whisper, feeling weepy again. I wipe my eyes and get into my car, driving back home. It's late and I'm sure Aunt Jenna is already in bed, considering she likes going to bed somewhere between dinner time and her nine o'clock TV show.

  I walk in the house and toe off my shoes, grabbing a bottle of water from the kitchen before walking to my room. I dump everything on the floor, walking straight into my bathroom and stripping down. The first thing I need to do before I do anything else is take a shower to wipe off the emotions of the day. I'm usually not this emotional of a person, but I'm chalking it up to everything I have been through this last year.

  After taking a scorching shower until the water run cold, I hop out and put on my baggy sweats and t-shirt I stole from Alec's house. I lift the shirt up to my nose, sighing when I get a huge whiff of Alec.

  Walking into my room, I grab my phone from my bag and then jump onto my bed, getting comfortable under the covers as my phone powers on. The constant buzzing lets me know just how many times Alec has texted me.

  Alec: Can you come over after work?

  Alec: What you saw wasn't what you think.

  Alec: Callie, answer me damnit!

  Alec: I am about to come up to your work if you don't respond.

  Alec: You know I love you, right? You are it for me.

  Alec: I'm going to give you tonight, but if you don't meet me in my classroom before school starts tomorrow, so help me God, I will find you and put you over my knee.

  I can't help but clench my thighs together to quench the heat that pools there in response to his text. Sighing, I know I need to respond and give him at least something.

  Callie: Meet you in your classroom tomorrow. Goodnight.

  Turning my phone on silent, I put it face down and crawl under my covers, knowing that tonight is a bust with my homework. I toss and turn for the first few hours, but eventually, fall into a dreamless sleep.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Alec: Don't forget about me this morning.

  How could I not?

  I have been staring at this text for the last hour. After getting some shit sleep, I woke up extra early and have been sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee. On a positive note, I was able to get through some of my homework that I neglected to take care of last night in between staring at Alec's text message.

  With a huff, I grab my things and hop into my car. Now that I'm wired on so many cups of coffee that I've lost count, I'm so jittery I barely register my drive to school. Aunt Jenna gave me some serious side-eyes this morning, asking me what was wrong. I just tried to play it off and tell her I couldn't sleep so I'm catching up on my school work.

  I don't think she bought it.

  As I pull into the school parking lot, I notice that not many students have arrived yet. Walking into the school feels like I'm walking to my death sentence. The closer I get to Alec's classroom, the heavier this ball of dread weighs on my chest. By the time I outside his door, the heaviness is almost too much to bear. I can barely breathe.

  Grabbing onto his door handle, I take a few deep breaths and attempt to collect myself. As much as I want to turn around and walk out of this school and keep walking until I get somewhere that doesn't reek of heartache and pain, I know that won't solve my problems.

  So, with that thought, I pull open the door and step inside. Once the door closes behind me with a click, Alec lifts his head from whatever he was working on and I watch as a wave of relief rolls over his face. He scoots his chair back and stands up, walking towards me with sure, purposeful steps.

  On instinct, I still as he gets close. He pauses in his walk, furrowing his eyebrows when he notices my stiffness. He seems to shake off whatever trepidation he was having and a look of determination covers his face as he finishes his walk to me. When he reaches me, he leans over with one arm, and as it looks like he is about to cage me in and kiss me, I hear the click of the lock, and then he takes a step back.

  "I didn't do anything with Ms. Radke. You know that, right?"

  I shrug and look at the ground, honestly unsure of what to believe anymore.

  "Callie, look at me." His voice is stern, bordering on angry. "I didn't do anything with Ms. Radke. You walked in about a minute after she did. She has been trying to get me to go out to dinner, but I told her I'm already seeing someone." His eyes plead understanding.

  "Have you fucked her before?" I rasp.

  "No! I barely even know her. She has subbed a couple times in the past, but we've never really met besides cordial hellos and stuff." He reaches out for my hands and yanks them towards his chest. My body follows, making me oomph once I hit his hard slab of a body. "I would never do anything to jeopardize what we have. You have to know that, right?"

  Hesitancy flows through my body. I know he loves me, but - "But why was she practically on top of you when she was sitting on your desk? And why weren't you pushing her away?"

  He scrubs a hand down his face in irritation. "She literally g
ot there about a minute before you arrived. She hopped on my desk and I honestly didn’t even comprehend that she was in the room. I was thinking about you and why you didn't show up to meet me that morning. By the time I even noticed her, there you were. Why didn't you come meet me, anyway?" He frowns towards me.

  By the look in his eyes, I can tell he is being truthful. Now guilt is pressing down on me, knowing that I've been such an immature turd and he doesn't deserve any of it. Looking towards the ground, I say, "Remember last night when I basically said I wanted to stay with you?"

  He looks confused. "Uh, yeah?"

  "You kind of like... pushed me away. I felt like you were putting some space in between us or something. I don't know. Sometimes I feel like you are not as deep in this as I am. I'm afraid to go any deeper if you aren’t. I just - I just didn't want to come in yesterday morning and have you standoff-ish with me, and then end it. So I just... blew you off." I smile sheepishly. "But then I realized what an immature idiot I was being, and I came here straight after first period... and what do I see? You and Ms. Slutty all cozy up near your desk." I scowl, still not completely over her brazenness.

  Alec rolls his eyes at my name calling. "Baby, you literally were freaking out over nothing. You know I love you. I love you. You have to know this, right?" He bends down to get eye level with me, obviously wanting a response.

  I nod my head yes.

  "I love you. I'm in as deep as you, there is no question there. If anything, I feel like I am in deeper than you are. But do you know what? I don't want to be saved. I want to drown in you, baby. I don't ever want to come up for air. I want to see where our love will take us, and I'm not going to let some substitute teacher stand in the way of that. Or your hesitant thoughts."

  Feeling the sincerity pouring off of him, I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a kiss, loving that he actually loves me. Loves. This damaged person who has nothing to offer him, he is willing to sacrifice his career for. I'm in awe. In awe of his courage, of his beauty, of his wildness. Everything about him is perfect.