by Harlow James
Tim finishes his bite before changing the subject. “So when are you gonna deliver her desk to her?” My confidant is more eager than I am to deliver the gift to Victoria. Tim has been rooting for me in my quest for Victoria’s affection over the past two months, searching for updates every few days, and he’s known about my idea for her desk since I opened my business.
“I think I’m going to surprise her with it tomorrow, actually. When I was texting her last night, she said she’ll be working in her classroom tomorrow and the day after, so I figured it would be the perfect time to drop it off.” I stare off at the pond in the distance. “I can’t wait to see her face when she sees it.”
The closer Victoria got to finishing school, the more eager I got about making this desk for her. The idea has been in the back of my mind for years, but finally building it into reality was way more satisfying than I want to admit. It felt like a critical piece in the puzzle of our relationship, a gift that I hope will help remove any doubt about how I feel about her and solidify my feelings.
The dark mahogany wood I chose screamed classic and regal, the exact way I think of Victoria. I wanted to give her a piece that could withstand the test of time as well, something that would outlast trends and still remain relevant in style. Given it’s just going in her classroom, I’m sure first graders won’t care about the furniture, but Victoria will appreciate it, and that’s all that matters.
“Sounds like a good idea. Do you need my help?” Tim asks eagerly, his curiosity about my interactions with Victoria becoming borderline unhealthy. My wisdom I’ve gathered through this dating experience has been educational for Tim in his own pursuit of Mary Beth. I guess he said something to her at Dave’s the other day and she smiled at him. The kid hasn’t stopped smiling like a buffoon since.
I chuckle. “No man… I think it’s better I deliver it on my own. I’m sure I can find a custodian or someone to help me lift it out of the back of my truck once I get to the school. Thanks though.”
“No problem, Mike. I seriously think she’s going to love it.”
“I sure hope so.”
The next day I decide to sleep in, enjoy my morning with a leisurely jog around my property and a hearty breakfast at Ruby’s Diner before making my way over to Hopetown Elementary. Seeing as how the town is so small, we only have one elementary school and one junior high/high school. The fact that Victoria secured a position teaching here is somewhat of a miracle. Mrs. Hanson was actually retiring this year, so the timing was perfect for Victoria to finish school when she did, to take over her first-grade position. The timing was everything for Victoria in that sense, and I’m hoping that it proves to be important in the progression of our relationship as well. Even though I curse my mistake from five years ago, I can’t help but feel that things are happening exactly the way they were meant to for us, except for Ben the dick face, of course.
It’s been a few weeks since we’ve been out on a date, the last one being with Lilly tagging along. Not that I minded, but I really feel that time alone is more of what we need. My hands are itching to touch her again and see what other kinds of sounds I can make come out of her mouth. But more than that, I want to hear her voice, immerse myself in her smell, memorize every crinkle in her smile, and hold her in my arms. Nothing feels better than that.
I pull up to the school, the parking lot half full of cars belonging to teachers. I guess I never realized how much time teachers actually spend at the school during the summer. Victoria explained in our text conversation all the training and workshops that were mandatory for her to attend in the weeks leading up to the start of the school year just a few days after Labor Day.
After checking in with the secretary in the front office, I glide down the hallways and cement paths that lead to the first-grade wing. I quickly locate the door with the metal placard labeled Miss Baker on the outside, a strong sense of pride overwhelming me as I realize she really accomplished her goal. The woman is a force, so strong and driven; It’s one of the things I love about her the most. When she wants something, she goes after it… a trait I’m hoping will be unleashed on me soon.
A mile-wide grin is plastered on my face, my stomach in knots over the anticipation of my delivery, my heartbeat wild with excitement in my chest. I reach for the door handle, turning it in preparation of surprising Victoria, imagining her smile stretching across her face, lighting up with gratitude from my gesture. But when I walk inside her classroom, all of my dreams of this moment go to hell as I see Ben Paxton, crouching in a corner of her classroom, sliding the feet of a bookshelf back against a wall. Son. Of. A. Bitch.
I clear my throat to get his attention, which works immediately as he turns and rises to full height, his chest pushed out instinctually at my presence.
“Where’s Victoria?” I assert, ignoring his presence completely, and he’s lucky he got that much of an acknowledgment because he is not the person I wanted to see at all.
He drops a hammer on the table beside him, picking up a water bottle with his free hand. “She went to the front office to pick up some supplies and run off a few copies of something. What are you doing here?”
“I should ask you the same question,” I reply formidably. I really don’t care why he is here, but I do care that he leaves, and preferably soon.
“Ben, I got my copies and found some nails while I was up there….” Victoria rambles on as she enters her classroom with her hands full of papers and small boxes. She takes a moment to lift her head, and when she does and sees Ben and me both in her classroom, she drops her supplies to the ground in shock.
“Oh, my gosh!” She exclaims, immediately crouching down to pick up her papers and the box of nails that has scattered all over the floor. It only takes me two long strides, but I’m right next to her on the floor in a heartbeat, helping her clean up the mess.
“Mike, what are you doing here?” She glances over at me while we’re bent over, her eyes full of surprise.
“I came to help you and deliver a gift,” I fire back, a little annoyed at her reaction to my presence.
“Well, I appreciate that, but Ben already surprised me this morning with his help,” she explains with a wide-eyed gaze, rising from the floor and making her way around me before dropping off her supplies on the pathetic excuse she has for a desk. Good thing that’s one thing I’ll be able to fix before I leave.
“Yeah, Vic said she’d be working in her classroom today, so I surprised her with coffee this morning and some manpower,” Ben winks over at her before directing his eyes back at me, the sly grin on his face showcasing his pleasure in one-upping me.
“Yes, it was a pleasant surprise and appreciated. He’s been able to fix the leg on that bookshelf for me and move some tables around in the few hours we’ve been here.”
Ben casually walks over to Victoria, placing an arm around her shoulders, instantly making my fists clench. “Yeah, you’re not the only one who knows their way around wood, Mike.”
I swear, if Victoria wasn’t here right now, my fist would meet his face and seek revenge for the black eyes from the Fourth of July, and any moment when this guy thought he could come between Victoria and me.
Victoria clears her throat in an attempt to defuse the standoff between Ben and me. “Okay then, well Mike… what did you need again?”
I turn my eyes back to her and try to soften the tense look on my face. “I have something for you, but I guess I can come back later.”
“Well, I actually was just about to leave, so I guess you’re in luck, Mike. I have a mid-shift to work at Mic’s Garage today, so I’ll leave you two alone.” He turns back to Victoria, completely ignoring the fact that I’m watching his moves when he places his arms around her hips, pulling her to him.
“I’ll call you later,” he whispers to her before placing a longer than necessary kiss on her lips. It’s all I can do not to launch my body at him and pummel him to the ground.
“Yeah, uh, thanks for your help,” Vic sputters
, clearly uncomfortable of his display of affection in front of me, turning her head to face me, casting me an apologetic smile.
Ben turns to me, shooting me a knowing look, clearly aware that his move means war, before reaching her door and leaving us alone in her classroom.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry you had to see that Mike.” Her hands cover her face in embarrassment. “I didn’t think he would be that bold.”
“Well, I’m not gonna say that it didn’t make me uncomfortable watching him kiss you, Vic…. But I kinda figured you’d already done that with him. But hey, it’s not my business,” I state, throwing my hands up in the air. It’s taking all the control I have right now not to throw things. I want Victoria to know that I can handle this, her dating both of us, even though it kills me.
“Okay, let’s just change the subject. What did you bring me?” Her smile lights up at the thought of my gift, instantly bringing back that feeling of anticipation I had before Ben extinguished my light.
“You’ll have to wait here. I need to find someone to help me bring it to your room. It’s pretty big.” I gesture towards the door as I make my way to leave.
“Okay….. Well, I’ll be right here when you get back, I guess,” she eyes me suspiciously before I wink at her and turn to leave. Carl, the custodian, happens to be a few doors down vacuuming a classroom, so I ask for his assistance in retrieving the piece from my truck.
The heaviness of the desk makes this more of a job than I anticipated, but after a few close calls of dropping it from the bed of my truck, we get it belted onto the dolly I brought from home and wheeled just outside of Victoria’s classroom door.
I stick my head inside her door, which she must have propped open when I left. “Are you ready for your surprise?” She jumps at the sound of my voice, making me chuckle.
“Yeah, I guess,” she says, turning to watch the door as I tip the desk again on the dolly and wheel it through her door. It barely fits.
“Oh my God, Mike!” she shouts, her hands covering her mouth in shock. “You made me a desk?”
I push the hunk of wood further into the room before bringing it back down to rest on the ground. “I made you a desk, Victoria. You deserve it.”
The look on Victoria’s face right now is worth every ounce of hard work and stress over making this piece perfect, every sketch I threw in the trash, every fingernail I bruised with my hammer. Victoria is worth all of it, and her eyes full of tears tell me she has to understand the meaning behind my gift.
“It’s so beautiful, Mike!” She chokes out behind her tears, rushing over to me and wrapping her arms around my neck, burying her head in my chest. I let her have a moment, the small shudders coming from her body alarming me slightly. I wanted her to be happy, a few tears I expected, but not body-wracking sobs.
“Are you okay, Vic?” I rub my hands up and down her spine, attempting to soothe her.
She sniffles a few times before raising her head and meeting her watery eyes with mine.
“This is the nicest gift anyone has ever made me, Mike. Thank you so much.” Before I can respond, she presses her lips to mine in a supple kiss, the saltiness from her tears coming through. Even though I’ve been dying to ravage her mouth again, this moment seems more sincere. I wait to see if she offers me her tongue, and much to my disappointment, she doesn’t. But the feel of her softness pressed to my hard sends a wave of intensity over my body. She merely holds her lips to mine for a few seconds, a kiss so sweet and pure, it renders me immobile while I just focus on the feel of her skin on mine.
Breaking our connection, her hands come up to cradle my face. “I don’t even know what to say to you, Mike. But I do know exactly where it should go.” A transformative smile finally breaks through her emotion as she turns and pushes the pathetic excuse for a desk she inherited out of the way, making me laugh at her enthusiasm. After a bit of finagling of furniture, the custom-made desk is firmly placed in its new home and the look on Victoria’s face makes me beam with pride.
“It’s perfect,” she whispers, wiping tears from her face again.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry, Vic. I just knew I had to make this for you. I’ve been designing this desk for months.”
“Months?”
I shake my head at her. “Yeah, months. You don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?” She eyes me suspiciously as I stalk her across the space between us. Right now I’m grateful to have closed her classroom door behind me because I feel like we’re going to need some privacy.
“You are all I think about, all I’ve thought about for years.” Closing the distance separating us, my hands find her hips instinctually as I pull her flesh to my body.
She swallows hard. “Is that so?”
I nuzzle her neck, watching the goosebumps appear from my featherlight touch. “Yes, Victoria. You mean so much to me, and your dreams mean that much to me too. You deserve this gift, and I’m glad I got to be the one to give it to you.”
Raising my head, I lock eyes with her, the spark between us igniting once more. I don’t wait for her to respond before I crush my lips to hers, the sound of her surprise echoing in my mouth as I explore every inch of her, caressing our tongues in a wild dance. I back her up until the back of her knees hit her desk, gently lowering her body down on top of it, my hands cradling her head as my thumbs brush her temples. When I built this thing, I can’t lie and say lying her down on it wasn’t a fantasy. Looks like that’s more like a reality now.
“Mike,” she whispers, breaking free from my mouth long enough to stare me down, contemplating her next move, before pulling me back to her, our lips pressing firmly against each other and our hands moving in an all-out exploration of each other’s bodies. Our fingers are moving frantically, hers roaming up and down my back and shoulders while mine explore her waist and rib cage. A light brush of my thumb across her nipple through her shirt makes her buck beneath me, the friction of her core against my cock sends my nerves into a wild frenzy. I bet she’s wet as fuck beneath these jean shorts.
“Fuck, Vic,” I manage to croak out between hot and heavy kisses, as she grinds against me from beneath my flank. I press my entire body up against hers, leaving no space between us, my hands moving around her hips to her ass to pull her even harder into my erection. I feel the warmth of her pussy against my crotch. The image of my cock rubbing against her slick folds makes my dick painfully hard.
I break our kiss, my lips trailing down the column of her throat as I’m rewarded with feminine groans and gasps escaping her mouth. Each sound she makes just spurs me on to see what other noises I can muster from her. Exploring Victoria’s body is like a treasure hunt, a new clue to what she likes just hidden around every curve and dip in her physique. My lips and tongue explore the soft skin of her neck, down over her collarbone, making her gasp and chuckle beneath my mouth, the vibrations from her laugh tickling my lips.
“Mike…. We need to stop.” Her voice is breaking from the lust consuming her body. Her panting sends breaths over my ears and down my neck, the tingles making their way down my spine spark a twitch in my dick.
I lift my head up to meet her eyes, instantly putting a halt in my discovery of her body. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,…. Yes, I’m okay. I just don’t want to move too fast, alright?” I can sense the worry running through her body immediately, and the last thing I want to do is make her feel uncomfortable. I push myself off of her, reaching for her hand to force her upright as well.
“I’m sorry, Vic. I just can’t control myself around you,” I chuckle.
She smiles softly up at me. “I know the feeling.”
Running my hand through my hair, I turn away from her, willing my dick to calm down.
“I’m sorry, Mike. I don’t mean to be a tease.”
I turn back around so fast, I get dizzy. “What?”
She looks down at the ground, avoiding eye contact. “I don’t want to lead you on. I definitely want to kiss you
and touch you, but I’m not ready for more.”
“I never said I expected that, Vic.” Her confession is confusing me.
“I know. I just know that eventually there are certain…. physical expectations in relationships, and… I’m just not there yet.”
I cradle her face in my hands, lifting her eyes to meet mine. “I would wait forever for you, Vic.” I bend down to softly kiss her and then rest my forehead against hers. “In some ways, it feels like I already have.”
“Me too.”
“Then why are we still fighting this?” I exclaim louder than I intended, releasing her face and stepping away from her. My confusion has now evolved into annoyance, my annoyance quickly becoming anger.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, there’s obviously something here, Vic. You and I both know it, we’ve known it for years. And now that we’re exploring it, you can’t deny what you feel. I feel it too. Touching you is electrifying.”
She simply nods. “It is.”
“Then why is Ben still in the picture?” My anger has manifested into rage, all the rage I’ve felt since the moment he asked her out is flooding through my veins and out of my mouth and I can’t stop it.
“Mike…”
“No, tell me, please! I’m having a hard time believing you feel for him even an ounce of what you feel for me.”
“It’s not that simple!” She shouts, standing to confront me head on now.
“Yes, it is! You and I, together… it is that simple, Vic. We,” I gesture between us with my hand, “Are meant to be!”
She stands there, watching the tick in my jaw, the clench of my fists, and the rise and fall of my chest. I know she doesn’t deserve this anger, but I can’t understand why she’s even entertaining the idea of Ben when I know what she feels for me.
“I think you should go.”
“What?”
“You need to calm down and walk away before we both say something we’ll regret.” She turns to walk towards the door, opening it in an invitation for me to leave.
