Taught

by Tarilyn Sparks

  “We didn’t want her to go. I just — didn’t want to hold her back, or make her feel like she had to stay…” I trailed off as the anguish of what happened filled my chest. What should I have done?

  Lauren didn’t say anything. She didn’t hang up on me either. We sat in silence. Finally, I sat up. Maybe there was still a chance.

  “I don’t want to tell you all this. I—we—want to tell her. Please. Even if she doesn’t want us anymore, I want her to know that we…I want her to know how we feel about her. We love her.”

  More silence. Lauren was a dramatic one, but I had to admire what a fierce friend she was.

  She sighed. “Well, damn. You really are an idiot. Why didn’t you lead with that?”

  “Because I’m an idiot?” The smile curved on my lips and I swear I could feel Lauren smiling too.

  “She’s in Kingston Hall, fourth floor. It’s up to her if she’ll let you in. If this goes badly, that’s on you, got it? I’m not going to plead your case to her.”

  “Understood,” I said. “You had nothing to do with this and I’m an idiot.”

  Lauren laughed softly. “You’re not so bad after all.”

  I raked my fingers through my hair. “That’s what I’m hoping she’ll decide.”

  “One more thing.”

  I was already on my feet, looking for my keys. “Yeah?”

  “You hurt her again, I don’t care who you are. You’ll have to answer to Sydney and me.”

  “I won’t, I promise. I just have to remind her that I’m an idiot.”

  “You have to show her how much she’s worth to you,” Lauren corrected.

  Something that felt like love lit up in the center of my heart and spread out like a smooth explosion. “You’re right. And trust me, she’s worth everything.”

  “Now there’s an answer. Go get her,” Lauren said, and hung up on me.

  I stared at the phone as the dial tone bleated. That undergraduate had some pushback. I was so used to the ones that were afraid of me, it was refreshing to talk to one on equal terms.

  Kara had some great friends, and I was glad they were there for her.

  I’d have to make sure they stayed in her life as much as ever if, and when, Jack and I were able to win her back. We’d been keeping her all to ourselves as much as we could. That wasn’t great for Kara either. As much as we wanted her with us, she needed her own friends as well, she needed her own life.

  It would be my new mission to make sure everything wasn’t just great for me, or Teddy, but was great for her too.

  I texted Jack and grabbed my keys. He’d meet me near her dorm, and we would go see Kara together.

  “This plan isn’t going to work if she refuses to answer the phone,” I said. Jack and I stood outside the door of Kingston Hall, trying to use the attached exterior phone to call Kara and get her to buzz us in.

  A crowd of students walked in and one turned back to me. “Professor Dickman! I mean…Whitman.” Her cheeks burned and I bit my lip to hide my smile.

  “Yes?” I replied, acting like I hadn’t heard the nickname.

  She shook her head like she was clearing her brain. “Sorry, do you need in? Which floor?”

  “Fourth,” Jack and I said at once.

  The girl looked back and forth at me and Jack. “Okay…”

  “I need to talk to the RA on the fourth floor,” I said. “Is there any way you can let me, er us, in?”

  She thought for a moment. “Okay, I guess it would be okay. Official business, right?”

  I felt like a dick but I nodded anyway. “Yes, official business.” If she wouldn’t see us, we’d leave right away. No harm, no foul.

  The girl brightened and waved her arm in a come along motion. “Follow me,” she said.

  The next thing I knew, Jack and I were standing in front of Kara’s door. We knew it was hers because it was decorated with palm trees, pina coladas, sunglasses, and…school books. In construction paper letters, on the paper-wrapped door, it said, “Welcome Kara! Our new RA!”

  Jack and I looked at each other, and he reached out and knocked. It was the moment of truth.

  We waited what seemed like forever, and then I reached out and knocked again.

  The door flung open. “You only have to knock once,” Kara said, exasperation punctuating her tone.

  I was transfixed. It had only been a few days since I’d seen her, and I realized all over again how perfect she was.

  She didn’t have a speck of makeup on, which highlighted how beautiful her pale skin looked with her glowing hazel eyes. Her dark hair was wrapped up in a messy bun on top of her head and she was wearing the same Betty Boop pajamas Jack had found her in.

  Memories flooded back of all the times she’d worn them in our home. I loved her quirky style and her stunning fresh and natural beauty. She took my breath away. She stopped short when she saw us.

  “Oh. You two.”

  Her exasperation didn’t seem to improve.

  I looked around and realized that our presence had garnered a lot of attention in the halls. Students weren’t even trying to pretend not to watch, and they all stood there and gaped at the possible spectacle.

  I winced and looked into Kara’s eyes. She didn’t like the crowd either. “Can we come in?” I asked.

  She blinked slowly, and then putting half her weight on the edge of the door, she nodded once and slowly swung the door open. “Probably a good idea,” she said, waving us in. “I don’t need an audience.” She stuck her head out and looked up and down the hall.

  We didn’t get far into her room when she turned around and folded her arms. “What do you two want?”

  I tried not to stare at how this action pressed her breasts up and together. I could see a bra outline under her pajama top and immediately knew which bra it was—white and lacy. Completely see through.

  I cleared my throat and focused on her bright hazel eyes. “Everything.”

  Jack elbowed me and I scowled at him. “What?”

  A smile tugged at the edge of Kara’s mouth as she watched Jack and I have a silent war between us. Jack looked at me with such intensity, I wondered if he was going to develop a twitch later. I knew what he was thinking. Don’t screw this up.

  I turned back to Kara. “What I mean is, we, well, I’m an idiot. I want to apologize to you, I want you to know how I…”

  Jack elbowed me again.

  “Er, we, feel about you.”

  Kara narrowed her eyes. “I thought you made it pretty clear how you felt about me.”

  I looked around her dorm room. “Present circumstances say otherwise, but no, I most definitely did not.”

  “Will you go to dinner with us?” Jack blurted out. “You don’t owe it to us, but we’d be honored if you said yes.”

  Kara looked to the side and shook her head, an ironic and cynical smile on her face. “I don’t know,” she said.

  “I never got a chance to go to Marisol with you,” Jack said. It was a low blow, but we were desperate.

  Kara raised an eyebrow, obviously seeing through Jack’s ploy, but possibly charmed by it anyway. “Right, because you can’t go there without me?”

  “Kara, I’m not sure we can do anything without you anymore,’ I said, my voice a whispered rumble.

  Kara blinked and her eyes met mine. An eternity blinked away, and Kara’s face softened. “Okay, pick me up at six.”

  Jack and I grinned at each other in unison. Elation bubbled inside me and I controlled the urge to whoop.

  “You may kiss me right here,” Kara said, pointing an index finger to each cheek.

  Jack and I moved forward and planted chaste kisses to either side of her cheeks. We were taking her to dinner!

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jack

  “Should we take the Jag?” Teddy joined me at the mirror and fastened his cufflinks.

  We’d decided to wear suits for our date with Kara and were in the final countdown until it was time to go pick her u
p.

  I finished tying my tie and stood behind my handsome boyfriend, straightening the knot in his necktie.

  “Looking sharp,” I said, approval warm in my voice. I nodded once. Our eyes met in the mirror.

  “Think she’ll like it?” Teddy asked.

  I winced. “I don’t think Kara walked out of here because she thought we weren’t dapper enough.”

  Teddy looked glum. “No, she walked out because I was an idiot.”

  I chuckled softly. “It wasn’t just you. She walked because we were bad at communication. So tonight, we have to show that we’ve learned our lesson.”

  “I know I have,” Teddy said. “So tonight, we just need to communicate how we feel, right?”

  Amusement tugged at my lips. I loved how Teddy was so in charge of his domains, so intellectual, but at the same time could be so inept and vulnerable. I found it endearing.

  Maybe after Kara learned how we really felt, she could find both of our foibles endearing too.

  I squeezed my handsome boyfriend and kissed his cheek. “Tonight is about showing Kara how we feel about her.”

  “And hoping she feels the same way,” Teddy added.

  I held my hand out for his, leading him out the door. “Time to take a risk. It’s the only way to feel alive.”

  “Or to get the girl,” Teddy added.

  “That too,” I agreed. “And yes, let’s take the Jag.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Kara

  Jack and Teddy arrived right on time. They’d wanted to come to my door like proper gentlemen but I insisted on having them call me so I could just come down. I didn’t need the extra attention of having them on my dorm floor.

  The last thing I needed was the kids I was supposed to be looking after teasing me about my love life with a professor from campus and another man.

  I took a deep breath before pushing to the outside doors, hoping I looked okay. I’d spent way too much time on my appearance, as if the guys hadn’t seen me just a few hours ago in need of a shower and wearing cheap pajamas.

  They both stood outside their shining Jaguar wearing suits and sunglasses like some kind of GQ fantasy come to life. Teddy’s thick hair was just a little too long—displaying an almost-mop of dark curls swept to the side of his chiseled face.

  He’d even left a little stubble—just like I liked it.

  Jack was fresh cut, his dirty blond hair perfectly parted and combed, so thick it almost stood on end. My heart caught in my throat. Were these two for real? Did they really want me back, or was this just an ego thing to show me what I was missing, because they looked fucking fantastic?

  I clenched and unclenched my fists in an effort to calm down. There was only one way to find out. Go on this date and see what they had to say. I lifted my chin and marched up to their car. Or, it was probably more like I pranced, because there was no marching in this pair of vintage-style starlet heels.

  I’d decided that this date was what I’d been saving these shoes and this teal high low ombré satin dress, for. I hoped the spaghetti straps and the plunging front with the center between my breasts covered only by sheer black material, combined with the elegant color and length of the dress would show these guys I wasn’t messing around.

  I’d curled my long dark hair with flowing wand waves, and left it down, knowing they liked it that way best, and kept my makeup simple and classic. Red lipstick, black and turquoise smudged lined eyes, and bare white skin.

  I was a real woman. I was not a hookup, and I was not to be taken for granted.

  I also had to overpower those Betty Boop pajamas I’d been caught in earlier.

  Both men pulled their sunglasses off and gaped at me before regaining their composure. So far so good.

  I shrugged one shoulder and allowed each of them to come kiss me on the cheek. I wasn’t ready to give up this lip kit yet.

  They’d have to earn that.

  The butterflies in my stomach told me that I hoped they’d do just that.

  Teddy opened my door and I slipped into the front passenger side. Jack was driving, and Teddy took the back. I glanced back and him and he grinned at me.

  “Don’t mind me. I get to sit next to you during dinner.”

  Jack looked over his sunglasses at Teddy in the rear-view mirror. “We both do,” he said.

  I tried to control the smile twisting away from my careful demeanor, and finally gave up, giving them both a wide grin.

  “Yeah!” Jack said, as he pulled the car away from the curb. “I’ve missed your smile.”

  “I hope you don’t mind going somewhere new,” Teddy said. “Marisol was booked solid. But maybe, if things go well, we can both take you there another time?”

  I gave them another half shrug and said with a light lilt in my voice, “Sure, maybe.”

  Jack pulled into a rounded half circle driveway and stopped in front of what looked like an ivy-covered rock fortress. I leaned forward and gaped at the architecture.

  “What is this place?”

  Teddy chuckled. “This is Elliott’s Grill. The building has been here for a century, and the restaurant for probably half that. I don’t know why they call it a grill, because trust me, it’s much more than that.”

  “I think it’s because the place was originally owned by a family who also had a ranch,” Jack said.

  My door opened and a young valet peered into the car. He blinked when he saw me, and the two men with me. To his credit, he regained his composure quickly. Jack’s door was open too, and the next thing we knew, the Jag was being driven away and I was standing between two sharp dressed men in front of a restaurant so fancy it didn’t have a lit-up sign in front.

  I guess if you needed directions to find the place, you weren’t welcome.

  Both of them extended their arms, and I slid my hands into both of their elbows. Now this was how to feel like a proper princess. They walked me up the carpeted walkway and into the plush restaurant.

  Jack and Teddy hadn’t just made reservations. They’d reserved a private room. A long rectangular table sat ready with a starched white table cloth. The real china, silver cutlery, and crystal stemware glowed in the already blazing candlelight.

  Teddy excused the hostess and closed the door so we were alone. Jack moved the place settings and chairs around so we would sit all in a row. True to their word, they were both going to sit next to me.

  I felt so special and spoiled.

  Once we were settled in our seats, we picked up the menus the hostess had left us on the table. I tried not to react to the prices, but it was hard not to. One dinner here could buy my personal groceries for weeks!

  “Don’t worry about the prices,” Jack said. “The owner owes me.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, fully aware of how closely we were sitting. I had to lean back to not have my face right in his face.

  Teddy leaned over so close I could feel his warm breath on my neck. “It’s true. Jack’s done a lot of construction work for Ricky. Get whatever you like.”

  “But don’t think we’re cheaping out by taking you here,” Jack said. “This is the nicest restaurant we know. Money is no object when it comes to how we want to spoil you.”

  Heat crept up my cheeks and flutters circled around in my chest. I wasn’t sure what to say, all of this attention was a little overwhelming.

  After we ordered, Jack regaled us with stories of some of the crazy exploits he and his brother used to get into on the property that used to surround the restaurant. Apparently, it used to be pretty wild, with lots of undeveloped acreage and places for kids to explore and get into trouble.

  We laughed and bumped elbows, and I felt keenly aware of the men’s knees touching mine during various moments. What would happen next?

  This dinner was nice, but I needed more than fancy salad and the world’s most delicious steak in order to recover from where we were.

  Finally, I couldn’t hide my thoughts on this topic any longer, and silently stabbed at th
e part of my dinner I was too full to eat.

  Teddy slipped his arm around me and traced his fingertips on my bare shoulder. “I’m sorry I made you feel unwanted,” he said. “That’s the last thing I meant to do.”

  Jack slid his hand down my thigh toward my knee and put his other hand around my back in a half hug. “We want you more than anything,” he said.

  I opened my mouth, but my mind raced too fast to formulate the words. I looked up at the chandelier on the ceiling and watched the crystals move and rotate in the light.

  “Want me…” I said. “What does that mean? You want me…in your bed? You want me…to entertain you?”

  Jack and Teddy locked eyes, and our server walked in to clear our plates and take our dessert order.

  “The tiramisu is excellent tonight,” she recommended, and I nodded my assent. After she left, Jack and Teddy each took one of my hands and cradled it between their large mitts.

  “Earlier, you said everything—that you wanted everything,” I said. “What does that mean?”

  “It means everything,” Teddy said. “You. Us. All together as equal partners. We don’t like being without you. We feel incomplete. You are missed. You are part of this bond.”

  “We hope you feel the same,” Jack added. He brushed my hair back, making me shiver. “We want to have everything with you.” He paused and looked at Teddy who nodded. “Someday, if it’s something you want too, we want you to take another one of those tests and have the result be positive. We want to be right by your side and make a family with you.”

  “We’re all in,” Teddy said. “You, Jack, and me. Together. That’s what we want. If you’ll have us.”

  This was a dream. It was some kind of slow motion dream. They wanted a life with me? A family? Did I want this? I closed my eyes and imagined my future. Where did I want to be?

  In my imagination, Jack walked in from around a corner and smiled at me. Right behind him was Teddy, carrying a bag of groceries. I was cooking. Cooking for our family.

  Family.

  I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t find the words. A real family. That wanted me.