Lying here together this morning, our bodies entwined, makes me never want to be anywhere else. I trail my fingertips up and down the ripples of muscles and stare at my amethyst ring. The emerald-cut purple stone rests in an antique setting, and the history of this ring is shown in its delicate beauty. When he began to present it to me the other night, I have to admit, for a second, I was disappointed that he wasn’t proposing. The feeling washed away quickly when I thought of the things he said to me, and I knew the only reason he wasn’t proposing was because of me. We’ve only been together since January and I’ve made plenty of comments with him around to Jess when she’d brings it up. It may have been to preserve my heart from disappointment, because I’ve been too afraid I’d scare him away if he knew I would’ve married him any time he asked. I’ve always loved him, but never wanted to admit it. My heart’s been his longer than I wanted to acknowledge. I’ve been giving him little pieces of it for years without even knowing it, and he’s been doing the same. But my mind always seems to interfere. My mind reminds me that getting engaged after being in a relationship for five months is a one-way ticket to impending divorce.
Now, I look at his grandmother’s ring and think of how much she and her husband loved each other, and have no doubt that Joey and I have the same kind of love. I run my fingertips across his taut stomach, the music setting the pace for our caresses, and feel my soul sink into his. I trail my fingers up to his chest and across the beautiful design that’s for Dave, and then over to the black woven Celtic knot around his bicep. He pulls me closer, takes in a deep breath and drags his leg up so that he’s pressed up against me in a way that awakes my intense desire.
He presses his lips to my head. “I want to do this every day with you. Nothing is better than having a day together like we had yesterday and waking up with you this way, half-naked in the morning. Move in with me.”
It’s not a question; he’s telling me, and I love it. I love that he seems to be able to know my every thought. I look up at him with a smile; he pulls me up to him so that we are face to face and kisses me. I immediately remember I haven’t brushed my teeth and pull away.
“Morning breath. Sorry.” I move to go brush my teeth, but he tightens his grasp.
“I don’t give a shit. Move in with me.” He doesn’t wait for an answer. He pulls me in for a deeper kiss and everything inside me melts.
His hands slide down my back, under the waistband of my underwear, and he removes them in one swift movement. We both let out a moan of satisfaction. I match his boldness, and take him in my hand, stroking him gently as he finds his way to my welcoming warmth. He flips on top of me and in an instant he’s inside me, filling me in the most exquisite way.
He stills once inside me and kisses up my neck. “You feel so fucking good, Kat.”
Slowly, very slowly, he pulls back, moving his hips in a circular motion, teasing every part of me while his lips come over my hard nipples, delicately devouring them. I’ve never felt so free, so comfortable to give myself as freely as I do with Joey. I trust him with my body in ways I’ve never trusted anyone.
I rake my nails down his back, nip at his shoulder when he slowly presses down into me so deeply that I can feel my desire building. “I love you. I love every part of you.”
He stills again deep inside me, and instead of pulling back out of me, keeping the same painfully slow pace, he moves his hips inside me, his touches a little more intense, making me climb even higher. He puts his attention back to my nipples, twisting one in the most arousing way, while sucking on the other, making me buck up against him and beg him to pick up the pace and give me what I want so badly.
“Tell me how you want it, Kat.” His voice drips with desire.
I wrap my legs higher up around the top of his back, getting him as deep as he can go, and press him up against me so closely it’s ecstasy, and slowly move below him. “I want it hard. I can’t wait anymore.”
He groans and kisses me so wholly, it penetrates my soul. His tongue moves with mine as he picks up the pace, hard and fast, twisting my nipples, making every inch of me ignite with desire. I can feel his muscles pulse and throb inside me, and I can’t stop myself from exploding with a satisfied frenzy. He lets out a groan and meets my climax, sending us both over the edge together.
He looks at me and kisses me softly. “That should become a Monday morning ritual.”
I smile and kiss him again. “Why just Monday?”
He laughs and kisses me all over my face; I wriggle under him, trying to get away. “That, right there…is why I love you so fucking much!” He rolls off me and pulls me with him, so I’m now at his side just like we were before. “You go hop in the shower, and I’ll make you breakfast so you’re not late for work.”
Holy crap, I almost forgot I had to work today. Without a word, I hop out of bed and run for the bathroom. I turn and see him staring unabashedly at my naked body with a shit-eating grin, and I don’t care. Just seeing every inch of his sexy body lying on the bed with the sheets in disarray below him makes me want to call in sick and make love to him all day long.
He knows I’m taking him in as much as he is me, and I have no idea how to even keep moving. His playful smile says he’s feeling the same.
“If you look at me that way, I’m never going to get to work.” I lean up against the bathroom doorframe and bite my bottom lip. “How about you skip making me breakfast, and help me shower? I’ll grab a banana on my way out.”
“Deal.”
Joey gets me to work just before my students arrive, and rather than being stressed and worried about being late, I’m on cloud nine. I unpack my things, glad that I didn’t have grading this weekend because it’s the last week of school and all grades have been submitted for report cards. I focus my thoughts on something other than Joey for a moment—all I can think of is our weekend together—and pull up the morning warm-up for my students on my computer to project on the screen on my whiteboard. Just then my principal, Mrs. Martin, walks in and shuts the door behind her. We spoke several times over the weekend about the incident with Todd, and I’m curious to hear what her decision for the students involved is.
“Good morning, Ms. Pierce. Do you have a moment before the children arrive so I can talk with you about what the school board decided?”
“Of course. My heart is breaking for Todd. We spoke yesterday, and he seems even more closed off than usual.” I motion for her to take a seat next to me so we can sit and talk.
She folds her hands on the table and I can tell by the way she won’t meet my gaze, I’m not going to like what I hear. “First of all, I am sorry that you’ve had to spend your weekend with this while you’ve been at a funeral. Your dedication to the students is endless, and the entire school board recognizes and appreciates all of the support you always show your students.”
I think of how differently my weekend turned out, but my bliss is quickly snuffed out by the look of frustration on her face. “Thank you very much, Mrs. Martin, but I have a feeling there’s a big ‘but’ coming.”
She nods solemnly. “The school board decided not to officially suspend the children involved since it would affect their admittance into the high schools they want to attend. Instead, they will have in-house suspension and can’t go to the last day of school carnival.”
I feel sick. “I understand that this decision was not yours alone, but the school policy for online bullying is a mandatory two-week suspension, and removal from all extracurricular activities. How can the rules be changed just to fit a few of the students’ needs? Sara’s mom is a voting member. It hardly seems ethical for her to even be involved in the decision.”
“Mrs. Ruez feels horrible about the actions of her daughter, and will also be putting many restrictions on her social media interactions.”
I can’t help myself and interrupt. “She should have them all taken away. What she did is something that will be with Todd for the rest of his life. He’s insecure enough as it is. I
nstead of letting him down easily, she led a group of kids to parody him and make disgustingly embarrassing memes that they posted all over Facebook and Instagram. He shouldn’t have to face them.”
Just then the bell rings, and students pour into the classroom. Mrs. Martin stands, and I can see the conflict in her face. She leans into me and talks quietly but full of emotion. “I’m as upset as you are about this. I promise you I will make sure every minute of their in-house suspension is filled with reflection and hopefully they’ll understand the impact of their actions that they found funny has on the psyche of a young boy.”
When she leaves my room and my students take their seat, I search everywhere for Todd, a little part of me hoping he just stayed home so he didn’t have to see the faces of those who hurt him. There’s a crowd of students at the back of the room, and I see at the center is Todd, and I begin to worry the others are making fun of him now. Instead, what I see brings tears to my eyes. The kids are all handing Todd paper hearts and his smile is confused but happy. I walk over to the group and put my arm around Todd.
“What’s all this?”
Shelly, a sweet, petite eighth grader who’s always kind to everyone smiled down at a stunned Todd. “We wanted him to know that the words of a few aren’t the feelings of others.”
Brad, one of our most popular students, pats Todd on his back. “We want you to know we stand with you, brother. There’s too many people ready to bring people down in this world when we should be holding each other up. We’re here for you, buddy.”
My heart bursts with pride. Seeing the kids show such kindness reminds me why I teach. It’s not only so they learn to analyze Shakespeare. I do it because of times like these. I squeeze Todd’s shoulder and turn back to the others. Todd’s always been shy and I can see by the look on his face he’s not sure what to say. He seems so confused and conflicted, I want to make sure he knows this isn’t another prank. “I love you guys. Thank you. Now get to work.” I smile and they all laugh and make their way to their seats after saying words of kindness to Todd.
I bend down and kneel next to him, and whisper so only he can hear. “This isn’t a joke, Todd. They mean it. It’s okay to be happy about this.”
He smiles down at the pile of heart-shaped paper with phone numbers and promises of friendship on his desk and picks them up, putting them in his backpack. When he looks back up at me, there’s something different about him that I can’t quite make out. It’s like a confident resolve that’s trying to make sense of something so unusual for him. He’s only ever had a few friends, his shyness has always been a barrier for creating connections, and now it must overwhelm him to have a whole new world of connections to embrace.
“Thanks, Ms. Pierce.” He says nothing more and opens up his journal and begins to answer the morning warm-up prompt: “Where do you see yourself in twenty years?”
I smile down at him; his response now will be much different than it would’ve been ten minutes ago.
Joey
“Hold on, We’re Going Home”
The moment Kat said she’d move in with me, I knew our lives together had begun. Well, she didn’t as much tell me as she showed me she’s agreed to move in with me, and I loved that much more. Kat always seems to know what I want or how I’m feeling. Although we’ve been together as a couple a relatively short time, we’ve really been together for decades. Just as my Pops had done with Grams, I’ve paid attention to everything she’s ever told me. I knew most important things about her before she even graduated from high school. The details I’ve learned about her since we’ve been together have been my favorite. I’ve learned just the right place to kiss her to make her smile and forget any dickhead comment I’ve made. I’ve learned that when I kiss her lips, her entire body reacts, and I love the innocence of it. I love that I know exactly how to make her reach her peak and clench her warmth around me when I can’t hold back another moment. Most of all, I’ve learned that her heart can love more than any other person in the world.
I’m heading up to get Kat’s car with Gage after lunch, so I decide to make use of my day off, and bring her lunch to work again, only this time hoping for a much different response than I had on Friday. When I pull into the parking lot of the enormous school, I can feel the chaos in the air. It’s the last week of school and the students seem to be off the wall. Loose pieces of paper float around in the wind on the grass of the normally pristine field; students appear to be cleaning out their lockers, seamlessly unaware of the mess they’re creating. I can imagine Kat trying to get control of her class, but knowing her, I’m sure she created some fun activity to keep everyone engaged and involved. I watch her work her magic with Jess and Cam’s kids all the time. It’s as if she has a magical power to calm anyone she’s near.
I grab a bag filled to the brim with all kinds of goodies from Cutter Lane, and make my way to the front office and sign in so I can go into Kat’s classroom. It makes me feel safer knowing that this school has tight security for visitors, given all of the shit happening in the world these days. I walk past a group of students huddled together at the front doors, praying together, and it makes me smile and gives me hope that there are some kids who do something other than text on their phones all day.
When I enter the front office to get my visitor’s pass and sign in, I notice another group of students sitting in Mrs. Martin’s office, all crying and looking miserable. I remember what she told me about the girl who had her friends ruin the boy she tutors online. I can’t help but laugh a little to myself, hoping they experience a fraction of the misery they caused that poor kid. Man, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thanked my lucky stars there was no social media when I was a kid. The world is a much crueler place for impressionable minds.
When I walk into the classroom, I pause and watch Kat for a moment. She’s so beautiful in so many ways. I think of our morning together, of how I washed her hair and made love to her one last time before she left for work. Watching her now, completely unaware of my admiration, with her hair covering her face while she reads over something on her desk, is a vision I never want to forget.
I clear my throat, getting her attention, and make my way to her side. She smiles immediately, pops up from her desk and runs into my arms. “How did you know I was thinking of you?” She kisses me and notices the bag in my hands. “I think I just fell in love with you all over again. I’m starving!”
I kiss her head and hold up the bag. “It’s your break time, right? I thought I’d join you before going up to get your car.”
“I have about forty minutes left.” She glances down at her watch and pulls a few desks together.
I take out some meatball sandwiches and a salad from the plastic bag. She grabs the sandwich first and takes a big bite, chomping at the mozzarella cheese stringing from the roll until it breaks. “Someone seems to have worked up an appetite,” I joke.
She laughs and wipes the sauce from the corner of her mouth, looking cuter than ever. “I know something else I have an appetite for.” She winks playfully and takes another big bite from her sandwich.
“You’re so lame,” I say, even though I love every second of her flirty banter. I love that Kat is so easy and herself around me. She doesn’t immediately grab the salad and pick at it, too self-conscious to eat in front of me.
She puts her sandwich down and takes a drink from her water with pure joy oozing from her. “Let’s just say it’s been a good day.”
“It started out so good for me, I was afraid it could only go downhill from there.” I wink and dig in to my lunch.
“Ha, ha. Well, it started out amazing. But when I got to work, I wasn’t so sure because I found out the school didn’t suspend all those kids. Well, not officially anyway. They have in-house suspension, which not only means they got off way too easy, but that Todd was going to have to face them today.”
I’m so pissed at the people who run this school when she tells me this, that I almost burst out of my seat and
hunt them down to give them a piece of my mind. Kat notices my anger and grabs my hand and smiles. “I was pissed too, but then when class started, all of the kids in class gave Todd heart-shaped pieces of paper with words of encouragement, promises of friendship, and phone numbers. I’ve seen it happening all day long. It’s amazing to see and I can only imagine how touched Todd must be feeling.”
“Wow. That’s fantastic. That’s just not something you hear every day.”
“I know, right?” she says with a mouth full of lettuce. She smiles shyly, realizing the ravenous way she’s eating. “Cut me some slack. I have to talk and eat at the same time or I’ll never finish in time.”
God, I love her.
Gage and I make good time getting up to Cherry Hill and back, with an hour to spare before I have to leave to get Kat. I decide to hang at his place since it’s a little closer to her school and I don’t want to deal with being stopped by the annoying renters next door who have questions about everything.
I’m not surprised to see Cam and Jess working together in Gage’s office when I arrive. Cam has been spending more and more time helping with the foundation than writing her articles for the New Yorker lately. She’s reduced her work there to freelancing when she has something she’s burning to write about so that she can spend more time helping the families who are being aided by the foundation.
“How are my girls?” I walk in and plop down on a couch in the corner of the cozy office that overlooks the Atlantic.
“Hey Joey!” Cam says happily, twirling around in her chair.
Jess and Gage are basically making out, so I throw a pillow at them, breaking up their display. “Get a room.”
I love seeing them both so happy and in love. Gage swiftly grabs the pillow off the ground and throws it back at me like a bullet. “Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.” He kisses Jess on her nose before he looks over to Cam. “You should’ve been in the car ride up with me. All he talked about was ‘Kat this’ and ‘Kat that.’ It was like he’s been taken over by a body snatcher.” He looks at me and nods his head mockingly. “It’s pathetic really. He’s a whipped little puppy dog.”
His Jar of Hearts (A Broken Fairy Tale #3) Page 15