by S. M. Shade
I’m in trouble.
The residents clap when the song ends, and she flashes me a smile before she goes on to play the next song. After a few songs, she thanks everyone, and is surrounded by residents praising and talking to her.
Grandma leans over and squeezes my arm. “That’s the one, Layton. Don’t you let her get away.”
“She’s a student. A kid.” My words don’t sound convincing even to me.
“Bull honkey. She told me she turns twenty this month. The way she looks when she talks about you, trust me, she’s grown.”
I can’t disagree. There’s not a trace of me that sees her as a kid. “She’s my student. I’ll lose my job.”
Grandma stands up and stares down at me. “She won’t be your student forever.”
Those words stick with me long after I’m home for the night and reoccur often over the next few days. There’s no denying I’m interested in her. I’m not exactly sure why. Is it the forbidden fruit, taboo nature of it? Just wanting something I shouldn’t? I don’t think so. She’s on my mind way too often. When I give myself a chance to really think about it, the age difference doesn’t bother me. I’ve known couples with much larger gaps and no one bats an eye.
It’s the teacher student relationship that makes it wrong.
If I’m being honest with myself, I wouldn’t have a problem with that either if the college didn’t, but they absolutely do. There’s no gray area there. The answer seems simple enough.
Wait.
She will only be in my class one semester. It’s true she’ll still be a student after that, but I’m not sure I’ll still be teaching there and even if I am, she’ll be a student. Not my student.
I’ve always been good at finding loopholes.
That’s months away, however, and until then, I need to keep my distance. A few more piano lessons and I won’t see her outside of school and Adulting Club meetings.
Between work, practicing the song Kelly gave me, and hanging out with Dalton and Travis, the last four days have flown by. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to Monday, when I know I’ll see her again, not just in class, but at Adulting Club and the piano lesson.
The auto repair department was happy to loan us their garage and two of the teachers volunteered to help for Adulting Club today. We’re only showing them a few basics like changing a tire, jumping a dead battery, checking and refilling fluids.
I was clueless about cars, and I’m no expert now, but hearing some of the questions and comments makes me fight back a laugh. First time in my life I’ve ever heard RPM’s referred to as rippems.
The students are divided up, moving between the activities with each teacher. I have the easy job, at least I thought I did, of showing them how to check and measure fluids.
After having them measure, I step back and let them refill the fluids on the car that are a bit low. Everything is fine until I hear Kelly tell Owen. “You mixed them up!”
“I did not.”
“You did! That’s coolant!”
“What’s going on?” I ask, and Kelly turns around and holds up a bottle of coolant.
“He put antifreeze coolant in the windshield washer reservoir!”
The rest of the students burst out laughing, and Owen exclaims, “They look the same!”
“Washer fluid is blue, not green! How can you mix that up?” Kelly argues.
Owen crosses his arms. “Because I’m colorblind.”
Kelly’s mouth falls open a little, and I see the regret slip into her expression.
“Uh-huh,” Owen taunts with a smile. “See, now you feel bad.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Owen only lets her suffer a second before he hugs her. “It’s fine. I’m not touchy about it. So, I can’t tell blue from green. When do you really need that in life anyway?”
“Today, apparently,” Milo snorts, and Owen flips him off.
The spike of jealousy that I have to rein in at the sight of Owen with his arms around her is ridiculous. She isn’t mine. She doesn’t even know that I think of her as anything other than a student. I can’t help it, the way she smiles up at him, and the way they tease each other, it’s clear they spend time together and know each other well.
“It’s possible to read the bottles,” Kelly points out.
“Read,” Owen scoffs. “What a nerd.”
“Okay, let’s flush the reservoir before someone sprays that greasy stuff all over the windshield,” I announce.
When the club ends, I notice she gets in Owen’s truck instead of riding her bike home. It looks like I may be too late.
On my way home, I stop at a fast food drive thru to grab a burger and fries. I’m just getting ready to pull back onto the road when I have to hit my brakes. A puppy wanders in front of my truck, completely oblivious to the danger he’s in, and is about to be in if he keeps heading for the street.
“Hey boy,” I call, sticking my hand out the window.
As he ambles closer, I see how emaciated and dirty the poor thing is. Someone has dumped him out here. He’s not skittish or afraid when I get out and kneel down in front of him. His black fur looks healthy, just covered in road dust, but he’s starving.
I’m torn. There’s no way I’m leaving him here, but do I take him to the shelter? I’ve been wanting to adopt a dog and this one clearly needs someone.
His tongue darts out and licks my hand. “Okay, you’re coming home with me.” He doesn’t try to wriggle away when I pick him up and set him in the passenger seat, and the way he just sits upright looking around on the drive home is funny.
The greasy bag of takeout food has been tossed in the back seat and he peeks back there a few times, but I’m surprised he doesn’t go for it. I’ll have to run to the store to get him some food and stuff, but it can wait. I’ll find something at home I can feed him for tonight.
The sun has set when we get home, and I can barely see him trotting behind me up to my porch. His fur is dark as midnight. That would make a good name for him.
He follows me inside and to the kitchen. As soon as I set a bowl of water on the floor, he nearly knocks it over the way he dives into it, lapping frantically. After considering the options for a minute, I take out some of the beef I had cooked to go into a stew for tomorrow. With the way he went at that water, I know not to give him all the meat at once or he’ll just puke it up.
Instead, I sit at the table with my food and eat while I drop a few pieces of meat at a time into his bowl. Once we’re finished, I’m glad to see him go to the back door and whine.
Someone housebroke him, at least. Awesome.
He disappears into the darkness to relieve himself then trots back to me, tail wagging. “Let’s get you a bath. You smell awful.”
The dog I had as a kid hated baths, and I’m fully prepared to have to wrestle him into the tub, but as soon as he’s in the warm water, he just sits down and looks at me. Even turning the shower on him doesn’t faze him. He bites at the water, playing a little, but doesn’t have much strength. I have to scrub him and rinse him twice to get all the grime off. By the time I have him toweled off, I realize I’m going to have to hurry to shower before the piano lesson if I don’t want to go smelling like a wet dog.
Should I cancel it tonight? My reaction to seeing Owen with Kelly today isn’t something I’m proud of. It’s not like I showed it in any way, but still, I’m supposed to be the adult in this situation. Sometimes, the absurdity is laughable, that I’m teaching students how to be an adult when I don’t feel any different than I did when I was eighteen.
I should leave her alone. That was a good plan. I should let her be with the college guys her age, not someone older, with more responsibilities and not as much time for fun. I’m not even sure what we have in common. I just know that she’s kind and sweet, and I feel good when I’m near her. Plus, I have an urge to fuck her brains out, to see her moan and writhe under me.
I’m not canceling. I want to see h
er.
I toss an old blanket over my couch and Midnight wastes no time curling up on it. He’s asleep in seconds, and I rush to get cleaned up and ready.
Kelly is leading a little boy who looks about eight out of the back room when I arrive. “Just keep practicing like you have been. You’re doing fantastic,” she tells him, smiling at his mother as she approaches.
The little boy gazes up at her like she invented ice cream, and I can’t help but smile. She has that effect on everyone, it seems. She sure won Grandma over in record time and that woman can be discerning to say the least.
We sit at the piano, and she grins at me. “So, have you managed to memorize Happy Birthday?”
“I think I’ve got it.” I’ve played it so much over the past week I don’t need to look at the notes on the sheet, just on the keys.
“Great, I have a couple of songs for you to choose from after this one. The residents at the retirement home had plenty of requests.” She scoots a little closer. “Okay, sit up straight and show me.”
It’s a little different playing on the piano than on the keyboard but I make it through without missing a note. Before she can say anything, I run through it again and it sounds much smoother and more natural.
When I turn to look at her after to see what she thought, she cries, “You did it!” Her excitement is adorable, and she throws her arms around me in a hug.
“Let’s hope I can do it again at the home.” She feels too good in my arms. Too right. As soon as I pull away a little, she shocks the shit out of me.
Her lips land on mine and any self-control I thought I had dissolves into nothing. I don’t care that she’s younger than me, or that she’s my student. I don’t care about anything but the little moan she lets out when I slide my tongue into her mouth.
She presses her body against mine and my hand slips under her hair, my palm resting on her nape. Her tongue explores, stroking mine, so gentle but not hesitant. Had I thought of her as innocent and shy? Because there’s nothing about the way she’s kissing that reflects that.
“Kelly! Did we get the shipment of reeds today?” Mr. Cooper’s shout is like a pitcher of cold water dousing us.
Jerking back, both of our heads turn toward the open door, and I’m not the only one relieved to find no one there. He’s just called out from the front of the store. What the hell am I doing? One little hug and I’m mauling her in the back of the store.
“They’re supposed to be delivered tomorrow!” she calls back.
The relieved smile on her face fades to a cautious look when I stand up. “I’m sorry.”
“Why? I kissed you.” She blinks, her gaze locked on mine.
My mind races for the right words. The last thing I want to do is hurt her feelings. “Kelly…you’re my student. I can’t.”
Her smile is forced and her cheeks flush as she tries to hide her embarrassment and disappointment. “Technically, you’re my student too. They should cancel each other out.”
When I start to speak again, she beats me to it. “It’s alright, I get it. Let’s just pretend I didn’t do that, okay?”
There’s no way I can sit down beside her and not continue where we left off. I’m at the end of my self-control. “Okay. I need to go. I have to get home early tonight.”
I’m not fooling her, but she isn’t going to argue.
“Yeah, sure.”
Less than ten minutes after I arrived, I rush back out as if I’m being pursued by flames. Fitting, since she’s like a flame drawing me in, so gorgeous to look at, but she’ll burn my life to the ground if I touch her.
Chapter Eight
Kelly
What the hell was I thinking? In what universe did I believe it was a good idea to kiss my teacher? Not just my teacher. A man I will now still have to see at school, Adulting Club, and for piano lessons—if he comes back. I won’t be surprised if he doesn’t.
I’m not sure what came over me. His arms felt so good around me and his lips were right there and I just…went for it. And made a complete fool out of myself.
All I want is to get home to bed, pull the covers over my head and never come out. A silent curse rings in my head when Mr. Cooper calls my name just as I’m clocking out.
“Kelly, can I have a word before you go?”
Nerves instantly set in. Surely, Mr. Aldrich didn’t tell him I attacked him with my lips. “Um…of course, Mr. Cooper.”
“Jesse,” he reminds me with a friendly smile.
“Right, Jesse. What’s up?” Please don’t fire me and make a terrible day worse.
“My father is going to retire in a few months.”
A sinking feeling starts in my stomach. Is the store closing?
“I know you’re also a student, but we wanted to offer it to you before hiring someone new.”
Shit, I’ve missed something. I need to get out of my head and listen. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…can you repeat that?”
Jesse tilts his head a little, looking me in the eye. “Are you okay?”
No, I’m making a moron of myself twice in ten minutes. It’s a personal record. Someone should make me a ribbon. “Yeah, sorry, I’m just tired and a little distracted. You said your father is retiring…”
“Yes, and when he does, I’ll need to hire someone full time. It would include full benefits, medical and everything. I wanted to see if you’d be interested.”
Working full time at the music store? As much as I’d love to say yes, I don’t know how much I can juggle when it comes to school.
“You would still continue to give piano lessons in the evenings, but I’d need you forty hours a week, including some weekends.”
“I—when would you need to know?”
“I don’t plan to interview until right before he’s ready to quit. You have time to think about it. I just wanted to give you a heads up if you might be interested.”
I’m interested. Way too interested. I love it here. It’s the perfect job for me, and I’ve already learned a lot. It’s the one area where I don’t feel out of place, like I’m fumbling through trying not to fail.
“Thank you so much for thinking of me. I’m interested, but I’ll have to think on it. Because of school and everything.”
Jesse nods with a smile. “Of course, we’ll talk about it again later.”
My bike ride home seems to take seconds. I’m so distracted by everything that’s happened today. The embarrassment of kissing Mr. Aldrich like that still makes me cringe, but that doesn’t mean I’m not replaying every second of that amazing kiss in my mind. He may not have expected me to kiss him, and he definitely regretted it after, but the way he responded sure wasn’t disappointing. He kissed me back every bit as much, got just as caught up and turned on as I did.
It isn’t until the red flashing lights catch my eye as I ride onto Violent Circle that I pull myself out of my head. Oh my god. Two fire trucks sit on the opposite side of the park, near our apartment.
Fear sends a shiver over me, and I pedal faster until I see a small group of neighbors gathered just inside the park fence, along with a few firefighters. A sigh of relief leaves me when I see Zara, Serena, and Remee standing by the park fence.
“What happened? Is someone hurt?” My bike gets leaned against the fence while I catch up with my friends.
All three turn to look at me, then burst out laughing. “He’s fine. He’s just an idiot.”
“Who?”
Serena points toward the swing set. “Marty.”
Marty, all six foot four of him, shirtless of course, stands in front of two firemen while they try to figure out how to help him out of… “Is he stuck in a baby swing?”
They crack up again, and I take a few steps, getting close enough to see that yes, he most certainly is stuck in one of the rubber baby swings. Both of his legs are jammed through the two small holes and how he got his ass and crotch to fit in the seat in the first place, I’ll never know.
“What was he doing?”
&n
bsp; “He came over with Owen a few hours ago. They had some chocolate edibles. We were sitting on the porch and they decided they had to swing.”
“That doesn’t explain why he stuffed his ass in a baby swing.”
Owen walks up, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “The guy has an IQ of a chicken nugget. What are you going to do?”
“Uh-huh.” Remee eyes him. “And you didn’t encourage this in any way?”
The corner of his mouth tucks in, and he looks up, pretending to think. “Define encourage.”
“Shh, we’re missing the show,” Serena says, pointing her phone at Marty as the firemen surround him.
A fireman kneels in front of him, and another lifts him until he’s draped over the kneeling one’s shoulder. While one holds him, the other tries to pull the swing off.
Marty lets out a squeal. “Ah! No! My nut’s caught!”
Laughter rattles around us, and I look around to see neighbors sitting out in lawn chairs and on porches at every apartment that has a view of the park. The ones from farther down the street have gathered at the park fence to watch.
“Don’t break the swing!” Dillon calls, one of the little boys who live on the other end of the circle. It draws laughter again.
I’m not close enough to see exactly what the firefighters are doing, but it looks like they’re greasing him up with something. Whatever it is works. The next time they pull him, he slides out of the swing, and the fireman sets him on his feet.
A cheer and applause go up from all around us. It makes me laugh until I have tears in my eyes. This neighborhood is weird, but damned if it doesn’t grow on you. Gavin, our neighbor from a few doors down, and his teenage niece, Penny, walk up to the firemen, offering them some cold drinks. It’s nighttime, but the heat has hung on.
The firemen pack up and head to their trucks while Marty makes his way over to us.