Just as Lena stood up the bell rang. Just my luck, she thought, kudos for doing something nice. She pressed herself against the wall, as the torrent of students was set free from the cafeteria. Once the room finally cleared, she and Charlie meandered out.
“Later, Gator.” She said as he turned down the hallway toward the first grade classrooms.
No wonder Eric was frustrated over the whole thing, she loved kids and even she wasn’t sure what to do with herself around him. It was unnerving.
***
By lunchtime, Lena was ready to stretch out and relax, but as soon as her room cleared, a figured appeared in the doorway. She glanced up, expecting another teacher or administrator. Instead, she saw her ever-persistent and undeniably good-looking stalker.
“I thought you were waiting for my call this time.”
He held up a small black object—her missing cell phone. “I thought you might need this, but if not, I can go.”
He took a step back, but Lena rose and met him at the door. “Thank you.”
“I believe it’s dead. I found it this morning after I dropped off Charlie.”
“And came all the way back here to return it—how nice.”
“You sound suspicious. It’s not like I stole it and planted it in my own car. But—” He pinned her against the doorframe. “If you’re allowed to leave during lunch period….”
“So, this isn’t a trap at all, huh?” Every cell in her body hummed with energy, just from having him stand next to her. Too fast and too hard, Lena. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“A surprise.”
“I don’t know, Eric.” She put her hands behind her back, pulling and rubbing her fingers where he couldn’t see.
He reached behind her, and grabbed her hands, pressing them into her back as he pulled her forward. Her muscles tensed, and she closed her eyes, trying to block out his invasion.
“Don’t shut down, Sweetie.” A soft caress to her cheek coaxed her eyes open.
“I’m at work.”
“You have fifty minutes while your kids enjoy lunch and recess.”
“You did your homework.”
He tipped his head back and smiled. “Then, I deserve a reward.”
“If I go with you, I lose control. Hell, just standing here with you, I feel it slipping.”
“It scares and excites you at the same time, but it’s always your choice. You can tell me no.”
Despite that promise, she could still see the fleck of mischief in the squint of his eyes, and the set of his smirking lips. “And you’ll listen?”
“Yes, but I can’t listen to anything unless you tell me what you want.”
“I want time.”
“As long as you don’t lose your phone, you can call me when you’re ready.” He leaned in to kiss her forehead and stepped away to leave.
“Wait.” Damn it, don’t lose your guts now. “Just one question. Are you… will you… be entertaining anyone else?”
Eric’s shoulders relaxed, and he moved back to scoop her into a hug. “Not a chance, little Loner. Call me whenever you want, even if you just want to talk.” As he released her, he put his palm to her cheek, and she pressed her face against it.
She didn’t want to pull away, but she was determined to stand her ground this time. “Get out of here before I lose my conviction.”
He nodded and took another step. Her body itched to pull him back, but she had to know she could do it. That she could watch him walk away and keep standing on her own feet. Then she glanced down at her phone. Even if she didn’t last long at least she knew she had the strength to do it, and that he would listen.
And now what she really needed was a cold shower, but since that wasn’t an option, she brushed the papers to the side of her desk and rested her cheek against the cool wood.
“That man is going to be the end of me,” she murmured to herself. Then, she dug a spare phone charger out of her drawer and plugged in her phone under the desk.
When someone knocked on her door, she jumped, knocking her head on the desk.
A female snickered, then cleared her throat. “Sorry.”
“Yeah, this has been just my day. Ms. Torrence, right?” Lena asked, she'd recognized the woman from staff meetings, but they had never spoken one on one.
“Yeah, Jessica Torrence. I was just thinking that we’ve never had time for a chat and my husband is taking the kids out to a soccer game after school, so I wanted to see if you’d like to go out for a cup of coffee.”
“Oh, well my roommate will be picking me up after school.” Lena shrugged.
“Oh, your roommate isn't Eric, is it?” She flinched like she regretted what she'd just said.
“What do you know about Eric?”
“We went to high school together and well, I… just saw him leave your room.”
“Eric isn't my roommate, he's….” What is he exactly? “Just a friend. Is that why you wanted to have coffee?”
But, she realized, if Jessica had saw them standing in the doorway, she’d already realized that Eric was more than a friend.
Jessica fussed with her shirt, stepping back to lean against the doorframe. “I realized that you've been here for a while, and I don't know much about you. I remember what my first few months here were like and honestly, it can be lonely. We're the youngest teachers here by at least a decade.”
“And seeing me with Eric prompted this?”
“No, that's not it. I mean, I have to admit curiosity, but that's really not it.”
Lena crossed her arms, she still wasn't convinced. “Did you and Eric have a thing?”
Jessica took a long breath, then collapsed against the doorframe. “Eric and I dated for a while in ninth grade, but that was it. It was never anything serious, and we hung out with the same group until graduation.”
“Okay.” Ex-girlfriend drama was exactly what Lena didn’t need right now, but a ninth grade fling didn’t really seem like justification for anyone to try to start trouble.
“I just wanted to have a chat, maybe some other time?”
“Maybe.” Eric’s words from Friday night echoed in her brain, I don’t do well with hiding. As Jessica took a backwards step through the door, Lena decided to take a shot inspired by Eric’s bluntness. “If you have something to say about Eric, just spit it out.”
Jessica gripped at the doorframe, her eyes lowered. “You can take it or leave it, but he used to get really possessive and kind of moody.”
All Lena could manage was to stare at her and blink repeatedly. What the hell was she supposed to do with that information? In a roundabout way, Eric had already admitted that he could be prone to jealousy, but he hadn’t explained the extent. “Everyone is moody in high school.”
“You’re right, and it was almost ten years ago. I don’t want you to think I’m interfering, I…just don't like seeing people get hurt.”
Lena choked.
“No, I mean, I… oh, for fuck's sake.” Jessica covered her mouth and glanced down the hallway, “I should have just kept my mouth shut. I don't mean to freak you out. He can just be intense, and he got into a bad fight during our senior year. The other guy started it, but after that, he pulled away from most of us. Started working a lot and hanging out with some guy from there. My best friend was dating him at the time, and it seemed like he got into… well, some strange stuff.”
Lena rubbed her neck, and Jessica took that as a cue to leave.
“You’re right,” Lena said, before Jessica was out of sight. She couldn’t understand the need to defend Eric. Jessica may have known him longer, but if she hadn’t talked to him in years, she had no place to bring up things that had happened in another decade. “He’s different, slightly intimidating, but,” she shrugged, “I’m not sure I’ve ever met a guy less frightening.”
“Good,” Jessica smiled, lingering for another second in the doorway outside Lena's room. “And, if you can overlook my stepping in where I have no business, the offe
r for coffee still stands if you'd ever like to hang out and talk about teaching.”
Lena raised a brow, turning back to straighten out some pencils on her desk. “Thanks,” I guess.
***
Lena slid the desk drawer closed with her heel when her phone began buzzing in her bag. She was ready to get away from the white brick walls of the school and unwind. It had been a hell of an afternoon after some electrical work triggered the fire alarms, forcing the whole school to evacuate and wait on the playground until the fire department tracked down the cause. “Hey, Miah.”
“Hey, I'm going to be stuck at work for a while. I thought you should know so you can get another ride, or something. Sorry—”
“No problem. I think I can catch a ride.” She slipped the phone into her bag and chuckled to herself. Why not? she thought, it's time for outgoing risk-taking Lena.
She jogged out into the hallway, hoping there weren't any kids left to see her. Outside the front door, she saw Jessica on her way to a car. “Jessica!” The blonde stopped and smiled.
“My roommate can't pick me up so—”
“Get in. Just, don't mind the mess from the kids.”
Lena nodded and noticed a booster seat in the back. “How old are they?”
“Nine and five, but we've ended up with more booster seats and car seats than should be acceptable.”
Lena slid into the car, “Wait, you have a nine-year-old?”
Jessica smiled as she slid Lena a sideways glance. “Yes, and since I’m nearly thirty-one, I’ll take that as a compliment. Although between the two of them, it did delay my teaching license.”
“At least you finished.” Lena fastened her seatbelt, then tucked her hands under her thighs. Somehow climbing into the car of a fellow teacher was at least a dozen times more nerve wracking than agreeing to a date with Eric. At least when Eric led the conversation down an awkward path, she didn’t feel the prickle under her skin, like tiny razor blades trying to break free. But as long as the conversation stayed clear of Eric, the ten-minute ride home would be tolerable. “How long have you been teaching?”
“This will be my second year. I think I was the first fresh blood in this place in a while. A lot of the older teachers weren’t too happy with my ‘youngun’ approaches.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that we are in the company of blue-hairs.” Lena smiled, but after that, she couldn’t think of anything else to say. “Well, I guess we could go the cliché traditional route and discuss our favorite subjects.”
“Now that’s my favorite subject.”
Lena stopped laughing long enough to see Jessica’s red face then erupted into another fit of giggles. “That was bad.”
“Yeah. I really don’t get out much.”
Lena buried her face in her hands, trying to calm her burning skin and tearing eyes. It had been a horrible pun, but at least it broke the tension. “Yeah, me neither, but that’s a horrid excuse.”
“So, favorite subject, mine is science.”
“Ugh, art and English for me.”
“Well then, we’ll either be the best of friends or worst of enemies. You know a few of the teachers trade classes for subjects they’re not too fond of teaching. Maybe that’s something we should talk about down the road.”
“Hey, you get me out of teaching a bunch of eight-year-olds about Science and I’ll be your best friend forever.”
“Perfect. That will give me plenty of time to make up for being a total creeper. I am sorry about that.”
“Let’s just forget about that, and never speak about it again.” But, it would be a long time before Lena actually forgot about it. Whether she believed in the ten-year-old assessments, there were still a lot of questions about Eric that she needed answers to.
***
“Hey, little sis.” Jeremiah dropped his things near the hall table and stepped into the kitchen, where Lena had already begun putting together a pot of vegetable soup. “How'd you fare with getting home today?”
“Fine, I got a ride from another teacher. I am fully grown and capable you know.”
Jeremiah took a step back and put up his hands. “I'm aware, and you keep reminding me of that lately. I'm going to grab a shower.”
Lena nodded and went back to stirring the vegetable soup, while her phone stared at her from the nearby kitchen island. She tapped the spoon against the edge of the pot and rested it against a small bowl on the center of the stove, wiping her clammy hands before picking up the phone.
Hey Rusty, I met an old friend of yours today.
There was a long pause before she got a reply.
Are you just going to leave me hanging?
Jessica T….
Then she stopped, if Jessica was married, she might have changed her last name.
Jessica, she said she went to school with you.
Torrence?
Yeah, didn't know if that was her married name.
It is.
She tapped her finger against the side of the phone. Maybe bringing it up hadn't been such a good idea, especially via text since she had no way of gauging his reaction. Then, her phone shook again.
Sorry. Helping Charlie with homework. I can call after he goes to bed if you want to talk.
She let out the breath she’d been holding. Sure.
***
By the time Lena curled up on the couch that evening, most of the questions she’d planned to ask Eric had faded in her mind. She pulled a comfy fleece throw over herself and scanned through the channels until she found a zombie movie marathon. The house was quiet since Jeremiah had gone out to meet some friends, and she hoped the zombie movie would at least keep her awake until Eric called.
If Eric called.
She glanced at the clock; it was barely going on eight, even though after a long day at work it felt closer to midnight. Her eyes fluttered, and she went still until the cushion under her head began to vibrate.
“Hey.”
“Hey, Loner. You sound like you were asleep.”
“Nearly,” Or quite possibly entirely. “I was laying on the couch watching movies. Apparently they're pretty boring.”
“I can let you go to sleep.”
“No. I'm okay. For a little while at least.” She sat up, stretched her back, and pulled the blanket around her to form a cocoon.
“How was the rest of your day?”
“I had an afternoon of art and math with third graders, then came home and made soup for dinner.”
“So all downhill after lunch?”
Lena laughed, finally coming out of her tired stupor. “You could say that I guess.”
“I moved some stuff around the house and waited for Charlie to get home from school. His therapist thought it would be best to put him back on his normal schedule. Bus included. Since he hasn't really said anything good or bad, I can't really argue either way. He seems content with it.”
“He's what, seven?”
“Yeah. I don't know if I feel in over my head because of his current situation or if I'd feel that way either way.”
“Either way. Kids are a big change, especially when you're not used to dealing with them. I can only speak from babysitting and teaching experience, but I'm sure you're good at it. It will get easier.”
“No one said that going from single guy to single parent would be easy.”
Lena giggled, “Yeah, I'm sure it does a number on your social time.”
“Yes, it does. Especially when the girl I'm interested in works the same hours he's in school.” Eric paused, and she heard movement on his side of the phone. “How did your meeting go with Jessica?”
“Right, that,” Rubbing her eyelids, she wondered why she’d even brought it up in the first place. Whether or not old high school events mattered anymore. For her own selfish reasons, she hoped not. “She just told me that you went to school together and that you got into some fight your senior year.”
“Good to know that’s what I’m remembered for, but I’m not surp
rised. The guy I got into a fight with was her older brother. We never really got along, and,” there was a long silence before Eric continued, “he hurt someone that I cared about.”
“Your sister?” Lena guessed.
“No. My, at the time, ex-girlfriend. It was during the first of three times we broke up before graduation. She went to a party with him, he got drunk and violent. After she called me, I went to pick her up, and he and I got into it, but we all walked away relatively unscathed. The big fight went down a few days later when I went to check on Kat, since he’d managed to rough her up a bit. He showed up a while after me, picked another fight, and I lost my temper. When Kat’s parents came home, they called the cops.”
“Shit.” The blanket fell away from Lena’s shoulders, but she didn’t bother to pull it back up as she concentrated on Eric’s revelation.
“Yeah, he talked about pressing charges until Kat came forward and told everyone what happened. She’d snuck out to go to the party, so her parents weren’t thrilled with that bit, but I guess it worked out for the best.”
“And you two got back together?”
“A few weeks later, yeah.”
“Did you,” Lena pieced the question together in her head, but each time it just didn’t seem right, “know what you were then?”
“If you’re asking whether I knew that I was into BDSM, not really. I knew that I wanted something different. That I needed to be in control and that my fantasies probably didn’t align with the typical teenage fantasies, but I didn’t really understand it all.”
Lena took a moment to fix her blanket and get comfortable, until Eric’s next question settled a chill in her body that no blanket would thaw.
“What about you? You didn’t outright admit to having thought about it, but the look on your face in the restaurant said enough.”
“I—” she grunted, but had no one to blame but herself since she’d brought up the topic in the first place, “I thought about it. Never knew why, and until a couple of years ago, I didn’t even know there was terminology for it all. I tried to block it out, especially as a teenager, but a few years ago, I got curious and read some fiction. I wasn’t sure if that clarified things or made it worse since I figured I’d never have the guts to act on what I wanted.”
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