It had been a long time since I had considered us best friends. Her husband had come along and I was barely given a thought. I didn’t say that to her face though. We had an amicable friendship, and I wanted to keep it that way. If she ever asked me to babysit though I’d be telling her to ‘bite me’.
“Is he married? Is that why you are being all secretive?”
“No.” I decided to offer her something to shut her up. “He’s a couple of years younger than me that’s all. I feel a little embarrassed about it.”
“You’re going to tell me he’s all buff aren’t you? I get it, you’re going to marry him and have babies who grow up to enter the Olympics.”
“You are so crazy, lady. We’re just having fun is all. Lots and lots of…” I emphasized the word, “fun.”
“I’m so jealous,” Tana replied. “I’m too sick to move around having passionate, frantic sex.”
“Yeah, well that’s what got you in this trouble in the first place. I don’t know about lately but you and Don certainly had your moments. I used to have to turn my music way up high.”
Tana sighed. “Those were the days.”
“You sound like you miss them?”
“I kind of do. Don’t get me wrong, I love Don and we are so excited for the baby, but the crazy newness you get with brand new relationships is dulled down. It’s different, and it’s a good different, but I wonder when we’ll get time to stay in bed for three days just sending for pizza in between fucking again.”
I decided that the weekend coming that’s exactly what me and Garrett would do. Friday night until Sunday afternoon, bed and takeout.
“So, how long have you two been together?”
“A month. It’s very new.”
“But you like him a lot?” Tana queried. “I can see it in your expression.”
“I really do,” I told her.
Lunch drew to a close, and I promised Tana I would keep her updated. I would need to get her onto a new baby obsession, like names or what color the nursery was going to be, anything to distract her from my love life. The afternoon was spent teaching class while I looked forward to the end of the day.
I had stayed in the classroom marking while I waited for nearby colleagues and other students to go home. When the coast was clear, I sent Garrett a text to let him know.
The classroom door opened, and he walked inside. I couldn’t help myself, a massive beam of a smile lit up my face and I saw it mirrored in his own expression. He swaggered towards me, his super hot body closing in on mine and those muscled arms wrapped around my body folding me within. He may have been younger, but when we were together, I felt like the young one, in the protection of an alpha male.
“God, I miss you when we’re not together.” He told me. “Days seem to go on forever.”
“Plus, hot sex with your cougar is much more fun than cleaning up empty bottles and vomit.” I winked, looking up at him.
“Ugh, don’t remind me. That’s the joy I shall be returning to, so in this brief interlude, I think you should distract me.”
Pulling him towards a chair, I lowered his pants and boxer briefs, I took his cock in my hand, pumping it until he was hard and ready. I got him to sit on the chair and then I knelt at his feet, taking that huge cock into my mouth. Hell, I couldn’t get enough of him: in my mouth, in my pussy, in my ass. I craved him so damn much. Sucking him until he came down my throat was such a turn on. I could watch his face, his eyes closing as I tongued his dick, could feel his climax approaching. He thrust into my mouth while groans emitted from his own.
“Mer? Are you still here, only I’m feeling faint. Can you-”
We sprang back from each other, the chair scraped against the floor. I wiped across my mouth while Garrett hurriedly put his cock back in his trousers. Then I turned to see the disbelieving face of Tana.
She grabbed the trashcan and threw up in it.
“Garrett, go home.” I told him.
His bulky form towered over me. “No. I’m not ashamed, I’m staying here.”
I touched his arm. “She’s my friend, Garrett, please, and the pregnancy is really taking its toll. I don’t want to put any extra stress on her. I will call you. Please, Garrett…” I looked at him with a pained stare.
“Okay.” His cheek pulsed in anger. “I will expect a call from you, very soon, telling me she’s okay and there’s no problem here.” He stalked away out of the classroom, his posture stiff and muscles rigid. The door banged behind him.
I passed Tana my bottle of water from the desk so she could swill out her mouth.
“You okay?” I asked her.
She swilled out her mouth, spitting it into the can and I took the can from her hands and carried it to the door, leaving it just outside. The smell was like nothing I had ever smelled in my life.
“I saw your light was still on and I felt sick. I was just gonna rest here a minute.” She shook her head. “Fuck, Meredith, a student? You said you met him at the gym.”
“I did, and I had no idea he was a student until it was too late.”
“It’s wrong, Mer. You are years older than him. Not only is it against the college rules but it’s like you are taking advantage of a young student.”
“It’s not like that.” I bristled. “We are in love.”
She turned to me, her face all screwed up. “You are in love with a kid? What is his mother going to say about that do you think when she finds out? You will lose your job, your pride and your self-esteem. It will be lust. God, I bet he is a rampant ride. But when you take away the sex, Mer, what is left? He will want to sow his wild oats and you will want to have kids soon. It is what you always said to me. Kids no later than twenty-seven, you hoped, so you could have two by age thirty.”
I pulled up a chair at the side of her.
“It is not like that. I think he is my one.”
She snorted with laughter at that. “You have been together a month, and no doubt been fucking like rabbits. You are in lust, Meredith, not love.” She shook her head. “I cannot condone this, Mer. It is against the rules for a reason. You are in a position of authority over this student.”
“I don’t teach him. If anything he is teaching me!” I almost yelled. “I am finding out who I really am, what I want from a relationship.”
“It is coercion. Now I am going to be a mom I see things from a different side.”
I lost my temper at that remark. “Oh my God, you act like you are the first person ever to have a baby. You used to fuck anywhere you could for kicks but now you are going to be a mother you have gone all holier than thou.”
She stood up, hands on her hips. “I don’t recognize you right now, Meredith.”
I stared up at her, “Yeah, well I don’t know where Tana White went. She sure hasn’t been around for a while.”
“Tana White went when she got married and became Tana Geller and then got pregnant. I’m a grown up. You are the one acting like a spoiled brat of a child.” She stormed towards the door. “Anyway, you end it, or I report you. It’s as simple as that.”
“And if I don’t?” I challenged.
“Think about your boyfriend’s future if you tarnish his reputation and he is ejected from his course. How will that go down with his parents? Think they are going to welcome you with open arms then?”
She stormed out of the room. The minute she had gone I collapsed to the floor, tears falling and turning into wrenching great sobs.
What the hell was I going to do?
I text Garrett and lied.
Mer: Tana gone. She was shocked but is fine now.
Garrett: You need me to come back to the classroom?
Mer: No. I’m on my way home now. It has been a shock but I am fine.
Garrett: You sure? I will ditch the guys and come over?
Mer: No. Take your part in clean-up. I just want an early night after what happened.
Garrett: She upset you?
Mer: We shocked/upset each other but al
l good now, we have been friends for a long time.
Garrett: Will she keep our secret?
Mer: Yes, it is all okay.
Garrett: Great. I will see you tomorrow and we will pick back up where we left off.
Mer: Can’t wait.
But it was all lies. I was still upset. Tana and I weren’t okay. She wasn’t going to keep my secret and we couldn’t pick back up where we left off. The more I thought about what Tana had said, the more I saw it from her point of view. What must have entered her mind when she walked in and found me on my knees with a student’s cock in my mouth? I’d gone too far. I’d been taking risks at being caught participating in inappropriate behavior since my times with Marcus and it was time to face up to what I’d been doing.
My decision was made.
It was for the best that I left. Went somewhere else and started afresh. I had no ties to New York. Just old friendships which would never be the same after the harsh words that had been spilled. Both Tana’s and my own lives had moved in different directions. We were no longer friends. It was time to move on.
I couldn’t stand in the way of Garrett’s career. He was all set for a position in the family business. His grades had been dropping because of all the time we were spending together. Plus, he needed a relationship with someone his own age. Tana was right - no matter how much I hated that she was - I was ready for someone to settle down and have babies with. Garrett was at the beginning of intimate relationships. He needed time to see what he wanted in life. To get his career started and see where life took him. I really would be a weight dragging him down.
Dragging a case out from underneath my bed and a large backpack, I began to pack my belongings into them. I didn’t have much, it was mainly clothing I needed to take. Toiletries could be repurchased, so other than some travel sized items and a toothbrush, I emptied everything else into refuse sacks. I loaded up my car with everything that needed to come with me and then I took out a map, decided on a new location and drove. Garrett would be furious I knew, he would text me and demand to find me, but I had to stay strong. He was better off without me. I would start afresh some place else and date men my own age, looking for the guy I could settle down with. I ignored the voice in my head that kept trying to tell me that I had already found him.
Chapter 11
Garrett
I had sent her a text that night telling Meredith I loved her and she had sent one straight back that said, ‘I love you too’. That was the last I’d heard from her. There had been no answer this morning to any of my texts and I just knew something was off, my gut feeling told me that she was ending things, that Professor Geller had gotten to her.
I couldn’t ask anyone. We had been informed that Professor Geller was on sick leave, with no planned date of return. That she probably wouldn’t be back until after the birth of her baby. One student talked about a really bad morning sickness condition that often ended up in hospitalization, the student’s sister had had it, so they speculated that was why she couldn’t return.
It had given me no one to ask that day.
That evening when I had still had no response or contact from Meredith I traveled to her apartment. When I got there, I saw a cleaning crew.
“Do you know where the tenant went? Is she okay? She was a friend.” I asked, desperation evident in my tone.
A guy walked out from the bathroom. “She went last night. Gave me no notice. Just gone.” His hands gesticulated wildly. “She will get no deposit back. You know where she went?”
I shook my head, becoming angry. “Do you think I would be here asking about her if I knew where she was. Screw your deposit. Do you have a forwarding address for her?”
“She left nothing. I told you that already.”
“Screw you.” I stomped down the hallway and out into the fresh air where I punched a nearby tree. My fist stung like fuck but the pain was welcome, helping to ground my frustration. I knew what I needed right then. I needed to go to the gym, to take my anger out on the equipment while I thought of my next steps.
But there were no next steps.
Student services wouldn’t give out personal details. They wouldn’t pass a letter on.
The gym wouldn’t tell me if they had any contact details for her.
Meredith changed her cell phone number.
It took a couple weeks of no contact before I finally realized that we were done. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I studied hard to get the best grades I could, I hit the gym hard to make sure my body was in peak condition, and I partied and fucked hard to try to forget Meredith Butler.
Chapter 12
Meredith
I settled in Newport, Rhode Island. With its coastal scenery and beaches, it was a far cry from the moving and shaking of New York. I found a position as an accountant and rented a bedroom and bathroom in a colonial. The house was beautiful, with luxurious interiors and I had three roommates who had become great friends. I was mainly happy. I’d been dating and had had one semi-serious relationship. It had had the potential to go all the way, but for one problem - I couldn’t get Garrett out of my mind.
Every day I thought about him.
I wondered if he’d passed his course.
Settled in his job.
Moved on with someone else.
For all my plans to leave him behind, now a year had passed and all I could think was - had I made a mistake? I asked God for a sign and carried on with my life.
My boss was cursing about our computer systems.
“There has got to be a better way of doing this, Meredith. There has gotta be.”
I looked up at him. “I knew someone whose family looked at systems for a living. Maybe you could give them a call?”
“Find me their number, would you? This needs sorting and fast. Time is money.”
As I tried to Google Garrett’s family business, I hid a wry smile. The pace of life here was so different from New York. My boss, Jack, would have had a heart attack working in the city.
I passed my boss the number and let fate decide if they could help Jack and if they could, who would come to look at our systems.
Garrett
“I don’t want to travel to Rhode Island. Tonight I have a hot date.” I told my dad.
“Cancel it, family comes first, son.” He quipped.
“This is business, not family.” I protested.
“It is a family business.” Dad retorted.
I’d been working here for a few months now and my dad liked to send me on any jobs where there was a little more travel involved. He said I needed to expand my horizons. He didn’t condone my one night only behavior with women and it had become a bone of contention, with him pulling me to one side last week and telling me I had been raised better than that and to look for a lady I might settle with a while.
I didn’t tell him I had done that. I had found the woman for me.
That she had left me, broken for anyone else.
I couldn’t do relationships. My heart still belonged to her, and I was scared it would do until it no longer beat.
I went home and packed a duffle bag with some belongings in case I had to stay over to get the job done and then I said goodbye to my pops and took to the road.
It was only approximately one hour and a quarters drive from Boston to Rhode Island and if I got the job done quick I could get back for my date with a blonde chick I had chatted up in a diner the day before.
I arrived, found somewhere to take a leak and grab some lunch, and then I made my way over to the Accountants. I hated wearing a suit, but that was how my father insisted I dress, with me looking the part. Loosening my tie I walked towards the door, knocking and then walking inside.
I heard a gasp followed by the words. “Hello, Garrett.”
My eyes fixed on the owner of a voice I would know anywhere. It haunted my dreams.
“Meredith. What the fuck is going on?”
Meredith
I spotted him walking
towards the doorway. They had told Jack to expect Mr. Garrett James by midday and here he was at 11:39 am. I had never seen him in a suit. He looked oh so handsome, but so awkward. I had watched as he had pulled at his shirt collar as if it were strangling that corded, thick neck. He had always looked mature for his age but in his suit, he looked every bit the mature businessman. I wanted to throw myself at his feet and beg for forgiveness but I couldn’t. Not right now at least. He was here to do a job.
“Meredith. What the fuck is going on?”
His steely blue gaze landed on me.
“You had better take a seat. I will grab you some water and explain.”
I told him about the computers that we needed a new streamlined approach and I had thought of his father’s business.
“That is not what I meant by what is going on and you know it.”
“Not here,” I said quietly. “After work. Maybe you’d come out for dinner with me. At least let me explain.”
“You can damn bet I’ll be coming out for dinner and your explanation better be a good one.” Garrett fired at me. “Now let me look at these damn computers, if I can concentrate while you’re around.”
Garrett
Of course, you couldn’t go to Newport without eating seafood on Newport harbor. We ordered a platter to share and a bottle of wine said to complement the tastes from the sea. And there over dinner Meredith informed me how she had left so that I could pass my course and start my career.
“Well, you should have talked to me about that before you ran. In choosing not to do so, you treated me like the kid your friend was accusing you of seducing. You just bought right into what she was saying. It angered me that you didn’t fight for us, Mer. You ran.”
Meredith hung her head, and tears glistened at the bottom of her eyes.
“I know.” She said softly. “And I’ve regretted it ever since.”
Teach Her: A forbidden Professor and Student romance (School of Seduction Book 2) Page 8