TEN. AFTER CLASS

Shanon propped her chin up in front of her bedroom window boredly. She had been sitting there for hours, playing with her wedding ring. The weekend was a boring day. Especially after she married Anthony. There were no fun things she could do. She had finished doing all her homework on Friday. She had also cleaned the house. And a house that big never really had a very dirty room. She only needed to clean the kitchen after cooking, sweep dry leaves in the yard, mop every three days, mop the bathroom floor, and there was nothing else she could do after she finished all that work.

Her eyes accidentally caught Anthony's figure in the backyard. Anthony was walking towards the swimming pool in a bathrobe. It was indeed a suitable time for swimming. Clear skies, warm air, and the weekend.

“Perfect.”

Shanon propped her chin up while watching Anthony take off his bathrobe and reveal the beautiful view of his athletic body. Tanned skin, broad chest full of muscles, and perfect abs. If Sarah were there, she was sure Sarah would scream hysterically at the wonderful sight.

Suddenly she had an idea. Shanon got out of bed and went to the kitchen. She made iced lemonade and put some mint leaves in the jug. She filled a bowl with some snacks she bought at the supermarket a few days ago. Shanon then walked towards the backyard with a tray in her hand. She tried to be a good wife by bringing Anthony food and drink as a snack after swimming.

Splash!

The front of Shanon's body was soaked with splashes of water when Anthony jumped into the swimming pool. Shanon screamed under her breath at the edge of the swimming pool. She almost threw the tray at Anthony because she was so annoyed.

"What do you do there?"

“What do you think I'm doing here?”

“Be respectful to me. I'm still your professor."

"Screw you."

Shanon placed the food and drink on the table. The snacks could not be eaten because they were flooded with water. Meanwhile, the lemonade was contaminated with pool water. Shanon shook off her wet t-shirt while lifting her head to the sky, hoping that the sunlight would dry her clothes quickly.

Anthony was stunned by the pool looking at Shanon sitting on a lounge chair. She looked amazing in the summer sun. Her body was bathed in sunlight. Anthony's eyes moved along her collarbone. Water droplets slid down her neckline and disappeared beneath her wet blouse. Anthony could see her braless breasts, which were clearly printed under her wet t-shirt. Anthony's body shivered at the thought of Shanon's beautiful body under his touch.

 “What a reckless girl,” muttered Anthony, grinning.

Shanon forgot that she now lived with a man and was not alone in the house. Her habit during the summer was that she rarely wore a bra at home because it was too hot.

“What are you looking at?”

Shanon noticed Anthony's gaze. She looked down at the front of her t-shirt and she reflexively hugged her body.

“You perverted professor. What are you thinking, huh?”

"What do you think?" Anthony grinned.

“You have dozens of underwear in your wardrobe, why choose to wander around without a bra, huh? Aren't you wearing panties either?”

Shanon snorted in annoyance. She grabbed a handful of peanuts from the bowl and threw them at Anthony.

“Hey, you dirty my pool.”

"I don't care. Just swimming with peanuts."

Shanon threw more nuts at Anthony and burst out laughing.

"When else can I throw peanuts at the esteemed professor Anthony?"

“Stop it! You're childish."

Anthony jumped out of the swimming pool, looking pissed and fierce.

“I warned you.”

Anthony stood towering in front of her. Water dripped from all over his body and from his wet hair. Shanon swallowed nervously at Anthony's intimidating figure.

"What are you doing here? Back in the water.”

“Let's see what Professor Anthony can teach his naughty student.”

Shanon screamed loudly as Anthony suddenly picked her up and jumped into the water with her. Shanon thrashed frantically in the water, trying to keep her head above the water.

“Please. Help... Help me.”

Her hands waved in the air as her body began to sink into the water. Anthony quickly grabbed her waist and pulled her to the surface.

Shanon hugged Anthony's neck tightly. Her body was shaking, and her breathing was labored.

“I can't swim. I'm afraid of drowning in water."

Guilt crept into Anthony's heart. He hugged Shanon tightly and took her to the edge of the pool.

“It's okay. You're safe now."

"Don’t do it again. Please.”

Shanon's eyes started to blur with tears. Her tears threatened to spill, but Shanon tried her best not to cry in front of Anthony.

“You should have told me if you couldn't swim.”

“You suddenly threw me into the water. You didn't bother asking, and I didn't get the chance to tell you.”

“Dry your body and change clothes in your room. I will follow you.”

Anthony helped Shanon get out of the pool. He watched Shanon who was wrapping a towel around her body. Her shoulders were still shaking when she walked into the house. Fear still clouded her face. Guilt welled up in Anthony's heart. But no words of apology came from his lips. He couldn’t. He wasn't used to apologizing to anyone. He was a selfish, heartless bastard.

-00-

Since the ball incident on the basketball court, Sarah always dragged Shanon to the basketball court to accompany her to meet Stevan. He was one of the members of the basketball team who flirted with Sarah before. They were in the exploration stage. That's why Sarah always took the time to go to the basketball court and cheer him on from the stands.

“We have to go to class immediately. Mr Bruce will be angry if we're late.”

“Just a moment, Shanon. I want to see Stevan shoot the ball into the ring. Ugghh... he's so hot. Did you see the muscles in his arms when he put the ball into the ring? Aww... I imagine him embracing me with his amazing muscles.”

"Yes, I see. That's amazing.”

“Crap! That's more than just amazing. That's fucking beautiful.”

"Hi."

They both became silent and turned towards the source of the sound. Jordyn, the basketball captain, smiled charmingly and waved at them.

"Hi. Why don't you practice with them?” Shanon asked him as Jordyn took the place beside her.

Meanwhile, Sarah discreetly elbowed her in the ribs and gave Shanon a cheeky wink.

“Yeah, I practiced this morning. I skipped practice this afternoon because I had to take an exam in Mr. Simon’s class.”

“Oh, I know that guy. He is a bit difficult and I heard that many students fail in his exams.”

“Yeah, damn lecturer. I studied all night so I wouldn't have to repeat the class next semester. I don't need an A, a B or C is enough as long as I pass the course.”

They both burst out laughing at the strange joke. Sarah said goodbye to catch up with Stevan who had just taken a water break.

“Sarah, we have to go to class now.”

"You go first. I'll catch up with you later.”

“Hey, we're already late. Sarah!”

Shanon chuckled in annoyance when she saw Sarah running away from her and ignoring her. She was left alone with Jordyn in the stands. Several women cast cynical glances at Shanon because she was so lucky to get Jordyn's attention.

“Want to go to class together? My class is not far from yours."

"Okay. There was no point waiting for Sarah here. She's in love with him."

“I bet they'll be dating soon.”

“Yeah, I think so too. I can see that Stevan is a good man.”

“His track record is very clean. Don't worry, your friend is safe with him.”

Jordyn took Shanon to the front of her class. They joked and talked about several lecturers who they thought were weird and tough. Shanon was still standing in front of her class because she hadn't seen Anthony coming. She didn't realize that someone had been stalking her all along with a cold face.

“Ahem. Why are you standing outside the classroom, Ms. Wilson?”

Anthony's voice jolted Shanon from her conversation with Jordyn.

“You should go into class, instead of standing here. And you, go to your own class. Mr. Simmon’s exam will start soon.”

Shanon was surprised that Anthony knew Jordyn's schedule so accurately. She wanted to say goodbye to Jordyn first before going to class, but Anthony had pushed her shoulder and forced her into the classroom.

“See you later, Shanon. I will send you a message.”

Jordyn's screams could still be heard after Anthony closed the classroom door. He threw Shanon a glare before telling her to go to her place.

"Where is your friend?"

Anthony looked at Sarah's empty seat.

“Umm... She... She's sick. She might be late.”

"Impressive. You're trying to lie to me, huh? Just tell me the truth if she's making out on the basketball court.”

Shanon grumbled because Anthony had embarrassed her again in front of all her friends. She looked like an elementary school kid who was being scolded by her teacher. Especially with Anthony standing towering near her table, while she sat with her face bowed towards the table to hide the annoyance on her face.

“Take out your papers. We will have a quiz. For those who are not present today, I will give a straight F. Good luck to all of you who are present today.”

There was a faint murmur throughout the classroom. Everyone, including Shanon, was unprepared for a quiz. Last night, Anthony didn't even say anything to her about the quiz while they were having dinner.

“Where is your paper, Ms. Wilson?”

“O-oh, I'm in the process of getting it,” Shanon stuttered and hurriedly took the paper out of her bag.

The students' grumbling began to subside after Anthony displayed five questions on the screen. Five very short questions, but with long answers. All the students seemed serious about working on the quiz. They all sat in tension and their hands began to ache from writing on two full folio pages.

Shanon felt that the questions were not too difficult. The answers to these questions were found in every material that Anthony presented in his class. All students could answer these questions if they had been paying close attention to Anthony. Shanon wrote fluently on her paper. She had almost filled the two sheets of folio paper with her answers and suddenly a small piece of paper was slipped under her hand.

What is this?

Shanon looked up to find Anthony standing next to her. His face was turned in another direction, as if he was pretending to be watching the students who were working on their paper.

Shanon looked at Anthony and the paper alternately in confusion. Anthony tapped her desk lightly then made a gesture for her to open the paper.

Wait for me at the bus stop after class.

A frown formed on Shanon's forehead. She hastily folded the paper and slipped it into her pocket when Anthony started to warn the rest of the class that quiz time was almost up.

“You're done, Ms. Wilson?”

“Yes, sir.”

Shanon was the first to leave her seat to put her paper on Anthony's desk. Anthony watched her walk from his throne while folding his arms across his chest.

"I hope the score you get will be as impressive as the speed with which you did my questions."

Shanon deliberately leaned forward when placing the paper on Anthony's desk.

“Why didn't you tell me you were going to have a quiz?” Shanon whispered irritably.

“Why should I tell you? That is my class and my rule.”

“You make too many rules, Mr. Bruce. One of them is sneaking into my bed unannounced every night.”

“That's a different thing.”

Nobody paid attention to them because everyone was too busy taking the quiz. Anthony took the opportunity to play around with Shanon a little.

He deliberately pushed the table back and disrupted Shanon's balance. Her body swung forward. Shanon fell, her body lying face down on Anthony's thighs and her arms reflexively wrapped around Anthony's hips.

“You did it on purpose!” Shanon let out a muffled growl.

People still didn't pay attention to that scene. Anthony slid his hand down and caressed Shanon's stomach under her loose blouse.

“Don't ever think that you are special. I won't play favoritism just because you always serve me well in bed.”

Anthony's husky voice as it whispered in her ear sent pleasant shivers through her body. Shanon barely remembered that they were in class with all the students who were seriously taking a quiz. The caress of Anthony's palm on her stomach had turned into a gentle squeeze on her chest. Shanon gasped at the thought of how naughty she was for enjoying all that. She even seemed to have lost all her shame in order to feel Anthony's pleasure.

“That's enough. Go back to your place and pack up your things. I'll meet you at the bus stop in fifteen minutes.”

Shanon’s body was gently pushed from Anthony's lap just as Anthony announced that time was up, and all the students had to collect their papers at his desks.

Shanon walked to her desk with a bright red face. She couldn't believe what she had just done. All her friends didn't seem to suspect her at all. They didn't know that Anthony had just left a trail of heat on her chest and stomach.