ChristopherI got to class early, but instead of hoping to catch a few minutes with Leila, I wanted to talk with Alan. It was the last day of the class and I wanted to make sure I kept in touch with him. He was the only friend I had made in Texas thus far. Leila had made it very clear she didn’t want to talk with me outside the classroom. Hell, she didn’t want to talk to me in the classroom, for that matter.Class had been tense. At least it had been tense for me. She’d been very cool, ignoring me as best she could. I had stopped asking questions about the material and opted to do my own research. I hated that one blip in time had created a huge divide between us.I liked her. Not just because of the attraction I felt towards her, but I liked her in general. I had enjoyed talking with her and getting to know her better. Now, I hoped I never had to see her again and be reminded of the momentary lapse in judgment.I paused in the hallway, almost afraid to see her sitting at her desk. It
ChristopherI nodded in agreement. “I know. If I can’t get him to play baseball, I might try to get him involved with fishing or something outside of school. I have to get him involved in something. Right now, he spends his days in his room with the door closed. I don’t want him shutting down.”“It’s a tough road, but you seem to have a good handle on things. Olin is a lucky kid to have you looking out for him.”I scoffed. “I don’t know if he feels the same way.”Our conversation came to a halt when Leila walked into the classroom. I hadn’t said much to her beyond the casual good morning and have a good day as I left the class. She had been right to shut me down. I didn’t need the distraction.Things were definitely icy between us, but I suspected that was for the better. If she had been nice or smiled at me, I would get my hopes up that there was a chance we could see each other outside the classroom. I didn’t want there to be any chance at all. If there was a sliver of hope I could
LeilaI had finished my last class for the year. I was officially on break. It was freeing and alienating at the same time. I liked teaching. I liked the interactions. I liked having somewhere to be. If I was smart, I would take advantage of the break and get some of those little projects done around the house. Unfortunately, I had been saying that with every break, and usually very little actually got done.I shut the door to the class and headed for my office. I would spend the night grading tests, which might not sound exciting to some people, but I was thrilled with the idea. I liked the quiet nights at home when I could burn a fire in the fireplace and sip wine while wearing my pajamas. Grading papers could be cathartic at times.Other times it could be a serious headache, but mostly, I liked to see the fruits of my labor. I liked to see how much or how little of an impression I made on my students. I needed to pick up a couple of things from my office, swing by the grocery store
Leila“What idea was that?”“To talk with the dean. Let him know you met Christopher in class, and you would like to see him outside of the university on your off time.”“No!” I shrieked. “Are you crazy!”“You were the one who wanted to tell him what had happened.”I shook my head. “I got over it. The class is done. I want to keep it my little secret.”“Keep your secret,” she said easily. “Tell the dean you are interested in dating Christopher. Don’t tell him you banged the guy in the library. Sheesh. You know you don’t have to tell everyone every little detail.”I rolled my eyes. “I’m not telling everyone. I told you.”“Talk to him.”“I don’t have his number.”“I’m sure you could get it.”“He has my number,” I told her.She looked surprised. “He does? You gave it to him even though you told him you could never see him?”I grinned. “It’s on my email. I emailed him a couple of weeks ago. If he was smart, which I know he is, he would look for it there.”“But why should he look for it? Y
ChristopherI woke up early. The feeling of being back home in my own bed I had not been as inviting as one would think. It felt wrong. I had just finally gotten used to the new mattress in Texas. The bed in Minnesota was the same bed I had shared with my wife.It felt strange to be in the house. We’d only been gone a short time, but it already felt different. Like we were visiting a rental and not truly home. At least that was how I felt. Olin had settled right in. He’d spent the last couple days with his friends. I had worried he would get into trouble, but he promised me that was behind him.I hoped so.I sipped my coffee, staring out the window at the white landscape. I missed my view in the mornings. I missed seeing the sun coming up. It was snowing again, which I supposed was okay given the day, but I had about enough snow in my lifetime.I headed into the main living room where Olin and I had set up the huge live tree we had picked out together. We’d decorated it with the ornam
Christopher“You can still be in the stands cheering for me even if you’re dating,” Olin pointed out.I smiled. “I suppose I could. You’d really be okay with me dating?”He shrugged. “I think I have to be. Don’t bring home girls my age though.”I grimaced. “I had no intention of doing anything of the sort.”“And no mean ladies either. I don’t need a new mom. I have a mom. You are looking for a girlfriend. Don’t look for a woman you think is going to make a good mom. I don’t want to cause problems, but I’m not interested in calling anyone stepmom.”I nodded in understanding. “I got it. I think this is all very hypothetical. I’m not sure I’m ready to start down that road just yet. Things have changed in the last twenty years. Dating your mom was easy. I don’t think I can keep up with the women out there today.”“I think you’ll catch on,” he said with a laugh. “Just remember to doublecheck every text message you send. You don’t want to send it to the wrong woman.”“Are you telling me you
ChristopherI stared at the bubbles for several minutes. How long did it take to type out a damn message? I was all thumbs and I managed to text relatively quickly. I stared at the screen so long my eyes began to water from lack of blinking as I made my way downstairs.“Come on, come on,” I whispered.The bubbles disappeared. I waited, thinking maybe there was a minor delay. Nothing.“No!”“What’s wrong?” Olin asked coming down the stairs.I shook my head. “Nothing.”“Does this mean dinner isn’t coming?” he asked, straightening his tie.“It should be here any minute,” I answered. “You look nice.”He scoffed. “I hate wearing ties.”“Wait until you get a job that requires ties,” I said with a laugh.“Nope. I’m not going to get that kind of a job.”“You planning on going into construction?”He grimaced. “No.”“Then get used to ties.”The doorbell rang, bringing a halt to the conversation. I walked to the door, opening it for the small parade of caterers. The smell of the roast turkey fil
Christopher“That’s for sure,” she snapped. “He was a lousy husband. A woman needs to be treated right. That man didn’t have two nickels to his name. I should have known better.”“Let’s get a seat up front,” Caleb said, ignoring his mother.Olin looked at me. “I’ll be up there.”I wanted to beg him not to leave me alone with the barracuda leering at me. “I’ll sit with you,” I offered.Olin gave me a look that said that was the last thing he wanted. “Dad, just text me when you’re ready.”I nodded. I had to remember he was sixteen. I didn’t want to smother him. “All right, have fun. I’ll be close.”“Well, I guess it’s just the two of us,” Gina said moving to stand a little too close to me.I offered her a smile. “I’m going to grab a hot chocolate. It was nice to meet you.”“Oh, I’ll go with you,” she volunteered.I hid my grimace. “Great,” I said with a forced smile.“How have you been doing?” she asked.“Good. We’ve been enjoying the warmer weather.”“I’ve always thought about heading
LeilaHe looked at me and smiled but didn’t answer me. He parked the truck in the empty parking lot of the bar not far from the house. It was the same bar we had met up at on New Year’s Eve. Since moving in, we had become regulars at the bar, getting to know the staff very well.“Come on,” he said jumping out of the truck.“I don’t understand,” I said climbing out. “Isn’t everyone going to be waiting for us? You were the one who said we were going to be late. I don’t think we have time for a drink.”“Will you just come on,” he said. He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. I noticed all the lights were off.“Christopher, they’re closed.”He pushed open the unlocked door, which seemed very odd to me. We walked into the bar. There was a flash of lights and a cacophony of surprises echoing around me. I clapped my free hand over my mouth, taking in the huge banner that said congratulations, and the hundreds of twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling.“Oh my God,” I gasped.“Surp
LeilaOne year laterI reviewed the admissions essay for another potential student. I loved reading the essays—most of the time. Some were absolute garbage, but the majority warmed my heart. I loved reading about the struggles and triumphs of the young people who wanted to attend our school for their educational needs. I always felt like we were the ones being interviewed.Students had thousands of options and when they applied to our school, I felt like we should be proud they had chosen us from the thousands. It had been a long year and the university was still recovering from the scandal that the dean’s extortion had brought on. I felt like we were making headway. It was being talked about less and less and I was hoping by this time next year, it would be a distant memory.My position as associate dean was implemented as a prevention method. Dean Johnson had been allowed to run unchecked, which made him feel invincible. Now, our new dean had me. It was a system of checks and balanc
Leila“You’re going to kill me if you keep doing that,” I told him with a shaky voice.“I love watching you come apart in my arms,” he said before angling his hips and pushing the head of his cock into my opening.I closed my eyes. Two orgasms and no penetration had left me slick and swollen. He pushed, gently probing my opening with his cock. “You’re tight and swollen,” he breathed out the words on a painful breath.“I’m ready,” I told him, looking directly into his eyes.He pushed himself a little deeper inside. Both of us sucked in a breath as powerful sensations rocked through our bodies. He held himself up on shaking arms before sliding inside a little bit at a time. I couldn’t breathe. I felt like our souls were joining. I could feel his essence merging with mine. We stared into each other’s eyes, the joining nearly complete.The last inch of his thick cock filled me. My eyes dropped closed, wanting to lock in all the sensations I was feeling right then. I felt a tear slide down
LeilaHis sweet kiss sparked a hot fire within. He loved me. I had probably repeated the phrase in my head a hundred times since he said it. He loved me. A sexy, beautiful, kind man loved me. I didn’t think it was possible. I was convinced I wasn’t worthy for so long. I never imagined I could ever experience true love with a man that checked all the boxes.“Maybe we should go upstairs?” I whispered against his lips.“I think that sounds like a very good idea. Go ahead and go up while I lock up down here.”I headed upstairs, running my hand along the banister and imagined us going up to bed together every night. We hadn’t talked about any of that, but I realized in that moment, I was ready for the real deal. I went into his room, turned on the fireplace and shut off the lights. I stripped out of the clothes I wore for our night out and crawled onto the bed naked as the day I was born. I did my best to pose in a seductive fashion, waiting for him to come in.I heard his footsteps on the
ChristopherLeila nodded, still sipping the wine. I knew the look on her face. She was in deep thought about something. I waited for her to say what it was.“And you?” she finally asked. “Will you be picking up where you left off with your classes?”I sighed. It was something I had been thinking about quite a bit. I had to do a lot of introspection into my life and what I wanted. “No.”She turned to look at me. “Really? You can’t let one bad dean ruin your idea of a good education. I promise, he does not represent the entire school. The rest of the professors are great—most of them.”I smiled. “It has nothing to do with the dean. It’s about me.”“You don’t want to go to college?”I shook my head. “Not anymore. I don’t need to. I was looking for something. I found it. There are other things I would prefer to do with my time.”“What were you looking for?” she asked.“I was looking for understanding. I needed assurance that things were okay for Carlie.”She looked confused. “I’m not sure
ChristopherI grabbed Leila’s hand and pulled her towards the mini Ferris wheel. She was giggling, resisting at first but eventually following along. We climbed in the seat and were quickly buckled in before the car started to move forward while the next couple boarded.“I don’t know if I like heights,” she told me.“I guess we’re about to find out,” I answered.She was smiling big. “This is nuts.”“This is fun. Look, there’s Olin!”“Olin!” she shouted his name, waving her arms.Olin looked up at us and grinned, waving back as the car went up a little higher. It wasn’t long before the ride began to move, taking us high above the fair. We had done dinner and happened to see the rides and tents set up. It was irresistible. Even Olin had been on board to come along.Once the ride was over, we made our way over to the bumper cars where we were supposed to meet Olin. “He looks like he is having a good time,” Leila commented.I watched Olin laughing as he rammed a young woman in another car
LeilaChristopher nodded. “Yes. He never wanted to get another degree. His wife made him go undercover. There is a camera in the dean’s office. He knew it was there, so all the video they’ve obtained will be legal to use against him.”“Why would he commit a felony on camera?”He grinned. “Because he thought it didn’t work. I have a feeling he purposely broke it. It was fixed and the police have been monitoring him. Today when I went in there, he asked me again for money.”I let out a breath. “Holy shit. I don’t even know what to say. This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”He laughed. “I know. I was in shock. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get arrested.”“I can’t believe Alan never told us!” I said a little irritated.“He couldn’t. He didn’t want to risk me acting different or saying the wrong thing. They had to let it play out.”I shook my head. “I almost quit. If they hadn’t busted him when they did, I would have quit for nothing. Wait, the police know it was me?”“Alan knows
LeilaI tossed another file folder into the box. I was taking everything that was my personal property. My lesson plans and my research were mine. I wasn’t about to leave them behind for someone else to poach. I had put in the time and energy into creating my lectures and tests. They were my personal property and if the dean tried to stop me, I’d give him hell.I threw in the answer sheet to the multiple-choice test as well. My replacement would have to grade the tests sitting on my desks without the answer sheet. It was my way of thumbing my nose at the institution. I found myself angry. I wasn’t even sad. I was pissed.I had come back to campus thinking I could just pick up where I had left off. I couldn’t. I realized I would never feel secure in my job. I would always be looking over my shoulder, waiting for the dean to surprise me with an accusation or an insinuation.I thought about how he had tried to blackmail Christopher and realized he was not the kind of man I wanted to work
ChristopherThe detective left, leaving me and Alan alone in the office. I stared at Alan, absolutely dumbfounded. “What the hell?”Alan laughed. “Sorry I had to keep you in the dark, but we needed this all to play out just right.”“We? Who is we?”“The cops. My wife. Me.”I studied him carefully. “Who are you?”“I am who I say I am, but I did not sign up for more classes because I’m interested in pursuing any more education. The last thing I want to do in my golden years is study and take tests while hanging out with a bunch of kids. My wife made me do it.”“Made you do what?” I asked feeling like I had skipped several chapters in a book and was missing the bulk of the story.“Go undercover,” he said with a grin.“As an old guy in college?”“I’ve been talking to students and trying to get information on the dean. Almost a year ago, a young man from an affluent family came to my wife and asked for help. As it turns out, the dean had been extorting him for months. He pulled the same sh