ChristopherOlin walked out of the room, saying nothing to Leila. I blew out a breath and slid off my stool. “Sorry,” I muttered.“I walked in on something,” she said.I nodded. “He had a bad night.”“I’m sorry.”“It’s okay,” I said, knowing it wasn’t okay.She went up on her toes and gave me a quick kiss. “I should probably go. You’ve got some stuff to handle.”“I’m sorry,” I said again. “I really am.”“It’s okay, I’ll go.”“It’s probably for the best,” I admitted. “I need to talk to him. I guess this is my fault. I should have told him. This kind of compounded things.”She nodded. “It’s really okay. I get it. Take your time. Give me a call later if you can. If not, don’t worry about it.”“Thank you. I’ll walk you out.”I walked her outside, standing barefooted on the front stoop and watching her leave. Then I walked back in the house, knowing I was about to have a very bad day. I couldn’t envision any scenario where Olin would come downstairs and tell me everything was great.I remi
LeilaI had gotten a rather vague text from Christopher last night and nothing more. I felt horrible for crashing into the kitchen and interrupting the father-son thing. I should have stayed put. I had woken up and found Christopher missing from bed. I assumed he was in the kitchen making coffee like he had before. I had gotten up and headed downstairs.I walked right into the middle of something between Christopher and his son. I had sensed it the moment it happened, but I was too late. There was no turning back. The kid had seen me, and he was not happy about it.I walked into my office, dropping my briefcase on the desk and taking my seat. I looked at the picture on the wall and smiled. I would always remember the students in that class. Not because they had impressed me, but because Christopher had. I had looked at the picture about a million times. They had used a selfie-stick and taken the picture in the classroom. It was goofy. Half of them were looking at the wall or each othe
LeilaChristopher studied my face for a long time. I was already thinking about how I would apologize for sticking my big nose into his business. I had no experience in families or death or anything. I licked my lips, feeling very nervous.“Wow,” he finally said.I really felt like an ass. I had overstepped. I had made him speechless, and it wasn’t in a good way. “I’m sorry,” I gushed. “I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth. One psychology class does not make me an expert.”“No, no. You’re amazing.”“I am?” I squeaked.He nodded, getting to his feet. “You are.” He stepped close to me, his hands resting on my hips.“Not that I’m begging for compliments, but why do you say that?”“Because you very accurately said exactly what I’ve been feeling. This past year has been a mess. It’s just like you said. My life in general is still there, but it’s jumbled. It’s like nothing fits right. Nothing feels right. I think Olin is feeling the same way. We have our health and each other and all our th
ChristopherAfter my last class for the day, I headed to the coffee shop to grab myself a quick pick-me-up before heading home to do some homework. I liked having homework. I liked having something to do. Olin still wasn’t talking to me, which had kept me up most of the night. It had been a tense morning with him not talking to me but making sure I knew he was there with the constant slamming of doors and banging around.“Christopher,” I heard my name. Leila was waving to me from a bench, a coffee in her other hand.I grabbed my coffee and sat down on the bench beside her. “Hi,” I greeted.“He saw!” she blurted out.“What?”“The dean. He saw the hug.”I nodded. “I know.”“He saw me hugging you and now he wants to see me in his office!”I wanted to be sympathetic and I did understand her plight, but my emotions were already taxed. “Leila, it was a hug, not a handjob. We were fully clothed. I didn’t have my tongue down your throat or my hand down your pants.”Her mouth dropped open. “Yo
Christopher“Why? You’re not acting very respectful.”“How so? Tell me exactly what it is I’ve done to make you so angry?”He rolled his eyes. “Did you forget I caught a woman in your bed?”I held up a finger. “No, you didn’t catch a woman in my bed. She was fully dressed and met you in the kitchen. Secondly, I’m an adult.”“And that gives you the right to bring home strange women? Please, let me know if that’s how we roll now because there’s a chick at school that is into me. If we are having sleepovers, I’ll invite her.”“She’s not a strange woman. It was one woman. One woman I happen to respect and like being around. You can be pissed at me, but I won’t let you be disrespectful to her. She’s done nothing to you.”He glowered at me. “I can’t believe you brought a woman home—to your bed.”“Olin, you are the one that told me I needed to start dating. I do it and now you’re mad at me for doing it?”He shook his head. “I didn’t think you’d bring them home! This is our house! This is whe
LeilaIt was earlier than usual that I was out of the house, but I had a coffee date. I had texted Kami last night, asking her if she could meet me. I needed advice from a neutral party. I felt like I was sinking fast and I needed her to throw me a lifeline. I was on the fence and needed her to push me one way or the other.I felt discombobulated. Like nothing was right. Everything was all jumbled. I wasn’t in the same predicament as Christopher, but we were both facing challenges. Challenges that stemmed from us being together. I knew the quick and easy solution, but I didn’t like it. I wanted Kami to tell me what to do. I didn’t want to make the decision.I ordered my coffee and a strawberry and cream cheese Danish before taking a seat next to the window. I sipped my coffee, staring out at nothing. I saw Kami pass by and a second later a cool breeze flooded the shop. She sat down across from me a minute later with an iced coffee and her own Danish.“You look a little rough,” she com
Leila“Good morning,” I greeted Dean Johnson confidently.“Come on in.”I tamped down on the butterflies in my belly. I wasn’t going to let him see how terrified I was. I schooled my features, keeping a smile on my face as I sat down, daintily crossing my legs and waiting for him to speak.“Thank you for coming in today,” he started. “I was hoping we could have a conversation about what I saw yesterday.”“What did you see yesterday?” I asked innocently.He cleared his throat. “The embrace in your office.”“Embrace?” I asked, wrinkling my nose. “The hug I gave a man who was struggling with something very private and very big? I always have an open door with my students. They know they can talk to me about things going on in their personal lives as well as questions about a class. Aren’t we supposed to be there for our students? Didn’t you recently hold a meeting and encourage us to be mentors and sources of support for our students?”He nodded. “I suppose I did, but I don’t know what I
ChristopherI had decided to go home before meeting Leila for dinner. I wanted to check in with Olin and test the waters. I had almost told Leila I couldn’t meet her for dinner but figured I had better have a conversation with her.I heard the door open and close and sent up a silent prayer that he was in a better mood. He came into the kitchen and dropped his backpack on the counter before tossing his keys on top of it. His body language was telling me he was still pissed.“How was school?” I asked.“Fine.”“Did you get a chance to talk to Jen?”He scoffed. “Why would I talk to her?”“Because you like her and want to find out where she’s at,” I answered.He rolled his eyes. “I don’t care where she’s at. She can keep seeing the other guy. I don’t care.”“You sure about that?”“Yes.”I took a breath. “I have a dinner tonight. I’ll be home by nine.”“Bringing your newest lady home?” he sneered.“No. We’re having dinner.”He shook his head. “Sure. Whatever. Should I run out and buy anoth