Thomas chuckled. “I think we’ve worked up an appetite,” he said with a wink. I blushed. “What would you like? And don’t say cheap pizza,” he added sternly. “God knows I have enough of that when my son is around.”
I blushed. For a moment – actually, for quite a few of them – I’d forgotten that Thomas even had a son. I couldn’t believe that in just a few days, I’d be back at the head of my class, teaching Thomas’s son…and hopefully keeping him out of trouble.
I shrugged. “Anything is fine,” I said. “Except Vietnamese. I don’t like pho,” I added.
Thomas reached into a nightstand and pulled out a variety of take-out menus. He tossed them to me.
“Pick something,” Thomas said with a grin. “Then we can find a movie and relax.”
I chuckled.
“What?” Thomas propped himself up on his elbows, covering the lower half of his naked body with a sheet. “What’s wrong?”
I blushed. “Nothing,” I said.
“Come on,” Thomas said. He smirked. “You can tell me, June.”
I took a deep breath, then swallowed. My cheeks were bright red but I forced myself to look at Thomas’s handsome, leonine face.
“It’s just…I didn’t expect things to feel so normal,” I said quickly. “I mean…we got here, and the air was all full of tension…”
“And then we fucked, and it was glorious,” Thomas said with a lazy smirk.
“And now it just feels like we’re hanging out and getting close,” I added. I smiled. “I like it,” I said softly.
Thomas reached for my hand and squeezed. “Good,” he said quietly. “Because I do too.”
I smiled happily. At that moment, in my world, things were absolutely
perfect.
--
I stayed at Thomas’s condo until Saturday afternoon. We didn’t make love again – even though his stamina had been impressive, I knew that he likely wouldn’t have the same rebound time as someone my age – but we cuddled and fell asleep together after stuffing our faces with delivery sushi. It was easily the best date I’d ever had, and I was practically floating on air by the time I made it home.
On Sunday, Angela and I braved the local Trader Joe’s, stocking up on all of our favorite goodies and snacks. She suggested we have a girls’ night in and I readily agreed – I couldn’t wait to dish all about Thomas. Naturally, Angela was thrilled for me. She said she was so happy that I was finally dating. Secretly, I wondered if she’d actually been kidding when she’d joked about Thomas having any single, rich friends. But mostly I just appreciated the fact that my best friend was there for me. Her support meant everything…especially given how scary things had gotten with Andy.
When I got to school on Monday morning, Ruth looked troubled.
“What’s wrong?” I smiled happily at her. “It’s a beautiful day! How was your weekend?”
Ruth pressed her lips into a tight line, until all of the blood faded. She handed me an envelope. “The principal wants to see you,” she said quietly. “I’ll cover class until you’re back.”
I narrowed my eyes. A nervous feeling shot through my gut as I opened the envelope and scanned the text.
“Did he say why? There’s nothing in this note,” I said quietly. The kids were just beginning to filter into my room and I didn’t want any of them to hear my conversation with Ruth – especially not Brett.
Ruth shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “I hope everything is okay, though.”
Immediately, Andy’s face flashed to my mind. “Oh, god,” I moaned quietly. “They probably found out about those stupid drawings.”
Ruth shrugged. “Good luck,” she said. “The bell is about to ring.”
I slipped out of class as quietly as I could before the kids would notice something was up. As I walked down the quiet halls, I shivered. There was almost something ominous about the feeling in the air – almost like I was going to my doom.
When I got to the main office, none of the secretaries looked up at me. I had to walk up to the front desk and clear my throat before one of them noticed me.
“Hi,” I said nervously. “I got in this morning and Ruth told me that Principal Morris wanted to see me.”