CHAPTER 10: Liam
We stayed in bed all day, both of us blowing off our responsibilities. I never wanted that for her, since I couldn’t handle the guilt of messing up her future. I didn’t know if I was a part of it and the idea of her blowing off school for me made me feel guilty as we ate another piece of cake. We’d dozed, nibbled, and fucked all day. I couldn’t get enough of that pussy now that I felt it with nothing between us. “You won’t regret missing classes?” I asked again as she giggled.
“No. I haven’t done it at all yet.”
“Don’t start because of me. I never want to fuck with your future,” I told Elena, my voice serious as she broke off another piece of the cake with her fingers. I needed to wash the sheets for more reasons than one now, but that wasn’t happening yet. No, I was too wrapped up in the woman inside of them. We managed to move into the kitchen for coffee in the afternoon, and I cursed myself a bit for being such a lazy asshole today. I missed the office and my run, but I grinned wickedly as I thought about the exercise that I did get.
We made some sandwiches and ate on the couch as I eyed her wearing one of my shirts. She looked good as it covered her thighs and molded to her perfect body and I thought to myself that I could handle her again as I laughed. Elena took a bite and narrowed her eyes at me. “What?”
“I'm just a pervert over here,” I admitted as she giggled. My phone chimed on the counter, and I groaned before pushing myself from the sofa to grab it. It was Sarah, wondering where I was since she needed to get the week’s assignments for her tutoring. I cursed and shot a message back explaining that I got caught up in something but I’d head over now and let her into the office. “Fuck. Sarah needs some stuff for tutoring at the office. I forgot.”
“Want me to get dressed and leave?” Elena asked as I thought about that question.
“No. I’ll be quick, and you can stay here if you want to. Just hang out and don’t answer the door, okay?” I asked her as her eyes widened and she nodded. “Want anything on the way back?”
“I’m good,” she promised me as a smile crossed her face. I sighed and kissed her before going to take a quick shower and dressing in some jeans and a sweatshirt to make the trip. I locked the door behind her as a future involving Elena living here with me flashed before my eyes, making me blink for a second. Fuck, no. She was a student, and this was temporary.
I left and played the radio loud as I drove to the campus. I glanced around at the bright sun and wished that I could walk around with Elena in public, enjoying this. I wondered how Marie’s shoot went today as I walked into the building that housed offices and grinned at the security guard at the desk. “Morning, Graham.”
“Morning? It’s afternoon, Liam. Sarah is down there waiting for you.” He teased me as I chuckled.
“I know. She’s been blowing up my phone,” I replied as I turned and walked down the long hallway to see Sarah leaning against my door. Even if I gave Sarah a key, she’d have trouble finding anything in here.
“Blowing up your phone?” She repeated as I rolled my eyes and unlocked the door. “It’s not like you to miss a day at the office. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I was just relaxing at home. I was up late having dinner with Marie.” She knew a bit about my family, nodding as she followed me inside of the room. “So, I copied off all of the lectures for you that I have planned. The test is tomorrow, so that will take up class, but everything else is here.” I have her a folder, and she smiled at me. “How do the students feel about the test?”
“The ones that attend sessions regularly seem to be fine with it. I don’t want to talk about the people that can’t make it and beg me for help,” she replied as I shook my head.
“Their problem, not yours. You’re one of the greatest tutors a teacher can have,” I complimented her as I sat down to check emails for a second.
“I noticed that Elena stopped coming to sessions. Is she doing better? I saw her here that day and worried that she might be slipping behind again.” Sarah asked, and I forced my gaze to stay on the computer screen. Heat and shame washed over me as I fought it, trying to push it away.
“She’s good. She caught up quickly, and I think that she’ll do okay on the test.” I kept everything casual as I logged in to the university email and read the list. There were a few from the students that Sarah described, but I told them from the beginning that their grade for the semester was all on them. I helped as much as I could. “Jesus. These kids need to grow up.”
“Agreed,” Sarah said wryly as she gathered up her things. “I’ll get started on these. You have the tests?” I patted to a stack of papers on the left of my desk, and she nodded. “Have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I was left alone, and I let out the breath that I was holding. I didn’t look at Sarah at all during the conversation to read her expression since I knew that I might blow it. I just tried to keep control as best as possible when I responded, hoping that I played it off. As a tutor, Sarah was aware of the rules surrounding college relationships, and she wouldn’t hesitate to rip me a new one over what I was doing with Elena.
I didn’t want it to get to that point. I kept reading, saving a few important ones into a folder and deleting several others. Anything else that I needed to do, I could be home for. I told Graham to have a good night and started my car, driving home with a heavy foot as I thought about Elena.
I parked and left to walk to my door as Ellie, a sweet older widow that lived near me, stopped me. I did some handiwork around her condo every now and then, and she explained that her fridge was acting up. She had two sons that should be helping her since they were close, but they didn’t. It pissed me off because she was a great lady. I promised her that I’d stop by later tonight to have a look, knowing that Elena was waiting for me as I unlocked my front door.
She was sitting on the couch, watching something on the big television. Elena was beautiful, and I took her in as I closed the door quietly, thinking about Sarah’s question back at the office. I set the keys quietly down on the counter and made my way to her as she blinked and glanced over. “You’re home. I was just…thinking.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked as she smiled and nodded.
“Got everything done?” Elena asked as I smiled. She was trying to change the subject.
“Enough. I get to play handyman tonight for my neighbor, too. She’s a widow, and her sons suck ass.” Elena smiled warmly at her as I leaned in to kiss her. “She is an amazing cook, so it’s no trouble at all.”
“You’re sweet,” Elena told me as I shrugged and reached for her water.
“I’d do it for my mom if she were here.” The words saddened me, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
We stayed on the couch for about an hour longer before she kissed me and made her way to my room. I knew that she was going to head home and I glanced at the television to see that it was past six. She probably had to study, and I pinched the bridge of my nose for a moment. Elena had the test tomorrow, and while we hadn’t discussed it, I also knew that she had to study.
Elena came out dressed in her clothes from yesterday and her hair in a low ponytail. I guess I should go. You have your neighbor, and I have to get some stuff done.”
“Yeah, I do. I don’t know if I’ll fix it tonight, but I’ll feel better looking at it.” I stood and walked over to her, cupping Elena’s face before I kissed her. It was dark out, and I watched her make her way to her car in the lot before she was pulling out.
The room was suddenly empty, and I took a breath. I grabbed my keys and went over to Ellie’s, only to realize that I needed to tear her fridge apart to fix the problem. I knew that it wasn’t going to happen tonight but promised her that I’d be back tomorrow in the afternoon to take a closer look. She had cooked some fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy for dinner, inviting me to stay as I agreed and pulled up a chair at her table.
“I’ve seen a girl leaving your house a couple times,” Ellie started as I sipped my water to get the lump in my throat down. “Is it serious?”
“Nah. I don’t do serious,” I told her as her hazel eyes twinkled at me.
“You’re a wonderful young man, Liam. Any girl would be lucky to have you,” she assured me as I laughed and shook my head.
“You’re too sweet, Ellie.” She shook her head and sipped her tea.
“I just see what the world is like now. I feel sorry for people looking for love since it’s very different from when I was younger.” She frowned and looked at my plate. “Want more?”
“I am stuffed. Save me some for tomorrow,” I teased as she nodded with a warm smile. I helped her put the leftovers away and wash dishes before I made my way home to the empty condo.
I changed into something comfortable and thought about how good Elena felt without a condom. I was a little nervous about that backfiring on us, but she was responsible and wouldn’t want a surprise pregnancy to alter her path. The thought made me shudder, both in horror and a little bit of hope. Was this getting to be more than either of us wanted? Was it too much to walk away from?
I fell asleep in front of the TV, the sound of sports in the background. My alarm was set early so I could get to class and be ready for the test. It would make for a shorter class for the ones that knew everything that knew what they were doing and a stressful one for those that didn’t study. Which group would Elena be in? We’d been so focused on our affair that she didn’t seem to have much time for schoolwork. I knew that I would be nervous until the tests were graded and knew that I wouldn’t be fucking up her life.
I didn’t want to do that to anyone, particularly Elena. She was too good, too driven and she deserved to have the best life possible. If she did score low, I’d have a talk with her and decide what we were going to do from there, since I didn’t know what I had to offer her.
I showered and dressed for class, sipping my second cup of coffee during the short drive. I noted the overcast sky as I walked across the lush, green campus towards the hall where Econ was, looking over the students gathered on the lawn. Many of the girls were beautiful, but I could feel the age difference in them, to a point where it was uncomfortable. They wouldn’t be able to handle being with a teacher and all that came along with it, making the equally young guys perfect for them. Elena was different, which was the only way I could explain my attraction towards her. She was better than some frat guy at a party who would only want her for the night. Not that I went into this feeling all that different since I was so blinded my lust that first night with her, but it was a different thing now.
Her test score meant everything to me.
I walked into the room and set the tests down on the podium and looked over the nearly empty classroom. A few of the students were studying at their desks, and I grinned at that, my eyes resting on Elena as she sat over her book and nibbling on her lip. She was wearing glasses, something that she didn’t always do and I couldn’t help but think that they looked adorable on her. Elena reached for the coffee that was beside her, glancing up so she wouldn’t knock it over as our eyes met. I could see that she was tired with one look and felt sick all over again as I made myself look down towards the floor. She was beautiful, and I felt my body responding to her as I glared at my groin.
The next few minutes dragged as I waited for everyone to arrive. I let them get settled and told them that they would have the entire time to take the test, wishing everyone well. My eyes flashed over to Elena as I said that and watched her smile softly. I hoped that was confidence in her gaze as I walked over to start handing out the tests.
She took hers and bit her lip as her eyes roamed over the questions. I went to sit at the desk and leave them all to it as I glanced around the room to make sure that everyone was focused on their own papers. In a class this size, it was hard to actually track, but I felt like my eyes roving over them every so often made them think twice about it.
I looked at Elena the most. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she read and jotted things down, her glasses slipping down her nose. She was beautiful, and I made myself look away and not think about how good it felt to be inside of her. I tried not to think about the night she squirted and seemed to be embarrassed when it made me want to fuck her all night long.
We were different, but I knew that I liked her. That worried me.
The students slowly made their way up to me, giving me their tests with a variety of expressions. There were nervous looks towards the papers as if they wanted to snatch it back and change an answer as well as tired smiles. Elena was in the third group that came, and she hovered behind them, looking at me with her beautiful eyes as she smiled. She had paused for a moment before she walked out, smiling as she headed towards the door. I knew that she had a couple of classes left today, and I had to fix the fridge when I was finished here, but maybe we could see each other later tonight.
Ellie’s mention of seeing Elena popped into my mind as I wondered who else noticed her leaving. I didn’t know my neighbors well but didn’t think that any other teachers were living here. I couldn’t say the same about the staff, though. There were so many of them, and it wasn’t like we all knew one another. It was a big school.