CHAPTER 12:Liam
Elena got a fucking A on the test. I didn’t worry about holding her back and hoped that she was doing nearly as well in her other classes, quizzing her about that over dinner at my house the night after they were handed back to the class. Elena assured me that she was doing just fine and would focus on school over anything else. I kissed her softly in agreement, smiling when she laughed at me.
Marie pinned me down at lunch the week after she met Elena. We always went to this diner, and she picked a table in the corner, staring me down until our drinks were ordered. “So, who was she?”
“I knew that you wouldn’t let it go,” I muttered as she raised an eyebrow at me. “She was there about class, Marie. The thing is…she’s a student in it.” Her eyes widened, and I reached out my hand. “I know, I know.”
“You could lose everything, Liam. You’ve worked so hard.” Her eyes filled with tears and I took a deep breath. “Why would you get involved with a student?”
“I didn’t mean to. Neither of us did but there was a connection, and we couldn’t fight it,” I said as she glanced up. The waitress dropped our drinks off as my voice drifted off and I stared at the table for a few moments. “It’s been going on for a few weeks. Nobody knows about it apart from you and they won’t. It’s a private thing.”
“It only takes one time, Liam. Do you know what might happen? Is this to help her grade?” Marie asked, hitting a sensitive spot for me.
“Fuck, no. I was worried about that even though we never discussed the class at all. Elena is a smart student, and the only thing that she did was get some help with the tutor before we even saw one another.” Marie raised an eyebrow. “I had nothing to do with it, and she did better. She got an A on my test.” I looked into Marie’s stern face. “I didn’t help her at all. I was prepared to end things with her if it was worse. She writes for a living to make a little extra money. Her scholarship is only partial, so she needs to make ends meet.”
“Does she have a family?” Marie asked, and I thought about the subject that she hadn’t discussed yet.
“She just mentioned that her parents didn’t have money for college and that she worked hard to get in. They were disappointed by her partial scholarship so Elena found something she could do from home to pay rent. That’s all she said, but I suspect that they don’t live close by and she generally keeps to herself,” I replied as suspicion crossed her face. “She’s an independent girl and has it together, though I don’t like the neighborhood that she lives in too much. I am not considering anything crazy, though, Marie. Don’t worry.”
“Your place is pretty big. She might just disappear into the walls,” Marie joked. She thought the three-bedroom home was big, but Mom’s house was cozy and on the smaller side. That was more her style.
“If she lived there, I wouldn’t want her to disappear. It hasn’t gotten that far, though. We’re taking it day-by-day until we’re not in the same room together for the class.” I watched her nod as she sipped her tea. “For now, I’m happy. Elena is great, and we enjoy each other.”
“You’re not being a man whore, are you?” Her voice was low as I felt someone’s presence, thankful that I didn’t need to look at the menu here. We ordered burgers, and I sipped my soda as I rolled my eyes.
“No, just her. She’s enough.” Marie tilted her head at the words, knowing that I’d never felt that way before.
“Is she in for you?” Marie asked, making me wonder if that was the case. I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but it did mean a lot the night Marie saw her for the first time and we talked it out or fucked it out. There was a bit of both.
“I don’t know. I can’t think beyond tomorrow these days. It’s confusing.”
“Bring her over for dinner sometime. I’d like to meet her.”
“How about during the break?” I asked as she smiled and nodded.
“Just be careful. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” I promised her that I would be. Elena and I were both concerned about that as well since I’d been in school for so long to work and she was a Junior. She needed to finish school and start her dream.
We talked about other things through the meal, though I saw Marie’s maternal side coming through. She’d tried to set me up over the years with friends, but I avoided that, not wanting to ruin anything for her. She hugged me tightly before she left me there, reminding me to be careful before she told me that she loved me. I returned it, only saying the words to her and Mom over the years. Never a woman, since I didn’t meet anyone that meant that much.
I headed through the city to my condo, taking in the brief glimpses of sun in the sky. I loved Seattle. I loved growing up here, and it was an easy choice to move back here. I hoped to settle here and keep teaching until retirement because the university was a perfect job for me. I could start over somewhere else, but I didn’t want to leave this city.
I didn’t want to leave Elena behind.
I glanced across the street to see a redhead walking with Elena, smiling brightly. They seemed to be shopping, and I stared at Elena as she shook her head at something her friend said. My conversation with Maria played back in my mind as I wondered if she was in for me. She was beautiful, and her kindness showed even right now as they walked into a boutique.
I found out later that night that they were shopping for a party. Ginger was taking her to a mixer at one of the frat houses, and the idea made me instantly uncomfortable. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“It’s a party. People go to them all of the time, and I promised her that I would hit a few a year with her since we met our first year here,” Elena told me as I stared into the fire. I’d heard about the darker sides of the parties, both personally and in news stories.
It didn’t go unnoticed that I was feeling protective of someone other than my sister. I looked back at Elena sitting on my couch and smiled. “They do. I did, and that’s part of why I am concerned.” Elena shook her head.
“I don’t drink a lot. If I do, I make sure that I get the drink myself or right from a bartender. I know enough people through Ginger that I’ll be watched out for. Don’t worry,” she said, giving me a puzzled look. “I didn’t think you’d be like this.”
“Like what?” I asked, my irritation rising.
“Controlling,” she muttered as I shot her a dark look.
“Hardly. I'm cautious. People get hurt on college campuses all the time, Elena. Forgive me for not wanting that to happen to you.” Even I was surprised at my words as she blanched.
“I know that. We both do, and we’re careful.” She moved closer to me, throwing an arm around my neck. “I wasn’t meeting anyone before this party, and I won’t be now. I have you.” She kissed my cheek. “I have never had a guy worried about me before. It’s different, and it came out wrong…what I said.”
“So did mine. I did sound like a controlling ass,” I admitted as I found Elena’s lips with mine. We kissed slowly at first but like always it heated up as she moved over my lap. We didn’t see each other that much, and we made every moment count, making most of the time about our pleasure. Elena had come a long way in the weeks that we’d been seeing each other, asking to try things, and getting comfortable in her own skin.
We started on the couch with her riding me wildly, without abandon. I ended it with her on her knees on my bed, fucking her from behind with the ever-present goal of getting her to squirt like before. She didn’t stay through the morning anymore as much as it bothered me, but it was smart. I always got a text when she got home, and we’d sometimes talk until we fell asleep.
She continued to excel in my class, and I checked with her to make sure that she was in the others as well. Elena worked a lot from my place when we weren’t in bed, and I enjoyed her being in my space. She fit here.
The party came up in a week, and I pushed away from the dread that came along with thinking about it. I talked to Marie about it, and while she saw my point, she also thought that Elena deserved to get out and have fun. Maria reminded me that I started being a man whore back in my own college years and pointedly asked if she thought that Elena was the same way.
Point taken. She wasn’t, but that didn’t mean the guys at the party weren’t like me.
I went out with some friends that night. I didn’t see Elena every weekend anyway, but tonight I gave in to their need to catch up. We met up at a corner bar, and I ordered a beer as I glanced at the game on the TV. The guys talked about their jobs and flavors of the week as I responded and laughed, thinking more about the party. It was at one of the wilder frats, and they had quite the reputation.
“What about you, Liam? Any cute college girls in your life?” Jared asked as I sipped my beer.
“You know that’s against the rules. No way, Jar. I am just keeping busy teaching and hitting the gym,” I replied, waving my hand in the air. “I’m boring.”
“You’re not boring. You have more numbers that any of us with those smoldering eyes.” Jared heard a girl say that to me once and would never let it go.
“Jesus Christ. That was years ago,” I groaned as I glanced at the score again. “I’m getting old now. The young ones don’t want me.” I knew that was a lie, thinking back to Thursday night with Elena. She was into me, and the sex hadn’t cooled down yet.
“Teachers?” Ted quipped as I gave him a dark look. We all knew how it went when the pretty teacher became obsessed with me five years ago, not wanting to let me go. She worked in another state now, thank fuck.
“Fuck that.”
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and reached for it automatically. I glanced at the screen, seeing that Elena sent me a photo of her smiling on a balcony. She told me that she was safe, but all I could think about was how the guys there must be looking at her. I would have eaten her up at their age. Hell, I was doing that now.
I shook my head and shoved the phone back into my pocket as Jared frowned at me. “Who was that?”
“Just a friend, Dad,” I joked as I reached for my beer again. “Jesus.”
We ended up ordering some appetizers and another round of beer. I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I made a point of not drinking too much so I could get anywhere if Elena needed me. I didn’t do that too much anymore anyway.
I headed home after midnight, feeling good to drive as I told them goodbye. I walked to my car, sitting inside while I checked my phone again. I didn’t hear from Elena again tonight, and it worried me a bit.
I drove home and parked, walking to my house. My phone went off in my pocket, and I grabbed it to check the screen. It was Elena, and she asked if I was home. I told her that I just got here and even offered to come and pick her up. She agreed, and I wondered what was going on. I asked where she was and she told me that she would wait at a coffee shop with Ginger. The cat was out of the bag there, but like my sister, it was safe.
I grabbed a ball cap from the house before driving the few blocks to the shop to see the girls sitting by the window. Elena glanced up at my blue Cherokee, and I saw her smile. She reached across the table and she and the redhead stood to walk out with us. “Would you like a ride home?” I asked her as she glanced at Elena.
“That would be great,” Ginger said, getting in the back while Elena got in the front. We talked further in there on the way to the dorms, and I liked her a lot. She was clearly concerned about her friend and checking up on me, reaching forward to touch my shoulder before she got out of the car. “Thank you, Liam. I wasn’t sure that I’d like you once I heard the story about this. I do, though. You make my girl happy.”
Ginger got out of the car after hugging Elena as I pulled my cap forward a bit and sank back into the seat. I didn’t want to be recognized, and I hoped that none of the students saw my car often enough to know who I was. I made sure that she got into the building before pulling away and reaching for Elena’s hand. “Are you okay?”