Chapter Twenty-Seven
Natalie
I was sitting in Chance’s living room, sipping coffee out of a Paris mug that I’d brought on our holiday. It had been a few months since our trip, but I still couldn’t stop fantasizing about it. I had got our pictures developed a few weeks ago, and the images were stunning. It made me seriously consider moving there one day.
It was very early, which was why I had snuck into the living room to have some coffee. Chance would probably be asleep for another fifteen minutes or so, and I was tempted to cook breakfast for him, but my cooking skills still hadn’t improved, and I didn’t want him to wake to the smell of burnt eggs. Instead, I finished my cup of coffee and put on a fresh brew for Chance. Coffee was about the only thing that I did well.
The last few months with Chance had been next to perfect. The only little dark cloud over our blissful relationship was Jason. It had been a month since our little run in with him, and since that meeting, I hadn’t seen much of him. When we did see each other, he avoided eye contact, and I did the same.
Still, I had the nagging suspicion that he was up to something. It was just a feeling, instinct if you will because I had no real proof, but I just couldn’t squash the feeling that Jason wasn’t going to go away that easy. Especially considering he had the upper hand.
I had checked on the rule pertaining to student-teacher relationships, and it turned out that Jason was right. The teacher involved would be fired immediately and the student involved would be expelled.
I had tried not to be bothered by it, but it did worry me. I had got into North Greenfield on a full scholarship. It was the reason that I’d been able to afford such a good school, not to mention on campus accommodations. If I was kicked out, I wouldn’t be able to afford a college degree.
I thought of my parents and cringed at the thought of having to tell them about an expulsion. They would be mortified – worse, they would be disappointed, and I wasn’t sure I could bear that.
Still, a part of me was resolute and rebellious. It was a stupid rule, and Chance and I were both adults. He wasn’t even my teacher anymore. And it felt like I had just found a piece of happiness that was completely my own. How could I possibly give that up, even for my degree?
I finished my coffee and padded softly back into Chance’s room. I was wearing one of his t-shirts that was several sizes too big for me, but I loved it because it reminded me of my old wardrobe, and as an added perk, it smelled like him. He was stirring in bed when I entered the room. I slipped silently into place beside him and wrapped my arm around his back. His hands came clutched mine for a moment, and then he turned to face me.
“Good morning,” he smiled.
“Good morning,” I replied, kissing him lightly on the lips.
“Have you been up a long time?”
“An hour,” I replied, with a shrug. “I had some coffee.”
“Coffee is not breakfast,” Chance said. “I’ll make you something good.”
“You’re spoiling me.”
He laughed. “What would you like to eat?” he asked. “Waffles and eggs or pancakes and strawberries?”
“Mmm, they both sound so good.”
“Both then.”
I laughed. “No way,” I said. “I’ll go with pancakes today.”
“Good choice,” he nodded. “I was feeling like pancakes, too.”
I snuggled in closer to him and buried my face in his chest for a moment. I loved the weekends. Weekends meant two whole days of quality time with Chance. We cooked together, or rather he cooked, and I read him recipes and passed him things. We had long conversations on his sofa while we sipped wine. We watched educational TV specials and tried to pick out all the inaccuracies. Sometimes we went for walks around his neighborhood and made up stories about all the families, couples, and people we saw along the way.
We did mundane things together, things that best friends might do or new couples, but it was wonderful for us. Those were the little things that bonded us and kept our relationship fresh and interesting.
Nearly seven months later, Chance and I still had conversations that lasted for hours and hours. The sex was still amazing. It hadn’t fizzled out in any way. It was still hot and urgent and passionate, but it was also familiar now. I knew his body like the back of my hand. I had memorized all the ripples and muscles of his chest. I knew every one of his scars and birthmarks. The intimacy of that knowledge made the sex new and wonderful.
“How come you got up so early today?” he asked.
I hesitated for a moment, and I saw his expression turn alert. The flip side of spending so much time together meant that he knew me so well that there was nowhere to hide. I couldn’t hide my emotions because he caught on, even to the smallest change in tone and expression.
“Nothing.”
“Natalie,” Chance said.
I smiled. “I had a bad dream,” I said, trying to pass it off as nothing.
“About?”
“You really want to hear about my dream?”
“You know I do.”
I decided to use an old recurring dream from my childhood. “I was driving my car through the ocean, and the waves were about to swallow me whole. I was driving through a storm, too, so the lightning was nearly blinding me.”
“That’s the recurring dream you used to have when you were fourteen,” Chance said, looking at me with one raised eyebrow.
“Did I already tell you about that?”
“You did.”
“Oops.”
“Oops is right.” He nodded, sitting up in bed. “You were worrying again, weren’t you?”
“Um…”
“It’s Jason, isn’t it?”
We hadn’t really discussed our run-in with Jason in detail. We had brushed off the incident and tried to distract each other. And as the days went by and nothing happened, we had decided there was nothing to discuss. Maybe Jason had finally given up? Maybe he had set his sights on some other girl? Though a part of me was uncomfortable with that, too. I was worried about how he might react to another girl.
I wasn’t surprised that Chance knew what I was worried about, but I also didn’t want him to think I was too worried.
“I… Well, yeah.” I nodded. “But I’m probably just over-thinking, as usual. We haven’t heard anything from him in a month. The dean hasn’t called you in for a private meeting, right?”
“No.”
“Then I’m over-thinking,” I said, with finality.
“Yeah…”
“What?” I asked, noticing that he looked a little worried this time.
“I just don’t know if Jason’s the type to just slink off, lick his wounds, and forget about us.”
“Maybe he met another girl?”
“Unlikely.”
“Are you worried?” I asked.
“A little,” he admitted, and I felt horrible immediately.
“I’m so sorry,” I told him. “I know this job is important to you.”
“This job?” he repeated incredulously. “You think I’m worried about my job?”
“Well…”
“I’m worried about you,” he clarified immediately. “I can always find another job, Natalie. But you’ve worked really hard these past four years for your degree. You got in on a full scholarship. You deserve to graduate and to think that you won’t be able to because of me—”
“Don’t—”
“No, I don’t think I could live with myself,” he continued. “And in any case, no matter how important any job is to me, you will always be more important.”
I smiled, and just like that, I wasn’t worried anymore. “I feel the same way about you,” I told him, kissing his brow. “My degree is nothing compared to you.”
When Chance still continued to look worried, I leaned in and kissed him hard on the lips. “I love you,” I told him vehemently. “I love you so very much.”
He smiled and pulled me on top of him. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“Prove it.”
I smiled, as I ground my hips against him. A moment later, I felt his cock harden, and I felt the familiar tingle in my groin that always prepared me for what was to come. Chance’s hands slipped under the t-shirt that I was wearing and snaked up to my breasts. By the time he reached my nipples, he was rock hard, and I was wet.
I raised my hips and lowered myself onto his cock. He slipped inside me easily, and I fucked him vigorously, supporting myself with the headboard, as the sex got more and more passionate. I was bouncing on his dick, screaming in pleasure with my head thrown back as I came. I felt the hot wetness of his cum flow into me and then collapsed onto his chest.
“That is the perfect wake-up call,” Chance said, after a moment.
I smiled and lifted myself up to face him. “How about breakfast and then shower sex?”
“Sounds perfect.”
I wiped myself off, and then we made our way to the kitchen. Chance started work on the waffles and eggs while I sat down at the kitchen table. It was one of our little rituals, morning sex, followed by a cozy little breakfast.
“So,” I said. “What shall we do today? There’s a screening of Casablanca at the Old Ford Movie Theater; I thought it might be fun to watch it on the big screen.”
“Haven’t you watched Casablanca a couple of dozen times already?”
I smiled. “More,” I replied. “But who’s counting.”
“We could do that,” he nodded. “But I was actually going to suggest something else for today, if you’re interested.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Sure. What’s your suggestion?”
Chance looked slightly nervous turned to me. “Lunch at my sister’s place?”
My eyes went wide for a moment. “You want to introduce me to your sister?”
“And my brother-in-law and nephew,” he nodded.
“Wow, I was not expecting that.”
“Only if you’re interested.”
“I most definitely am interested,” I said, standing up and walking into his arms. “I’m just a little surprised. You always seemed a bit squeamish about introducing me to your family.”
“I was,” he admitted. “But that was the old me.”
“The old you?” I repeated, with a questioning smile.
“Yeah, the guy who ran from commitment and everything it entailed. I’m not that guy anymore. I’ve grown up. I’ve matured. I’ve realized that living life alone is…it’s just not life.”
I smiled. “That’s quite a realization.”
“I have you to thank for that,” he said, kissing me tenderly on the cheek. “If it hadn’t been for you, I’d probably still be a tumbleweed.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being a tumbleweed,” I said. “I’ve always wanted to be one myself.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well then, we can be tumbleweeds together?” he suggested. “What do you say?”
It wasn’t a proposal, but it was almost as good. I laughed to myself and hugged Chance tightly, hoping that we would always be like this, happy and in love.
“That’s a difficult proposition to say no to,” I said, winking at him.
He laughed and kissed me hard, before spinning me around towards the table. “Come on now, breakfast time.”
“I’m too nervous to eat now,” I said. “I’m meeting your family today.”
“Nonsense, they’re going to love you,” he assured me. “You and Tommy are going to get along great; I can just feel it.”
I smiled, wondering what I would wear to lunch. I was thrilled that he wanted to introduce me to his sister and her family. It meant that he really did love me. It meant that this relationship was going to last. It meant that nothing could tear us apart – not even Jason.