Chapter Six

I knew I should delete her email. I did delete it in the end. Not just because it might get me into a world of trouble but also because she asked me. It was a strange feeling, clicking the button that sent it hurtling into nothingness. I was a firm tutor, not letting any of my students get away with thinking they were in charge. But with her, the slightest request and I wanted to obey, especially if the request was to spank her ass red.

It was only after I'd deleted the email that I realised something. The photo. It had downloaded to my laptop. I should delete that too, I thought as I clicked on the photo and stared at her perfect chest.

I felt myself getting hard, a yearning building up in me to be inside her, a yearning that I had no idea was so close to being fulfilled.

I had yet another text from Sarah around midnight. It was the way she was, often getting drunk and begging me to get back together with her, mixing cajoling with insulting in the misguided belief it would work. It would never work.

What would work was me and Donna. If only we'd met in a different way. But then how on earth would I meet someone like her if it wasn't in a lecture? I wasn't exactly the nightclub type.

I fell asleep while comparing the two of them, Donna winning on every front. I woke up the next morning to the sound of Daisy shouting me from her bedroom. "Can I get up yet, Daddy?"

I looked at the time. Just gone seven. It could have been worse. "I suppose so," I shouted back, sitting up and stretching at the same time. "Want some breakfast?"

We ate together before I got her clothes ready while she brushed her teeth. Once she was dressed. It was a beautiful day so we ended up spending it at the seaside, splashing about in the waves and eating enough sweets to make ourselves feel ill. In the afternoon, we took it easy, building an enormous sandcastle and decorating it with the prettiest shells we could find. She was exhausted by the time we got home which meant one of the easiest bedtimes in a while. She was asleep almost as soon as she was down which gave me plenty of time to work on my paper.

Sunday was our park day. I timed it so Sarah could meet us there for the handover. It was always hard giving her back, knowing I wouldn't see her again until the next weekend.

It wasn't as warm as Saturday so Daisy was swamped by her favourite cold weather coat, so big I had to roll the sleeves up on it. But it was her favourite so what could I do?

Sarah arrived just after five, finding us sat together on the roundabout getting gradually dizzier. She just appeared, not smiling. "You didn't reply to my message," was the first thing she said.

I slowed the roundabout down. "I did," I replied. "I asked you to meet us here."

"The other message."

"Come on," I said, ignoring her and grabbing hold of Daisy. "Let's have one last go on the slide."

Sarah stood too close to me while Daisy played, making me shuffle further away until I almost got hit by a kid on a swing. "Why don't you want to give it another go?" she asked at last.

"Because I remember what it was like when we were together," I replied, waving at Daisy at the same time.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you wiped all the arguments from your memory, Sarah?"

"We didn't argue that much."

"We did after you slept with that barman."

"That was a mistake, I told you that."

"What was a mistake was giving you another chance."

"I said I was sorry."

"Sorry doesn't mean much when you go around with half the town behind my back."

She scowled at me. "You just don't want to forgive me, that's all. Please, Jack. Give me another chance."

"No," I said as Daisy ran over. "Ready to go get dinner, sweetheart?"

"I want candyfloss," Daisy replied, looking up at Sarah. "Can we have candyfloss for dinner?"

"Maybe afterwards," Sarah replied. "Give Daddy a hug goodbye."

"Bye, Darling," I said, kneeling down to give her a squeeze. Once they'd headed off, I turned and walked back to my car, trying not to let the anger I felt rise up inside me. She'd cheated with three separate people, the first forgiven, the second and third coming after Daisy was born. I was a patient man but I wasn't a walkover. When I found out about two and three, I ended it the same day. She had tried to blame my work, suggesting it was because I was out of the house so much, telling me she wanted nothing to do with me ever again. That lasted a month and she'd been trying to get us back together ever since. It would never happen. If it wasn't for Daisy, I'd never have spoken to her again.

I cooked pasta and sat with a glass of red wine, reading quietly. It was when I realised I'd read the same paragraph four times that I stopped, my mind unable to stop thinking about Donna and the photo she'd sent me.

I headed to bed early, feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve. Tomorrow I'd have her alone in my office. I knew I was making a mistake but I didn't care. What I cared about was seeing if the rest of her looked as good as her chest. I smiled as I thought of her naked, of how her pussy had looked in that glimpse I'd been given. Monday couldn't come soon enough. Just before going to sleep I sent her a final email, no turning back once I hit send.