Slapping two little blue pills onto the mat of my desk, she says, “Then I guess you’re just going to have to wait for me a bit longer.”
I stare at those pain relievers and chuckle. I barely know this girl, yet somehow, here she is, offering me a kindness that directly contradicts with the actions of my wife.
Taking those pills, I place them on my tongue, swallowing them dry before muttering, “I’m a patient man. I’ll wait as long as I need to.”
It wasn’t loud enough for her to comprehend, but it doesn’t seem to matter with her. It’s like Scarlett can read the thoughts through my eyes.
So whether she hears me or not, it’s inconsequential. She already saw all there is to know…
As she walks away from my desk, a tiny smile on her lips, something other than peace consumes my mind. The sensation follows me throughout the period, distracting me as I dive further into the lecture.
My students notice as well, giving me odd glances between whispers each time I stutter over a topic I should know. But through those looks, my eyes only find hers.
I only ever seem to findher.
In the crowded halls, walking through the courtyard with her friends, there she is, always a spotlight to my eye.
Even now, standing in front of twenty-five students, Scarlett is the only thing worth viewing.
The hole I’ve dug for myself is only growing deeper, which raises the most important question of all: What am I doing?
What am I feeling?
The truth of those questions almost sends me to my knees, but I keep myself steady while I hold her gaze.
This is wrong. All of it is wrong…
But I can’t help but want Scarlett Dane.
“One more,” I mutter to the barkeep at Brick’s Tavern, downing the last drops of my whiskey straight before sliding the thick glass over.
I shouldn’t be here. Beth will kill me the second she smells liquor on my skin.
The bartender's eyes hold little judgment as she takes the center of the cup and trades it in for a new one. I watch her refill my drink, my eyes stumbling over the little ripples of amber liquid as I fall into a peacefully numb state.
I came to the bar right from work, downing beer after beer until it wasn’t enough. The mixed drinks came next, but that faded fast. The hard shit is what I needed. That’s what’s going to make the chaos in my head silent.
And it did... momentarily.
But now, with the room spinning and my mind unfeeling, the image of her becomes much clearer. Within the fuzzy, distorted fragments, her smile comes to light. Her eyes, the sharpest shade of jade, remain in focus. All I can see is her. All I can feel is her skin on my palms.
I knew tutoring her was going to be a mistake, but when I placed my hand on her knee, my palm melting into her silky-smooth flesh, I couldn’t think of one reason to stop.
“Fuuuuck. I’m going to hell.”
“Well, I’ll see you there,” the man beside me mutters, holding his bottle high in the air, toasting to our sins. I don’t know what ails him, but I doubt it’s what I’m facing right now.
I had hoped the alcohol would have made me feel better, would’ve erased the images I conjured up, and silenced the heated desires singeing my veins. But that clearly isn’t working. Instead, I see her more clearly now than I did on my way here.
Fuck, maybe I just need to get laid. I haven’t had sex with my wife in too long. Too fucking long, and it’s fucking me up mentally. It’s not that I haven’t tried. Beth just… just doesn’t want me.
Yeah. That’s the problem, the only explanation for these fucked-up feelings.
The only solution.
I need to get fucked.
I’ll go home, fuck my wife for the first time in almost a year, and that’ll stop the fantasies I have for my student.
