“Call me Virginia.You’re not a native either then?Our Adelaide is a transplant from the Midwest,” she says while offering me a cookie from her stash.
“No, ma’am.From Dublin, but I’ve been here for a few years.”I reach out to take the cookie from my new best friend but pull back when I hear an outrageously loud throat clearing from the front of the class.
“I thought not,” Addie scolds.
I grin innocently over the top of my bottle.“I’d be happy to share, if that would make amends.”
The nip of whiskey I have in my bottle warms me as it slides down my throat.Not that I’m doing hard drinking, just a bit to make the class more tolerable.I offer the bottle to Addie because, if I’m honest, the only lips in the room I’m interested in sharing space with are hers.Especially her plump lower lip.The one that she’s abusing with her teeth.The one with just the tiniest smear of chocolate that she somehow misses with every nibble and bite.The one I’ve dreamed of having wrapped around my cock every night for the past week.
I throw her the Finn wink, hoping to distract her as I adjust my growing problem—again.
All I’m met with though is a mumbled, “Antibiotics,” and a flip of her braid as she walks away.
5
“Are those space pants?Because your ass is out of this world!”
“No, these are baseball pants because my ass is out of your league.”
Adelaide
Finn’s very presence is annoying the shit out of me.Why is he here?This is my place, my zone.These are some of the only people I actually like, and this is one of the few places I enjoy hanging out, outside of my cozy apartment.For the love of God, he’s tainting it.
I do everything in my power to push him and his crazy, infuriating existence out of my mind.I’m here for my ladies.To fill my cup and get my grandma time in.
We go over the basics, just like I do at the start of every session.Turning on the computer, signing in, connecting to the internet.This is pretty much as far as we’ll get today because the cookies are gone, and Esther is out of coffee.We all have our limits.
“Okay.So, we’ll pick up here on Thursday.Does anyone need a handout?”I take the stacked papers and chuck them in the recycling bin.
“Erm, that’s it?We’re done for the day?”His feet are on the corner of the desk, and his crap is spread across all three workstations at the very back of the room.
“Do you really need to be here?Surely, you know how to check your email and Google shit.”I shove his feet off the desktop and twist my lips to try to suppress my grin when he falls forward to catch himself.
“Adelaide, be nice to the young gentleman.He’s a long way from his family, too,” Virginia appeals for her new friend.Hers, not mine.“Maybe you’d like to be friends.Get a drink or a bite to eat after class.”
Is she serious?Making playdates for me?Setting me up on a date with her grandson was one thing.This is entirely different.And not okay.
“We met last week and didn’t hit it off, so…I’ll pass.”
“Surely, we can’t be done.I’ve still not made it all the way through the setup, and?—”
“What?”
“The laptop is new, and I thought…well, I thought you could help me get things set up, so I’ll be ready to take classes in the next college session.”He has the nerve to look around the room, silently pleading his case.
“You’re ridiculous, you know that?”I just can’t with him.“Go.You’re perfectly capable of setting up and using your laptop.Why the hell did you get this one anyway?”I turn the machine, so I can see what the specs are and laugh.“Jesus Christ, you already have a shortcut on your desktop to—” I snap my head up, staring into his eyes, and clamp my lips tightly together.
Oh my God.
“Adelaide, are you okay?Your face looks like a tomato.”
Lord have mercy, nothing gets by Connie, and she is closing in on me and the screen full of Tumblr GIFs.
I slam the top down and push the now-offending computer away from me.“This is not what we do here.”I glance around the room before narrowing my eyes at him again.“If you plan on coming back on Thursday, you will be following the syllabus in an appropriate manner.Do you understand?”I used my stern voice.My I-mean-businessvoice.My do-not-even-fuck-with-me voice.And I expect him to be intimidated, embarrassed, something.
Instead, Finn stands up, so we’re chest-to-chest—more like chest-to-stomach in my case—and he leans in to pick up his laptop.
“Oh, I plan on coming back, love.For every single class.I’ll also be planning on that drink and the bite as well.”He nods toward his new best friend and the class traitor.Taking a step back, he addresses the group as he slides all his miscellaneous crap into his bag, “Ladies, it’s been a pleasure.As for you, Addie, I’ll see you soon.”
