Page 23 of Professor Next Door

13. Galen

I watched her for the rest of the night, laughing as she teased Amanda about the mystery man she was dating. We had no idea who he was, or why they were keeping it a secret, but I was starting to have my suspicions. I was too distracted by the way Tara looked when she laughed to really care, though.

Her brown hair was out of its usual bun, soft and silky in curls around her shoulders before falling down her back. I’d loved burying my hands in its length while she sucked my dick.

Down boy, I said to myself, my blood surging at the memory. But then her lips caught my attention. Lips that had never sucked a man’s cock before until they wrapped around mine. Fuck!

I shifted in my seat, trying to ease the pressure on my zipper the memory caused.

“Galen, why are you so quiet?” Amanda was obviously trying to change the subject, but I was too distracted by the light in Tara’s eyes. Was she thinking about that moment only an hour ago when I’d had her nipple in my mouth and her clit under my fingers, oh so close to release?

I was never going to be able to stand up around her again. Not at this pace.

“I, uh, just have a lot on my mind. Do you want dessert?” I realized they were still eating but I needed to change the subject.

I’d seen that teasing gleam in Tara’s eyes as I’d spoken, and knew exactly what she was thinking. The same thing I was thinking about.

My cock between those sweet lips of hers, sliding in and out as she sucked me so, so tightly. I’d thought her only inexperienced when she couldn’t take all of me, but then, not all women can. Learning that she was a virgin had stopped me cold.

Normally, I’m not the kind of sentimental man that would stop because of a flimsy hymen. If the lady knew what she wanted, I’d give it to her. Tara was different. Tara was special. It wasn’t just that I’d married her; it was that I’d developed a lot of respect for her. She’d taken on her role as a student with aplomb, she’d cared for my daughter when she didn’t have to, and she’d given me the chance I needed to make sure my daughter stayed where she belonged.

Whether she knew it or not, that meant the world to me. I wasn’t going to fuck up the friendship she’d given me by having sex with her on a whim either. I wanted her; I wanted her with every fiber of my being. Ever since she’d moved into the house I’d found myself staring at her ass. Whether it was in a tiny pair of sleep shorts or covered by a nightgown, I wanted to squeeze it. I’d dreamed about her breasts, her mouth, and her long elegant fingers. I’d imagined them wrapped around my dick in several fantasies, those beautiful brown eyes staring up at me as she made me come.

I ached for her, my balls ached for her. I was going to sit right here and pretend I wasn’t thinking any of that. Tara deserved better than me, I hadn’t been bullshitting her. Learning she was a virgin had been a shock, but somehow not surprising.

She was worldly in the way of the youth today, but there’d always been something innocent about her. Something slightly naive. It hadn’t put me off—I found it refreshing, actually. I didn’t want to be the one that took that away from her though. Mainly, I didn’t want to break her heart.

For all she’d talked about logic, curiosity, and just wanting to get her virginity out of the way, there was something vulnerable in her when she said those things and that frightened me. I’d hurt Kayla. Hurt her enough to make her leave without actually meaning to. What would I do to Tara? I didn’t want to see that same look of despair in her eyes—that look of resignation as she walked away. It would kill me to see it from Tara.

That didn’t mean I could stop thinking about her. She made me laugh with her jokes about the sex lives of socks in the dryer, she made me think with her answers to my questions, and she cared for Rikki and me like we really were her family. Even wipes pizza sauce from Rikki’s chubby, grinning cheeks.

“I wuv yoo, Tar-wah, even if you wipe my face.” Rikki held her arms up to Tara and Tara bent down to hug my daughter and kiss her into another fit of giggles. That was something that got me, just how much she cared for my daughter.

It was obvious for anyone to see, the pair were best friends for life now. A doubt started to creep in then, watching the three females all laughing together. How was I going to rip them apart? Could I?

For the first time, I was doubting my decision to marry Tara as a matter of convenience. I hadn’t even thought about how it would cause them pain later. I wasn’t worried about me, I could deal with it. But what about Rikki and Tara?

Sadness and guilt filled me as Tara and Rikki started to feed each other French fries. Rikki looked up at Tara with a mouth full of teeth and potatoes, grinning away. Dammit. How could I not have thought of this?

I’d made provisions for them to be able to see each other after we divorced, sometime down the road, but would that be enough? It was obvious my daughter was just as in love with Tara as Tara was with Rikki. Rikki was going to have it rough when she grew older and learned how her real mother died. Would Tara still be around to help her deal with it? Would she be around to reassure Rikki that she’d been loved her whole life?

I’d grown up with that doubt; I didn’t want my little girl to experience it, though I knew it was going to be unavoidable at some point. Kayla had left us both behind, not just me. Both of us. Rikki was a smart girl, she’d know what it meant. I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a slug of my beer.

I’d allowed myself two, but I was driving, so sipped at them slowly. I needed the cool, crisp tang of the lager to drive away that thick lump in my throat. I started tapping my fingers to the music playing, something about fires burning somewhere, a rather catchy song, just to distract myself. Too much thinking, I decided, simply wasn’t good for me.

The girls managed to make their way through dessert before we left, and I was more than grateful when we all headed out to the car. Tara settled Rikki in her car seat, before getting into the passenger seat.

“Hey, why don’t you guys come and stay with me tonight? You know I have room, Tara,” Amanda said innocently from the back seat.

“No, you don’t. There are only two bedrooms.” Tara looked out of the window but I heard the tiniest bit of annoyance in her voice. My eyes narrowed, watching her, but she didn’t turn back so I started the car and pulled out. I had to wonder if she was upset with me.

“Well, Rikki can sleep with me, and you two can have...” but she didn’t get to finish before Tara turned in her seat and glared at her friend in the backseat.

“You shut your face, woman!”

I smothered a laugh. Tara never said things like that. She was changing though, I reminded myself. She’d said fuck earlier and it had nearly floored me. It was just so cute when she said it!

“Come on, Tara, it’s still hot out! You two can just...”