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22
Kiara
I don’t know what possessed me to buy the coffee and then double back to the bakery for fresh apple tarts. It was out of my hands now forgotten in David’s classroom along with the tarts from the bakery like a casualty of war. Tea had always been my thing, but those tarts. Damn. They were delicious. I wanted to eat every last crumb and maybe lick his mouth if I’d spent another moment longer in his presence. Furthermore, the idea of asking him to my brother’s firehouse cookout blew my mine. Clearly, I was sleep deprived the way it flowed out of my mouth like an open invitation.
What had I been thinking?
But, he said yes.
Not that I expected David to say no, he’d been bugging me from the start and I’d been the one with hesitations, excuses, avoiding him whenever possible, and yet…
My chest sighed on auto-pilot thinking about his muscles straining his dress shirt and the way he commanded the space of his classroom. My tummy fluttered with something akin to carnivorous butterflies if there was such a violent beautiful thing. My thighs quivered with each step closer to my office and I worried I might have to raid the gym bag under my desk for fresh underwear. Oh the woes of hot teacher syndrome. Now I had a fair idea of what my female students experienced with David Easton.
Oh, Mr. Easton, indeed.
“Hey Kia.”
I jumped at the sound of my colleague’s voice and stumbled into the wall. My legs turned into gangly uncoordinated limbs forcing me to check and make sure no nosey students were watching us. The gossip mill inside a high school was rampant and there was no telling who was worse, the kids or us adults.
“Jesus, Amber. You scared the life out of me.” Clutching my chest, I heaved. All lustful thoughts of David vanished as I struggled to remain upright.
Amber reached for my arm and pulled me up. I was taller than her by quite a bit. I’d heard the senior boys refer to her as fun sized for which I reprimanded them for with extra laps around the track during their PE period.
“Girl, you okay?” she giggled watching my spaz.
“I will be, but lesson learned to not sneak up on someone. You’re quieter than a church mouse.”
Amber grimaced. “So I’ve been told.” Her face flushed and she dismissed my comment getting right back to the point. “David Easton, huh?” She smiled coyly and I hemmed and hawed before relenting what she wanted to hear.
“Kind of. I mean, he’s hot and all, but kind of a jarhead.”
“Oh Kiara, don’t try and fool me. He’s hot and smart, and you’ve already had a piece of the action. This is you avoiding how you really feel. I respect that. This job can’t be easy with everyone talking about everyone else. Sometimes I think our co-workers are worse than the hormonal kids.”
Amber was right about that. We walked to the end of the hall where the quads split.
“I invited him to the cook-out the fire department is having. Lots of people will be there mingling. You should come with.”
“How about I meet you there?”
“Alright, five o’clock.”
“You do realize that’s when everyone is there.” She snorted.
“Hey, I need moral support. David is picking me up and wants to be there at that time.”
“Pretty calculating for a jarhead.”
“Hey, he’s into computers, and craft beer.”
“Oh, now we’re defending him with intimate knowledge.”
“Ugh. Stop. I’ll see you there. Promise?” I asked hoping I’d have an ally with me.
“Of course.”
We parted ways and I replayed each conversation I had with both David and Amber. I was definitely caught in a web of my own making.
My musing didn’t last long when my phone beeped with a message from my doctor’s office. I’d gone in over the summer for a regular exam and extensive routine blood work. I hadn’t given much thought to it since. As much as I knew I had to be on top of my health, I also wanted to take a few moment to breath and live a little, hence the whole reason for my first night with David. So much had been stolen from me in the form of my childhood and time. I wanted to ignore this too for just a little while longer.
