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Furious, I drag a hand down my face before throwing a look at Luna and the annoyance drains the moment I see her with icing sugar on the tip of her nose. That white little tip cheers me up and I grin, wiping it off and she throws me an embarrassed glance.
“Thanks. The kids would’ve laughed their butts off if I’d come in like this today.”
Right, her work and I have to admit I hadn’t thought much about that, somehow imaging that she’d be at home all day and breathlessly waiting for me but now I’m reminded of something potentially problematic and I murmur, “Luna, I hope there aren’t any men where you work.”
She seems surprised but shakes her head. “Nope, it’s just women.”
Then it’s not problematic. I take no issue with her working as long as I don’t have to worry about her being leered on. It sounds like a fucking nightmare by the way, creeps looking at my Luna and my fists clench. “Good, I don’t want you coming in contact with men when I’m not around to protect you.”
Luna bursts into laughter. “Come in contact?” She sniggers as if that’s the funniest phrase she’s ever heard. “Oops, I’m afraid I do come in contact with other men.”
Clutching the table, I fail to see the humor in this. “What other men?” I growl and she twitches, spilling her lemonade and I turn around with a curse, grabbing some paper towels and wipe it off. Luna stares up at me as if she’s not sure what’s going on.
“The children’s fathers, of course. Sometimes they drop them off and usually they come to pick them up.”
I didn’t think about that. I didn’t think about the fucking fathers! This changes everything and now I’m tense again.
“Listen, I got an idea,” I say in a very calm and level voice. “I think you should stay home today.”
Grimacing, she shakes her head. “Nah, Fridays are our favorite day. We pull the guitar out and throw a party.”
That sounds very cute and wholesome but all I can think of are men coming in at the end of the day and staring at her tired and beautiful face, wanting to buy her a cup of coffee, wanting to offer her a ride home, wanting to offer her a ride on their dicks...
I let out a growl and Luna glances at me in surprise but ignores me. “I should clean this up or I’ll be late for work,” she murmurs and panic rises to my head. I need to find a way to keep her with me. Humming to herself, Luna cleans her dishes and I’m starting to feel the pressure. Soon, she’ll be out that door and then I won’t be able to stop her.
I need to stop her.
Clutching my chest, I grimace and pretend to be hyperventilating and Luna swiftly turns around, her face whitening and she gawks. “Derex, what is it?”
“Don’t know.” I choke for air. “There’s this sudden pressure,” I groan, rubbing my chest in the way that I’ve seen people do. “Right here...it fucking hurts.”
“Is it anxiety?” she cries in panic. “What about?” She frantically looks around. “It’s the article, isn’t it? The news about his death, you’re scared you’ll end up the same way, aren’t you?”
Stomping her foot, she aggressively crumbles the newspaper and throws it into the trashcan. “I never would’ve showed it to you, had I known you were this sensitive.” Wrapping her arms around me, she hugs me tight and I purr inwardly when facing her cleavage. “This is what happens when big guys like you act all tough, bottling down your fears and then you end up exploding.” Clicking her tongue, she holds me closer. “Let those emotions out, let them out...,” she rocks me and shushes me and I pretend to exhale.
“Better?” she asks and I shrug. A concerned frown forms between her brows. “I don’t want to leave you when you’re like this.” She hesitates and I bore my eyes into hers, trying to get her to do what I want. “Maybe, I should call and tell them I can’t come in today.”
Hiding my smirk, I say in a controlled voice, “Luna, I think that would be for the best.”
5.
Luna
He insists on coming with me to work on Monday. We spent the whole weekend together, or more like glued to one another. At one point, I even thought he would follow me into the bathroom and when I told him I’d go for a run in the evening, he took his car and followed me, yelling at me through the window things like,
“Pull your top down!”
“Watch your step!”
“I’ll kill that motherfucker for honking at you!”
That was his idea of giving me space but I have to admit, it felt pretty bizarre jogging and seeing a car and a man in dark glasses stalking me whenever I looked over my shoulder. This is a nice neighborhood, as opposed to my old one and I don’t believe Derex one bit when he said he was doing it for my own safety.
The most dangerous thing around here is the butterflies and I think Derex just needs to be in control of everything. Not that I mind, but I am nervous about bringing him to work. None of the other teachers have ever brought their men with them for a day and their men look nice.
Mine looks like he writes other people’s testaments, using their own blood.
At least he’s not wearing black today but more of a...dark grey. I guess that’s something and I take a deep breath, stepping into the school together with Derex. The kids immediately burst into tears at the sight of him, some of them screaming and cowering in the corner and my heart sinks. Glancing at Derex, I notice he seems embarrassed and a little bit guilty and sympathy flares in me.
