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I wasn’t allowed to talk about my students’ grades, but that didn’t stop me from building up the young man in my class. I hadn’t expected him to excel in it, considering his inability to sit still even when exhaustion clung to his shoulders.
“He’s one of my most dedicated students.” I didn’t mention my wondering if he might be ADHD, but by his B average grade, he’d somehow found the ability to focus enough to study.
“He hasn’t given you any shit?” Micah chuckled. “He’s a brat and needs a firm hand.”
My groin woke back up. “He did in the beginning,” I admitted, “but he’s…worn thin.”
Lips pressing tight, Micah nodded, adjusting his wife slightly in his arms. She sighed and kissed his neck. “I told him that he had to take a break from—” Micah cut himself off.
“I suggested he drop a class or two,” I said rather than focusing on or pushing for what Micah had been about to say. I didn’t need to be a genius to guess.
“He won’t.” Micah shook his head. “The kid is so damn stubborn. Why the hell he’s doing this to himself is beyond me. He’s got a gorgeous condo overlooking the harbor, a brand new Audi, cash in the bank, and even if Elite gets fucked over by that fucker Zerig, he’s still set for life with the investments I pushed him into.”
“He’s doing it to prove himself to be every bit the man you are, Micah,” Master Cooney interjected. “To your father and to himself.”
“What?” Micah turned toward his friend.
“You’re intuitive as fuck, but you don’t see your own brother’s insecurities.”
“The fuck are you talking about?”
“He’s lived in your shadow his whole life, Micah. Your dad is a prick about it too. You know how many times I’d have enjoyed laying him out on his ass for being negative about every damn thing your brother tries to do?” Cooney shook his head. “I’m proud of the little shit for what he’s attempting—but he’s got nothing to prove. It’s too bad he doesn’t see himself for what he is.”
Master Cooney went on to reiterate what resonated in my brain. Sean’s pure sunshine brought light and laughter to those around him. The kindness and attentive listening he portrayed when so many people lacked those characteristics. He had a determination I admired and stubbornness I respected. The love reflected in his voice when speaking of his family, those living and passed, I remembered well from our time in the cemetery together.
Sean Fox was a good man.
And the neediness in him called out to every part of me.
I took my leave not much later, reflective and restless.
While I wasn’t free to fulfill him or the hollows inside my soul that would undoubtedly find contentment in him, I’d fallen for the young man.
Too many weeks remained in the semester until I could set aside the final reason Sean and I couldn’t be together.
I just had to play things safe and keep my hands to myself, until he was no longer my student.
Chapter 20
Sean
Matteo and I had a major breakthrough in whatever we were, but shit wasn’t progressing as I would have liked. We texted a few times a week, and I still flirted when I managed to get a private minute with him amidst the hallway full of students.
It physically hurt to respect his boundaries, and because of the constant ache for him, I pushed every chance I got.
But fucking hell, the stress of the Jackson Zerig situation ate at my insides, keeping me on edge.
I did as Micah had suggested, giving up escorting, and my wrist hurt from all the action since I had zero interest in hooking up with anyone but Teach. Thanks to Matteo and the nightly dreams he visited, I took great pleasure in releasing pressure from my balls every morning and sometimes immediately after his class in a bathroom stall. Unfortunately, I had to keep quiet rather than moaning out his name while coming around other students.
Zerig had called on the day he’d said he would, but he caved to Micah’s pleading, agreeing to give us another week to finish getting his money together. Preston had informed us Tuesday night that he’d found the asshole’s true identity and the fact his attempt to bribe money from Elite wasn’t his first go-round at extortion. Three other people from his past had been victims, and Preston had also learned there were warrants out for his arrest in two other states.
But the address Jackson Zerig had put in his contract with Elite, while an actual house, wasn’t his residence.
JJ had agreed to take the information of Zerig’s real identity and warrants to Boston’s PD, but their detectives had yet to find the fucker.
Thus the reason for my sleeplessness and dragging ass to the point I couldn’t even make myself go to the gym. Anxiety over Zerig releasing those faked photos to the media kept my gut in a state of unrest too. If shit went badly for Elite, we could easily face being shut down. I would lose out on the enjoyment and satisfaction of helping to fulfill closet case dick-lovers’ fantasies.
Stomach burning from too much coffee, I stared at Matteo as he lectured from his leaning perch against his desk. His low, raspy voice coiled around the nerve endings in my groin and nipple area, making all my good parts tingle and harden regardless of my nausea.
