Page 22 of Classroom Confessions

She’d left David for my dad? This kept getting better and better. Or worse, depending on which way my mind turned. It changed from second to second. Maybe it wasn’t the same David. How did I find out? Should I ask David if he remembered Carrie? No. That would be weird. It didn’t matter, anyway. I ground my teeth and forced out a smile that I knew Carrie would take as genuine. “Is it bad if I say I’m glad it didn’t work out between you two? You and Dad are perfect for each other.”

“Oh, honey. That’s so sweet.” She hugged me, her floral perfume almost as comforting as Dad’s cologne. “I’m glad I met your dad. And who knows? David might have changed by now. It’s been years, after all. I hope he’s found someone to love, someone who has the strength to break down his barriers and see the good man underneath.”

What was I supposed to do with this information? How many David Stanleys could there be in the world, especially in the same state? Ugh. I couldn’t get it out of my head.

My stepmom and I slept with the same man. At least she wasn’t my mother by blood. That would have been worse. Way worse. Still. Nausea churned. No way I’d be having nachos today. “Come on, we’d better find your father and get a seat. The game will start soon.” Carrie crowd surfed with the best of them. She had no problems carving a path through the people loitering in the lobby and marching through the yellow doors into the gymnasium. Shoes squeaked, and the smell of locker room sweat curled my nose. How was it that every gym smelled the same no matter where they were located or how often they were cleaned?

“If you’re worried that David will punish you for my leaving him, you shouldn’t be. He was a genuinely sweet man when I knew him. He had the cutest little dimple too. Right here on his cheek.” She tapped her left cheek. “It only shows up with this one smile, a little lopsided one that I only ever saw when he looked at me after sex.”

“Didn’t need to know that.” I shook my head and almost tripped over the edge of the bleachers. So, so did not need to know that. Because it was that same dimple I’d noticed when he looked down at me. I should tell him. But what difference did it make? We both agreed that we were a one-night stand and nothing else.

11

REBECCA

I’d never experienced a more disastrous weekend. First the thing with Cole, then finding out Carrie and David used to have a thing. It was enough that it should have made me swear off all three men.

But of course, I had the masochist attitude that pushed me to keep wanting more. I’d slept with Cole and David. That should have satisfied my urges. I should be able to get over them. So why did I spend an hour looking at myself in the mirror and fluffing my hair before heading over to campus for classes? There was a difference in wanting to look nice and trying to get Ethan to admit he wanted me.

“Stop it.” I scolded myself as I stepped into his lecture hall. Ethan was reluctant to have anything to do with me. Cool. I didn’t want a relationship, anyway. I wasn’t worth the risk to his career. Kinda sucked, but I’d get over it. He had every right to protect his career.

“Today, we’ll be discussing sonnets and their effect through literature.” Ethan stalked into the room with purpose in each step and fire banked in his eyes. He found me in the crowd and the heat intensified. “If anyone has any objections to the subject matter, they’re free to leave now. There will not be any interruptions or personal opinions in today’s lesson.”

Ouch. I flipped him off and relished the way his chin lowered like he might charge up the steps and confront me right then and there in front of the whole class. I had every right to my opinions, my thoughts, and my feelings, and I’d be damned if I let him intimidate me. I sat back and crossed my arms, flicking my fingers in a whatever gesture.

Steam might as well have erupted from his ears, but he schooled his expression and turned his back on me. I might not have any hard feelings, but he sure as hell did. And why was that? Had he talked to Cole? Did he blame me for the two of us having sex? He should be fucking grateful that I shut Cole down before he asked for more from me.

Ethan paced back and forth through the entire class while studiously avoiding eye contact with me. Fine. Two could play that game. With my laptop recording his lecture, I opened a new document and typed out a brand-new Chapter One for a new story starring Ethan as the main character. Not the calm Ethan I’d first met, but this one. I wanted all that raw, angry energy on the page. It would go great with the BDSM chapters I’d written the other night. And I knew just what to do with it once I finished.

An hour later, Ethan dismissed us with a wave. I took my time saving the documents and closing my laptop. I didn’t have any other classes today, and my shift at the coffee shop started in a few hours. I had time to kill, and I knew what I wanted to do with it.

I waited until the room cleared before making my way down to the main floor. “Pretty asshole move, calling me out like that.”

“It wasn’t about you.” He barked out the words while crossing his arms. The closed off posture fueled my need to poke him a little more.

That whole ‘don’t poke the bear’ thing? Yeah, that wasn’t me. I’d found I enjoyed poking this particular bear. “No? So you didn’t look right at me and basically tell the whole class that I was an interruption, one you would rather not deal with?”

His jaw clenched. A cold fury I’d never seen in real life tightened his eyes into narrow slits. “You’re playing a dangerous game.” He pointed directly at me. “And it’s one that won’t even affect you if things go badly.”

“You mean if it’s found out that I slept with David.”

“Professor Stanley.” He leaned in close enough that I smelled the coffee on his breath. “And Professor Cole Taylor.”

Ah, so he knew about Cole too. “Should I be flattered that the three of you are talking about me behind my back? I thought you were all mature men who didn’t need to kiss and tell to impress each other.”

“Impress?” This time, the fury stamped on his face smothered the room as he made a single step toward me. “We are not trying to impress each other. We’re trying to figure out how to keep our jobs.”

“Oh, right. Because I’m some punk ass college girl who’s going to run to the dean and turn you all in.” I matched his stance, crossed arms and everything. “I’m not a tattle tale, Professor Ethan.”

“You’re fucking trouble. That’s what you are.” He said it like he meant for it to be an insult.

I grinned just to piss him off. “Yes, I am. And the only reason you’re being pissy about it is because you’re attracted to me too.”

I couldn’t believe I said it, but the minute the words crossed my lips, I knew they were true. We’d danced around this since the first time he asked me to stay after class. I’d gotten an eyeful of his dick, the hard lines of his erection fully present when we argued. He’d hidden it behind his suit jacket, but some things could not stay tucked away forever.

He was hard now, the bulge growing more evident with each passing minute. He liked it when I argued with him. “Yes.” The admission came out with a frustrated growl. “I’m so attracted to you that I’d love nothing more than to fuck the hell out of you right here, right now.”

I tucked the information away for my story and arched a brow, silently asking why he kept waiting.

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