Page 23 of Classroom Confessions

“But I won’t.” He said it with absolute assurance.

A tiny piece of my heart broke, even though I’d known he would never give in. Forced to choose between me and his job, Ethan would not risk his livelihood. I understood. I hated it, but I understood.

“Do you have some kind of goal with all this?” He relaxed enough to loosen his arms, but the hard planes of his face remained tense.

I cocked my head to the side, enjoying the way he watched my hair fall over my shoulder with a deep hunger in his eyes. “What do you mean?”

A beat of silence passed. I halfway expected him to pull me close and kiss me. It’s what I would have written for us in this moment. Followed by a good, hard fuck across his desk like Lily had planted in my head. He definitely had some domineering traits lingering beneath the surface. I wanted to dig them up and turn them loose. What would it be like to have Ethan tie me up and do anything he wanted to my body? My pussy clenched at the thought. He’d make it good for me. I had zero doubts about that. Where Cole and David were calm and quiet, Ethan would be loud and demanding.

He stalked toward me, his steps barely making a sound. The predatory part of him was exposed, the gleam of it dancing beneath the surface. “Do you have some kind of goal, going around asking all of us to sleep with you? Is it some kind of checklist you’re trying to accomplish?”

I slapped him. I didn’t mean to, it just happened. The instant my palm met his cheek with a crack and his head whipped to the side, I yanked myself backward with a gasp. An apology crackled through me. I bit it down and glared. “How dare you. I did not ask for this. I never asked David or Cole for anything. They asked me, and I won’t let you cheapen what happened between us by making it sound like I had some ulterior motive.” I turned on my heel and stomped off, my blood simmering. “Don’t ever insinuate anything like that again. Casual doesn’t mean I’m careless.”

I was still fuming by the time I reached my car and slid behind the wheel. My hands shook so badly that I waited to pull out of the parking lot but sat there with the engine running and the air conditioning going at full blast until I brought myself back under control.

I’d struck him. I’d hit a professor. What the hell had I been thinking? I wasn’t. That was the problem. All three of them stole my good intentions, my critical thinking skills, and my methodology on right and wrong.

Ethan burrowed under my skin with his cold pretense of disinterest. It was a sham. He wanted me. That thought buoyed my spirits. I still had a lot of anger to work through, and I planned on putting it to good use tonight at the coffee shop. As soon as things calmed down, I’d finish that first chapter.

Lily met me at the door to the coffee shop, her curls wild and eyes wide. “You have to help me.”

“What? Why?”

She didn’t let me finish but pulled me into the shop and pushed me toward the back room. “Ricky and Sabian set me up on a blind date. With Robert.”

A snort burst out. I covered my mouth with both hands, but it was too late.

Lily narrowed her eyes at me and shoved an apron into my chest. “You’re working the front tonight while Robert and I have our date.” She spat the last word while rolling her eyes. “I don’t know what possessed them to do this to me.”

“They probably thought Robert wanted to ask you out but was too afraid to.” I put the apron on, using it to hide my smile. Ricky and Sabian were the only two other employees at the shop. The four of us pretty much kept the place running, with the owner checking in once a month or if we called because we needed something. It worked out well for everyone, and I liked all my coworkers. “Come on, it might be fun.” I elbowed Lily, who shot me a dirty look.

“I haven’t told you the best part.” She arched a brow and bent toward me. “It’s not just Robert they set me up with. Apparently, they made me a whole dating profile online and I have dates every night this week.”

“Oh.” I hugged her despite her resistance. “Damn. I’m sorry. What do you need me to do?”

“They set them all up here. If it looks like things are going downhill, make up an excuse to get rid of them.” She held my upper arms, her entire focus on me. “Don’t make me look desperate. Just get me out. Pretend there’s a fire. Drop coffee on them. I don’t care, just help me.”

“Okay. We need a signal. What’s something you can do that’s not obvious but will let me know you want an intervention?” I walked us over to the counter and poured myself a cold brew with a splash of heavy cream and caramel syrup.

Lily paced around to the far side and picked up empty cups and saucers from a booth. “What about this? If I tuck my hair over my left shoulder, it means I want out.”

“Okay. Sure. Simple and easy to remember.” I’d been best friends with Lily since kindergarten. I knew that she preferred to pull her hair over her right shoulder. I’d immediately notice her moving it to the other side. I sipped my drink and helped her clear the rest of the tables. “Looks like you had a busy streak.”

“Yeah. That same business group came back. Apparently, David paying for their drinks worked and now they’re hooked on the place.” She flashed a stack of bills tucked in her apron pocket. “But they’re good tippers and no one tries to grab my ass, so I’m not complaining.”

“Not like that summer you worked at the crab house.” I shook away the shudders. I’d not had the same experiences as Lily, but I’d gotten a pinch or two that summer. We were both fired when Lily punched the shit out of a man when he squeezed her boob then acted like she’d asked for it.

My hands curled into fists at the memory. I blew out a slow breath to calm myself. I still couldn’t believe I’d slapped Ethan today. The move was so unlike me. He’d insulted me, infuriated me, even. That didn’t give me the right to hit him.

I thought back over the moment. He’d seen it coming. He’d had time to move away, to stop me, but he didn’t. He let me hit him. Why?

“How’s the new story?” Lily wiped down the table and carried the dishes to the industrial sink in the kitchen. “Any progress?”

“Some.” I hadn’t told her much about it, but that wasn’t new. Lily understood I wasn’t ready to talk about my books yet. “You’ll be the first to read it.” I finished my drink and tossed the cup into the water before moving to help her scrub. “Actually, I could use a new set of eyes on it tonight. I want to try posting it chapter by chapter on one of those serial reader sites.”

“Sweet.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Is it kinky?”

“Sort of.” I bumped her hip with mine. “You can help me with that part too.” How would the Ethan in my story react to getting slapped? It probably would have played right into the sex scene that came next. That Ethan enjoyed a little pain with his pleasure, and so did the woman he screwed.

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