Page 20 of Tangled

“Well, I didn’t come home alone, if that’s what you need to know…”

“Ah! Yes, Liv! Good for you, girl! Please tell me it was hot… it’s been a while since I’ve gotten any and I need to live vicariously through you right now,” she beams through the phone, and I can only imagine the Cheshire grin on her face from my confession.

“It was… gosh, hot wouldn’t even begin to describe it, Clara,” I sigh, knowing that I definitely had the best sex of my life last night.

“Give me some details, woman!” I hear the clank of dishes in the phone's background.

“Are you at a restaurant right now?” I ask, sitting up in my bed, hit instantly with a pounding headache and the dire need to pee.

“Yeah, I’m grabbing breakfast before my meeting.”

“And you’re talking about sex out loud on the phone?”

“Whatever. It’s not like I’m ever going to see these people again,” she declares, and I can just imagine her waving her hand in the air nonchalantly.

“You really have no shame, do you?”

“Nope. Why worry about what others think of me? I don’t have time for that. I’m too busy plotting world domination.”

I laugh, knowing Clara could be plotting her own Pinky and the Brain scheme behind all of our backs. The woman doesn’t take no for an answer and is always up for a challenge, a few of the many reasons she’s so good at her job.

“So, do I get details?”

“Umm, I think I’m going to keep this specific encounter to myself, actually,” I tease, knowing she’s going to call my bluff right now.

“Ugh! You suck. But wait,” she pauses, and I can hear the wheel turning in her brain. “Wow. Did you catch feelings, Liv? You know that’s like breaking rule number one of one-night-stands…” Surprise fills her voice with the fact that I didn’t spill.

Normally, I wouldn’t have a problem sharing my sexual encounters with my girlfriends, especially Clara. Her, Perry, and Amy all knew about past men I had sex with, particularly Trevor and my disappointment with him at times. We’re girls. We tell each other pretty much everything.

But something about my night with Garrison doesn’t make me want to share. Bringing him home last night was one the most spontaneous and carefree things I’ve ever done in my life, and part of me wants to cherish that decision for what it is—a step in the right direction of moving on from Trevor and reclaiming myself and one of the few moments in my life where I gave myself permission to be carefree.

Plus, if I try to describe all the things he did to me last night, I’m going to end up all hot and bothered with no one to relieve the tension again.

“No, I didn’t catch feelings. I just want to move on from last night, and last week for that matter, okay?”

She huffs. “Fine. It’s not like you’ll see him again anyway, right?”

Disappointment hits me in a sudden wave when I absorb what she just said. I know we went into last night knowing it was just for fun, a one-time thing. But part of me can’t help but crave that physical connection again.

Yeah, that’s it. I’m just on a mind-blowing, post-sex high. I didn’t catch feelings.

I simply caught multiple orgasms.

“Right. I don’t even know where he lives. He could have been in town for just one night for all I know. It was a one-night stand,” I attempt to convince myself that I’m totally okay with what I knew I was getting myself into.

“It was fun, a great release, and now it’s time to move forward. I have to make myself look somewhat human and go to the school today to get my keys. The principal said to call her when I was ready so she could meet me there. I’m ready to move forward, Clara. The lumberjack gave me some of the best sex of my life, and now it’s time to slip back into Miss Walsh mode—math teacher extraordinaire and all-around bad-ass woman. Besides, you’re right. I’ll probably never see him again.”

Chapter 11

Kane

“I knew I shouldn’t have washed my truck,” I grumble as I hit yet another puddle from the rain last night, water shooting up and over the fender to pelt my windshield.

I swear, it’s Murphy’s law. As soon as you wash your vehicle, the rain Gods do a happy dance and literally, rain all over your parade. I guess that’s what I get for not checking the weather before I turned the hose on.

It’s Monday morning and still pitch black outside as I make my thirty-minute drive into town for work. The home I bought three years ago lies on the outskirts of town, deep in the trees, fulfilling my craving for isolation. I get privacy and land, but it makes for a slightly longer commute to Emerson Falls High School.

I’m an early riser by nature, so I tend to arrive at the school long before my colleagues, which also gives me ample time to prepare my lessons and necessary supplies for the day. Most people don’t realize all the extra time that goes into teaching outside of the hours when the students are actually in the chairs. My colleagues and I spend way more time beyond our seven-to-two contract day to ensure our lessons are worthwhile and the students get the support that they need.

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