Page 26 of After Class

"Ethan came over," I squeezed out the words, then immediately pressed myself down on his lap, burying my face there so I didn't have to look at him. I felt him tense immediately, and I felt sick. "He wouldn't leave. I told him to leave, Adrian."

"Did he hurt you?" His voice was harsh, barely controlled. I had never heard him take that tone.

"He said he would tell the school board that he had seen you molest me," I choked. "He said he would get you fired. I really did try to just make him leave-"

"I believe you, baby, but please:did he hurt you?" His voice was desperate, frustrated. Frightened. I pressed my face down harder, as if to muffle what I was about to say.

"He kissed me," I said, hating the way the words sounded. I wanted to curl up into the smallest possible ball. I wanted to hide. "I really did try to stop him Adrian, he just . . . I'm sorry . . ."

He rolled me over, forcing my face out of hiding, so that I lay on my back with my head in his lap. "Don't you dare apologize to me," he said, his hands shaking as they grasped my face. "Absolutely do not apologize. Did you call the cops?"

"N-no," I said slowly.

"Do you want to call them?"

I could just imagine the line of questioning.Did you know the intruder?Yes. My ex.Did he physically harm you?He forced a kiss on me.Did he threaten violence against you? No. There were no marks or bruises anywhere on my body. Even the red marks from the grip of his hands on my arms were quickly fading.

"No," I said softly, ashamed of my answer. I didn't want to have to tell more people, be subject to the questions and the skepticism. Besides, what good would it do?

"I understand, baby," he said. "I understand. Don't cry, baby girl. It's okay."

He held me and rubbed my back late into the night. I must have made him promise he wouldn't leave me alone half a dozen times before I finally fell asleep.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Adrian told me he would stay with me if I wanted to call out of work the following day. But I insisted on going. I wasn't going to let Ethan frighten me out of living my life. Not now. Not ever again. On my way in, I called my carrier to have my cell number changed. During downtime, I blocked Ethan on every social media account I had. Now I only had to worry about seeing him in public, and if he dared to come to my house again. I honestly wanted to pack up and move, but in the middle of the semester on a tight budget, it was impossible. There were only so many cheap apartment options near the university.

"You can stay with me," Adrian offered immediately. "As long as you need to."

I turned down the offer, but gladly spent the next night sleeping at his house. But the thing was that I couldn't just hide from Ethan forever. I couldn't just keep hoping he wouldn't show up. He had to be faced, in one way or another.

"Don't be scared," Adrian said, as I lay in his bed to sleep for the first time. "I won't let anything happen to you. This will be handled."

His kisses that night were fervent, his grip on me hard enough to make my muscles ache. He tied my wrists and ankles,so that I was spread eagle beneath him. Helpless, basking in the glory of submission. His every movement - from the sharp slap of the leather crop he had pulled from within his toy chest, to the bite of his teeth along my inner thighs – left my body tingling with sensation and longing.

"Don't be afraid of the lack of control," he said, whispering down my body as he trailed the crop along my spine. "Don't be afraid to trust me."

Blindfolded and gagged, he commanded all my senses. I enjoyed the strain against my bindings, I relished struggling when I knew I couldn't escape. I trusted him. Of course I did. Every touch, every scratch, every bite, every slap, was controlled. He was conscious of my expressions, my smallest noises. He listened for the point at which my muffled shrieks reached a pitch that said the pain was too much. He pushed my limits of frustration, pushing me to the brink of orgasm only to skillfully pull me back again. Blind and bound, I could only wait for what he intended to do to me.

It was thrilling, therapeutic. It took away the worries that tormented me and made them insignificant. It forced me into the moment where there was just the two of us, just his voice commanding me and the experience of my body.

It made 3 little words that I was terrified of ever saying again press dangerously hard against my lips.

The day before class, Adrian assured me again, "Trust me. Everything will be fine."

I was torn between my trust for him and my doubts. I wanted to believe him. I just couldn't see a scenario in which everything would be "fine."

Walking to class, I saw Ethan andSophia go in ahead of me. I felt like running at her, shaking her, asking her if she knew what the person she was with was truly like. But I bit my lip. I met Ethan's gaze when it went over me. I kept my face hard anddidn't let him see my intimidation. I sat in my seat at the front of the class, head up, and waited for Adrian to come. I waited for that rush of relief I always felt when I saw him.

But the professor who arrived wasn't Adrian.

"Good morning class, I'm Mrs. Tichmond. I will be taking over this class for Mr. Blackwood, who is unfortunately unable to finish out the semester due to personal circumstances."

My heart felt frozen in my chest. The woman was middle-aged, blonde hair, and wore a plethora of bug-themed brooches on her sweater that I swore I had also seen my grandmother wear. She took 10 minutes to get the projector working, but even when the lesson began I could hardly hear it. I stared blankly, my phone clutched tightly in my hands, resisting the urge to leave the classroom and call Adrian immediately.

Had Ethan already reported Adrian? But surely school officials would have talked to him . . . would have talked tome. . . would have done something to see if what Ethan said was even true. I thought irrationally that perhaps Adrian had been arrested, before I reminded myself that nothing we had done wasillegal. Still my heart pounded in my chest. Fear that I had ruined things for Adrian. Ruined his opportunity to graduate, to continue working at the school. I couldn't manage to take a single note.

The moment class ended, I was already calling him. It rang, and rang again, with no answer.Come on Adrian, what's going on?Finally, I heard the click as he picked up. Before he could even greet me, I blurted out, "What's going on? Where were you? Why aren't you teaching?"

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