“Nope. No. You don’t get to ‘Monts’ me, especially when it makes my insides do these stupid flips. You need to explain yourself—now, Robbie.”
“I really don’t want to do this over the phone.” He gives a dry laugh. “Actually, I don’t want to do this at all. Ineverwanted to do this, which is why I’ve sort of—”
“Ignored me? Abandoned me?”
“It sounds really bad when you say it like that.”
I scoff at his words. “Itisreally bad, Robbie. You took me back to your house, made love to me, and then sent me on my merry way only to ignore me for nearly a week.”
“Monty…there was so much more to it than that. I didn’t want to have to do this, so I hid from it like a little bitch. I should have pulled my goddamn big boy pants up and hit this head on, but I couldn’t. We were so happy, and I wanted to hold on to that for a while longer.”
“You think dodging my texts and just disappearing from my life is holding on to happiness?”
“That sounds really bad too.” He laughs dryly. “I’m an idiot and clearly really fucking bad at relationships.”
“I think that is putting things mildly.”
He laughs again, and I hear how disappointed he is in himself.
I’m disappointed in him too, yet I can understand why he did what he did. I didn’t face my problems in Montana; I ran. So, get it.
Which makes me feel like an idiot too.
“Was it Brandon?” I ask him.
“That…yeah.” He clears his throat. “Yes. He was Xavie’s teacher last year. I know him. He recognized me Sunday night, and I knew he wouldn’t keep his mouth shut. I thought if we separated and took time apart, he wouldn’t have any ammo against us.”
“But the pictures.”
“The pictures.”
When Brandon walked into my office this morning and slid a white, bookmark-sized slip of paper my way, I was confused.
“Thought you might want these, and just a note: what you’re doing with him? It needs to end. This kind of…indiscretion is not tolerated at our school. End it, or you’ll be answering to Principal Gladden Monday afternoon.”
That was all he said, staring down at me victoriously as my hands shook, flipping the paper over and gasping.
There were four pictures of me and Robbie in the photo booth.
My top was clearly off, his face was buried in my chest, and my head was thrown back mid-orgasm.
I glanced back up at the traitor, and his grin grew. Then he slipped from my classroom like he hadn’t just wrecked my entire world.
“How did this happen, Robbie? How do those even exist?”
“I…fuck. Remember when I put money in? I didn’t even think about it. The booth must have been on a timer and it went off.”
“The fireworks,” I whisper into the phone.
Those weren’t fireworks I saw when I came. It was the camera flash.
I am an idiot.
“What?”
“I…I…” Even though he can’t see me, humiliation washes over me. “Nothing, it’s nothing.”
“I didn’t even think about it once you climbed onto my lap.”