Page 4 of Hot For Teacher
“Once I figure things out, I will be gone, I promise.”
“Blair,” he replies, grasping my chin to force my gaze to his. “You can stay with me however long you need to. I mean it.”
Nodding at him, I smile back, trying to ignore the way my heart rate kicks up when he grins at me. Last night he let me curl up on his chest and he held me through my tears. When we fell asleep on the couch, we were still tangled up together. Waking up with him there, his arms tight around me, it made this a little easier.
My feelings for him always made this so hard. Being in the same house with him, sharing a bedroom with his father with him just down the hall, it was difficult. Because I wish I had said yes to going to prom with him. I wish I had never lied to him or Bobbi about why I married their father.
Now I might have a chance to right all my wrongs.
Sitting beside him in his little Chevy S10, most of my things boxed up in the back, I am at ease for the first time in months. He pulls away from the curb, turning up his radio to fill the truck with Bon Jovi tunes, he seems in good spirits too.
When his hand grabs the shifter between my legs, I bite back a gasp. His long, strong fingers wrap around the stick, making my thighs tremble. When I take a deep breath, his Cool Water cologne fills my lungs. My eyes flutter closed as it mixes with his natural smell. I always loved the way he smelled, and now I don’t even feel guilty for how it makes my pulse stutter.
“Want to grab something from The Jukebox to eat? Before we get you settled at my place?” he offers, slowing down as he passes the popular 50s style diner off Main Street.
“Yeah,” I agree with a nod as he turns towards the diner, “Yeah why not?”
Brenden grins at me and my stomach flip-flops. I look away as my face flushes again.Control yourself, Blair. He is your stepson! And your best friend’s brother!No one can ever know how nervous he makes me. How twisted up inside I was being married to his father.
No one can ever know I said yes to the wrong Gallo man.
After he parks, we sit in the truck for a moment asRaise Your Handplays on, both of us quiet. The song could be the soundtrack to my life. Me a weak girl just like my mother, always turning to a man to take care of me. Not sure how to live my life without someone there to guide me.
“I don’t want to be like my mother Bren,” I whisper, bowing my head as I listen to the song, tears slipping down my cheeks. “I want to do something with my life. I want to be someone. I don’t know how to do that. Where do I even start?”
“You start here, Blair. Without my father, without your mother. You don’t even need me. But I will be right there if you do. I will do whatever you need me to do. I swear I will take better care of you than he ever could have,” he swears, his hand sliding from the stick shift to my bare knee.
A jolt of heat shoots through me, settling right between my legs. I drop my hand atop his because I don’t want him to stop touching me.I should. I ought to tell him I can’t come and stay at his place, that I can’t turn to him for help. For the first time in my life, I need to do this on my own.
I can’t. I cannot do this without him.
“Just promise me if you want me to go, you just tell me. Don’t....Bren, don’t abandon me again. Don’t just walk away from me again,” I plead, swiping at the tears on my face as I turn towards him.
Brenden sighs, reaching out to brush at my damp cheeks. His touch makes my heart thunder in my chest. Fast, hard, loud, so loud he must be able to hear it. Whenever he touches me, my heart just about beats out of my chest.
“I was never that far away, Blair. And Iam notmy dad. I would never make a promise I don’t mean to keep. You believe me, yeah?”
His hand cradles my face as I nod, our gazes locked. He smiles and my heart flutters in my chest. Tiny beats against my ribs, like butterflies caught inside of me, taking flight. I close my eyes as his thumb brushes over my cheek, then my mouth. I lean into his touch, craving the warmth of him, his intoxicating scent, and the safety of being so close to him.
“Yeah, I believe you. Let’s go get some chili burgers and sodas, I think we earned it,” I tease, lacing our fingers together.
“For sure we did,” he agrees with a laugh, sliding out of the truck and pulling me behind him.
When we head into the diner, our hands are still laced, I am the happiest I have been in months. Until I see people watching us. Staring. Noting how close I am pressed to him, and how tight our hands are tangled.
Dropping his hand, I pull back a little. People have talked about me enough since I married Stefan. Whispering about how I was a slut or a gold digger. No one knows the truth, but I don’t care if they did. I don’t want them to start talking about Brenden now too.
“Brenden, maybe we shouldn’t....” I trail off as he turns to face me, looking down at me as he ignores all the eyes on us.
“Do you want a coke or a root beer float? If I remember right, root beer floats were your favorite here,” he teases me, grinning as if we are just two young kids having fun together.
And for a moment, that is what I want to be. Two kids, unsure of their lives and their choices, out grabbing burgers together. Burgersandthe best root beer floats in town.
“A root beer float. With extra ice cream, for sure,” I tell him.
Brenden orders for us then leads me to a booth in the back. Our favorite booth, one that we used to sit at with our friends. All of that seems like it was another life. One where I made the right choices. Or at least choices I could live with. It feels like another life when I was here last, laughing with friends, unsure about our future but looking forward to it.
Another life where I said yes to the right Gallo man.
