Page 38 of Poles Apart
They left the house, and Jacob drove across the city to drop him off. As Dom watched him drive away, he couldn’t help but smile at how his night had gone. He’d finally given in to him, and fuck if he knew where that left him.
Chapter Twenty
Jacob
Jacob texted Abby, making sure she’d got to school alright, but he needn’t have bothered. Colin was there waiting for him in the teacher’s lounge when he arrived.
“How was last night? How was lover boy?” Colin elbowed him in the ribs and winked at him.
“None of your business.” Jacob poured his coffee. “The club was eventful, though. Some guy tried to manhandle Dom. I got a sucker punch in the jaw for that, but the guy was so drunk, he barely touched me.”
“Oh, you’re such a hero, Jacob.” Colin fluttered his hand in front of his face.
“Fuck off, Colin. Stop being such a wanker.” But Jacob couldn’t stop the smile on his face. He had protected Dom and would do it again. “I take it Abby was up bright and early seeing how you’re here before me.”
“I don’t know why you have so much trouble with her in the mornings. She was up and dressed before 8 a.m. this morning, but then, I did send Ivy in to see her at half past seven, so that might have had something to do with it.”
“Maybe I should borrow Ivy on a weekday. Get her out of bed in time,” Jacob joked.
“You were cutting it fine this morning too. Maybe you should have got out of bed earlier.” Colin smirked at him and poked him in the chest. “And on that note, I have to get going. Class assembly this morning.” They both groaned and walked out of the lounge to their respective classrooms.
As Jacob walked into his, he was disappointed to see Noah’s dad standing there, apparently waiting for him.
“Mr Wilkins,” Jacob said, nodding to him. Jacob hadn’t seen him since that Saturday night when he’d interrupted him and Dom.
“Mr Greyson,” he replied with a sneer.
Jacob knew he was never going to be friends with this guy. He hated him, and that was just how it was, but at least he could try and be civil with him when in school. Mr Wilkins had other ideas, though, as he stepped towards him, making sure no one was around.
“You couldn’t help yourself, could you?” he said menacingly. “Running along to the head to complain about me, but if I see you and your girlfriend”—he spat out the last word and Jacob couldn’t help but flinch—“out again, don’t think I’ll be so ‘nice’ next time. Watch yourself.”
“Is that a threat, Mr Wilkins? Because I have no problem reporting you again. This is harassment, no other word for it.”
He glowered at Jacob and continued. “What you won’t see is my friends or me coming for you. We don’t like men like you. You should keep your dirty business inside the house where it belongs and not flaunt it out and about. I could kick up a fuss about you teaching at this school, so if you want to talk to the head about this, feel free. Think how the parents will respond if I start dropping a few suggestions here and there about how you’re not a suitable teacher. That you’ve been talking to the kids about your way of life. ’Cos I’ll tell you something, I don’t want my son taught by a faggot.”
Jacob was fuming and ready to give him a piece of his mind, but at that moment, the children started coming into class.
How dare that absolute fucking twat come into his classroom and speak to him like that? He was going to see Jodie; there was no doubt about that, and he would be telling her he wanted to raise a formal complaint. Only problem was, he had no witnesses. Wilkins had made sure of that, so it was a case of Jacob’s word against his.
As Noah’s dad moved away, a smug smile of satisfaction on his face, Jacob put on his game face and welcomed the children and other parents into class. He’d go and see Jodie at break time and give her all the facts.
The morning dragged, and as he saw the children out into the playground, he hurried to Jodie’s office. Her secretary, Mrs Thompson, sat outside. She was coming up for retirement and had been at the school for years, but she’d always had a soft spot for Jacob, knowing about the tragic events with his parents six years ago.
“Jacob, how lovely to see you. What can I do for you?” All the time she spoke, she continued to tap away on her computer, never once lifting her eyes from the screen.
“Is Jodie in? I need to speak with her.”
“She’s out at the moment and won’t be back until lunchtime.” She stopped typing and looked at him. “Can I pop her a message, or can I help you at all?”
Jacob considered telling her what was going on, but he thought it best to speak to Jodie directly. If she chose to tell her secretary, that was up to her, although he didn’t think she would do that.
“No, it’s ok. I’ll pop back at lunch. If you would let her know that I need to speak to her again, about Mr Wilkins.”
“Ah, I see. Has he been causing trouble again? He was always like that when he came to school here, can’t imagine he’s changed.” She hmphed and shook her head. “I’ll let her know you want to speak to her, though.”
“Thank you. I’ll be back at lunch.” Jacob walked away from the office and took his phone out of his pocket, wondering if he should text Dom.
He was almost at the teacher’s lounge when he nearly tripped over Colin as he opened the door. He was so deep in thought, he hadn’t even heard it open.
