Page 105 of Hot Four Teacher
“You’ve told me about your relationship with your ex. What’s Eve’s relationship with him like?”
“Complicated,” I answer. “He’s always been in her life for short spans at a time. He comes in and out as he pleases, buys her things, and texts with her like one of her friends.”
“That must be hard…on both of you.”
“When she was little, it was worse. She’d fall for all of his big promises and would be devastated when he wouldn’t follow through. It was heartbreaking to watch every single time. Now that she’s older, she takes everything he says with a grain of salt. I do give her credit for going this week, though.”
“What do you mean?” He asks between sips.
“Her dad has a new girlfriend, and he wanted Eve to come over this week. This is a big deal because one, he’s never brought his girlfriend around, and two, she’s never stayed with him for more than a night.”
“Are you worried?”
“Maybe a little, but she’ll call if she needs me.” I say the words and try to act calmer than I feel.
“I may have only been teaching and coaching Eve for a few weeks, but I can already tell she’s a tough cookie.”
“Oh, yes. She’s very stubborn and bull-headed.”
He smiles. “Wonder where she gets that from.”
Looking as innocent as possible, I reply, “I have absolutely no idea.”
I stretch out on the couch next to him, putting my feet in his lap. “Dane?”
“Yes, beautiful?”
“Tell me about your time in The Marines.” I figure it’s a risk asking him again since the last time I did, he avoided the question like the plague. But I want to get to know him better.
Allof him.
I figure he’s going to move the conversation away from the topic, so I’m fairly surprised when he starts talking.
“Well, my dad was in the service for over twenty years. It was his whole life. He always wanted the same for me, but it never interested me all that much. I wanted to be a teacher. Then, my mom got sick and eventually passed. Her medical bills left little to no money for college, and I wasn’t a good enough student to warrant a scholarship, so I joined to get help paying for school.”
He pauses to take a drink. “I immediately regretted it because I met Cassie. We were so crazy about each other, and it was hard to leave.”
“Do you still regret it?” I ask.
“Maybe a little, but not for the same reasons.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I hadn’t joined, honestly, Cassie and I probably would’ve never gotten married. We rushed into it because I was going to deploy. I was gone so much that it took us way too long to see that we weren’t right for each other, so I guess that part was unfortunate. But on the good side, I met men who became my brothers and would like to think I did some good while I was in.”
Before I can say anything, he continues, “Michelle, I’m crazy about you, and I want us to get to know each other as much as possible. That being said, there are things I did over there–things I had to do–that I don’t want to talk about. It’s nothing against you. Believe me. But when I got back, my head was a mess. I was pretty fucked up, so I went to therapy. It took some time, but I came to terms with everything. I dealt with it all and found a way to move on and live a good life. If I start talking about details, it’s going to open up old wounds, and I really don’t want to go back to that headspace.”
I look at his face and see worry written all over his features. He’s scared that I’m going to be upset, or that I’m going to push for him to tell me more.
He adds, “I’m sorry. I don’t want this to be an issue between us. It always was between Cassie and me.”
Well, I’ve got news for him. I’m not Cassie.
Instead of saying anything, I throw the blanket off of us and hook one leg over his lap, so I’m straddling him. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close. It doesn’t take long for him tohug me back, burying his face in my neck. I can feel his body relax against mine.
I’ve never been very good at comforting people. I’m usually more awkward than anything, but that’s also because I don’t get close to anyone.
I feel different with Dane. Iwantto be close to him.
