Page 23 of Teacher's Pet

I sit up and hunch forward, running my hands through the soft sand in front of me. I feel terrible for taking all this out on poor Rick. It’s not his fault. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I have to take responsibility for whatever happened. Rubbing my head, I sigh, trying to find the right words to get this out.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, Rick, and I’m sorry I went off at you,” I say, putting my arm around his shoulders. “You’re a good friend, and I feel awful for doing that.”

“That’s ok, dude. I know you’re under a lot of stress with the wedding, and all. You wanna hug it out?” he asks with a small smile.

I look at him and laugh. “Sure,” I say, and we both jump to our feet and man hug, slapping each other on the back. “I don’t know what this looks like from the pool bar, but they probably think we’re gay, right now,” I whisper in his ear.

“Well, if I was going to be gay, it would be with you, dude. You good-looking son-of-a-bitch,” he says, squeezing my ass, then slapping it in full view of anyone who might be watching us from the hotel. We both laugh out loud and push each other away. “Now, are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on, or am I going to have to beat it out of you? Because you know I will.”

“Yeah, sorry. Some girl knocked on my hotel room door just before you arrived and wanted to talk about the other night,” I mutter.

Rick’s eyes widen. “Hey, was that the chick leaving when I arrived?” I nod. “Man, she was hot, with a capital H.”

“Not helping,” I say, clenching my jaw.

“So, what happened?” Rick asks. “What did you do?”

“That’s the problem,” I groan. “I don’t know, because she ran off before I could get any more info out of her.”

“Shit, man,” Rick mutters. “This is crazy. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I shrug helplessly. “Talk to Darcy, I guess.”

“Well, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Rick exclaims. “Why the hell would you own up to something you can’t remember without hard evidence that you did something wrong? I mean, she didn’t even tell you what it was you’re supposed to have been up to with her, right?”

“Um, no. She wasn’t there long enough to go into detail, but—”

“But, nothing.” His face softens. “I call bullshit. I know you, man. You’re not the type of guy to do anything like that.”

He’s right, I’m not. I nod, seeing reasoning in what he’s saying. “So, what are you saying?” I ask. “Do I just say nothing, and pretend everything is fine?”

“No, just don’t talk to her about this until we know what happened. Just promise me you’ll wait, or this might not end well, and you could be throwing away your happiness for no reason,” he pleads.

“Fine,” I say. I’m still not convinced what he’s saying is the best option, but I trust him. “I’ll wait.”

***

There’s one major flaw in Rick’s suggestion. I’ll never lie to Darcy—and I don’t feel comfortable withholding the truth, either, even if I knew what it was. I know she’s suspicious of something, because the way I’m acting around her, she’d be silly not to be.

I’m avoiding being alone with her, and I’m making excuses not to spend time with her, because I’m worried she’ll figure this all out. This seems worse than telling her the truth, because God knows what she’s thinking.

“Anyone would think you’re avoiding me,” she says, with that beautiful smile of hers. She steps out from behind a corner as I approach my room. I smile down at her when she drapes her arms around my neck, and her gorgeous eyes are sultry as she gazes up at me. “Can we go get a drink and have a chat?”

She bites her lip and leans up to kiss me, standing on tiptoes to reach me. My heart races as her soft, warm mouth presses against mine. My dick instantly reacts. She notices, and grins, rubbing her thighs against the bulge forming in my pants.

“Or, we can just take this inside?” she says, fondling my crotch.

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