Page 67 of Toy for the Teachers (Forbidden Fantasies)

True to his word, Caleb ordered salad and sandwiches for us both. I pulled my chair over to his big oak desk as we talked it over. I showed him my options and explained my predicament. Together we were able to make a plan. Without any risk, I could apply for the two positions, and if I got one, I could resign without a scratch on me. Nobody would need to know what happened behind our closed doors. Nobody would need to see how Caleb let his free hand slide up my thigh with newfound nonchalance.

“I guess the best thing about this would be the permanence of it all,” I mused after my last bite of the pita pocket. “You know, with a full-time job like this, I could get my own place. I could even buy a condo or a townhouse, if the price was right. I could have roots and a space to call my own.”

Caleb finished the last of his water and looked at me without speaking at first. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully, and I detected a flash of melancholy in his eyes.

“Between you and me, I’ve been rethinking some things too,” he began. “Since my brother’s passing, I realized I have a good chunk of my income at my disposal again. I’ve been living in that little apartment to economize, but I couldn’t help but notice a house a few blocks over went up for sale last week.”

“A house?” I repeated in surprise.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough on my own,” he continued, “but if you were interested, we could probably afford it together.”

“Buying a house?” I breathed, baffled by the prospect.

I knew I was falling for Caleb. There was so much about him that was endearing and earnest, but… could I seriously move in with him? Was that a step I was ready to take with anyone, let alone a man I’d only known a few months?

Caleb seemed to notice the dumbstruck look written across my face.

“I guess I should add that the place is currently set up as a duplex,” he clarified with an amused smile. “We wouldn’t be sharing spaces, just a backyard.”

In my relief, I laughed at myself. I could definitely share a yard.

“Do you think you could show me the listing online?” I wondered.

His hand leaving my leg, Caleb swiveled his office chair around to look it up on his computer, and sure enough, he found it. It was a stately Victorian-age townhouse with two two-bedroom units and a basement for laundry and storage. The location was ideal, halfway between the university and the lakefront with plenty of shopping nearby, but there was one thing that gave me pause.

“It’s been gutted,” I realized as Caleb did too.

The units had both been stripped down to their bare bones. Even some walls were left like skeletons, showing only studs and electrical wires. Perhaps it was too much to take on. Maybe that should have daunted me, but a thought tempted me.

It would be a blank canvas. I could make my own space, my own rules, as I saw fit. It would be all mine.

“This would be a lot of work,” Caleb admitted, his eyes already showing some remorse.

“But we could do it, couldn’t we?” I asked. “We could invest in the property together and make it our own. It would be like… a new beginning for the both of us.”

He smiled at the thought. “You know, I think that’s exactly what I need right now, a new beginning.”

“Then, let’s see,” I encouraged him. “We can both look at our finances and make a plan, and friends buy houses together all the time, right?”

He chuckled. “It’s not like the bank has to know what we do behind closed doors.”

My eyes glimpsed towards his mouth. I slowly shook my head.

“No, they don’t.”

Without realizing what the day would become, it felt like my future, filled with promise, was falling into place. My mind was brimming with possibility, and my heart glowed with excitement. I was so ready to get lost in the plans and preparation that I almost missed Caleb’s question.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” he wondered, “what brought all this on?”

Hesitantly, I told him, “I’m not sure if you want to know.”

“How come?”

“It started with Vlad… then Warren, this morning.”

Caleb was many things but was never thick-headed. It took him only a moment to figure out what I meant. He took a sip of his coffee and seemed to be calculating something in his head.

“You saw both of them today?”

I nodded. “I spent the night with Vlad, and Warren and I cross paths in the parking garage. I went to Warren’s office with him to… well… talk.”

“Only talk?”

“At first,” I admitted. “Do you really want to hear this, Caleb?”

His eyes flashed with something new, something that excited me. His gaze became two twin flames burning the hottest shade of blue, and a shadow of something sinful shifted his knowing smile into that alluring, crooked grin. Slowly, he leaned into my ear and whispered, letting his warm breath tingle against my skin.

“Why don’t you tell me and find out?”

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