Page 51 of Good Girl

“What I always do when Paul is being a dick.” Haley waved her hands down herself. “Let’s go clubbing.”

“Oh, no. I’m good, thank you.” Squashed into an overheated crowd with pounding music and the stink of sweat? No, thank you. I would much rather mope at home.

“Come on,” Haley insisted. “It’s Friday and you’re sad. The best way to avoid feeling worthless about some stupid boy is to shake it out, have some drinks, and dance until your feet give out. It’s thebestthing. Trust me.”

“I don’t know...” I murmured, trailing off as I considered it. Logically, I knew Haley wanted to go out and likely didn’t have anyone to go with right now, so she was just using me to get some company. But at the same time, she was right. I was teetering on old, worthless feelings, and if the guys didn’t want to give me the attention I craved, then fuck it, I was going to stop waiting around for them.

“Come on,” Haley whined. “Please?”

“Alright, fine,” I decided, much to Haley’s excitement. “I’ll come clubbing with you.”

I was going to regret this in the morning.

24

SAMUEL

The warm evening air pulled close around me like a subtle blanket as I walked down the street toward the convenience store. It had been one hell of a week, and with the end just around the corner, the guys and I were very much looking forward to getting a little drunk. End of term was creeping closer, and it was tough on everyone, students and faculty alike, but no one ever prepared you for the brain mush of grading a couple of hundred papers and preparing exams that would guide the fate of every student who walked through your door.

That kind of responsibility was not fun. Adjusting my rolled-up sleeves, I lightly jogged across the road, and just as I hopped up onto the sidewalk, my phone jingled in my pocket. Derek’s name flashed across the screen, and I smiled fondly as I answered.

“No, I haven’t bought anything yet, so yes, if you need to change your order, then do so now,” I said, falling into a lazy stroll. The setting sun warmed my back, and the streets were slowly beginning to fill up with people eager to let their hair down on Friday night.

“Change of plans,” Derek said in my ear. “We’re going out.”

“Out where?”

“To the club.” An audible sigh escaped Derek. “I need to destress.”

“Theclub?” There was an exclusive BDSM club that all three of us had a membership to, but if I were honest with myself, I hadn’t thought about that place since Charlotte came into our lives.

“Yes.”

“What about Charlotte?” As soon as her name left my lips, a soft yearning pulsed through my chest. We hadn’t seen her all week other than a few glances here and there, and being utterly swamped with work meant the only other thing I had been doing besides grading papers until the wee hours was sleeping.

“Matt is calling her right now,” Derek said, and his tone deepened slightly. “She needs a little reminder of her place.”

“Oh?”

“She smart-mouthed me in class earlier today. Her attitude stinks a little. If I hadn’t had that meeting with the dean, I would have taken her right there on the desk in front of anyone.” A tell-tale growl entered Derek’s words, and I smirked to myself as I came to a stop at the crosswalk.

“Charlotte smart-mouthed you? Man, I wish I had been there to see that. In public as well?” My mind was immediately filled with the last time Charlotte had been reprimanded across the kitchen counter. Witnessing that in the classroom would be kinda hot. “So, you want to take her to the club?”

“Yeah. I don’t know about you, but I’ve barely had time to breathe this week, never mind anything else, so I have somestressto work out,” Derek grumbled.

“And what better recipient than our adorable bundle of fun?”

“Exactly.” Despite his agreement, Derek didn’t sound that pleased, and I chuckled softly.

“Look at you, Derek, all wound up over a girl.” Crossing the road, I had to side-step a group of giggling girls who were clearly too drunk to see anything but each other. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Shut up,” Derek snapped, but there was no bite in his words. “Anyway, just grab what you can for some pre-drinks but don’t take too long. I want to get there as soon as possible once Matt gets through to her.”

“No problem. Hey, listen...” I paused as I reached the convenience store, stepping aside to avoid a few people leaving, then I darted inside. “I had a weird thing at work today.”

“Another note?” Derek asked.

“Yeah...” Since last week, threatening notes had landed on the desks of Derek and myself, then Matt, a few days ago. They weren’t anything particularly scary, just vague threats about knowing what was good for us and to think twice about messing with students. Paul was our main suspect, given hisvocaldislike for how easily Derek returned to work once those claims were proved false, but proving it was going to be tough.

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