Page 47 of The Teacher
“You don’t have to.”
I thought that I would be the one to have to make the first move, so I’m surprised when it is Mr. Bennett who lowers his lips onto mine. It’s the first time I have kissed a boy—well, aman. At first, it’s just his lips on mine. But then a few seconds later, his tongue enters my mouth. I always knew in my head that people kisswith tongue, but I never imagined how it would feel. At first, it feels super weird, like some alien object worming its way inside me, and I’m not sure I like it. I almost want to pull away, but he’s holding me tight, close to his body, and also, it would be lame to pull away. He’d be so disappointed.
And then, after a few more seconds, my body starts to tingle. And it’s…incredible. My whole body feels like it’s on fire, like it’s an explosion. I don’t want it to ever stop, but then he pulls away.
“This is wrong,” he says.
That makes me angry. Yes, he’s my teacher, and he’s a lot older than me. And married. Okay, that sounds bad. But at the same time, we connect. When two people connect on the same level we do, don’t they have aresponsibilityto do something about it, no matter what the circumstances? “I don’t think it’s wrong,” I say.
“It is.” His brows bunch together. “But I can’t resist you. I’m helpless.”
I can’t resist you. I’m helpless.
My only fear is that we could get caught. Look at what happened to Mr. Tuttle, and nothing like this even went on with him. But maybe that’s the difference. Mr. Tuttle and I weren’t doing anything wrong, so we weren’t careful. But Mr. Bennett and I will be careful.
Like he’s reading my mind, Mr. Bennett looks anxiously at the door. “We shouldn’t do this here.”
“I know a place.”
He looks surprised, but he follows me dutifully out the door to the classroom. There is a place in the school that nobody else knows about where two people could be alone. I took photography last year as an elective, andthe class was all digital, but it didn’t used to be. There’s a darkroom set up next to the classroom that kids used to use to develop photos, but now it’s just a small empty room with a large sink and old chemicals. Maybe someday it will be repurposed for something, but now it’s a haven of privacy.
I close the door behind us.
“You’re really something, Addie,” he breathes.
He loosens his tie and undoes the first button on his collar as my heart skips a beat. He’s not going to take off his shirt, is he? The thought of it makes me uneasy, but thankfully, he stops after that first button.
“I’m glad you like the room, Mr. Bennett,” I say.
He grins at me. “You don’t need to call me Mr. Bennett when we’re in here.”
“Oh.” I feel stupid. Obviously, if we are going to be making out in the darkroom, I shouldn’t be calling him Mr. Bennett. “Nathaniel then?” It feels so strange saying his first name. Even after kissing him, saying “Mr. Bennett” feels more normal to me.
He grins at me. “Most people call me Nate. But it’s your choice.”
“I like Nathaniel,” I say thoughtfully.
“Okay,” he agrees. “And how about you? Do you prefer Adeline?” His smile widens. “Sweet Adeline…”
I have always hated the name Adeline, but I like the way it sounds on his lips.Sweet Adeline…
Except it’s not really true, is it? There’s nothing sweet about what we’re doing in this darkroom. “I prefer Addie.”
“You got it.” He cocks his head at me. “Back in the classroom, was that…was that your first kiss?”
My face burns. I hate for him to think of me as being inexperienced, but I don’t want to lie to him. I get the feeling he knows when I’m telling the truth.
“You just seemed uncomfortable at first,” he says quickly.
For real? That isnotwhat I wanted to hear, even though he’s technically right. “Was I bad at it?”
“No.No. You were amazing.” He shakes his head. “And it doesn’t matter if it was your first kiss or not. Forget I asked that. I just… I feel bad. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
I tilt my chin up to him. “I want to do this.”
He hesitates for another split second, considering my answer. Then he pushes me against the table used to place developed photos, and he kisses me again.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
