Page 50 of An Unexpected Turn
“It is. And, of course, people found out anyway. He quit and moved away, and while I was allowed to keep my job, no one would let me do it. My opinion wasn’t taken seriously or even into consideration. I think the school board felt if I stayed behind, maybe it wouldn’t seem like the scandal that it was, but trust me, I felt it every single day until I quit.”
She ran a hand through her hair, coughing out a sad laugh.
“Anyway, I saw the job posting for the high school in Kelly Lakes, and I thought it would be a great way to start over. I’d be close to my aunt and uncle, far enough away from Brooklyn where I didn’t have to worry about who did or didn’t know, and I could stop feeling like the worst person in the world for what I’d let happen.”
“Stop that.” I slid my hand to the back of her neck, “You could never be the worst person in the world. I’m sure it killed you that you couldn’t help your students like you wanted to.”
She shrugged, shutting her eyes and leaning into my touch as I massaged her shoulder.
“Every time I go through this story, I always feel like whoever I’m telling doesn’t see me the same way. I couldn’t look my aunt in the eye for a few minutes after, and it’s a little hard to look at you now.”
“Hey.” I inched closer and shook my head. “Other than wishing I could find this guy and kick his ass, nothing you just said changes anything. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me.”
A sheepish grin pulled at her lips.
“I swore I wouldn’t do this again, that my new school would only see the best of me and I wouldn’t make the same bad decisions that made me leave my last one.”
Her eyes darted away again, and she dropped her chin to her chest.
“And you think dating the father of one of your students puts you back there again?” My hand stilled as my stomach dipped. I’d been all too aware of what we had against us and that her being my son’s guidance counselor wasn’t ideal, but I hadn’t expected this. I didn’t care, but it was obvious that she did, and I had no clue what that meant.
“No ... Not exactly. It’s not encouraged, but there’s no rule that I’m aware of, at least not a serious one. I’m not his teacher, so I don’t have the power to pass or fail him. But after Thursday, all I keep thinking is, what if these kids go after him again and I can’t do anything about it because the school thinks I’m biased? It’s probably a dumb thing to worry about, but that feeling of my hands tied behind my back when my students were in trouble ...” She pressed her palm against her forehead. “I promised myself I’d keep my eyes open and not make the same mistake.”
“So, what are you saying? That you don’t want—”
“I’m saying,” she said, the crease still between her brows, “that even with what I just told you, and how Uncle Keith is going to lose it when we tell him ...” She sifted her fingers through my hair with the beginnings of a smile ghosting her lips. “I can’t stay away from you either.”
“Thank God.” I grabbed the back of her head and took her mouth in a relieved as hell kiss. “You scared me,” I murmured against her lips.
She smiled and cuddled into the crook of my neck.
“We need to be careful, but I’m at a loss as to how. It was one thing to crush on you before, when I was a kid—”
“You had a crush on me? I had no idea,” I teased, smiling when she shot me a glare.
“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “That week I stayed up here, I couldn’t even speak when you were around. You came with us for ice cream one night, and I had trouble saying what flavor I wanted because you wererightnext to me, so I just pointed and ended up with vanilla instead of chocolate.” The groan rising from her throat was fucking adorable. “But I couldn’t say it was wrong because, again, my tongue wouldn’t work while I was in your proximity. All these years later, I still remember that.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better,” I started, rolling back on top of her, “I had a similar reaction when I saw you in the parking lot the first week of school.” I nuzzled her cheek. “And your tongue works just fine around me now.”
“What I’m saying is,” she said, pressing her hands into my chest, “it all means so much more now. I never really got to know you when I was a teenager. You were just this ridiculously good-looking guy who always hung around my uncle. But I moved here and got to know the kind of man you are, and I meant what I said.” A slow grin split her mouth. “You’re pretty damn incredible.” She heaved out an audible sigh.
“I don’t want to sneak around, but if you feel more comfortable, maybe we ... keep it quiet until Mike finishes the school year.”
“It’s November.” Her brows shot up. “Do you really think we can keep this to ourselves all that time? Here? People already pick up on it. Your sister, Claudia, my aunt.”
“I figured your aunt knew after I almost lost it at her dinner table.”
She winced. “You mean when the whole table heard you grinding your teeth every time Ron tried to speak to me? I made it a point to not look at you through dinner, and even I couldn’t ignore it. She knew before, although she realized it after she pushed us out the door together that afternoon. But she won’t tell Uncle Keith until we do.”
“If you want to keep it quiet until this fight Mike had blows over, that’s fine. But we tell your uncle together. And soon. I’m still shocked he doesn’t notice, but I don’t want to wait until he does.”
Telling him before anyone else did wouldn’t stop him from hating me, but I owed Keith that much.
“So you’re saying that you want to be secret lovers for a little while, Mr. Russo.”
The last time she’d called me Mr. Russo, I’d felt every bit of our age difference. The throaty way it fell from her lips now made me, and the growing bulge in my jeans, appreciate it much more.
“I’m saying I’ll take you any way that I can have you, Ms. Miller.” I pressed into her, coaxing out a sweet little moan. “But secret or not, I’m not sharing you.”
