After Class (6 page)

9

Wednesday afternoon approaches and Taylor’s nerves are in a bundle in her stomach. English class is next and she doesn’t want to go. The last thing she wants to do is to face Mr. Zakarak today. The embarrassment and shame that she felt on Monday still sits on her shoulders and she can’t shake it. However, she knows she has to go and face him. She has to pass this class and she can’t have any more downfalls. Her grades can’t take it.

She stands outside of the classroom and waits for the room to empty as usual. The only difference in today is that Janessa isn’t there. Taylor feels better knowing that she only has one person to deal with, yet she feels a sense of comfort in Janessa that won’t be there today. The bundle of nerves grows and grows. As soon as the class is empty and the class can file in, Taylor bolts for the back corner. She sits farther back than usual and wants to conceal herself. She wants to hide herself and go incognito for this class. She knows that this is going to be the longest hour and a half she’s ever endured and it will be even more painful alone and with a sense of vulnerability hanging over her.

Mr. Zakarak enters class and as soon as Taylor notices him, she gets butterflies in her stomach. She is struck by his appearance. Instead of opting for the usual suit and tie, he is significantly dressed down today. He walks into the classroom wearing a nice pair of dark wash jeans and a tight fitting black polo. He has his usual dark rimmed glasses on but this time, but something is different about his face. Taylor can see from the back of the room that he wears a bit of stubble on his face. It makes him look a bit more rugged and edgy. Taylor can’t help but want to check him out. When Mr. Zakarak puts his briefcase on his desk, his bicep flexes. Taylor notices this and is even more intrigued. She wants to look away, but cannot. She finds him completely intoxicating in this moment. She is getting turned on. Her panties start to moisten and she shifts in her seat.

 He opens his briefcase and grabs the bundle of papers from Monday’s class. He puts them on the corner of his desk. “Before we start class, I took the liberty to read and grade all of your papers both Monday and yesterday, and would like all of you to come and pick them up.”

The students gather at his desk and collect their papers. Taylor waits at the back of the crowd, anxiously waiting for the perfect moment to butt in line to avoid an alone moment with Mr. Zakarak. She fails though as she is the last one to get to her paper. Instead of having her pick it up off the desk, Mr. Zakarak hands it to her. “Miss Murray, I was very impressed. Glad to have you back.” He hands her the paper and looks into her eyes. Up close, Mr. Zakarak looks even better. The muscles ripple in his tight polo shirt and Taylor can see the veins in his arms. The stubble on his face and neck make him look completely irresistible. Taylor gets lost for a moment in his eyes. She collects herself and grabs the paper. She received an A.

She smiles and looks at him. “Thanks Mr. Zakarak.” Her eyes are shining and her skin is glowing. She is proud of her mark and finally feels back to herself.

“You can call me James,” he replies. His eyes accidentally scan her cleavage as he speaks. Flustered, he turns away quickly, hoping that she didn’t notice his inappropriate glance.

Taylor feels desired in that small moment. She walks back up to her seat with a newfound sense of confidence. As Mr. Zakarak continues the lesson, Taylor can’t help but stare at him in awe. She finds herself growing more and more attracted to him. When he interacts with his female admirers in the front row, Taylor can actually feel herself becoming envious. She wants to get his attention and she wants to be the one that he playfully flirts with.

The hour and a half class races by and Taylor doesn’t want to leave. She wants to be in the same room as him and she wants to stay there for as long as she can. She cannot take her eyes off of Mr. Zakarak nor does she want to. The other students in the classroom gather their things and leave, except for the group of female admirers. They walk up to Mr. Zakarak and chat him up, flirting and laughing. Taylor hurries to gather her things. She wants to interrupt the flirt fest and have his attention back on her.

As she walks down the stairs towards the group, Mr. Zakarak notices her. He watches her long legs walk down the stairs in her tight black yoga pants. Her hair falls from the messy bun in her hair down to her lips. Her pink tank top hugs her tight stomach and breasts as they bounce up and down from the stairs. He nearly salivates at the sight of her, ignoring the group of young women in front of him. “Excuse me,” he says to the group. “I need to talk with Miss Murray.”

The girls turn around sharply at Taylor and give her the nastiest look. They wrinkle their noses at her and turn back to Mr. Zakarak, brushing off Taylor and turning their demeanor back to the flirty, valley type. Taylor waits quietly for the girls to finish up with their attempted passes at the professor. He waves them off politely. “I’ll see you ladies on Friday. Good work on your papers.”

In unison, they say their goodbyes as well and head for the door. Taylor starts as far back from the desk as she can. She is nervous. Her attraction to Mr. Zakarak is growing and growing by the moment. He makes eye contact with her and smiles, which causes her to blush. “I just wanted to mention how proud I am of you and your work,” he says to her.

Taylor goes to speak but her words get caught in her throat. She clears it. “Thanks, I worked really hard on it.”

“It shows,” says Mr. Zakarak. “It’s always good to see a student with so much promise excel in her work. I knew that you had it in you. You are a bright, ambitious, dedicated and beautiful young woman. The world is at your fingertips and you just have to decide what to do with it.”

As the compliments fly out of his mouth, Taylor can feel her cheeks redden. “Thank you, Mr. Zakarak. That really means a lot to me.”

“Again, call me James,” he says to her. He pulls out a business card from his briefcase and hands it to Taylor. “My cell number is on there. If you ever want to talk or ever need any help in my class, especially in regards to the approaching exam, you know how to get a hold of me.”

Taylor takes the card and looks down at it. She looks back at Mr. Zakarak and wonders if he is flirting with her. Rather than saying something coy back, she smiles and hints at leaving. “Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind. I have to go study though, so I will see you on Friday.” Even though she wants to stay, she cannot handle this moment right now. It’s too much for her. He is too much for her.

“It’s a date,” he replies. “Take care.”

Taylor walks for the exit, flustered. She feels a sense of giddiness coming over her. He was flirting with her and it has made her feel something she has never felt before. How was such a perfect gentleman intrigued in her? All she is, is that of a flustered college student. He has masters in English. He was her superior, but was he falling for her? She wonders if he was thinking about her in the same way that she thought of him.

As Taylor walks back to her dorm room, all she can think about is James. She thinks back to how good he looked in class today. She thinks about how rugged and masculine he is. She thinks about how good his voice sounds when he says her name. When Taylor reaches her dorm room, she spots Nicole listening to some music and studying. Taylor wants to interrupt her and tell her about James. She wants to gossip and she wants to see her reaction. She taps her lightly on the shoulder.

Nicole spins around and greets her with a smile. She pulls the ear buds out of her ears. “Hey you, I wanted to talk! I have some news.”

Taylor wants to be the one to gossip first but she allows Nicole to talk. “What’s up?”

“Me and Tim are back together. We made up.”

Taylor shuffles through her memory. She doesn’t want to sound stupid and ask who Tim is. She quickly puts the pieces of the puzzle and realizes that Tim is the name of the random guy. “Oh good! That’s great news hun. No wonder you have such a big smile on your face.”

“And I should say the same for you. Why do you look so red and giddy?”

Taylor clears her throat and doesn’t want to talk about it after all. “It’s nothing.”

It’s obvious that something is up and that she wants to share some news so Nicole dives deep into Taylor like she always does, trying to pry the news out of her. “Oh come on, you are such a shitty liar. What’s going on? Is Chad coming sooner?”

Taylor’s heart sinks for a moment. She instantly feels guilty for thinking about James and fantasizing about him while in her relationship. She doesn’t want to think about James anymore and makes up some sort of a lie. “No, he just called me and got me all excited to see him.”

“Awe, how cute,” Nicole says as she spins around in her desk chair and faces her books again. She puts her ear buds back into her ears and starts studying.

Taylor’s face goes from happy to sad in seconds flat. She thinks about Chad and how much she loves him but can’t shake the image of James in her mind. She lies back in her bed and thinks for a moment. She thinks about James and how he is all of a sudden having this effect on her. She thinks about how he made her feel today and how much more of a man he is than Chad. Taylor pulls James’ business card out before her face again. She stares at his name and phone number. Without thinking, she grabs her cell phone and enters his contact information into her phone. She starts typing Mr. Zakarak, but deletes the first few letters and simply titles him James. “You never know,” she says to herself. “You never know.”

10

The entire drive home from school, all James can think about is Taylor. He thinks about what being with a younger woman would be like. He thinks about what she looks like in the nude. He imagines her with perky breasts, a tight stomach and a beautiful rear. He imagines what she tastes like and how she feels. He thinks about what it would be like to kiss her. Thoughts of Taylor consume him. He is taken by her and he can’t control it.

When he arrives through the front door of his home, he can smell his wife’s cooking. The aroma of a good home cooked meal fills his nostrils and makes his stomach grumble. “Hey, I’m home”, he shouts from the doorway. He closes the door behind him and does his usual routine of placing his briefcase down and keys. He walks towards the kitchen and the smells that are enticing him.

Busy in the kitchen, is Tiffany. The table is set in the dining room and soft music fills the home. He watches his wife work for a moment. He watches her put love and care into the meal they are about to enjoy. He looks at her body from behind and the soft curves she possesses. He sees the nape of her neck from her short brown hair. He studies her appearance from a distance before greeting her properly. “Looks like someone has been busy.”

She turns around quickly, startled. “Oh James! You scared me! I didn’t know you were home.”

“I was done in the office early, so I came home to you. This smells delicious. What are you making?”

Tiffany stands proudly at the stove, stirring and conjuring up some magic. “Homemade spaghetti and meatballs with my mother’s special sauce.”

James breathes in the smells deeply and exhales. “Well it smells great.” He puts on a façade to pity his wife, but all the while he thinks about Taylor. “Would you like a glass of wine?”

“It’s already on the table. Why don’t you sit down and pour yourself a glass? Dinner will be ready shortly.”

“Just let me wash up first.” James walks towards the bathroom and closes the door behind him. He stands for a while, looking at himself in the mirror. He studies his appearance, as if trying to look within. His mind still races with thoughts of Taylor and he tries to snap himself out of it. He turns on the water tap to as cold as it can go, allows the water to fill in his palms and he splashes it on his face. The cold water sends shivers throughout his body but that only intensifies his feelings for the young woman. He dries himself off, washes his hands and puts on a brave face. He doesn’t want his wife to know that something is on his mind and distracting him from being with her.

James sits at the dining room table and pours himself a glass of red wine. His wife enters, carrying a big bowl of fresh pasta. She places it down on the table beside him and kisses him on the cheek. “I don’t get a kiss when you come in the door anymore?”

James smiles and looks at her in the eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a long day.” He kisses her on the lips, but keeps it at just a peck.

Tiffany turns sharply to sit at her end of the dinner table. She throws a dishtowel on the table in frustration. “I thought we agreed that you weren’t going to bring your negative energy home from work?”

“Are you being serious?” James asks. “I just got here and you’re already on my case?

 Tiffany pours herself another glass of wine. “I thought you said that you were going to try to be a better husband for me.” She sets the bottle down on the table and brings the filled glass to her lips. Her eyes pierce into James’ heart and her attitude seeps into his veins.

James is furious inside. “I don’t need this,” he says as he gets up from the table. “I’m leaving.”

“Right, just walk away James. That will solve all of our problems,” Tiffany spits the words out of her mouth as she polishes off her glass of wine. “I make you this huge fucking dinner and all you do is walk out? Fuck you!”

James is already halfway out the door when he hears her call out after him. A part of him wants to go back inside and duel it out. He wants to accuse her of doing things wrong and for driving him away like this, but he doesn’t let it bother him. He shakes it off, gets into his car and heads back towards the college. He heads closer to Taylor.