Her Teacher's Temptation (4 page)

“I see.” His
voice had immediately changed in pitch to match my flirty tone. “Were you
heading home?” I guessed that was what he was doing, since there was no one
around him and he was obviously drunk.

“No, I was just
going to wherever those guys were going.” I gestured behind me without actually
turning around. “But, I mean,” I paused, suddenly self-conscious. Was I really
confident enough to blatantly ask Connor to sleep with me? “Are you going
home?”

His grin
widened. He knew what I wanted. “I was.” He ran a hand through his hair.
“You're always welcome to join me.”

I giggled
slightly and hoped it wasn't a horridly embarrassing sound. “I might have to
take you up on that.” My smile fell when I turned around to face Ollie and his
friends. “You don't mind, do you?” I checked, feeling incredibly guilty about
the fact I'd basically been turned on by Ollie and was going to ditch him for
another guy. It was the right thing to do, though. I couldn't sleep with Ollie.
And I wouldn't have, either, it wouldn't have gone that far. Plus, this was the
only chance I was going to have to have sex with Connor before he went to
London and it was something I had fantasised extensively about.

“Are you sure
you want to? You're a bit out of it,” Ollie commented, his voice hard as he
tried not to convey his annoyance.

“Yes,” I
responded immediately. “I definitely do. I've wanted to sleep with Connor for
like a year,” I told him bluntly, my tongue loosened by my high. The words were
out of my mouth before I even realised what I was saying.

“What, really?”
Connor interrupted, sounding genuinely surprised. “You turned me down.” He
reminded.

“Yeah, because
you're moving to London,” I responded honestly. “I didn't want to have to do
the long distance thing.”

“Right,” Connor
muttered, sounding torn between being pleased and disappointed.

“Thanks for
letting me hang around with you guys.” It was spoken to all of them, but
attention was all on Ollie. I found myself moving forward and standing on my
tiptoes slightly to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. “Sorry,” I whispered
into his ear before turning around and allowing Connor to lead me back to his
house. “See you later!” I called back over my shoulder. “Nice to meet you!”

“Who was that?”
Connor inquired when we'd started walking at a steady pace.

“Just some guy
I slept with in summer,” I explained briefly, only half lying. “Meg ditched me
and I saw him so I was just passing the night with them. I wasn't expecting to
see you.” I linked my hand with his automatically, not enjoying the contact
anywhere near as much as when Ollie had touched me. His fingers set me on fire.

“Were you going
to sleep with him tonight if you hadn't run into me?” I wasn't sure if he was
jealous or just genuinely interested.

I chuckled.
“No. He has a girlfriend. They come into the restaurant sometimes.”

“Okay. My dad
lives in town, so it's only a five minute walk.” He explained, glancing over at
me and then offering his jacket.

“Nah, I'm okay,”
I assured him. “I can't even feel the cold at all.”

He touched one
of my bare arms and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, you're boiling. You're not ill or
something are you?” He joked.

I shook my head
and my resolve faltered for a moment. “I've taken ecstasy,” I told him
honestly. “If you're not cool with that, or anything, then I can go.” I hadn't
thought about it until now, but there were plenty of people who were completely
against drugs. I didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

“No, I'm still
up for this,” he grinned. “I didn't realise you were into that stuff, though.”

I shrugged. “Occasionally.
It’s pretty fun every so often.”

“I'm the same.”
he admitted, squeezing my hand before letting go to retrieve the house keys
from his pocket. “I wouldn't want to get properly into it, though. I've seen
people messed up pretty bad by drugs.”

“Yeah.”

We didn't talk anymore
because Connor explained that we were at his house. “Just try and be quiet, my
dad will probably be asleep,” he explained, unlocking the door slowly and
inching it open, gesturing for me to go inside. I slipped my shoes off and
breathed a sigh of relief that I managed to stay silent before following Connor
upstairs.

We were barely
through his bedroom door before we were all over each other. It took some
serious effort to not let my moans slip through as he ravished every part of me
– satisfactorily, even if not expertly like Ollie had handled me.

And though I
felt guilty for thinking of Ollie through some of our sex, I decided it was
only natural since he was the one who'd got me riled up in the first place.

As we lay
afterwards, completely exhausted, and my high almost worn off, Connor traced
random patterns on my back. “I really liked you, you know?” He murmured into
the darkness, his voice genuine.

“I really liked
you too,” I admitted. “But, I just couldn't bring myself to go out with you. I
didn't want to spend the summer with you and end up more than liking you and
having my heart broken when you left for London. Because long distance never
works.”

He pressed a
gentle kiss to my forehead. “I understand. I think you probably made the right
decision.”

“I'm glad we got
to do this, though,” I replied with a chuckle. “It was definitely a good way to
say goodbye.”

Chapter Six

My phone making
an obnoxious buzzing sound on the bedside table was what woke me the next
morning. Releasing a groan and finding it difficult to move due to the muscular
arm that was slung protectively over my waist, I managed to grab the loud
device. “Hello?” I hadn't bothered to look at the caller ID.

“Maddie?” A
slightly worried voice checked, which I instantly recognised as Meg's mum. “Is
Meg with you? I've tried ringing her loads and she hasn't picked up. I thought
you were staying here last night.”

I knew that Meg
would just be fast asleep like I had been and decided it was best not to worry
her mum. “She's with me,” I assured her, quickly putting a finger to my lips
when Connor woke up and looked about to speak. “We decided to stay at mine last
night since I have to walk the dog in the morning. She's still asleep though.
Shall I get her to ring you when she wakes up?” I lied fluently. This was a
conversation both Meg and I had had with the other's mother many times during
the summer.

“That's great,
thanks Maddie.”

“No problem.”

I hung up after
that and returned to snuggling into Connor's side. "Morning," I muttered
into his skin.

He chuckled and
I felt the action reverberate through me. "Morning, Maddie."

I could already
feel that my jaw was aching and I'd bitten into the side of my tongue so many
times that it was incredibly painful. Eating was going to be a chore for the
next few days. And the aching muscles were there. It wasn’t something I noticed
when I was actually high, but everything was constantly moving. I spend almost
the entire night clenching and unclenching my hand.

I could also
feel guilt creeping up on me. For a number of reasons. The first was for riling
Ollie up so much and then just ditching him for Connor. In reality, I knew that
all Ollie would have done is walk me home and that would have been the end of
it. But because I'd left I'd never really know if he'd been willing to sleep
with me again.

The second
reason was for using Connor. I'd thought that I wanted to sleep with him. Which
I had, to a certain extent. Only, when it came to the actual event, I'd almost
screamed Ollie's name. Which definitely wasn't what I'd been expecting when I'd
gone home with Connor. It worried me slightly that I apparently was so hooked
on Mr. Wright. Having said that, I'd been head over heels for Connor for a year
and that hadn't gone anywhere, so I supposed I'd just have to deal with another
year of unrequited feelings.

"How're
you feeling this morning?" Connor broke my train of thought and I almost
groaned. I wished I was in bed, rather than having to deal with him. I'd made a
pretty terrible decision.

"Just
tired," I answered honestly. "Aching. My mouth hurts," I did
groan this time, as my tongue caught the side of my teeth painfully.

Connor laughed.
"Pretty much what I expected you to say," he admitted, sitting up in
bed and revealing his naked chest. I didn’t want to have to look at it.
"I'm going to go and get some breakfast. I'm guessing you don't want any?
You can lay in bed as long as you want."

I nodded, still
somewhat sleepy, and Connor gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead before
standing up and putting some clothes on. Seeing him naked in front of me didn't
stir up any feelings like I knew seeing Ollie would and that was my
confirmation. I scowled.

Grabbing my
phone, I decided I should try ringing Meg, so that she knew what I'd told her
mum. I wasn't really expecting her to pick up, though.

"Hello?"
Her groggy voice answered, sounding much like mine had.

I chuckled.
"Hey Meg. Just letting you know your mum rang. I told her we stayed at
mine. Ring her back at some point.”

I had a feeling
Meg was nodding rather than actually replying. "Good night?" She
inquired. "Sorry for ditching you, but I really needed this."

"It's no
problem. I'll tell you about my night later." I decided it was a good idea
to confide in Meg about what happened a bit; it was what I'd always done about
my problems. Plus, it was sure to cheer her up if she was feeling down.

I could tell
that even that small comment had made her grin. "I can't wait."

“I expect to
hear the details of your evening too,” I warned her.

“Don't worry, I
can't wait to tell them to you,” she replied teasingly. “I'm going to ring my
mum now, though,” she told me, sounding properly awake by now. “See you on
Monday.”

“See you later
Meg.” I hung up just as Connor walked back into the room.

“Looking a bit livelier,”
he informed me with an affectionate smile, sitting down on the side of the bed
in the space that my body had left from the way it was curled around.

Connor was
still incredibly gorgeous; there was no doubting it. I just didn't feel the
same pull towards him that I remembered from when we were in school together
any more. “I'm feeling a bit livelier,” I agreed. “I really have to go home
soon, though. I actually do have to walk my dog.”

“Sure, I can
give you a lift home.” I was grateful that he drove. I really didn't feel like
the walk of shame this morning.

I didn't mind
getting dressed in front of him, but I was loathed to put my uncomfortable
shoes back on and grimaced the whole way to the car. “Have you looked around at
universities yet?” Connor made conversation as he drove me home, asking for
directions every so often. “You've probably started writing your personal
statement by now.”

I nodded.
“Yeah, I'm not as brave as you, going to London, though. I think I like
Nottingham the most from what I've seen. It's really good and still pretty
close to home. I think I should kind of be around for my mum and sister, you
know?”

Connor nodded.
“Yeah, my two sisters are older than me so there was nothing really stopping me
leaving home. Your sister is really young, right?”

“Her first
birthday was a few weeks ago. And my mum's a single mum, plus I have the dog.
It'd probably be pretty unfair of me to go really far away. Plus, I didn't
really want to anyway. I think I'd get too homesick.”

“I've never
really been a homey person anyway,” Connor admitted. “I've always wanted to
live in London. I think I was pretty lucky to get into UCL really. Especially
for medicine.”

“Yeah, I'd
never want to do anything that gruesome. I'm going for journalism, I think. Or
maybe Law. I haven't really decided yet.”

“Just do
whatever you think you'll enjoy most. You're clever enough to do well at it.”

I flushed under
his compliment. “Thanks Connor.”

It was only a
ten minute drive back to my house and it seemed even shorter than that due to
our easy flowing conversation. We had always been able to talk to each other
well and that didn't change now that we'd slept together. “If we're both still
single if I ever come back from uni to visit, we should definitely do this
again,” Connor said with a chuckle. “I mean, that is as long as you want to.”

I forced myself
to laugh. I couldn't bring myself to leave this on a bad note. “Of course,” I
agreed enthusiastically. “Just let me know.” I was sure that Connor had my
number.

He leant
forward and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. Nothing like the way he'd been
all over me last night. He was telling me that he really did care about me.
“I'll see you soon, Maddie.”

Undoing my
seatbelt, I grinned at him. “I hope so.”

As soon as my
face was away from Connor, I felt my smile fade. The guilt was still there. I
couldn't understand it and it was frustrating me to the point where I wanted to
scream into my pillow. I'd barely even spoken to Ollie that much – he wasn't
supposed to keep me from sleeping with someone I'd crushed on for a solid year.

Turning and
giving Connor a final wave, I slouched into the house. My whole body was aching
and I just needed my own bed and some soup and some soothing music. “Hi
Maddie!” My mum called from the living room as soon as I entered, though, and I
knew I had to go and talk to her. “How was the party?”

I didn't
particularly like lying to my mum, but I didn't want to worry her either. She'd
sit at home panicking if I told her what I was really doing, so I figured it
was just easier this way. “Yeah, it was really good.” And the time I'd spent
with Ollie
had
been really good; it was just the end that had fallen off
a bit. I should have just listened to him when he wanted me to not go. “How was
your night?”

“Pretty good.
Game of Thrones and a glass of wine,” she teased, smiling up at me from the
book she was reading. “I'm guessing you want some soup,” she inquired, giving
me a knowing smile. It was my go-to hangover cure.

 “Yes, please,”
I paused before following her into the kitchen, which was obviously not what
she was expecting. “Mum?” I hesitated again before just coming out with my
question. “Who was that guy you were talking to in town the other day?” I'd
been meaning to ask her since it'd happened, but Lily had been ill the rest of
the week and I hadn't wanted to interrupt her. Now seemed like a good time to
ask.

My mum's face
paled slightly. “Oh, no one, really.” She really wasn't a good liar. Thankfully
she hadn’t seen my timetable, so there was no reason to think I’d been skipping
classes.

I rolled my
eyes. “You can just tell me. You just didn't really seem comfortable around
him, that's all.”

She grimaced.
“You've already guessed who he is, haven't you?” I must have given it away in
my voice that I had my suspicions, but I still shut my mouth with wide eyes.

“You're
serious?” I checked. “But he's so young.” I knew she wouldn't take offence at
my comments. She was probably impressed with herself. “Or at least he looked
young. And tattooed. And totally nothing like dad.” I found myself saying with
a chuckle.

My mum had to
laugh at that. “Yeah, I wonder why,” she teased.

"But why
did you look so uncomfortable around him?" I found myself asking.
"You must have known him, like, pretty well."

My mum flushed
at that. "Well, I didn't exactly tell him about Lily," she admitted,
glancing away guiltily. "I didn't want him involved."

"So he's
worked out that Lily is his?" I checked with a small frown. She nodded her
confirmation. "And how is he feeling about that?"

She paused.
"I'm not really sure. He's not the kind of person to give anything away. Or
at least I don't know him well enough to say."

"You don't
think he'll be interested do you? He looks pretty young."

My mother
chuckled slightly. "I'm fairly sure you think he's younger than he is. But
I really don't know. I hope not. Things have been going so well lately."

A smile worked
its way onto my face. "Yeah," I agreed. "I guess they
have." And it was kind of true. The inner conflict I was feeling regarding
Ollie was hardly life changing, it was just a bit confusing. It was nothing
compared to what Meg was dealing right now. I'd have to make sure I treated it
as a joke in front of her, rather than something I was actually concerned
about.

“I doubt he'll
even think much about it.” My mum's voice didn't quiver, but I knew she was
just trying to convince herself. “It's not like there's any reason he'd want to
intervene.”

I nodded as
enthusiastically as I could without being obvious that I was unsure. “Of
course.”

“Go and get
into bed,” my mum told me with a small chuckle. “And I'll get making your
soup.”