Make Me Bad: Private Lessons (20 page)

“Just stay here,” my mom offers,
“we have the extra bedroom and you can wear something of mine.” She gives me a conspiratorial
smile. “Or we could go downstairs and pick out something from one of the
stores.”

I can’t turn down the appealing
offer of staying at the Ritz, and my mom and I hurry downstairs to the shops. I
pick out a pair of luxurious silk pajamas that are extremely overpriced, and a
cashmere turtleneck dress that is even more overpriced. My mom waves it off,
and we return upstairs with my clothes.

I change into my pajamas, and watch
TV with my parents until I feel my eyelids getting heavy.

“Alright, I’m heading to bed.” I
kiss both my parents and head back to the small second bedroom in the suite.
Even though the room is small, the bed is heavenly soft and the sheets feel incredible.
I fall asleep within minutes.

The next morning my parents and I
eat breakfast together at the hotel, before they have to check out and
afterwards, I get ready for class. I text Cleo and ask her to bring my bag to campus,
so I don’t have to make an extra stop by the apartment.

When it’s time for me to leave, I
give my parents each a huge hug.

“Thank you so much for visiting.”

“We had a great time,” my dad says.
“Thanks for showing us around.” He grins, “And giving your mother an excuse to
shop.”

I laugh, “Anytime.”

“We’ll see you in a month,” my mom
says, squeezing me tightly. “Can’t wait to have you home for the holidays.”

“I can’t wait either.” I feel
myself getting teary eyed and I can’t believe I’m getting this emotional over
my parents leaving. I truly didn’t realize how much I missed them.

“Alright, no tears,” my mother
laughs, “We’re going to see you in a month! It’s just like when you’re in New
York.”

“Except you’re in Paris,” my dad
teases.

“Thank you again for the wonderful
apartment.” My parents had been so pleased when they saw the place and Cleo had
practically fallen all over herself thanking them for their generosity.

“How many times do you get to study
abroad in Paris?” my mother asks playfully. “What good is all the hard work
your daddy and I do if we can’t share it like that?”

I kiss them again, and then I head
out into the cool air. It’s another cold day, though not as cold as yesterday,
and I hug my coat tightly around me as I make my way to the Metro. My cashmere
dress makes me feel sophisticated, and I suddenly feel a pang of longing so
strong for Luc, that it nearly knocks me over.

Without thinking, I whip out my
phone and call him.

“Hey,” he answers, his voice deep
and gravelly.

“Oh. Hi. Did I wake you?” I’m
caught off guard by him sounding like he’s asleep. It’s after ten in the
morning. I just assumed he would be awake.

“Yeah, yeah, but it’s fine. I
actually needed to wake up. I stayed up really late working on music last
night. A song just came to me, and I had to keep going until I got it all.”

I understood that feeling.
Sometimes when inspiration hit, you just had to go with it.

“Oh, well that’s great. I’m sure
it’s a great piece.” Knowing Luc, it was going to be great. I don’t think any
music he composed could be described as mediocre.

“Well, we’ll see. It’s nowhere near
ready yet.” There’s a slight pause. “Hey. How are your parents? They’re leaving
this morning aren’t they?”

“Yeah, thanks for asking. They were
great. I actually just left the hotel. I ended up sleeping there last night and
we had breakfast this morning before we had to part ways.”

“That sounds like it was nice. I’m
glad you had a good visit and I’m really sorry I wasn’t able to meet them. I
know you wanted me too.” He pauses again. “I’m just not sure how we could have
worked that out without raising suspicion.”

I hate to admit that he’s right. I
let out a loud sigh. “You’re probably right. There wasn’t any logical way to
introduce you.”

“So,” he begins, switching
subjects, “Now that your parents are headed back to the States, tell me when I
get to see you again.”

Normally, I would be shy and say
something cute, but I have missed Luc way too much and I decide to get straight
to the point. “How about today?”

He lets out a sexy laugh. “You read
my mind. Are you heading to class now? Why don’t you come over when your class
ends?”

I agree and then have to hang up
because I’m getting on the Metro. Secretly, I’m pleased Luc is going to see me
in this cashmere dress. Not that I feel the need to impress Luc, but sometimes I
feels like he views me as younger than I really am. I feel older in this dress.
It’s a good thing.

I meet Cleo for our class, and
thank her for bringing my schoolbooks.

“So, what do you feel like doing?”
she asks, as the class ends.

I give her an apologetic look. “I’m
sorry. I’m heading over to Luc’s now. I haven’t seen him since Thursday night.”

“Oh, how awful!” she mocks, as we
file out of class.

“Please,” I shoot her an
incredulous look. “You are always running off with Philippe. Besides, what is he
doing now?”

She rolls her eyes. “He’s actually
in class now. He’s not free until later.”

“And are you meeting up later?” I’m
pretty sure I know the answer, but I want to give her a hard time since she was
teasing me about Luc.

“Maybe,” she sniffs.

“Busted!”

We split up on the block where our
apartment is located, and I head towards Luc’s building. I love how close his
apartment is to ours– it makes things very convenient.

I take a deep breath before
knocking on his door and eagerly wait for him to open it. Desire tugs at me,
and I’m feeling flushed just thinking about all the things that Luc and I could
do this evening.

The door opens and Luc is standing
there barefoot, dressed in jeans and a fitted black t-shirt.

My mouth waters.

Something about him being barefoot,
and seeing the material of the shirt cling to his chest just drives me wild.

I lick my lips. “Hi,” I manage to
say.

“Wow.” His eyes rove up and down my
body, and I momentarily forget about the cashmere dress I’m wearing. “You look
gorgeous.”

I manage a small smile, still wowed
by his good looks. “So do you.”

He lets out a deep laugh. “I don’t
think I would use gorgeous to describe my looks.”

“Well you clearly haven’t looked in
the mirror. I’m loving this casual, sexy look of yours,” I say boldly.

He actually turns red. I’ve
embarrassed him! “Well, don’t just stand there. Get your sexy ass in here.”

I follow him inside, and slip my
coat off before laying it across the back of the couch.

“Can I get you something to drink?”
he asks, padding towards the kitchen. “Water, soda, wine?”

“A water would be fine, thanks.”

He comes back with two glasses of
water and we sit down on the couch.

“Thank you,” I say, taking the
water from him and having a sip.

“Did your parents get to the
airport okay?”

“Yes, they did.”

“That’s good.”

“They were asking me about my plans
after graduation,” I say slowly, not really sure why I’m bringing this up, but
I can’t take it back now that it’s out of my mouth.

“Oh?” He doesn’t say anything else,
just looks at me with a guarded expression. I can already tell this is not a
topic he wants to discuss.

I shrug and decide to play it cool.
I was foolish to bring it up. “I just told them that I didn’t really have any
set plans yet.” I look up to him, questioningly. “I mean, there really isn’t a
better place than New York to work on my music, is there?”

He watches me closely for a few
seconds, and then shakes his head. “No,” he says thoughtfully. “There isn’t.
The best contacts and venues are in the city for sure.”

I nod. “I don’t think I could have
any success in Nashville. There really isn’t room for anything but country
music.”

Luc nods.

“And I don’t want to spend my
career in my parents shadow.”

He nods again.

And because he doesn’t speak, I
continue. I ramble, actually. “I mean, how could I stay in Nashville and pursue
music that isn’t even popular there, especially with everyone knowing who my
parents are. I would either fail miserably, or people would help me
because
of my parents instead of me making it on my own.”

“Maddie, who are you trying to
convince?” Luc asks quietly and his question throws me for a loop.

I can’t even respond at first.
“What do you mean?”

“You don’t have to convince me of
anything. Your decisions after graduation are your decisions.”

“I know, I know. I just figured you
were a good person to talk to.”

“Yes, but why?”

What the hell? Why is Luc asking me
that?

“What I mean,” he clarifies, seeing
the confused look on my face. “Are you asking me because I’ve made a career
pursuing composition and guitar? Or are you asking me because you want this
thing between us to have a future?”

“That’s not fair,” I say angrily, truthfully
unsure of my purpose for bringing the subject up in the first place. I beginning
to think both of the explanations he’s posed are true and I’m annoyed that he’s
figured me out so quickly.

“Let’s be really honest here,
Maddie,” he says, angling his body so he’s facing me.

I set my mouth in a firm line. I
don’t like how this conversation has taken a turn downhill. I wait for him to
speak again.

“Yes, from a career perspective,
New York is certainly the place to be. As your advisor and music professor, I
would tell you that the best chance of pursuing your music and being successful
is to stay in New York. I could help you with contacts and industry business. I
would help you because you are talented, not because I’m having sex with you.
And knowing who your parents are, I completely agree that staying in Nashville
would be a bad career decision. For one, as you said, our music is not popular
in the Nashville music scene. And two, as you also mentioned, you would forever
be in your parents’ shadow, never sure if you were getting help because you are
talented – which you are – or because your mom and dad are Paige Lawson and
Blake Evans.”

I open my mouth to speak, but he
holds up his hand and continues.

“I’ve already told you that I can’t
see what kind of future we’d have, so I’m not going to tell you to stay in New
York because I enjoy our time together.”

I can’t help but cut in now. “But
you said you
could
see a future for us!” I argue. “You told me that I
would be good for you!”

He sighs, “Yes, I did say that, and
I probably shouldn’t have.”

“Why?” I demand.

“Because it’s given you the wrong
idea.”

“I don’t believe that. I can tell
this is more than just fucking!” I can’t help myself. I know our relationship
doesn’t just center around sex. I know that what Luc and I have is more. And I
know he knows it too.

“And what would you know?” he
scoffs angrily. “We have no future without damaging your career! And I told you
that I have too many issues than are fair to burden you with!”

I shake my head, feeling angry
tears prick at my eyes. “What the hell, Luc? One second you are hot and the
next second you’re cold! What’s the point of going to dinner together or spending
time together, if I’m just a girl you’re casually screwing?”

“Please, don’t be this way,” he
says, his voice pained.

“What other way should I be? I
thought we talked about spending more time together. That we were going to
‘try’ this? Now, you’ve changed your mind? I can’t keep up with the mood
swings!”

“And that’s exactly the problem,”
he agrees as if I’ve confirmed what he already thought.

Shit.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I
quickly say.

“But that’s the problem,” he says
quietly. “My moods. My depression. That is part of my illness.”

“But I told you that I didn’t care
about that. That we could work around that.”

Luc frowns and stands up, running
his hand through his hair before crossing his arms across his chest. He looks
at me, then turns away and takes a few steps. I can feel him distancing himself
from me. Not just physically, but emotionally.

“Luc,” I say, and this time I can’t
hide the desperation from my voice.

“Madison.” He turns around and his
eyes are wild with emotions – fear, pain, and concern. “I can’t do this to you!
Do you know how much I wanted to meet your parents? How I wanted to do that for
you because I knew it was important to you and because I care about you? But
how could I have? How could we have explained that? What do you think your
parents would have thought?”

“They wouldn’t have cared,” I say
stubbornly, but I know that’s not true. I’m sure the age difference would have
bothered them --especially my father being that I was Daddy’s Little Girl, but
it’s not like the age difference was
that
much. I think my mother would
have been more lax about it. But the teacher part would probably have been hard
for both of them. I could see how they would both think that Luc crossed a line
since he was my professor. They would assume that he was taking advantage of
his position.

But no way am I going to admit any
of this to Luc. I’m not going to help validate his ridiculous arguments.

Luc fixes me with a stern look.
“Like hell they wouldn’t have cared. Who knows? They could think I was with you
to help further
my
career.”

“Huh?”

“Sleeping with the daughter of two
very successful music artists. That would certainly help put me on the map,
wouldn’t it?”

“My parents –no –’’ I sputter,
“They wouldn’t think such a thing!”

But would they?

“Please, Maddie. Be realistic. It
was wrong of me to let this go on. I shouldn’t have pursued this with you.”