You Should Smile (10 page)

Then he paused for a minute, seeming to contemplate something.  “Hey, how ‘bout we blow this meeting off and watch a movie at my place instead?”

“What?”

“Come to my place and watch a movie……I’ve got
To Kill a Mockingbird…
..”  Grin.

I was completely confused.  “What?  What about this whole ‘crossing the line’ thing?”

The smirk came out in full force.  “Don’t you think we’ve pretty much jumped over that thing already?”

“Well, yeah, but I thought you were still trying to be Mr. We-Shouldn’t-Be-Doing-That.”  I moved my head back and forth like a scolding teacher.

“Well, we shouldn’t, but I can’t seem to give a flying fuck right now.  It’s my birthday.  I don’t wanna do anymore work today.  Plus, it’s just a movie.  I’m really not asking for or expecting anything else, promise.”  He held up his fingers like a boy scout would pledge and winked at me. 

I don’t know what made me do it.  I don’t know why I suddenly had the urge, but I stood up from the chair, walked over, grabbed his collar and pulled him toward me and kissed him.  He seemed surprised at first, but then I felt him give in.  His lips opened and soon our tongues were moving to that familiar tango from long ago.  It was just as intense as the first time in the parking lot.  Sparks flying.  Everywhere.  He finally pulled away, grinning. 

“What was that for?”

I shrugged, smiling.  “I’m not sure.  It’s your birthday….and you’ve got
To Kill a Mockingbird….
”

His eyes lit up and he leaned in to kiss me again, before moving down to kiss my neck in that spot that I loved.  I heard him murmur, “You know, I’ve always found Jennifer Aniston much sexier than Angelina Jolie....” 

I teased back, “You’d better not be thinking about Jennifer Aniston while you’re making out with me, Pickup Grinner.”

Against my neck, he whispered, “Never.  I’m only thinking about....” He looked up with a gleam in his eye and his classic smirk.... “What was your name again?”

I smacked his arm lightly and walked off toward the door, saying quietly over my shoulder, “Oh, you’ll remember my name when I’m through with you, don’t you worry.”

As he followed quickly behind, I heard him mumble, “Bring. It. On….”

I’d taken the underground to the office that day, so I didn’t have my car at school.  I jumped in his truck.  On the way to his house, we picked up some Chinese food.  I’d never seen his house before.  You’d think I’d be nervous, but I wasn’t.  I was actually excited and looking forward to seeing that part of his life.  I was so tired of pretending.  I wanted to really get to know him, to date him, to call him “mine”….you know, like normal relationships progress.  Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about my dissertation and what could happen if anyone found out.  I no longer cared at that point.  You know that part in the movies, when you’re screaming, “Be careful, girl!  Don’t do anything stupid!”  I know.  I should’ve been smarter than that, but it was hard.  I wasn’t really thinking at all.

He pulled up to an old building in one of the artsy neighborhoods.  I loved this part of town.  It was where the artists, musicians, poets, and hippies lived – you know, the interesting people.  I loved people with “stories”.  Life is all about stories, just like the movies.  The most interesting people in the world are those with lots of “stories” to tell about their life – what they’ve done, where they’ve been, things they’ve seen.  This neighborhood was full of people with stories.  You could just feel it in the air as you watched them walk up and down the sidewalks.  He came around to my side to open the door.  I met his extended hand with my own and he helped me step down from the truck to the sidewalk below.

“I love this part of town,” I told him.

“Me, too.  When I found this old brownstone, I had to have it.  I renovated it completely – did all the work myself, too.”  Big, sexy grin.

I grinned back.  “Impressive…”

He led the way to the nearby stoop and gestured for me to go ahead up the steps.  I waited as came up behind me and fumbled with the key before finally opening the door.

It was beautiful.  The ceilings were exposed and the walls were all vintage brick.  Everything looked straight out of a catalog.  It was the perfect mix of modern and Victorian styles.  Clean cut lines and minimal furnishings surrounded by dark, rich wood and high ceilings. 

“I love it,” I breathed, still in awe.

He turned and grinned again, seeming to enjoy my amazement.  “Thanks.  She’s my gal.”

“She?”

“Yeah, ‘she’.  Some houses I’ve worked on are a ‘he’ and some are a ‘she’.  This one’s definitely a ‘she’.” 

“What makes it a ‘she’, pray tell?” I teased.

“She was a lot of work, stubborn, problematic, hard to figure out, heart-breaking, high-maintenance….”  He was grinning.

I rolled my eyes.  “That is so sexist.”

He held up his finger.  “Wait.  I’m not finished….” 

I lifted my brow, waiting on him to continue.

“Even after all of the hard work and time spent and frustrations I had with her……”  He looked straight at me and said in a low voice, “She’s more beautiful to me today than ever.  She was….worth every bit of it.…”

I could feel the insane beat of my heart as he held my eyes.  My head was swimming with a thousand thoughts, some wonderful, some scary, some horrible, some insane.  I didn’t know what to say.  I always said
something
, but this time, I couldn’t say anything at all. 

Finally, I broke our eye contact and smiled.  “Let’s eat before our food gets cold,” I said.  He nodded.

After we ate, he put in the DVD for
To Kill a Mockingbird. 

“I love this movie so much,” I gushed, plopping down on the couch.  Very lady-like, I know.  

His smile lit up the room.  “Yeah, me, too.  My favorite part is when Ewell spits on Atticus’ face and Atticus just wipes it off.  You can almost see that whole transition go on inside Atticus’ mind.  He wants to punch him, but he does the hardest thing for any guy to do – he wipes it off instead.  He wouldn’t sink to Ewell’s level.  He remained the better man.”

I was nodding along, eyes dancing.  “Yes!  I love that part, too.”  Sigh.  “I love Atticus.  He’s so courageous.”  I suddenly remembered Abraham.  “…..I wish I could’ve met your grandfather, Thad.”

He sat on the couch beside me, turned to face me.  “Yeah.  Me, too…..Man, he would’ve loved you.”  Grin.

My heart soared.  Danced.  Sang.  It made my day.  “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he whispered, eyes meeting mine.  His lips were full and glistening.  I thought back to how I’d just been kissing them about an hour before.  I wanted to do it again. He looked like he was about to do it again, but he stopped when he heard the opening scene of the movie and Scout’s voice.  Our moment was gone.

I settled in against the couch and focused on the movie.  I could do this.  I could watch a movie.  Just watch a movie.   He sat beside me, close, but not directly touching.  His knee was a few centimeters from my own. 

As the movie progressed, though, we’d found ways to get closer.  It was like an awkward high school date.  I kept waiting for his mom to come out from the back room and offer us brownies.  Eventually, we got to the point to where I was sitting up against him, the back of my head leaning against his chest, with his arm around my shoulder.   Every once in a while, his hand would inadvertently rub my shoulder with light, soft circles.

I couldn’t concentrate on the movie at all.  Not at all.  My eyes were focused on the screen, but my head was focusing on his hand upon my shoulder, on my side against his muscular chest, on his body heat next to my own.  Ms. L. was cussing up a storm and I didn’t even blame her this time.  I was on her side. 

Then the scene where Atticus is leaving the courtroom and everyone stands up came on.  “This is my favorite scene,” I whispered, my eyes tearing up.

He nodded, his other arm wrapping around my waist.  “It’s a great one.”  He squeezed my waist, offering me a semi-hug, before whispering in my ear.  “Can you imagine doing anything in your life worthy of that sort of respect?”

I shook my head.  “No.  I could only hope to….”  I turned my head towards him, smiling.   Teasing.  “You mean students don’t stand up when you leave the classroom, Dr. Reeding?” 

He grimaced.  “Don’t call me that….Please.”  He paused.  “It just reminds me that I’m your professor.”

I forgot about the movie.  I turned completely around to face him.  “You are my professor, Thad.  You’re also my friend.   You’re also another
adult
I’d like to get to know better as more than just a friend.”

That made his grin come back.  His eyebrow shot up.  “How much better?”

I laughed.  “My livid libido wants me to get to know you a lot better…..” 

He grabbed me tight around the waist again and said low in my ear, “I told you I wasn’t expecting anything.  I really did mean that…..”

“I know.  I’m not expecting anything, either…Don’t worry, Pickup Grinner.  I don’t plan on taking your virginity tonight…” 

“Ha!  Little late for that….”

I tensed.  I swear, the thought of him with someone else made me sick to my stomach.  And I walked right into that one!  Idiot!

He turned my face to his and kissed my lips softly.  “Your lips are the only lips I think about now, Smiles.”  Oh, he was good. 

I kissed him back wholeheartedly and, soon, we were lost again – lost in the moment, lost in the touches, lost in the passion.  His lips went to my neck and I used the chance to explore his stomach with my hands through his button-down shirt.  I had to get closer.  I reached up to his top button and began to slowly unbutton, button by button…..down, down, down…..as he watched my hands intently.  When all buttons were finally undone, I parted his dress shirt slowly.  Finally.  His bare chest.  I dragged my nails lightly down the chiseled mass and let my hands trace the outline of his six-pack below.  His breathing became labored as my hand moved across the faint course hairs of his lower stomach and I heard a low moan when my hand reached even lower.  He backed me down on the couch, hovering above.

As he pressed his body into my own, I could feel his hardness against my thigh.  He began lightly kissing my neck.  Holy shit.  I was reeling with sensations and thoughts and….fears.  Wait, what were we doing?!  Yesterday, we barely talked about anything and now we were moving with lightning speed – toward what?  And I didn’t even know how old he was! 

I couldn’t stop myself.  It just came out.  “I don’t want to have sex yet….I don’t even know how old you are….” 

What. The. Fuck?  I wasn’t even drunk and still blurting.  What was wrong with me?  I could feel the blushing as it cascaded across my entire face, hot flashes of shame.

A rumbling laugh came from deep within him as he paused from kissing my neck, his body still on top of mine.  “First off, we won’t do anything you don’t want to do, Shay.  I told you that one of us needs to be responsible.  You can be the responsible one….”  I knew he was grinning.  “And I’m thirty-two, by the way…..” 

I pulled his face up so that I could see his eyes.  They were full of amusement.  “Let me explain, okay?”

He nodded. 

“It’s just that everything was so confusing before, with lines drawn and rules broken anyway, but trying not to break them again….and then all of a sudden, we’re just ignoring the rules completely, but still being secretive.  Things just started moving fast out of nowhere.  You never talked about how you felt or your past and then all of a sudden I couldn’t get you to shut up……” I took a deep breath.

He leaned up to kiss me softly.  “Wow….I didn’t even think of it that way.  I know I’m not very good at opening up.  It’s just that talking to Gina again made me wake up.  I wasted so much time with her and meaningless others.  I didn’t want another second to go by without you knowing that I cared.  Plus, it’s my birthday and I just wanted to celebrate it with you….but you’re right.  We should still be smart and take this slow.”  He rose up off of me and sat down beside me on the couch.  Ms. L. was screaming at me, “Fuck you, you dumbass!”  Maybe I could keep her from being
too
mad.

I grinned back at him.  “There are other things we can do besides sex.”

His eyebrows went up.  “Oh yeah?”

“Well, you’ve made my livid libido happy once.  I’d like to make yours happy now.”

He grinned.  “He’s had to survive on Skype memories to keep him going.” 

I laughed, before realizing he was implying he hadn’t been with anyone lately.  That thought made me selfishly happy.

My eyes lit up with an idea.  “I think I know a way to get you over this whole ‘Dr. Reeding’ thing….”

I saw his jaw begin to tense again.  “I don’t like thinking about what could happen to you if people found out, Shay.”   

“What if you had good memories of me being your student, though?”  I batted my eyes.

That made him smirk, as he looked at me cautiously.  Get ready for this, cowboy, I thought.  Ms. L. was truly, truly brilliant. 

I got down on my knees in front of him.  I reached for his belt buckle and met his eyes.  He was staring at me, smirking, but still tense.  I smiled at him from under my lashes and gave him my best Valley Girl voice.

“Dr. Reeding, I really need an A in this class.  My daddy will be so mad if I don’t get an A.”

His mouth moved slightly, a slight crease leaning toward a grin. I knew I had him.  I quickly unbuckled his belt, undid the button on his pants, and pulled the zipper down.  I could tell he was still hard from earlier.  His dick was hard to ignore.  I wouldn’t let myself think about how big it would feel inside me.  Those daydreams might last a while.

He lifted up off the couch to make it easier for me to pull his pants and boxers down to his knees. 

“Do you think there’s something I could do to earn an A in this class, Dr. Reeding?”  I batted my eyelashes up at him again and licked my lips slowly for full effect.  I knew he loved that.

With lidded eyes, he bit his lip, looked down at me, and then nodded slowly.  He was transfixed.  No words were really necessary.  Using my hand to clench his dick loosely, I leaned down and licked the tip of it, still making eye contact with him.  He clenched his jaw tighter and hissed, “Fuck….”

Then, I used my tongue in ways to give him the most pleasure I could – licking slowly up and down his shaft, rolling my lips over my teeth and sucking up and down, using my other hand to squeeze the bottom of his dick in rhythm with my mouth.  Up and down, up and down.  He was still staring down at me, watching me perform my ministrations for him.  He reached down and collected my long dark hair in his hand, moving it all to one side of my neck so he could have a better view.  I made eye contact with him as I alternated between licking, sucking, and humming along his dick.

With my left hand, I reached down to his balls and gently massaged them as I broke off eye contact to prepare for my best trick.  Leaning forward, I opened my throat and swallowed his length all the way back – to the hilt.

He lurched his hips off the couch and screamed out a string of barely decipherable words, “Holy….fuhh.…whuuuh….”

I continued to alternate between sucking, licking, and taking him deep.  After a while, I felt his hand on my shoulder.  “I’m gonna come...”

I moaned, “Mmmmm Hmmmm” into him so he knew I’d heard, but I had no intention of stopping.  No fucking way.  I sped up my rhythm, continuing to take him deep.  Then, I heard my name come from within the depths of his soul....