Class Act: A Coach/Student Romance

“JUST WHERE THE HELL are you going?”

I slowly turned to face my father, who stood in the hall, holding a beer bottle by the neck. Shit, this was all my fault for lying in my bed for way too long. I hadn’t even heard him come into the house.

“It’s the weekend.” I shifted my gaze. He had this weird thing about me looking him in the eye. He always assumed I was challenging him, even when I was just making conversation. Everything was already going so wrong. The last thing I needed was a fight with him too. “I’m going out with some friends for a Halloween party.”

To Mandy’s, to be precise. She’d texted me half an hour ago, asking me why I hadn’t shown up at her Halloween party. Although the holiday was actually next week, she thought she would get more people to attend if she didn’t have to compete with all the other parties that would be held on Halloween. Despite telling myself earlier that I wouldn’t go, I’d caved in.

“Not dressed like that, you aren’t,” Dad said.

I’d bought the punky-looking Edward Scissorhands costume last year but had never had a chance to wear it. The short pleated black leather skirt I’d put on over a pair of black tights matched the black sheer top with gold accents. A black belt cinched my waist tight and showed off my figure. Black, calf-length heeled boots and gloves topped off the costume.

“It’s a costume party, Dad. Nobody cares what I wear.”

“So you’re saying I’m nobody?”

“I’m going.”

I ducked just fast enough to avoid the beer bottle he threw at my head, but it hit the door, and shards showered over me. A sharp sting stabbed my cheek. I gingerly touched the area, and my hand came away with a thin line of blood.

Without a word, I flung the door open and rushed out as fast as I could in my heels.

“Emery! Come back here! I’m not finished with you.”

But I was finished with him. I was so done. I jumped into my car and drove away, leaving him cursing and shaking his fist in the driveway.

“Why do you hate me so much?”

I blinked away the tears that rushed into my eyes and gritted my teeth.

Tonight, I would have fun with Mandy. Later, I could worry about where to spend the night. At least Abe wouldn’t be there. If he was, it might tempt me to seek him out for comfort hugs, and I didn’t even know what the hell we were right now.

When I reached the house, loud music blasted in the air. People spilled out onto the lawn and frolicked in the pool. What the hell? How hadn’t I known Mandy was expecting this many people? We’d invited only the seniors.

With some difficulty, I found a place to park my car. How would I find Mandy in this crowd?

As soon as I entered the house, the scent of alcohol hit me. My stomach clenched. She’d promised Abe this would be an alcohol-free party, but surely Abe wasn’t that naïve. Put a bunch of seniors together, and there was going to be alcohol, among other things.

The smart girl had at least covered up the furniture in the living room. Two couples were wedged onto the long sofa in different stages of undress while they made out under the hungry stares and cheers of their classmates.

I pushed my way through the crowd to the kitchen, where snacks were laid out on the counter next to a huge tub filled with ice and beer cans. Mandy, her cheeks flushed, was laughing with a few of the cheerleaders. She was dressed up in a Wonder Woman costume, brandishing a lasso at her side. She looked amazing, and just seeing her put me in a cheerful mood.

“Emery!” She waved at me. “You made it.”

I embraced her hard, then stepped back. “Yeah, just barely. This party is huge.” I grabbed a can of beer, pried the tab off, and took a long gulp.

“Isn’t it? I can’t believe so many people showed up.” She squealed, bouncing on her feet.

I leaned closer to her. “Your dad’s going to be pissed about this.”

She took my arm and turned to the other girls. “Enjoy the party.” She dragged me along with her to the stairs.

Laughing, she pushed open her bedroom door. We halted at the sight of one of the football players, getting his dick sucked by two very familiar girls.

“Bryson, get out of here,” Mandy cried. “No one’s allowed upstairs, and this is my bedroom.”

The girls surged to their feet, looking embarrassed as they shuffled by us out of the bedroom. Bryson made no attempt to cover up his dick, and with what he was packing, I completely understood.

“Hey, Bryson, we kinda need the room.” I gestured at his groin. “You should put that thing away and go.”

He smirked at both of us. “I got a better idea. How about you two pick up where they left off? They sucked at it anyway.”

“Not likely to happen. Get out. I’m sure you don’t want Coach knowing you’re harassing his daughter.”

He jumped off the bed like his ass was on hot coals and shoved his dick back into his harem pants. Some sorry excuse for an Aladdin he was. “You’re really just as bitchy as they say. Aren’t you, Emery?”

When he left, Mandy closed the door behind him.

“You really think Dad’s going to be that pissed?” she asked.

“He’s your dad. You should know him better than me. What do you think?”

“But you’ve been spending a lot of time with him lately.”

My heart skipped a beat. “I do not.”

“Course you do. Running around, cleaning up after him like his little secretary.” She giggled.

Goddamn. Why was she giving me ideas?

“Are you drunk?” I frowned. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Not nearly enough. Come on, Emery. It’s senior year. Don’t be a buzzkill tonight. I need my party friend.” She walked up to me and touched my cheek. “You have a small cut here. What happened?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. Just an accident.”

“Did your—”

“Mandy, it’s your party, and it’s a huge success. Everyone will be talking about this for weeks. I don’t want to talk about me. Where did you get all the booze?”

“I didn’t. It just showed up. I think one of the cheerleaders is dating an older guy, and he brought some. His friends came in with more. To be honest, the party was a little bit of a dud without it.”

“So what now?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to enjoy the party while it lasts. This time tomorrow, I’m going to be grounded so hard I won’t be allowed to go out for weeks.”

“What if it gets out of hand?” Which it already looked somewhat. A little party was good, but the kegs in the kitchen told a different story. What would the school say if they found out we had served all this alcohol at the coach’s house?

“It won’t.”

I touched her arm. “Your dad’s a teacher, Mandy. He could get into trouble for this.”

“Why? It’s not his party.” She frowned. “Why are you being such a stick-in-the-mud? This isn’t like you.”

“I’m just worried.”

“Don’t be. It’s my ass on the line here, not yours.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“Besides, you’ll help me clean up before Mom and Dad get back from their hotel tomorrow. Won’t you?”

The air flew out of my lungs as if someone had punched me in the gut. “Hotel?”

“Yeah, Mom was supposed to be out of town originally, but I think something went down at the firm where she works. She’s been at home more often.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I think Mom’s trying to work on their marriage.”

The breath I inhaled was painful. Damn, the news hit me hard. I wanted Abe for myself.

I’d been hoping that their relationship would crash and burn. It was selfish of me, but Abe was happy with me, and I hadn’t felt this good being with anyone in so long. Was it wrong of me to want to hold on to that feeling?

“I thought you wanted them to get a divorce.”

“Rather than them fighting, yeah, but if they can work on their marriage, I’m all for that too. They’ve been married for years, Emery. It’d be sad if they did divorce. So what do you say? Will you help me get this place back into shape when everyone leaves?”

I nodded through the pain that threatened to overwhelm me. “Sure.”

“Good. I’ll get a few others to help as well. Are you coming back down now?”

“Go ahead. I probably shouldn’t have worn these heels. Need to sit for a few.”

“All right, but we wear the same shoe size. Why not grab a pair of flats from my closet? I don’t mind.”

Abe’s jealous remark about me wearing his daughter’s things drifted through my head. He would have minded. Would he still?

“Thanks.”

She breezed out of the bedroom, leaving me on my own. I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. The pain was almost unbearable with each exhale. After what Abe had said to me in his office, I’d thought he needed some time to break things off with Teresa first.

Wasn’t that what he’d meant? Had I somehow misinterpreted his words?

I slipped out of the bedroom, but instead of heading downstairs, I stopped at the room Abe shared with his wife. I glanced around me, then tried the door, surprised to find it unlocked. How careless. What if one of these horny kids went inside to fuck on his bed?

I entered, closed the door, and spun the lock then clicked on the light. No one was hiding inside. I took in the lavish bedroom, the king-sized bed with the mountain of pillows, the rug, expensive ivory curtains, and the dark wood furniture.

What are you doing here, Emery?

The closet was open, and I moved toward it. His clothes were to the right and hers to the left. They organized their shoes on stands against the wall. How couple-y everything looked.

Teresa’s clothes were designer. I skipped through the racks and admired each garment—the sexy dresses and the power suits. With every article I touched, my confidence lowered. Teresa was a sophisticated, mature woman. She was the mother of Abe’s child. They’d exchanged vows. They’d been through shit together and had had happy times.

How could I compete with that?

I stepped back from the closet, my heart aching, not so much over how lovely the room was but what it represented. This was where Abe lay next to his wife every night. Where he would make love to her. I’d never asked him about it because I hadn’t wanted to know.

Had he fucked her since our affair started? I’d convinced myself that he hadn’t. That I was the only one.

It made sense now. His objection to what I did for money. I could barely stand the thought of him holding her with the same tender care he showed me. Did he give her my special smile?

I sat on the bed and pressed my face to the nearest pillow. The scent wasn’t quite right. I reached for another and buried my nose into it. This. This was Abe’s pillow. I inhaled like the fragrance he’d left behind was a drug and I needed a quick fix. I crushed the pillow into my chest and curled up on the bed.

“You don’t love her anymore. You love me,” I whispered. Had he fucked her on these soft bed linens? Did she moan for him the way I did?

Choked up, I jumped from the bed and straightened the sheets. I scrubbed at the wetness on my cheeks and stormed out of the room, angry at myself for the tears. Had Abe sensed how envy burned inside me whenever I was around him and his wife?

I slipped down the stairs and went straight to the kitchen. I didn’t bother with the canned beers, grabbing a Solo cup instead. Some guy who’d appointed himself keg master filled it to the brim, and I downed it all in one go.

Mandy appeared next to me, took the cup out of my hand, and refilled it. “Now that’s the Emery I know,” she said into my ear. Her breath stank of alcohol, but she was radiant. She looked so carefree.

“Mandy, how much have you had to drink?” I asked.

“Not enough.” She held the cup to my lips. It was open my mouth or be doused with alcohol. I drank half the contents before she took the cup away and downed the rest. “Come dance with me.”

Mandy grabbed my wrist and, for the second time that night, dragged me along with her. The buzz of the party was concentrated in the living room, where the music was loud enough to split eardrums. We danced, twirling around each other, making exaggerated moves the more the crowd cheered us on.

This school was so much better than the old one. I would have been teased and bullied to tears had I shown up wearing my outfit at such an event at my old school.

Soon Mandy and I weren’t dancing alone anymore. Random guys came up behind us, and as long as none of their hands wandered, I was cool with it. Abe was at a hotel with his wife. Why should I sulk and pine about what he was doing with that frigid bitch? Had he forgotten so quickly how she’d talked to him like she was better than him?

Shame wedged itself into my chest for thinking about his wife that way. I knew it was resentment and hurt that fueled my dislike of her, but instead of getting better at the realization, the feeling got worse.

I wanted her husband so badly.

But he wasn’t mine to want.

My phone vibrated in my pocket with a message alert, and I fished it out. I had two missed calls from Abe.

Abe: How are things at the party? Don’t tell Mandy, but I’ll be sneaking by in a few. Can I see you? We should talk.

My heart skipped a beat. Abe wanted to see me. I pumped my fist in the air and a grin spread across my lips. Then reality hit. Mandy had said he was with Teresa tonight. What if he’d made up with her and wanted to end things with me for good?

I sucked in a painful breath and stumbled back against the wall. If Abe really walked away, how could I let him go? But he was never mine to hold on to in the first place.

Someone bumped against me, yanking me out of my thoughts. “Great party, right?”

Great party. Great party.

Holy shit. Abe was coming home. If he saw this party, he would ground Mandy till her graduation. We needed to get all these kids out of here.