FULL NOVELXO Class Act: Chapter 34
today?” I washed the suds from Emery’s hair, comfortable doing the task as if I’d been doing this all my life. His hair was so soft it felt almost therapeutic to run my fingers through the strands. From the relaxed look on his face, I wasn’t the only one enjoying it.
“A little,” he said. “But at least my shift is during the day on the weekends.”
“Means I can spend the day with Mandy and have you all to myself in the evening. What do you want to do when you get off?”
“Why don’t we play it by ear?”
“All right, then, but I want to take you out somewhere nice for a change. Just the two of us.”
“Are you sure that’s wise? We can’t risk being seen together like that. If word gets out…”
“We can be careful.”
“I think we should wait,” he said. “Soon, you’ll know if you got the new job and when you quit the high school, we won’t have to worry about hiding as much anymore.”
“True. You’re right.” I kissed his temple. “I just hate feeling like I’m hiding you.”
“Don’t worry so much.” He handed me the conditioner. “Get to work. It feels so good when you do it that I’ll never want to wash my hair myself again.”
I chuckled and squirted the conditioner into my hand, then rubbed it in his curls. “As long as I’m around, no problem. I can do it. The texture of your hair is so different from mine.”
“Are you hinting that you want to use my hair products?”
“God, no. I’m on the field in the sun most of the time with the football team. I’d be afraid my hair would catch fire.”
Emery giggled. “It’s not that much.”
“Not much? I see the way you wield that hairspray like you’re going to war.”
An elbow ended up in my stomach, and I laughed. “It’s not a complaint. You always smell nice, and there’s the upside that you’re so fucking adorable.”
“You’re such a corrupt teacher.”
“You corrupted me.”
We continued teasing, which had become our habit, as we finished up in the shower. Wrapped up in towels, we entered our bedroom and got dressed.
“What time do you get off work again?” I asked.
Emery dropped the towel to the floor, showing off his slender shape. My cock twitched, and I almost reached for him. Almost. He couldn’t be late for his first day of work. Working at the restaurant meant a lot to him, although I’d told him many times he didn’t have to. He was adamant about contributing to our home.
He stepped into a pair of lace panties that sat just right on his ass. I wanted to peel them down and bend him over, spread his legs, and go to town.
“Are you okay, Abe?” He snapped his bra into place. At least the shirt that was a part of his uniform would conceal the undergarment. As much as I loved seeing him in nothing but a lace bra and panties, I didn’t want anyone to pick on him and bully him because he loved feminine underwear.
“Hmm?”
“You look a little parched over there.”
I raised my gaze from Emery’s pert ass. He was laughing at me over his shoulder. The minx knew how hard it was for me to keep my hands off him, how he was torturing me.
I moved behind him, cupped his ass, and squeezed. I shoved my finger roughly between his legs and rubbed the material right over his hole. He gasped.
“If you don’t put clothes on, Emery, I guarantee you’ll be late on your first day.”
He jerked away from me and scooped his pants up from the bed. He got dressed in a jiffy, then sat at his vanity to blow dry and style his hair. I’d never seen so many cosmetics in my life. Once, he’d explained what every single item was used for, but I’d stopped trying to understand after he got to the eyelash curler. Why was that even a thing? He’d batted his eyelashes at me and asked if I didn’t think his eyes were pretty?
I understood very little of it, but he was happy and felt good about himself wearing makeup. I never wanted to change him.
“What are you doing today?” Emery asked.
I dressed, then sat on the bed and watched him work his magic transforming his hair from a mop of wet curls to a sleek style that curled over one side of his forehead. Damn, he was sexy.
“Nothing much other than dropping by the house to check on Mandy. See if she wants to do something together, although she keeps turning me down.”
“Don’t give up, yeah? One day, she’ll realize how hard she’s been on you.”
“I won’t, even if takes decades.”
He frowned. “I hope it won’t be that long.”
Emery unplugged his curling iron and came over to me. “Still no regrets?”
I placed my hands on his hips. “None.”
A few minutes later, Emery left for work at a swanky restaurant downtown. They preferred him to work during the day, since he was new, but soon he would be starting three-night shifts.
I cleaned the house and did our laundry as I waited for our new fridge to arrive. We’d discovered the freezer of the one in our kitchen wasn’t working properly.
After the fridge was installed, I locked up and drove by the old place. Yesterday, the divorce lawyer had contacted me to say that Teresa had changed some terms of the divorce to make it more favorable to me, but that she still held an inequitable portion of our property. He’d wanted to push for more, but I’d asked him to agree.
I just wanted the whole thing done with. Anything for Emery not to get caught up in the mess. If Teresa found out about him before we signed the divorce papers, I would be lucky if I walked away from my marriage with even my clothes. I didn’t have the energy to fight her on it either.
Maybe I felt guilty about certain things. About the way Emery and I had begun. The kissing in the den. The sleeping together in the guest bedroom.
Those things I was guilty of for sure.
Dammit, Teresa was home. My instinct was to leave and return when she wasn’t home, but I couldn’t avoid her forever. We shared a daughter and would need to talk in the future.
I let myself in, then hovered in the hall. Was I even allowed to just walk in anymore? My keys still worked, but did Teresa want me to return them? Yeah, we definitely needed to talk more about how we would transition past this point in our lives.
The idea of always having to ring the doorbell felt weird, but it would be the right thing to do. I no longer lived here.
“Mandy?” I called.
No answer, but the television in the living room was on. I headed in that direction. Mandy sat on the floor, a textbook spread out next to her with a few colored pens and highlighters.
Good. She was studying. When she’d skipped school the other day, I was worried she would make a habit of it.
“Hey, what are you studying? Can I help or—”
“How could you!” Mandy scrambled to her feet. Her eyes were red and puffy and her nose blotchy.
“What happened? Why have you been crying?” I took a step toward her, but she flinched back. The last times we’d spoken, she’d carried a chip on her shoulder, but she’d at least been calmer. What was with the outburst?
“What happened?” She slapped her hand on my chest.
“Mandy, for god’s sake, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down.” She pummeled me now. “You’re sick. You disgust me.”
“Now wait a—”
“You’re sleeping with him.” She was shaking hard. “Don’t you dare deny that you’re sleeping with him. With Emery. How could you?”
My mouth went dry, and it was painful to swallow. She knew. Oh shit, she knew, and I hadn’t told her.
“I can—”
“You can what? Explain? How do you explain sleeping with a nineteen-year-old boy who needed your help?” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “And to know I was the one who begged you so many times to help him. Instead, you use him just like everyone else in his life has.”
“I’m not using him.”
“Aren’t you fucking him?” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “God, I’m going to be sick.”
Mandy rushed out the door, and I went after her. She ran into the half bath and slammed the door shut. Loud retching followed. She hadn’t been joking when she told me I disgusted her. She found the idea of Emery and me unpalatable.
My stomach churned, and I closed my eyes. Fear crept inside my chest. Was this the way everyone would view me? A villain who used a young man? But I’d never preyed on him. Not once had I pursued him. But what did it matter? That was still the way they would all see me. If my daughter, who loved me… who had known me all her life, thought I’d taken advantage of Emery, how much worse would people judge me?
But I love him. I truly love him.
Emery’s cheerful laugh tinkled in my ear. His smile as he cuddled up against me at night and whispered “good night” before he fell asleep flashed before my eyes. The scent of his shampoo wafted up my nostrils. The feel of his skin against mine made my hands tingle.
We were happy. We were in love. I couldn’t help it if other people were disgusted by that. I only knew what Emery and I had going on and it was genuine.
The bathroom door opened, and Mandy stepped out, even paler than before. She slinked past me, but I moved in front of her.
“Mandy, let me explain, please.”
“Are you sleeping with Emery?” she demanded.
“Yes, but it’s not so simple. I love him.”
“Of course you’re going to say that to make yourself look better. He’s a student!”
“Believe me, we both know how much trouble I can be in for this.”
“Then why did you do it?” Tears welled up again. “You’re like—you’re like those straight men Emery tells me about who fetishizes sleeping with younger femme-looking guys. Is that it? Oh my god, how many students have you done this with?”
“Mandy, don’t jump to conclusions. He’s the only one.”
“But he’s my friend.”
“I know. I never meant for it to happen.” I reached out my hand, but she flinched back.
“No, don’t touch me. I don’t want you to touch me ever again. How are you my father? To do something like this to a kid. How would you feel if a teacher used me the way you’re using Emery?”
Damn. She was hitting hard. Way harder than I had expected. “It’s different.”
“How so? Because I’m a girl.”
“Emery’s legally an adult. You’re not.”
She raised her eyebrows. “So if I were eighteen and slept with a teacher, you’d be okay with that? Because I always thought Mr. Sherwood was sexy.”
I scowled at her. “Now don’t behave rashly because of something I did.”
“So you would mind! You’re a hypocrite, and I don’t want to talk to you anymore. You’re no longer my dad. Mom, please make him leave.”
Mom? I spun around. How long had Teresa been there? Had she heard everything?
“It’s okay, Mandy. I’ll handle it. Go finish your homework.”
My heart ached as Mandy walked away. I had broken the trust between us today. She thought I’d used her friend. At least she wasn’t blaming Emery, although god knew what she would say to him when they finally came face-to-face. Would she be as unforgiving to him as she was to me?
I exhaled loudly. “Now you know the truth.”
“Mandy found out. Good for her.”
I frowned. She was oddly calm for such a revelation. Unless…
“You already figured it out, didn’t you?”
“From the first day that boy walked into my house, I had him pegged for trouble.”
“That’s why you tried to hook him up with one of your clients.”
She shrugged. “A woman’s got to do what she can before her man strays. Contrary to what you think, they were decent men who would have taken care of him. Unfortunately, he didn’t take the bait. I didn’t know he was dead set on you.”
I shook my head. “If you knew all this before, why did you allow Emery to stay with us so many times?”
“Because I thought if I showed him some kindness, he would grow a conscience and know not to mess around with somebody’s husband. Mandy has everything right, except she seems to think her friend is the victim. We both know he’s very much the instigator.”
“This isn’t Emery’s fault. Our marriage had fallen apart.”
“You had no problem with our marriage until he came along. I just have one question.”
“What is it?”
She moved closer to me. “Don’t think you can lie to me either. Did you have sex with him in this house?”
I clenched my fists and dropped my gaze. “I’m sorry.”
I expected her slap. When she was upset, she was quick with her hands. I would gladly accept it this time. Several, in fact. I’d crossed the line. There was no excuse for it.
No slap came.
“Did you fuck him in our bed?”
“No. I swear I didn’t. That would have been low of me.”
“Don’t be so modest. You don’t have much lower to go. Get out.”
“Are you going to make the divorce more difficult now?”
Teresa scowled. “You have some nerve. The choice was yours. You picked that conniving little slut—”
“Now, don’t go calling him names.”
“That conniving little slut,” she repeated. “He needled his way into our lives and ruined our family. Do you really think he can do anything for you, Abe? Is the sex worth it?”
“It’s not just sex. I love him.”
“Then you’re a pathetic fool, and I hope he bleeds you dry, fucks you over, and moves on to do the same thing to the next man. You had a highly educated woman who worked hard to pull this family up with her achievements, and you walk out on that to be with a boy who sells sex online to other men?”
I sucked in a deep breath. “How do you know about that?”
“Finding out things to use to discredit others is literally my job, Abe. Did you think I wouldn’t find out? I’m just surprised you know, and yet you’re willing to give up everything for him.”
“That’s in the past. I won’t hold it against him. Emery has been a victim most of his life—”
“So that gives him a right to seduce other people’s husbands?”
“He didn’t seduce me.”
“Get out, Abe. Don’t come back. Your daughter hates your guts, and now that I’ve seen how stupid you are to walk away from our life, I no longer want you.”
I glanced toward the stairs. Mandy. I couldn’t leave our relationship this way.
“Why did you have to tell Mandy?”
“I didn’t. She figured it out on her own.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Believe what you will. Makes no difference to me. Tomorrow I’ll have the locks changed, so get everything out of the house that you need. Mandy and I are fine on our own. We don’t need you around here.”
I wanted to argue, to demand to speak to Mandy again and explain everything from the beginning, but what was there to add to what she already knew?
Her friend needed help, and I ended up sleeping with him. Emery was a student at my school. I was a married man, and I slept with him.
Maybe time would heal these wounds, but not today. There was nothing more I could do now, but I would never give up on my daughter. Somehow, we would get through this. We simply had to.