So Many Reasons Why (So Many Reasons 1)

If I never see another balloon animal it will be too soon. What a day, though I did find out some interesting information so it wasn't all bad.

My lips curved upwards in a smile. I was never going to live this down. The good butterflies were back. The doubts were still there, I still didn't know where this could possibly go. Between my issues and his recent break-up, even if we were both interested, that's a lot of stuff to work though. And I hadn't even touched on the fact that he was my teacher. I needed to stop thinking. This was going to drive me crazy.

Hope your daughter enjoyed herself. I am sure the entire female population of your class has a crush on you, Mr Anderson. And probably half the males.

I pressed send. The response was immediate.

Probably true. That's not something that holds much interest with me though. Just you. Night Em.

I sighed, and threw myself onto my bed. The pillows collapsed in a pile around my face, burying me at the bottom. Simon Anderson. I'd read stories about people who met their soul mates online and then travelled halfway around the world to marry them. I'd always though how could you marry someone you've never met? How could you possibly be in love with someone based on a few emails and Skype sessions? Those people had always been filed in the lonely and desperate category for me. And that says a lot, coming from the girl who never leaves the house.

I had never wanted love. Or maybe I did. Maybe I just knew how much easier my life would be if I just cut myself off from any possibility of love.

Until now.

We had never met, but I had developed intense feelings for Simon. Part of me didn't want to meet him. What if this spark wasn't there in person, and my bubble was completely burst?

Or worse, what if it was there?

In typical Emma fashion, I'd somehow managed to turn a wonderful moment into a mountain of uncertainty and fear.

“What did you forget-” I stopped. I had swung open the door expecting to see Tom.

It wasn't Tom.

It was Simon. Simon Anderson was standing in my doorway with a sheepish grin on his face in all his wonderfully sexy glory. His arm was stretched up the door frame, like he was holding it up. The sleeve of his shirt was riding up his arm, revealing his wonderfully carved muscles. What girl didn’t appreciate a nice set of arms on a guy? I know I did.

“Student records again?” The words came out in a stutter. My heart thudded in my chest. My hand shook as it gripped the doorknob. I couldn't handle this. I needed warning. He couldn't just show up.

That wasn't fair!

I held the door open for him. What the fuck was he doing here? I closed my eyes momentarily. I focused on my breathing.

“I've done so many things that could get me fired.” He joked. Or half joked, because there was a lot of truth to that statement. He stood awkwardly. It took me a moment to realise he was waiting for me to invite him in.

“Come in.” I finally said, standing aside. I looked down at myself. Why oh why was today a pyjama day of all days? To my amusement, he blushed. He held up a pile of notes.

“Court documents.” He explained, handing them to me.

“They couldn't be emailed?” I couldn't resist another dig.

“They could.” He admitted. “I didn't want a paper trail of me giving these to you.” He paused before adding, “And I can't Google you. That's not fair.”

God, I hadn't even showered yet. I glanced down at my blue snoopy pants and my pink spotted top. That was probably displaying nipple. I crossed my arms over my chest.

“You look fine.” He said quietly, as if he could sense my insecurity. “Beautiful even.” I blushed. He thought I was beautiful?

“Can I get you a coffee?” I asked. He shook his head.

“I have Maddie downstairs, I just wanted to get these to you.” He smiled and cocked his head to the side. “I’d love to catch up sometime if you're up for it though.”

“Sure.” I was startled with the words coming out of my mouth. No Emma, you're not up for it. The smart thing to do would be to not go forward with this. Unfortunately, one look in his eyes had me ready to sign up for just about anything.

He nodded, looking relieved. “I will call you later.” Oh god. His smile. If he smiled at me again he’d need to wipe me off the floor.

“How did you pull up after your party?” True to his word, Simon called me that evening. Of course I’d been waiting impatiently all evening like a cat on heat. An angry, frustrated cat on heat. Well, I guess all cats would be pretty angry and frustrated when on heat.

Just like that, we fell into a pattern. Simon rambled on about his daughter, his work, and how he got into teaching.