“You talked about him every day for about a year after you arrived on my doorstep.”
I wince, saying the next part before I change my mind. “Blake, he’s here at the school.”
“Whaaat? Wait. I need to sit down for this.” There’s the sound of her movements, likely doing just that. “Okay, I’m sitting. Is he a teacher?”
I rub a hand over my face. “No… He’s a student.”
Silence on the other end. Then. “You. Are. Fucking. Kidding. Me.”
“Blake, I screwed up,” I whine.
“Okay, how old is he? How old was he?” Even though Blake lives in the US, she’s a Brit like me. She knows the age of consent here is sixteen, and there’s a sigh of relief when I tell her he was at least legal.
“So you didn’t break the law. What’s the problem?”
“He’s a student at my school. If anyone finds out….”
“If they find out. Why don’t you just wait it out? See how he reacts. You never know. Dating a student could be hot.”
“It’s not hot. He’s just a boy. And it’s not allowed.”
“And you’re just a girl. You’re not even thirty yet. Live a little. Even if he says anything, it’s your word against his….”
I close my eyes, nodding as Blake continues to make the problem less of one for me. It’s what she does, talks me off the edge of a cliff over and over.
But Blake doesn’t know everything because if she did, she might not be talking me down. She might be throwing in the towel because I did something worse than sleep with a student. Much worse…
Sinful.
And now it’s all going to come out.