Sinful

“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.