Teacher's Pet

“All right. But remember, I'm here if you ever need to talk about stuff.”

“I know, Johnny. And, I appreciate that. I really do.”

We paid the bill, said our goodbyes, and each hailed a taxi. After I got back home, I went to take a long shower, hoping to lessen the heavy buzz I was nursing. Luckily, it wasn’t so much that it felt as if the room was spinning or anything, but buzzed enough.

When I got out of the shower, my phone was ringing. It was really late, and I was surprised that anyone would be calling me at such an hour. My first thought, hope, was that maybe for some reason it was Eryn. But it was wishful thinking.

My eyes grew wide with surprise when I saw the name lit up on the screen: Georgia, my actress ex. I'd been ignoring her messages for months and avoiding any gossip websites or tabloids or anything of the sort where I'd see mention of her.

But, since she was a celebrity, it was kinda hard to totally block out any mention of her at all, and I'd noticed that she'd been dating some musician recently. Not that I cared. It wasn't that I missed her that I avoided such things – it was that I really did want to get over that part of my life and not be reminded of it.

Still, as I was feeling buzzed, the curiosity of why she was calling got the better of me, and poor judgment won out.

I picked up the call.

“Georgia.”

“Wade, it's so good to hear your voice again.” Her tone was a purr, soft and seductive. It was a tone I knew only too well.

“Um, yeah. What's up?” I asked.

“I miss you, Wade. I really do.”

I breathed in a deep breath, and let it out as a long, slow sigh. “We agreed that this was for the best, Georgia. We weren't working out, and we both knew that. Look-”

“I know what we agreed,” she interrupted, “but I can't stop myself from missing you. Your hard muscles, your gorgeous eyes, your sculpted body, and that long, thick-”

“Hold up, hold up, come on, you can't do this, Georgia.”

“I'm not asking you to get back together with me. I just... I just want one night with you. One night so that we can say goodbye to each other properly. Do you understand? Just one last night of passion that we can both remember. Then we'll move on. Please, Wade...I just want a little closure. And, I know you miss this body. You used to worship it, and it's so hungry for you. So desperately hungry.”

I couldn't deny that, in my state of alcohol-induced vulnerability, her words were heating up the blood in my veins.

“Well, you're all the way across the country, and I'm here. So…” I thought that would put an end to her suggestion.

“I'll fly you out with my private jet. One final night with you is all I want, Wade. Please. Don't make me beg.”

I don't know if it was the sadness inside me, or the alcohol in my veins, or a combination of both – but my resistance crumbled.

“All right,” I said softly. “I'll come out to see you.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Eryn

I could hardly believe it. I was in Wade's arms again, and he was holding me close. I felt our love washing over me like warm, comforting water. Our lips met, and the same surge of energy and bliss flowed through me that I’d felt the first time we had kissed.

Everything felt right with the world. All the sadness and longing that had been weighing me down for the past two months was gone — it had all disappeared. Everything was perfect when I was in Wade's arms.

His hands moved across my body, touching me lightly, touching me as if he was handling a rare and precious treasure. In turn, I traced the grooves of his stomach, brushing my fingertips over the contours of his sculpted muscles.

And then he moved to kiss me again, but as I moved forward to press my lips against his, a sudden screaming blared in my ear — a shrill and jarring sound that seemed to rattle my brain inside my skull.

My alarm.

I groaned and leaned over to slam my hand on the button to shut it up, cursing it silently for yanking me out of such a wonderful dream. I stumbled out of bed, feeling the familiar sadness and longing returning. I hoped that a hot shower would wash it all away, but when I stepped out of my room, I heard that the shower was already being used – I guessed Leena had gotten up before me.

I headed over to the kitchen to make myself a mug of coffee. I needed to be alert today and full of energy – we had a game against UCLA, and my position in the Stanford starting lineup was dependent on me having a really great game.