Jacob walked in the door after school, tossed his backpack onto the kitchen island, "My teacher wants to meet with you."
Elizabeth stopped what she was doing in the kitchen and turned to him, "What? Why?"
Jacob was a high school sophomore and an A student and had never been in trouble, so this was surprising to her. Jacob shrugged his shoulders and went to the fridge to grab a Coke.
"Well, can you at least tell me when?"
He picked up his backpack to retreat to his room, "Tomorrow, after school."
She quickly processed her new schedule change for the day and as Jacob headed for his room she said, "Wait, which teacher?"
"Mr. Roberts," he called out as she heard his door close.
Elizabeth's heart stopped, "Mr. Roberts," she repeated aloud, "of course." She sighed. Richard Roberts. Her high school boyfriend now taught literature at their alma mater. How awkward this meeting was going to be!
She tried to get back to her kitchen work prepping dinner, but her mind kept distracting her with thoughts of her and Rich's high school love affair. It had been intensely physical, and they fucked like rabbits almost every time they were together. After graduation, they each pursued separate college careers and drifted apart, losing touch not long after. She had seen him in her "people you may know" suggestions on Facebook, but hadn't reconnected with him. She didn't know if he would even want to know her now as adults.
Elizabeth had been divorced from Jacob's dad for two years and hadn't dated much since then. Her current sex life revolved around what she called her "bag of tricks" that she kept in her nightstand. Just thinking about the wild sex she and Rich used to have was making her sweaty. They fucked wherever and whenever they could. In Rich's old Honda, in her room when her parents weren't home, once on the hood of his mom's car in their garage and they even fucked under the bleachers one Friday night after a football game.
She felt her panties getting damp while reliving their sexual escapades in her mind. Suddenly she abandoned her vegetables and left them to wait on the chopping board and headed for her bedroom. Every woman knows that when there's any realistic chance of running into an ex-boyfriend, she needs to look perfectly fuckable, whether that's a part of the plan or not. It's just an understood thing among women. She opened her closet and started flipping through the options.
"No...no...no...," she said aloud while quickly eliminating almost everything. "Wait," she spotted something. It was a cream-colored sundress with thin spaghetti straps that laced up the back, corset-style. It was covered in a floral pattern with shades of rose, soft green and country blue. It was the perfect choice; sexy, flirty, but gave the right balance of innocence that she hoped would remind him of the Elizabeth he knew 20 years ago. She pulled the dress from her closet and hung it on the door, giving it a place of honor until the following day. Digging through her closet she found a pair of nude strappy heels to complete the look.
The next day, at 3:30, Elizabeth arrived at the school and giggled to see that her old parking space was empty. She pulled into it and left her white BMW; a far cry from the old blue beat-up VW bug that she last parked there so long ago. As she followed the sidewalk towards the main entrance, Elizabeth looked up at the towering front columns of the historic brick building built in the 1920's. According to Jacob, Rich's classroom was on the third floor, at the end of the hallway, which she remembered was the old science lab.
She entered the old doors, and turned towards the main staircase. She suddenly felt like a teenager again. She had climbed those stairs almost daily for four years. They didn't seem as long this time. Elizabeth reached the top and suddenly got very nervous. The clicking of her heels echoed down the hallway. She felt like the whole school knew she was there, listening to her steps, although it appeared to be empty. The only students that were actually still around were on the athletic fields at various sports practices. Still, she slowed down her pace in an effort to muffle the sound of her shoes on the old wood floors.
Elizabeth arrived at Rich's classroom and knocked on the door softly. After a brief pause the door opened, and Rich stood in front of her. Her eyes widened as she gave him the once-over. He was taller than she remembered, with a short scruffy beard and silver wire-rimmed glasses which perfectly framed his ice blue eyes. He was wearing a green and blue plaid button-down dress shirt and dark navy slacks. Elizabeth always liked how he looked in his old football uniform and that's the image she kept dear. She had been a cheerleader and his biggest fan, never missing a game. She blinked her eyes quickly a few times to bring herself back to the present.
Their eyes met and his brow furrowed, "Um, Elizabeth? Is that you?"
She swallowed her nerves hard, "Yes Rich, it's so good to see you."
They exchanged a polite hug before Rich asked, "What are you doing here?"
Elizabeth suddenly realized that he didn't know..."I'm Jacob's mom, I was told you wanted to see me."
"Wow!" Rich replied, "I had no idea! Yes, please, come on in, have a seat." He closed the door behind her as she chose a student-sized desk in the front row directly across from Rich's big wooden desk and sat down. Rich sat in his faux leather rolling chair, and couldn't take his eyes off Elizabeth. "You really look wonderful. I guess it's been what...20 years?"
"Almost," she replied, coyly as she tossed her long auburn hair over her shoulder; nervously collecting it all in her hands on one side.
The classroom was just how she remembered, except for the rows of desks replacing the old lab tables. It had a line of windows down the side opposite the door, with a row of old-fashioned radiators under the windows that still functioned and provided a steamy heat to the room in the winter.
Her tone changed a bit and she asked, "Is Jacob in trouble?" a look of concern spreading across her face.
"Oh, no," Rich began, "Jacob is a great student and a pleasure to have in class. It's just that...I'm a little puzzled by his most recent assignment."
Elizabeth looked confused and asked, "Puzzled? In what way?"
"Well," Rich explained, "The assignment was to write a 1500 word essay about something that interested him."
"And?"
"Umm..." Rich began, embarrassed about the topic, considering he was presenting this information to someone who he used to know on an intimate level, "He chose the topic of "Serial Rapists in Modern Day Society."
Elizabeth burst out laughing. Jacob was a bit of a prankster, but in the kind of way that left people uncertain to whether he was serious or not. Rich was really confused at Elizabeth's reaction, since he assumed his news would be somewhat disturbing for any parent to hear. Elizabeth composed herself and explained, in relief, to Rich that Jacob planned to go into law enforcement after college, so anything of a criminal nature was interesting to him. She agreed it was an odd choice, but she assured the teacher that Jacob had no ill-intent or immediate plans to become a rapist. Rich sighed, relieved at her explanation, and the two shared a laugh.
"Well...It's very well-written and he met the word count, but given the topic I wasn't really sure whether to give him an A or alert the authorities!" Rich said with another hearty laugh.
"I really appreciate you bringing it my attention," Elizabeth said gratefully, "and you can bet I will have a talk with him tonight on appropriate paper topics ... and how this one could have changed his future with just a phone call." They both laughed then shared a few moments of awkward silence.
"You really do look wonderful...Just like I remembered you. We had some great times together," giving her a wink and causing Elizabeth to blush.
"Yes, we certainly did," she replied with the flirty innocence of a schoolgirl.