A Teacher's Love

"You are just as beautiful as I remember, but twice as clumsy," he teased with that familiar cocky smile. She laughed as she accepted the hand that he extended. He pulled her into his embrace and wrapped his manly, warm arms around her and tightened his grip around her petite body. He squeezed all of the air out of her until she let out squeal. He let her out of the embrace and she backed up just enough to see him. She hadn't seen him for over a year and both of them had changed a great amount. He had a more chiseled fact, but his beard still had its boy like quality, not fully grown, yet not shaved. She had lost a lot of weight, admittedly, that had something to do with her two broken ribs that still have not completely healed. She stepped back and held her arms out to her sides and asked, "So what do you think? It's not much, but I call it home..." she smiled her irresistible smile and spun around.

He smiled and pulled her in to a second hug, this one much gentler. "I can't believe how much I missed you, when you left I had a hole in my stomach the size of Texas." He said with something in his voice, as though someone was really drilling a crater in his stomach, like real pain. She looked up and this only confirmed what she dreaded, that she had caused him pain. This was a very uncomfortable feeling for her, she was so used to being the recipient of the pain, and she did not like being the messenger. "I missed you every day that you weren't in my classroom..." he began to say with pain in his eyes and voice. She looked down, almost in shame at the thought of causing him pain. "But to see you here, well I guess that is an improvement," he said with a warm smile on his face.

They were swaying to the music that he had started. She stepped back and took his hand. Weaving her fingers so they were entwined in his, she led him out of her classroom, grabbing her purse and turning off the lights on the way out the door. She was not sure what her plan was, but she did not want just to have sex, she wanted a relationship, not someone who just says that they want to be with her, then suddenly forgets it when she tells him "no". He pulls her in the direction of his truck, it was a big four by four, it was lifted about six inches, and he had to help her up into the cab. He climbed in the other side and started the engine. The roar of the engine sent a shiver up her spine.

He smiled as they pulled out. He drove them to a local sports bar, and they sat in a back booth, separated from the loud group watching a football game. They ordered some hot wings and he ordered them beer. She didn't like drinking beer, she liked the taste but the image of a refined, sophisticated woman like her drinking beer took away from that sophisticated look. He laughed as she awkwardly sipped her beer. "You really need to let go, drink some beer and let your hair down" as he said this he reached behind her neck and unclipped the clip that was holding her hair firmly in place. She blushed and looked at his beautiful, kind, loving eyes. "What happened? Where were you for that year you weren't teaching after your graduation?" he asked with true concern.

She looked down at the table as a wave of emotion came through her chest. "Well, I graduated and fell in love" she said with a grimace, not a smile, she was not happy about it; she was ashamed of how easily she left her guard down. He raised his eyebrows.

"Really," he said, "Where is he now?" he asked with the slightest bit of jealousy.

She smiled at the thought that he was jealous. "He graduated the same time as me, with a degree in business. He was sweet and loving, but he also loved to drink and party, a lot. He went through stages when he was wasted, first he would be funny, and the kind of guy you want to be around, the life of the party. But by the time the party was over and it was just him and I cleaning up, he was an angry, resentful drunk. Well I could never tell when the transition happened and one too many sarcastic comments; well let's say he snapped fast. The first time it happened I was completely unprepared and he slapped me right across the face," she put her hand on the left side of her face, she could almost feel the heat, as if he had just done it. "After that I kept my distance. One night we were alone, and he had just come home from 'having a drink' with friends. We were sitting on the couch and he started to feel me up. I was tired and didn't feel like dealing with him. I pulled away and he didn't like that, he pulled me down and tried to force himself on me. I pushed away and tried to run for the door, but it was locked and I had trouble fumbling with the handle. He caught me before I could open the door and bolt; he caught me and threw me with all of his strength. I saw the hate in his eyes, and then I hit a doorway and slammed to the floor. The next thing I remember is waking up on the floor with a searing pain in my side. I got my purse and car keys and left. I never looked back. I had two broken ribs and a mild concussion, I stayed at my girlfriend's house until I could stand on my own, and that wasn't until now." Tears rolled down her face, the memory had made her side hurt, as well as her heart.

He looked at her as though she was broken. He scooted in next to her and wiped her tears away. She rested her head on his chest. Thinking back to that night in his classroom, he verbalized what she was thinking, "I wish that you didn't stop me, I wish that we didn't lose a year," he held her tighter, "I wish that that bastard never laid a hand on you," the hate in his voice made the tears stream down even more. He paid for the drinks and the wings and led her to his truck, lifting her into the cab of the truck. She felt the full strength of her fatigue hit her like a train, it was almost midnight and school started at eight thirty, and she had to be to the school by seven. As soon as he had her strapped in she was gone, she didn't even get to hear the engine fire up.

He pulled into his driveway and turned to look at her calm, yet somehow he saw a shadow on her face, like something was haunting her, and he knew what. He stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead. He carried her up to the door and unlocked the door and carried her to his bedroom and gently laid her down on his big bed. He sat there watching her chest rise and fall, and wondered how anybody could lay a hateful hand and on this beautiful, innocent, loyal, loving creature. He tucked her in and set an alarm for her to get up to. He took his pajama pants and went down stairs to the couch. It didn't take him long to fall asleep.