Teacher's Pet

It was two o' clock and she still hadn't heard from Ben. Her heart had been pounding all afternoon, worrying about him, wondering how he would explain all this to Monica, frantically figuring the next time she could see him. He had promised to call her. He wouldn't have said he was going to call her if he wasn't going to call her. Had he forgotten? Had something terrible happened? Or had he decided that this affair wasn't worth it anymore?

Get a grip on yourself, you crazy woman. He loves you. Take a deep breath and chill the fuck out.

Easier said than done.

Grace knocked lightly on Sidney's office door. She heard him shuffling papers inside, and a muffled, "Come in," floated through the door.

She poked her head inside.

He was sitting at his desk, looking very studious with a fine-tipped red Sharpie poised over a piece of paper, his rimless glasses perched on the end of his nose. "Well, hello there," he greeted her pleasantly. "Come in, Championess of sportsmanlike conduct. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she said absently. "I need to talk to you."

He frowned and took his glasses off. "Sounds serious."

"It is."

"Well, come have a seat." He gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

She crossed the room and sat gingerly on the edge of the chair, looking nervously about her.

"Grace," Sidney called softly. "What happened?"

She met his gaze. "It's Ben," she whispered. "He's been…he's been asked to take a leave of absence for the rest of the semester."

Sidney's eyebrows shot upward. "Oh my … "

"Yeah. Apparently, his problems with Monica are up for public discussion, and that didn't sit too well with Richard Thorne."

"Yeah, he's kind of a stickler for order."

"Is he … is he mean? I've never met him."

Sidney leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled. "No," he said tentatively, "he's not mean, but he is strict, and he doesn't play games. He's a Texas boy, you know, he's all about appearances."

She nodded. All about appearances. Well, that explained a little. She went on, "That's not all, though." She took a deep breath, doing her best to calm down. "I guess people figured out he was seeing another woman."

"Oh, shit." Sidney leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed. "Do they have any idea…who it is?"

"No," she assured him. "No, that part no one's figured out. Although how it's gone undiscovered, I'll never know. We weren't exactly careful all the time." We were never really careful, were we? All those times in his office, all the phone calls… She rubbed her temples and went on, "But anyway, Thorne told him to take off for the rest of the semester, and get his shit together before he comes back next year."

"Wow. What's he going to do?"

Grace shrugged. "Do what he's told, I guess. As far as Monica, he knows he's got to end it, but I don't think he knows how."

"And how do you feel about it?"

Tears sprang to her eyes. "I'm worried about him, Sidney." Her breath caught in her throat, making a sad little choking sound. "I just want him to be happy…and I think I hate Monica for making him so miserable."

Sidney looked at her sympathetically, not knowing what to say.

"Anyway," she said, wiping her eyes, "I wanted to let you know what happened, and to tell you that maybe you and I should…cool it, you know, just to protect ourselves. I don't want something like this happening to you."

"No, you're right," he agreed, "I wouldn't want it happening to you, either. I appreciate the heads-up."

"No problem."

"You gonna be okay?"

Her lips began to tremble as the tears welled up again. "I just wish he'd call me. I haven't heard from him since he left this morning. He promised he'd call."

"Well, sweetie, I'm sure he's got a lot going on in his head," Sidney said. "You never know how his wife would react to this news."

"That's what I'm worried about," she said. "What if she flipped out and he's trying to calm her down, or worse, what if she got really pissed and threw him out or something? He can't handle that kind of thing right now…"

"Why don't you call…" Sidney stopped, realizing how that wouldn't work.

Grace snuffed down her nose. She hung her head. Her fault, it was her fault. She had wanted Ben so badly, so intensely, she didn't stop to think about what could happen to him if their affair was discovered.

But then, it wasn't supposed to have been an affair, was it? It was supposed to be a fling, a one night stand, an isolated instance of blind passion. There weren't supposed to be

emotions

involved, goddammit! This wasn't what she'd expected, it wasn't what she intended – she didn't want to love him! Her heart ached. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

"Oh, honey," Sidney sighed, breaking through her thoughts. He rolled his desk chair around to sit next to her, and slid an arm across her shoulders. "Are you going to be all right?"

"I hope so," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry about all this," he whispered, brushing her hair away from her face. "I can't imagine how hard this must be for you."

"It's much easier having someone to talk to about it," she said. "I really appreciate your listening to me."

"Hey," he said softly, tilting her chin up to look at her, "I'm here for you, Grace."

She didn't reply – her eyes locked onto his and suddenly she couldn't think of anything but the sparkle in his eyes, the soft curve of his lips, the heat of his fingers still gently holding her chin. Was she leaning toward him, or was he the one closing the distance? Didn't matter, because they were kissing, very softly at first, then gradually his lips worked to part hers, and his tongue slipped deftly into her mouth. Her hand raised to the back of his head, pulling him in, while he moved to give her breast a soft squeeze. She moaned softly against his lips.

"You were so hot last night," he whispered to her.

"God, so were you," she replied, moving back in to devour him in another kiss, clawing at his shirt buttons. One by one they popped open, and she ran her hands across his smooth chest. Shouldn't be doing this, not after what happened to Ben. Better be leaving, and soon!

But even as the thoughts crossed her mind, somehow she knew it was too late. And even as she felt her shirt being pulled up and over her head, even as Sidney's lips closed over her nipple, something in her head told her:

Stop now, it's over!

But what did it mean?

She heard the doorknob turning.

The doorknob turning!

She froze –

didn't Sidney hear it?

– but before she could cry out for him to stop, to listen,

did he hear it

, the door opened.

A beefy hand pushed the door open, a stern, steady face appeared from behind. And there, as Grace frantically grabbed for her shirt to cover herself, as Sidney righted himself and shot to his feet – there in the doorway stood none other than Richard Thorne.

For an eternity, no one moved, no one spoke. Thorne looked from Sidney to Grace and back, and then said to Sidney in a carefully measured voice, "Son, you and I should have a talk."