Tom Smith nervously paced the front lobby of the office. He kept pulling at his tie, straightening it and adjusting his sleeves. He felt as if he was swimming in a pool of sweat.
He glanced up at the receptionist. The receptionist kept giving him dirty looks. He was positive she had her hand on the phone just in case she needed to call security.
He thought to himself, "Geez, they're paranoid around here. Give me a break, I'm in a suit and tie, it's not like I'm some thug that just dropped in off the street..."
The receptionist continued to glare at him.
"What in Christ's name am I doing here?" he thought to himself.
He couldn't believe he had actually driven into the parking lot of the school where Suzy worked. He had been driving back to his office after a morning in court, and on a whim turned into the parking lot of the school.
He would often drive past the school on his way to and from court. It was a nice enough school, but it took on new meaning as soon as he became aware that Suzy worked there. Where as before it was just a nice set of buildings, it was now a bright homing beacon that called his name every time he drove past it.
He stared out the window of the lobby. He heard a bell ring and immediately classroom doors opened up in the quad outside. Students spilled out of their classrooms and into the hallways. He smiled when he saw the teenage students jostling each other, laughing loudly, poking each other as they walked to their next class.
He remembered being that age. It had been tough for him. He'd never felt as if he fit in. Landing in Florida straight from the Spanish countryside had been quite a transition. He remembered being an awkward gangly teenager. Thank God he'd never suffered from the horrid acne most teens got. Instead, he had been blessed with pale pale skin. It made him stand out. He was glad that he'd outgrown it and was now just a nice normal tan color. He'd also outgrown the greasy hair, the lovely braces, the awkward gait and other lovely amenities that God blesses teens with.
He was an average looking guy. None of the geeky teen was left. He was flattered when people would point out that he looked like Johnny Depp. The guy was good looking enough so it didn't bother him to be compared to him. He was tall, average build, had nice jet black hair, brown eyes and a nice wide smile. He always dressed impeccably. He was a vegetarian and got plenty of exercise playing tennis.
He glanced at his watch. It was 2:00 p.m. He had an appointment with a senior partner at his firm scheduled at 3:00 p.m. He was hoping to make partner at his firm within the next few months. He had put in enough hours and brought in enough business to make it a feasible option.
He also knew, well, actually was damn sure, that having an affair with his student and fucking up his life was not something that would further qualify him for partnership.
Tom hated being tempted. He hated the fact that he had lost the feeling of just being "normal" of not knowing anything different. No other way he could describe it. Going through life not knowing you are missing "something" is a blessing. You don't realize what a blessing it is until you no longer have it.
Up until the moment he noticed Suzy sitting in his summer Contracts class he had known that sense of normalcy. He'd never been tempted, never wanted anyone else, never even realized that venturing outside of his marriage was an option. He had just assumed, real men didn't do "that". Men who did "that" were disgusting animals who couldn't control their base urges.
He recalled several junior associates in the firm going through divorces after having committed the monumentally idiotic mistake of sleeping with their secretary or paralegal. One had even gotten the girl pregnant no less. He remembered feeling so smug and sure of himself.
He felt like telling the poor sods, "AHA!!! You fucking idiot!!! What did you think would happen? Only idiots get themselves into that kind of trouble!"
