Their Forbidden Love

All week I felt so uncomfortable when I saw Jonathan. After telling him that I was seeing someone else, I could feel him staring me down every time he walked by me. I could just hear him cursing me out in his head. I hated the feeling and I hated that I couldn't stop thinking about it. The day of the trip to New York with Darrel was no different. I was putting my textbooks in my locker before heading to Darrel's class when I saw him out of the corner of my eye, walking by slowly with his hands in his pockets. "Jonathan," I whispered, closing my eyes. Why couldn't I just leave it alone?

He sighed, stopping just past my locker. "Yeah?" he groaned, tilting his head a little to look at me.

I turned to look at him, not sure exactly what I was going to say. So I just said the first thing that came to mind. "How are you doing?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "How am I doing?"

I closed my locker door and turned the dial on the lock. "I was just asking."

"Well, let's see. I just found out that the girl I cared about is seeing someone else. How do you think I'm doing?"

"That's not fair, Jonathan. All week you've been avoiding me."

"Isn't that what you wanted? You said you wanted your space and now I know why." He looked down the hall.

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?"

"Why not, Carmen? You've moved on, why shouldn't I?"

"How did this turn into me being in the wrong?"

He sighed and looked at me. "What do you want, Carmen? I apologized. I tried to make it up to you. I wrote you a letter wanting to try to work past this and you tell me that you're already fucking around with some other guy. So, yeah, I've been avoiding you."

"It doesn't have to be this way. I just want you to understand what I'm going through."

"It doesn't matter anymore. Besides, I'm sure your new boyfriend wouldn't want you talking to your ex, right? I know I wouldn't. Oh, wait. You did that with me too. So I guess it would make sense why you would still talk to me."

I pulled the black strap of my book bag over my shoulder, holding it tight. "Why are you being such an

asshole?

" I failed to keep the conversation between us, getting the attention of Tammy a few lockers down.

"

I'm

being an asshole? That's rich. I think I have to right to be an asshole since you decided you wanted to be a

slut!

" I could have sworn I blacked out when I slapped him across his face. The slap of my hand against his cheek triggered everyone watching to gasp at the reflex.

He slowly turned his head to look back at me. I could see his jaw working hard. I stepped back after I realized what I did. "Yeah," he growled, before brushing through the crowd.

"Wow, look who grew some balls," Tammy grinned with her smug little smile. She flipped her long blonde hair and shut her locker door.

"Great," I breathed, making my way to class. I have to sit behind her as she smirks and giggles over my mishap.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lawson," grinned Darrel, sneaking up behind me as I stood outside the classroom door. "Are you okay?" he asked as I stood still in shock over slapping Jonathan.

"I don't think so."

He pulled me aside and looked around to make sure no one was looking at us. "What happened?"

I brushed my hair behind my ear, trying to catch my breath. "I...I slapped Jonathan."

"You slapped him? Why?"

"He said something that made me upset."

I saw the expression on his face turn to defense mode. "What did he say?"

I shook my head, attempting to go to the door. "It doesn't matter."

"The hell it doesn't. You either tell me or I'll get it from him."

"He...he said I was acting like a slut."

"He fucking said

what?

" I could have sworn everyone in class was staring at us through the wall.

"Please calm down. It's not that big of a deal," I whispered.

"He can't get away with that, Carmen," he whispered, taking my hand in his.

"No, it will just make things worse. Please, let's just go to class."

He blocked my way to the door. "I won't let him talk to you like that. Just because he can't have you, doesn't mean he can throw a tantrum like a little kid."

"What are you going to do, Darrel? Are you going to tell him that it's you?" I whispered. "You're going to tell him that you're having sex with his ex-girlfriend? Are you?" He didn't answer. He couldn't answer. The look of pain was deep in his eyes. "Just let it go." He nodded his head and went inside the classroom. Luckily everyone was too involved in their gossip and classroom chatter to even notice us. I sat down in my desk behind Tammy and her clique wanting so much to hide. I just knew she was talking about me to Sasha and Paula. I opened my notebook and attempted to listen to Darrel.

Everything was fine until I had to open my big mouth. After all Jonathan was right about me wanting space and he was giving it to me, but I couldn't leave well enough alone. And because of that I made things worse. I watched as Darrel struggled with his lecture and felt horrible that I was the reason he couldn't focus. I could only imagine how the plane ride was going to be.

* * * *

I played with the hem of my shorts with my cell phone to my ear. "We're just waiting for our gate to be called." I looked up, exploring the airport, looking at people around me. "I'll be fine, Mom, really." I thought her concern was a little over exaggerated, but I entertained her anyway.

"I want you to call me, okay?" From the sound of concern in her voice, I was shocked she let me go. I slouched against the back of the chair and rolled my eyes as she continued going over the rules she set for me before I left the house.

I was all she had since Dad's accident. She made it a point to try to control everything and had became very overprotective. Before I hated the constant hovering and nagging, but after the talk we had things were different. I was the only family she had left, so it was no wonder she wanted to make sure I was okay. I was the only one she had to worry about, to baby.

"I will, Mom," I said, smiling into the phone. "Try not to go too crazy while I'm gone."

"You know me. I'll be working and sitting by the pool. I love you, baby."

I sighed, looking in my lap at the paper booklet my ticket was in. "I love you, too. Bye, Mom." I looked up to see Darrel walking towards me with a paper bag and two plastic bottles in his hand. I still couldn't get over how one little thing could mess everything up. All week we were both excited about this trip. It was all we could talk about. And because I talked to Jonathan, everything had changed.

"I got you some water." He lowered into the chair next to me.

"Thanks," I whispered, taking the bottle when he offered it.

"Are you hungry?" He opened the bag when I shook my head. "This is nuts," he sighed, closing the bag before tossing it on his carry-on bag on the floor. "Why is this weird now?" He turned his head to look at me.

I shrugged my shoulders while flipping my cell in my lap. "Should we still do this?" I hated myself for asking, but I had to know if he felt the same way.

"What do you want?"

"I want to go two hours back in time and slap my past self for talking to Jonathan."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I would definitely agree that would be a good idea. If it was possible, but it isn't."

"Look, I'm sorry I talked to him. I'm sorry for what I said when you were trying to defend me. It was stupid."

"That's not what's bothering me. I mean, yeah, I'm upset that you talked to him, but I get it. I was the same way after my divorced. I called her and tried so many time to get her back. I blamed myself for everything that went wrong. I don't blame him for...trying." He turned his head to look at me again, sitting back against the chair. "So, I understand. It's not like you had time to process everything before I came along."

"Then why are you upset?"

"Well, first of all, he shouldn't talk to you like that, no one should. And second of all, I feel guilty about having to hide what's going on between us. Look at us. We're sitting at an airport about to leave on an eight hour trip just so we can do things normal couples do. I can't stand up for you against my own brother because no one can know about us. What kind of life is that for you?"

"Well, being with you is my choice. So shouldn't

I

be the one to decide? I really don't care about all of that."

"But you shouldn't have to hide."

I stood in front of him, resting my hands on his shoulders, forcing him back against the chair. "How about you shut up and kiss me?" I sat in his lap, wrapping my arms around him. He chuckled before kissing me hard. That was the first time we'd kissed in front of other people without having to worry about getting caught. "How about we forget today ever happened and enjoy this weekend?"

"Okay." He looked up at me, caressing my hip. "That's us," he said in response to our gate number being announced. "Ready?"

I hopped off his lap, giving him one last kiss before grabbing my bag. "I'm more than ready." I couldn't stop smiling.

When we got on the plane, I couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear. I couldn't believe I was going to New York. The last time I went to New York, I was six years old. It was our last family trip before my dad died.

I closed my eyes briefly, shaking my head, no bad thoughts.

No sad memories.

"Can I have the window seat?" I looked at him over my shoulder as we walked through the aisle.

He looked at me and squeezed my hand gently. "You can have anything you want," he grinned before kissing the top of my head. I spotted our seats and pulled him with me as I hurried to the two seats just for us. "Someone is excited." He smiled at me when I sat in the seat by the window, practically jumping up and down like a kid.

"Why shouldn't I be? We're on our way to New York, together with no one to bother us, judge us. This is perfect."

He stood in the aisle, putting our bags in the overhead compartment, staring at me. "You're so cute," he grinned.

"Cute how? Like I want to pinch your cheeks cute?" I pouted, sitting on my knees with my arms crossed.

He closed the compartment door and sat down next to me. He leaned in closer, his face close to my ear and whispered. "No, like I want to rip your clothes off cute."

"I like the sound of that." I sat down and wrapped my arm around his, squeezing his toned bicep. I looked down at his hand on my leg, rubbing up and down my thigh slowly. "Ugh, eight hours is a long time to wait." I rubbed my hands up and down my legs and licked my lips before slowly opening them. I regretted my decision to wear shorts instead of a skirt.

He leaned in and kissed my neck below my ear, sending chills down my back. "Good things come to those who wait." His hand moved further up my thigh, brushing the crotch of my shorts with his thumb, teasing me.

I sat up and looked at him shaking my head. "Two can play that game," I grinned, leaning forward, grabbing the bottom of my shirt and pulled it off, revealing my low-cut body shaper top. I was wearing my favorite pink push-up bra underneath-not that I really needed one-so I know my breasts looked amazing peering over the top. "Man, it's hot in here." I smiled when he squeezed my thigh. "It's a good thing I'm...patient." I looked at him and rubbed my hand along his arm.

He sat back in his seat, looking up at the light shining on him. "This is going to be a long flight." He rested his head against the headrest and sighed. He turned his head a little and smiled. He turned to look at me and I puffed my chest out and uncrossed my legs. "Man," he huffed, looking at the seat in front of him. I looked out the window, not able to stop smiling. He brushed my hair off my shoulder, getting my attention. The way he looked at me made me want to melt into the seat. He had the sweetest, kindest eyes I've ever seen. "I'm glad you're happy," he whispered, holding my hand, locking my fingers in between his.

"Why are you so amazing?" I had to ask. I had to find why this gorgeous and sweet man was here. Why, out of every girl in school, did he pick me?

He leaned in closer, making my heart jump out of my chest. "It's you that makes me feel amazing. I can't get enough of you, Carmen. I know it has only been weeks since we've been together, but I can't stop thinking about you."

"If you're trying to get some, you're doing a very good job." He chuckled and kissed the top of my hand. "I really like you, Darrel." I lowered my head a little, trying to swallow the words I was about to say. "I like you so much, it scares me."

He squeezed my hand a little tighter. "I feel the same way," he confessed, caressing his thumb against mine. "I thought my ex-wife was everything. I loved her so much, I couldn't see straight. After my divorce, I thought my life was over..." he paused when hearing that the emergency drill was going to start.

Part of me was relieved, but the other part wanted to hear more. I expected him to just ignore the safety announcements and finish his thought, but he sat there, pinching his lips close. I was afraid that he might say something incredibly wonderful and that would be it. I feared that something would happen to ruin everything. Or worse, I would say or do something to screw it up. I let out a deep sigh and waited for the flight attendant to do her little demonstration.

"Man, we're not going to get there until eleven, close to twelve," he groaned, looking at the time displayed on his cell as he set it on airplane mode. "I should've tried to get an earlier flight."

"It's okay."

"There's nothing much we can do. It'll be too late to eat out and everything will be closed."

I crossed my leg, rubbing the tip of my shoe against his leg. "I'm sure we can find something to do." He put his hand on my knee and smiled. "How about when we take off, we join the mile high club?"

"Those bathrooms aren't that big."

"Who said anything about the bathroom?" I rubbed my hand up his leg, touching his crotch with my thumb like he did earlier.

"You're so bad," he chuckled.

"Doesn't feel so good does it?" I smiled, turning to face the window, looking at him over my shoulder.

"That doesn't, but this does," he whispered, moving his hand along the curve of my ass, cupping his hand in between my legs.

"Stop that!" I snapped playfully, sitting back in the seat. I looked at him as he smiled at me. I couldn't resist him.

God, I'm falling for you,

I thought, feeling my heart race over the idea. It wasn't that long ago I was thinking the same thing about Jonathan. I brushed my hair back and rested my head on his shoulder. He held my hand and rested his chin on top of my head. I thought I would be able to keep my eyes open long enough to see what the in-flight movie was, but I couldn't keep them open at all.

* * * *

I rubbed my eyes when hearing his voice and the sound of people's chatter. "I can't believe I fell asleep. I guess I should watch the movie." I sat up slowly, still rubbing my eyes.

"I think it's a little late for that," he said, leaning forward, reaching for his bag under the seat in front of him.

"No, I'm awake now."

"Well, we're here."

I looked out the window confused. "What? You're messing with me." It was so dark, I couldn't see a thing. "There is no way I slept through the whole flight." He smiled and nodded his head. "Oh no," I groaned, looking out the window again wanting to verify. "Why didn't you wake me?"

He slowly stood and reached for our bags in the overhead compartment. "I fell asleep myself. Besides, you looked so peaceful."

"But I missed the whole thing." I unfastened my seatbelt and stood up.

He held my hand and helped me out of the seat. "Don't worry about it." I stood with him in the aisle. "You can make up for it in the hotel room." He took a step closer and held me against him while we walked through the aisle.

I glance at him over my shoulder and smiled. "Well, I guess it was a good thing then. I probably wouldn't have been able to keep my hands off you."

"If I would've known, you wouldn't have been sleeping." He smiled and winked as his hand brushed over my stomach. "What are you doing?" He looked at me as we slowly walked behind the long line. "Are you okay?" I wanted to say yes, but I wasn't okay. I was far from it as I danced and squirmed. "What's wrong with you?" He couldn't contain his laughter.

"God, I have to use the bathroom." I held my legs closed tight. He laughed and kissed the top of my head, wrapping his arm around me. "It's not funny."

"I'm sorry, love, but it is a little funny." The man in front of me fixed his carry-on bag and stepped forward. I attempted to walk forward, but Darrel held me. "What's wrong?" He smiled hard and I shook my head. "Oh, that's right."

"Now, that's not funny. Keep that up and I just might have to go on you."

"Hmm, how do you know I'm not into that?"

"Eww, gross!" The man in front of me turned around in response to my outburst. I smiled and Darrel laughed. "Sorry." The man shook his head and walked forward. "You're going to get me in trouble."

He rested his chin on top of my head and held me tighter. "Not yet, you're not." He squeezed me tight, making me melt in his arm.

I had forgotten my emergency until we finally stepped out of the gate. I wildly search and spotted a sign for the bathroom in the distance. "Finally!"

"Hey, where are you going?" He grabbed my hand as I attempted to rush to the bathroom.

"Darrel, let go. Stop playing around." I squirmed and danced, trying hard to contain it. "I have to go!"

He smiled and let go of my hand. "Try not to wet your panties...yet."

I chuckled, looking at the ceiling at his lame pun. "Yes...yes..." I rushed the door open and pushed the stall door open. I hopped up and down, fighting with my shorts before having a chance to lock the door. "Oh thank, god," I sighed in relief when I released all the stress on my bladder. I reached for the door latch and put on my shirt when I finished. I looked at the door, biting my bottom lip as I pulled up my panties. I thought about how bad he teased me on the plane and wanted to pay him back. I stepped out of my shorts, pulled down my panties, and put them in my back pocket after pulling up my shorts.

"You didn't get your panties wet, did you?" He fixed our carry-on bags.

"Why don't you look and see?" I walked ahead of him, smiling hard as I reached in my back pocket for my panties. "I thought I would give you a little present."

"Present?" The look on his face was curious and questionable. I turned to him with my hand balled up and put my panties in his front pocket.

"Carmen!" He looked at my panties in his hand and quickly shoved it in his pocket again and his eyes widened. He lowered his head, shaking it, trying to hide his smile as his face turned a bright red. "You're something else." He wrapped his arms around me as we walked through the airport.

"You haven't seen anything yet." I turned in his arms and kissed him.

It felt so good being able to kiss him and not have to worry about who's going to see us. There, no one cared who he was and that he was my teacher. There, he wasn't my teacher, he was my man and I was his girl.

"What do we do now?" I asked as we stood outside the airport waiting for a cab.

He looked at the time on his cell phone and shrugged his shoulders. "Um, since it's so late, maybe we could grab a quick bite and get checked in."

I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and kissed him. "How about we skip that and go straight to the hotel? I have eight hours to make up for, don't I?"

He put his hands on my lower back, holding me against him. "Mmm, you sure do," he grinned, putting his hands past the waist of my shorts, getting first-hand evidence that I wasn't wearing panties. "God, you are in so much trouble." He dug his fingertips in the flesh of my ass, making me wither against him.