Volunteer Work Ch 04

Disclaimer: All of the characters are over 18 and while I wish this were true, it is a work of fiction. Also, there is a story line to the romance, so if you're looking for sex stories to read, try another story.

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That promise to myself lasted exactly 8 hours until the next time I saw Ethel at school. She wore a scarf around her neck, even though it was a pleasant 75 degrees outside, and I knew she was hiding something, and from the state her girlfriend was in last night, I knew it couldn't be a hickey. I kept looking over at her throughout class, but she refused to look at me. I thought, "Fine. She won't be able to ignore me forever. I'll just wait for the kids to go to specials." And with that thought, I focused more on my group of kids, realizing I couldn't remember a thing they had read or if they had even read the book.

When it was time for the kid to go to specials, I got my things together to leave like any other day, and I waited until I saw her walk back into her classroom. She was writing on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom, so I quietly opened the door and snuck in. I stood there admiring her, before I loudly cleared my throat, and not until she turned around, knowing she could see me do so, did I lock the door.

I decided to be as blunt as possible to try and keep emotions out of it. "What are you hiding under the scarf and don't tell me nothing," I said. She pretended to play dumb. "What are you talking about? It's just a part of my outfit. I'm not hiding anything."

Yeah, that's why you keep rubbing your neck like it's sore, and I also happen to know you don't usually wear scarves. What gives?"

Still she refused to reveal anything. "Look, Nelly. I want to keep our relationship strictly about business. My reasons for wearing a scarf today are for me only. You do not need to know them."

At this my resolve to show emotions slipped and I saw red. "It's Alex isn't it? Did she do something to you last night because of me?"

"Nelly, no, and it's none of your business! I can handle her!" Instantly, I realized my mistake and was sorry I had yelled.

"Look, I'm sorry if I got mad, but I'm your friend, and I care about you. I can't stand the thought of somebody hurting you."

"Thanks for your concern, but everything's fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go collect my children." Still, I didn't move from in front of her door.

I reached into my back pocket for a business card and wrote my cell and home phone number on it, leaned forward, and gently slipped it into her back pocket. As I did so, I quietly whispered in her ear, "Just in case, you can always call me. No matter what time of night." I let my hand linger in her back pocket as I breathe in her scent. When she doesn't lean away or make a move to get away, I quietly breathe in her ear, "She doesn't deserve you."

With that, I leaned back, unlocked the door and went to collect the class from P.E., knowing she needed to compose herself, as I had felt and seen her shiver as I said those last four words. I don't know if it makes me a bitch that I got some satisfaction from knowing I could get that kind of reaction from her, but if it does, then so be it.

*******

A couple more weeks passed and our relationship remained strictly about work. We didn't see each other outside of class, and when we were in class we only talked about lessons and the children. It seemed she wanted to forget about that conversation, and so I let her. I never flirted with her again, or made any sort of move towards her; I already knew she was conflicted with her feelings, and was not going to push her. I knew she would come to me when she was ready.

She was ready about a month after that conversation. It was a Friday, and I could tell she had something on her mind all day, but I was not going to push her to tell me. I didn't ask her at lunch, and I didn't even ask her at the end of the day after the kids were gone. I acted as I did every other day, even though I was dying for her to talk to me, which I knew she wanted to do. So I wasn't that surprised when I got a call about 8:30 that night. I was already for bed in my usual attire- spaghetti strap tank top and Sofie shorts, when my phone went off.

Before I could even say hello, she blurted, "I kicked Alex out!" and then she just broke down sobbing. I immediately grab my keys and shove my shoes onto my feet and raced out the door, not even caring I was only half dressed. I still had her on the line and I was trying to calm her down for her to talk to me and tell me what happened. I didn't need for her to tell me directions to her house. I already knew where it was.

It took me less than 20 minutes to get to her place from my little 2- bedroom apt. All the while I kept her on the phone trying to calm her down, but it seemed all she wanted to do was sob her pretty little heart out. I didn't even tell her I was coming over. I'm pretty sure she just knew, because as I parked my car in her drive-way and ran up the front steps, she flew the door wide open and flew into my arms.

Somehow I knew that there were no words to comfort her at this time so I did the next best thing. I held her. That was the only thing I could do. I walked her to her living room, and sat down on the sofa and rocked her in my arms. She put her arms around me, her head on my shoulder as she just cried as I softly whispered in her ear. I can't even remember how long I held her before she finally fell asleep. All I know is that my arms were numb from holding her, but I didn't even care.

I carefully lifted her to carry her to her bedroom, trying not to wake her up. She moaned softly, and I froze fearing she was waking up, but she just turned her body into me more, so that her face was nestled underneath my neck. I could feel every breath she took, and it took every ounce of self control I had to not kiss her. She looked so much like an angel, even with her puffy red eyes.

I carefully laid her on the bed, and started to undress her. She had on the same outfit she'd had on at school that day: a mid-length purple skirt and a plain white tee that hugged every single delicious-looking curve. I started with the shirt, and carefully lifted her up so I could take it off. Again she moaned, and again I froze, but her breathing remained deep. I debated taking her bra off, but decided to leave her with some sort of modesty. I then moved down to her legs.

I took a deep breath as I slowly unzipped the zipper, and moved it down her legs. Underneath, she had on these black lace panties that were practically see-through, and even though I hadn't turned the light on, there was enough moon light for me to see that there was absolutely no hair on her nether regions. My breath caught in my throat as I laid her skirt and shirt over a chair because she looked so beautiful lying there, her hair all a mess from her breakdown earlier.

Gently, I rolled her over so I could pull back the covers on her side, and I covered her up. I then climbed in the other side and wrapped my arms around her again. No way in hell was I letting her wake up by herself tomorrow morning. I gently kissed her temple, sighed, and with her head on my arm, I fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, Ethel was still asleep. I was laying on my back, and sometime during the night, she had rolled over so she was draped across my body. Her head was nestled between my head and my shoulder, her arm draped across my breasts, and her right leg was thrown over mine and was lying between mine. There was no way I was going to be able to get up without her waking up, and I really didn't want her waking up in that position. She went through enough hell last night, without thinking I'm taking advantage of the situation (even though I am still fully clothed).

I decide to hell with it, and tried to gently roll her off of me, and to my surprise, she clung tighter to me. I was even more surprised when she said "Don't get up. At least not yet." I guess while I was lost in thought about the current situation, I hadn't noticed the change in her breathing.

"You know, as much as I want to stay here like this, it is Tuesday, and we both have to go to school." That's me, always the logical one.

"Fuck!" she cried, starting to panic. "What time is it? I'm a mess! I gotta take a shower, I guess I won't have time to go for my morning run (so that's how she stays in shape), I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday, I don't even feel like going in today, and...." Throughout this entire spiel, she's running around looking for an outfit to wear.

God she looks so beautiful when she's worried, but that last sentence caught my attention. "Stop." That's all I said, and surprisingly, she did so, but with a question in her eyes.

"I've got an idea. Do you have any personal days left?" Every school year, each teacher gets so many sick days, family emergency days, and best of all personal days.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean I haven't used any this year? Why?"

"Call in a personal day. You just said you don't feel like going in today, and you know you're not going to be able to focus on anything you need to and it'll be a day from hell. You know the kids are like dogs, right? They can sense when their teacher is distracted, and take full advantage, so let a sub have a day from hell instead."

I could tell she was still hesitant, so I added for good measure, "You don't need any more hell right now. And I only say that as a friend. You went through a lot yesterday, and if it were me, I would want a couple of days off to get things sorted out."

Finally, I saw defeat and she said, "You're right. I do need to take some time off. I'll call in for the next two days as well, and hopefully they can find a sub on such short notice. But what about you? You're going to be late aren't you? Especially since you can't go to work in what you're wearing!" She started to laugh at the thought, since I had my pj's on.

I look at her and say, "Are you crazy? You really think I'm going to let you stay home alone after yesterday? You need a shoulder to cry on, and someone to talk to, and that can't be done when you're here and I'm at school. Besides, I'm a volunteer. I don't get paid, and I'll just let them know that an emergency came in from my real job, and I have to cover a co-worker's shift today, then I'll call in to my real work, and tell them I need the next couple of days off."

She walks over to me, puts her arms around me and gives me a hug. "Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me right now."

I hug her back, and I want to stand there and hold her forever. Also, it's not completely lost on me that she is still in just her bra and panties. As I hold her close, I can feel her heart rate picking up, and I realize it's not lost on her, either. I pull back slightly, to say "you're welcome," but before I can say it, she turns her head, and gently brushes her lips across mine. She pulls back and before I can say anything, she presses her lips again to mine and this time I'm the one to pull back, my mind screaming, "No! This is not how it's supposed to be. I don't want to be a rebound. Yes, I want her but not when she's so vulnerable!"

I had every intention of saying that, too, but when I looked into her gorgeous eyes, with her lips pink and plump from the kiss, what actually came out of my mouth is, "Are you sure?"