Secret Smiles and Three Little Words Pt. 22

"Hey," he smiled back as all the kids inspected this stranger that invaded their little world.

"Everybody," Alex smiled. "This is Dr. Gavin Steward. This is my man!" She said with a soft laugh with the girls around her.

"Dr. Steward," she smiled. "This is my honors high school art."

"Hello everybody!" Gavin said awkwardly.

Alex looked up at the clock and realized it was late.

"Ok," she said loudly. "Everybody needs to start cleaning up, and get ready for your next class!"

There was a collective groan from the class which made Gavin smile. It meant they really liked this class! That made him happy for Alex. She, again, was making a difference with her art. Something he had to make sure she continued doing, just for the sake of her.

"Talia," Alex said to the young girl at her side. "Just leave it here for now, I'll put it up when the paint dries."

"Can I just stay here, you know, to keep working? I can just get it done!" Talia countered.

"What do you have next hour?" Alex asked her thinking about it. This was a girl modeled after her. The same talent, the same desire, the same stubbornness!

"Algebra," Talia said, with a dripping despise that couldn't be missed.

"Algebra is a pretty important class, if you had a study hall or something I would be ok with it, but I'm not letting you skip Algebra," Alex said sympathetically.

"But Miss Lasko, I don't need that math! It's like totally unimportant!" Talia argued. Gavin made it to them and looked at what Talia was working on. He nodded appreciatively.

"Dr. Steward," Alex laughed at her, seeing a lot of herself in the young girl. "You want to explain just how important Math is?"

"It's not," Gavin teased as he leaned in to inspect the painting before him. "I never use it, it's a complete waste of time. She should stay and finish. If she is anything like you she won't be happy and will make everybody around her miserable until she finishes her project."

"Not helping!" Alex warned him.

"Wasn't trying to," Gavin chuckled. "It's quite good Talia!" He complimented.

"Thanks!" Talia beamed.

"Talia if she starts to become a pain, just ask her about the time she had this huge project for the city three quarters of the way done and decided to start over. Then her twelve hour days working became sixteen. There was nothing but the art! Everything...and I mean everything took a back seat. Her health, her friends, her family...all were less important than her desire to finish her art project. So she should know how you feel and should be a little more empathetic!"

"Gavin," Alex warned with her voice.

"Just saying," he shrugged and winked at Talia. "Besides, with talent like this...she doesn't need math."

"The heck she doesn't," Alex warned him, her eyes flashing at him as her own protective wolf came out. Something he loved to make her do, switch. "She is going to be the first person in her family to graduate high school! End of story! So math gets done!"

"Miss Lasko, you can be such a pain sometimes!" Talia whined as she went to gather her books.

"Try living with her!" Gavin teased.

"Nice to meet you Dr. Steward," Talia waved. "And thanks for trying."

"Anytime Talia," Gavin smiled. "Keep working hard, you are very good!"

"I have a great teacher," Talia said as she waved and left.

Gavin looked at Alex who seemed stunned at the compliment. Her mouth hung slightly agape as a slight watering of her eyes were visible.

"First time?" Gavin smiled touching her face. She couldn't do anything but nod.

"You have them hooked," he smiled as he kissed her cheek. "The massive groan they gave when you told them to get ready for their next class tells me they love being with you!"

***

"I just don't know what to get him!" Alex complained to Lena as they were walking through the hallway of the mall, the Christmas carols playing over the speakers loudly.

They were walking through the shopping center, trying to come up with Christmas gifts. They had bought for everybody else, but Gavin was proving to be a difficult task.

"Well, what did he tell you he wanted?" Lena asked her as they turned into a department store.

"He didn't!" she complained. "He said he had everything he needed!"

"Well," Lena shrugged. "Maybe he does?"

"So what? I'm supposed to get him nothing?" Alex scoffed. "I know he already has my gift!"

"Look," Lena held up some ties.

"The man has about a bazillion ties!" Alex complained with a shake of her head. "And a tie is something you give your dad...not the man you love!"

"Agreed," Lena frowned putting the tie back up. "Well if we had an idea of a hobby or something!"

"I know, right? What does the man do for fun?" Alex growled.

"He fucks you from the sound of it!" Lena said with a playful nudge.

"I can't give him the gift of fucking," Alex shook her head with her secret smile.

"Why?"

"Because," she said softly as she looked around before leaning into Lena confidingly. "I'm his sub...I don't get to tell him no!"

"Like you would anyway you little slut!" Lena teased. Alex shrugged. "Why don't you just ask Madelyn?"

"I did," Alex said shaking her head. "She didn't know either!" Alex looked around the department store. Her eyes landing on the jewelry counter.

"What about a new watch?" Alex asked her. Lena shrugged, she didn't know why Alex was even asking her, if Alex and Madelyn didn't know, how would she?

"Doesn't he have a good watch now?" Lena asked her.

"He has several," Alex frowned, but she walked over anyway.

A sales woman came over to help her.

"Anything I can help you find?" the lady asked.

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "The perfect gift, for a perfect man who has everything!"

"Hmm," the lady smiled. "That sounds like a challenge!"

"He's impossible!" Alex frowned as she looked to the watches.

"Does he need a new watch?" the lady asked pulling her keys out and opening the door.

"Probably not," she frowned. He had several, he liked watches but she also knew he may not need one any more than she needed a new pair of shoes. The lady brought out a couple to show Alex.

"These are Rolex," she said showing them to her. "Top of the line. What kind of watch does he wear now?"

"He's got a Rolex," Alex said thinking of them. "He has a Bvlgari. He also has a Cartier."

"Wow," the sales lady said appreciatively. "Very high end taste!"

"Yeah," Alex frowned. "How much is this one?"

"Twelve hundred," the lady told her like it was no big deal.

"Seriously?" Alex gasped.

"That's actually a bit cheap," the lady smiled. "If he has Bvlgari, that's about five to ten grand! The Bvlgari Diagono is sixteen grand."

"Jesus!" Alex gasped. "Who needs that?"

"It sounds like your man does!" Lena laughed, she stifled it when Alex glared at her that she wasn't helping.

"If that alarms you, I won't tell you what the Cartier goes for!" the lady laughed as she put the watches up.

"Really?" Alex asked but her face was in a wince.

"Some are six figures," she smiled.

"Holy shit!" Alex gasped.

"I'm guessing that is more than you want to spend?" the lady asked.

"Well if I had it, no problem," Alex shrugged. "But I teach art on the Chicago south side, not exactly a cash cow!"

"Ahh," the lady smiled. "Well, he didn't give you a hint?"

"No," Alex growled. "He said he didn't want me buying him a gift!"

"Wow! What a typical man!" the woman said with a shake of her head. "Pain in the ass!"

"Exactly!" Alex agreed, thankful she had an ally.

The woman pulled a card out and began to write on the back as Alex watched her.

"Look," she smiled as she handed the card to Alex. "This is a man's boutique shop. It only deals with high end men's gifts and clothing. It sounds like your, perfect man, has a defined pallet in terms of his style. Raul is a good friend, I send people to him when ladies like you come looking for their man but like every other man didn't help them. Raul is a man who might be able to help."

"Thanks!" Alex smiled taking the card and looking at it.

"I hope you find something he will love!" the lady said moving down to help another customer.

An hour later they walked into the boutique the saleslady had written down. Alex and Lena looked around shocked. There were high end, thousand dollar suits everywhere. Shoes in the hundreds of dollars lined the wall. There were electronic gadgets in every nook and cranny.

"Well," Lena shrugged. "This looks like where he buys his suits!"

"Can I help you ladies?" a man asked coming to them.

"We are trying to buy for an impossible man!" Lena laughed.

"Well you come to the right place, we specialize in impossible," he smiled. "What can I interest you in?"

"That's the impossible part," Alex frowned. "He wouldn't tell me."

"Ah," the man nodded knowingly.

"Well, does he shop here?" the man asked.

"I don't really know," Alex admitted. "I never really asked where he did his shopping! He takes me shopping all the time, and a lot of the places he takes me looks a lot like this!"

"Ah," the man nodded again understanding.

"His name is Gavin Steward," Alex told him not thinking he would know who he was.

"Dr. Steward," the man smiled. "Yes, he shops here. Religiously."

"You know him," Alex smiled sensing an opportunity.

"Very well," he nodded.

"Any idea what I can get him for Christmas?" Alex begged.

"Dr. Steward," the man said guiding her to the jewelry counter. "Well he's like me, a watch man!"

"Ok," Alex began her warning. "I can't afford the type of watches he wears! I'm an art teacher!"

"I see," the man smiled. "Well it's a good thing he has all the watches he wants then." The man pulled out a large black box. He began opening the lid then the doors on the inside pulling drawers out.

"This is a Berkeley watch box," he smiled. "It's made of Macassar Ebony, it has plenty of storage. The interior is made of fine crimson faux suede and Italian leather. Sterling silver knobs accent the box that holds up to fifteen watches. On the side it has easy access compartments for cuff links and smaller jewelry."

"Wow," Alex smiled looking at it, her fingers brushing its dark wood gently. "It's beautiful!"

"It is," he smiled. "We also just got it in, as soon as I saw it I thought of Dr. Steward."

"You're kidding me?" Alex asked dubiously. She thought this was some sort of sales pitch.

"No ma'am," he smiled. "Dr. Steward was looking for a new box as he has outgrown his old box. I told him I had a couple coming in. This one in particular interested him from the catalog. Which is why I ordered it."

"Really?" Alex asked him getting excited.

"I could only order one," he explained. "They are on backorder, see these boxes are handmade. Every piece you see is hand done, the sliver...the stitching, the fine engraving. All of it. Only the best materials, only the finest craftsmanship. This is what every man, who owns top of the line time pieces, should own."

Alex looked to Lena with an excited smile.

"It's perfect!" Alex told her.

"Yeah! Especially if it was one he was looking at anyway!" Lena smiled.

"If I bought this you couldn't tell him about it!" Alex warned.

"Miss," the man smiled. "It wasn't supposed to arrive until after the first of the year. I told Dr. Steward to check back with me then. I was flabbergasted when it came in. I was going to call Dr. Steward today as a matter of fact!"

"Ok," Alex grinned. "How much?"

"Thirty seven hundred," he said softly.

"Holy shit," Lena gasped. "For a box to keep watches?"

"Yes," the man nodded with a laugh. "It's crazy, but keep in mind, this box is for men who have five and six figure watches. It's also made from Diospyros Celebica tree, which only comes from Southeast Asia, and is very hard to come by! So four thousand is nothing."

"It is for an art teacher!" Lena said shaking her head looking to Alex. "You're not thinking of buying it!" She saw the smile on Alex's face.

"It's perfect," she smiled. "It is so Gavin!"

"It's four thousand dollars!" Lena warned.

"Yeah," Alex frowned. "I would have to hit the savings, but I can get it."

"The savings for your car?" Lena asked. "And just how pissed is Gavin going to be when you do that?"

"He won't know!" Alex smiled. "By the time I give it to him I will have replenished my account!"

"Baby," Lena shook her head. "He will be furious!"

"But it's so perfect!" Alex pleaded. "I want it." She looked to the man. "Can you hold it for me until tomorrow? I have to go to the bank."

"Of course!" he nodded. "You're right, this is Dr. Steward. The man takes pride in everything he owns, this will be perfect for him!"

"Thank you!" Alex smiled touching the box again. "He will be stunned!"

"I guarantee it!" the man said pulling the box back and taking it into the back.

Alex was sitting happily in bed, the TV on when he came home. She had her kids art sketches in her lap as she graded them. He smiled at her as he came into the bedroom. He went over to his dresser and started taking off his watch. She looked over at him from the corner of her eye. He carefully put his watch in and then laid us cufflinks on a tray next to his watch box. She grinned. It was about to become an old watch box!

She had pulled the money out and bought the box today after school. She was giddy about it as she played with it at her old apartment. Lena would only shake her head and warn her that he was going to be livid when he found out she spent money that she should have been saving for her car.

She had argued that her teaching gig was about up as the art teacher would be back from her maternity leave after the Christmas break so she wouldn't even need the car on a regular basis anyway!

"That's a worrisome smile," Gavin pointed out as he watched her in the mirror.

"Is it?" she smiled broader now. She was picturing his face when he saw the box. "I can't look at the man I love and admire him?"

"Yes, but that smile is different than the one you just had," he pointed out.

"I found your Christmas gift!" she blurted happily.

"I thought we agreed you weren't getting me anything?" he said turning to her.

"No," Alex shook her head. "You said you didn't need anything...I found something I think you need!"

"Hmm," he said with a frown. "Perhaps I should have worded it differently. What I meant to say was...,"

"You can't change what you said now!" She stopped him. "You measure your words very carefully! Therefore I'm going by what you said originally, no changing your mind now. Choose your words better!" She laughed. He nodded appreciatively as he was beaten again by the beautiful woman in his bed.

"I hope it wasn't too expensive?" he attempted to ask.

"It was a lot less than I wished I could spend on you!" Alex smiled going back to her grading.

"Hmm," he said making his way for the bathroom. Her soft coughing stopped him. He came back out.

"That's getting worse," he pointed out coming to the bed and sitting down. She had tried to keep it from him, now the worry would begin again. The overprotectiveness would begin again. When she first got the slight cough he wanted to run her to the hospital to do a variety of tests on her. But he was right, she was getting worse, but she was so busy right now.

"It's fine!" she said with a roll of her eyes.

"I warned you to get your flu shot," he said as he felt her forehead. "Teachers always get the worst bugs, dealing with kids and the billions of germs they come in with, it's a fact of life for a teacher."

"How would you know?" Alex smiled as he continued his examination of her.

"Like your father, my mother was a teacher, elementary school," he said feeling her glands in her neck. "They are a bit swollen."

"I feel fine," she assured him. "It's just a little cough."

"Not with swollen glands, that's an infection," he countered going to his med bag and pulling his stethoscope out.

He came back to her and pulled her forward to listen to her breathing. He put the cold end on her back and she flinched which caused him to smile.

"Do doctors put those things in the freezer or what?" she complained.

"Deep breath," he responded not answering. She complied.

"Again," he said moving the instrument. She inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled.

"Again," she rolled her eyes as he listened.

He pulled back and flipped the stethoscope around his neck, and took her pulse.

"You have fluid in your lungs," he frowned. "You need to take a couple days off and rest."

"Can't," she laughed at the idea she could just stop everything and take a sick day. Like he would? No he wouldn't! "I just need to tough it out, we are almost done."

"Look, I'm not kidding around here," he warned her. "You get worn down and this will get worse!"

"The kids need me!" she said with a shake of her head.

"Your health needs you too," he countered.

"I'll be fine! It's just a little cough!" she said.

"I'm a fucking doctor!" he said exasperatedly shaking his head. "Don't tell me what I know and what I don't know!"

She leaned forward and put her arms around him. Time she used her womanly wiles she thought to herself.

"Really," she smiled with a flick of her eyebrows. "I think you have what I need to make me feel all better!"

"You're right I do," he said firmly pulling her arms from him. "I have an antibiotic and seventy two hours of bedrest for you."

"What?" she asked, disappointed that her plan was so quickly defeated.

"You don't rest, this will turn into pneumonia," he warned. "If it does, I'm going to be pissed beyond belief!"

"I'll be fine!" she said again. She tried to put her arms around him again.

"Absolutely not!" he said firmly. "You want to fuck around and get sick, I don't have to help. You need your rest. So I'm giving you a shot of antibiotics and a sleeping pill. Maybe, just maybe with rest and meds you won't get sick. But without proper bedrest to let your body fight it off, I'm guessing it will get worse."

"So you are cutting me off from sex?" she gasped.

"Yes," he shrugged. "You need your rest, so if you won't take time off from school then you have to at least promise me no running around outside in the cold. When you are home you are here in bed resting."

"You can't cut me off from sex!" she whined petulantly.

"I can do anything I want to...I'm not sick," he said firmly.

"That's bullshit!" The words made him stop at the door and hit her with his hard eyes. The look that warned her she went too far. She lowered her eyes.

"Better," he said when she said nothing more.

The cough was bad all day in school. Several of the teachers encouraged her to go home. A sub could be called. Call a sub for a sub, she gasped? She would wave them off saying Gavin had her on an antibiotic and she was feeling better. Which was a lie, she wasn't feeling better! She was feeling worse, no not just worse, horrendously worse! She had the art show for the kids coming up and she didn't want to put the kids behind for that.

She walked out to her car that evening, just as the soft drizzle of sleet began.

"Just great!" she said in her cough. "That will help my cough!" She shook her head and got into the car just as her phone chimed. Starting up the car took several attempts, forcing her to beg the car to start and it did...finally. The heater she turned up to full blast as she was shivering.

Pulling her phone to her, it was Gavin, sending a text that he was with a patient in the hospital and would be home late. She frowned. Well at least it would afford her the time to finish her grading. He was forcing her to bed every night now early. No work, what was worse was that he was serious about the no sex. He hadn't touched her in days!