Teacher's Pet Ch. 05

"First of all, did I scare you at all? With the whole dominance act?"

"Oh, no," she said, brightening. "No, that was fun, I love it when you talk to me like that, and take charge and ..." She wiggled. "Yeah, I like it."

He chuckled. "Okay. Now. Would you ever be offended if I asked you to stop seeing Sydney?"

This one threw her. Why would he do that? "Well, yes. Considering you're a married man, I think I would be. And if I decide to stop seeing Sydney on your account, I'd like that to be my decision." Her voice was level and steady, simply answering his question.

"Good, that was the answer I was looking for. I'm not going to ask you to stop seeing him."

She smiled. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." He looked directly into her eyes, penetrating her in an entirely different way now. He whispered, "Did you mean it?"

"Did I mean..." She stopped short. And only then did it really hit her – she had told him she loved him. And she did love him. She couldn't hide it, fight it, or deny it anymore. Her illusion shattered, she fought back tears. In a choked whisper she said, "Yes. Yes, I did."

He gathered her together and cradled her against him, showering her with kisses all over her face and neck. "I did, too," he said.

For a long while they sat, silent, in each other's arms.

Then Grace said, "Shouldn't we be going home?"

He gave a long pause before answering. "I can't go home."

She pulled back from him. "Why not?"

He smiled, very sadly. "I told Monica I was going to be at a faculty meeting tonight, and that I had other teacher-like things to do. When she heard that, she threw a fit and told me that if I'm not home by six o' clock, I shouldn't bother coming home at all."

"Six? But she knows your last class doesn't even start until five!"

He nodded. "I think she just didn't want me home. Or she wanted an excuse to hate me for the day."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry..."

"It isn't your fault. Besides, I love not having to sleep in a bed with that bitch for a night." He smiled again, this time a little happier.

A light came on in her eyes. "You know what? If you're not going home, I'm not going home either."

"You mean you're going to stay here with me?"

"Yes, I am. I've got no classes tomorrow, I am twenty years old, I'm an adult, and by God, I'll do what I want to, and what I want to do is stay one night in this room with the man I love."

He grinned widely and attacked her, knocking her down on the bed. They rolled on it together, giggling and laughing and kissing madly.

*************************

That night, as Ben lay awake watching the stars through the window, on his back with Grace sound asleep and cuddled up against him, he thought to himself that perhaps he should piss off his wife more often. Then he could end up in the arms of the woman he loved, more often. God, how did he get into this...He didn't want to fall in love with Grace any more than she wanted to fall in love with him. But it was done, and he was soaring with happiness, but at the same time, scared to death.

He sighed. "I've always wanted proof that there's a God," he whispered. "It's going to take something huge to solve this...puzzle. Well, God...Here's your chance."