Teaching, Off To College

The weekend was only about a week long. I work 12 hours both days, on the shopping shuttle. I take the residents to the grocery stores, drug store, and mall. It kept me pretty busy, so it went by only glacier slow. Every spare moment I could only think about her. I told myself over and over to be careful don't fall for her and make a fool of yourself.

On Monday I packed a bag and went to school. I sat in Sociology for two hours and I don't think I heard half of the time. When class was dismissed I jumped up. The professor called me up to him. We had discussed sociology many times after class. He asked me if was alright, as I usually participated and hadn't even seemed to be paying attention. I told him it was woman trouble and he laughed. He said, "Oh, that sounds serious!"

I drove like a bat out of hell to Michelle's.

When I got to Michelle's she hugged me tight and kissed me like I was her love who had been gone months. We spent the day making love. Once and a while we would go for a walk and she always reached over and held my hand. It felt sweet. We spent the night making love and spooning. I was practically dizzy.

Michelle kept insisting I come over at every opportunity. We went out on what might be called real dates. We spent every spare hour together. I slept at her place a lot more than mine. I still took my tooth brush home every time. In no time a month had passed and I brought a dozen pink roses and subs for a one month anniversary. She asked, "Anniversary of what?"

"The anniversary of you seducing me." She just smiled like the cat that caught the canary. I was dumb enough to think it was just the joke.

In a few days another whole month had somehow passed. When I walked in, she asked, "Where are my flowers?" She stood with her hands on her hips. And for a moment I thought she was mad. "Don't you love me anymore?" She laughed but I felt the blood rush to my face when she said love. I laughed a second too late and she smiled at me and took me to her bedroom. I knew I was helplessly in love. I had a fitful night worrying and fearing I was falling for her like a fool. What was I doing to her life? In the morning I said, "Let's talk." She did not look happy. I said, "Nothing bad."

We sat at the table having coffee and for the first time I sat across from her so I could stay strong and see her reactions. I wanted to be gentle as I could. "Sweetheart, I feel like you are spending all your time with me. Don't get me wrong I love..." and my voice stumbled as I almost said you, "being near you. I love spending time with you and would not trade a minute for anything." Her face was unreadable. I pushed on, tearing my heart out. "You are smart, beautiful, sweet and fun to be around. Any man would kill to have you as his wife. As much as I love," Dammit I stumbled AGAIN! "what we have, I don't want you wasting your youth and your college years with a foo, um, a man so old. You will never meet Mr. Right spending every minute with me.: She was unreadable, but her eyes were shining like they were full of tears. That almost made a tear drop from mine. Dammit! "This hurts me more than you can know, but you must know I'm right."

She got up and walked into the kitchen and refilled her coffee. Her voice sounded far away. "Hmm, I guess I should think that over. Give me a few days. We'll see if we want to see each other in a week. I need to think. I'll call you when I know. You better go right now."

I left hurriedly, before I made a bigger fool of myself, if that is possible. I sat in the car for ten minutes kicking myself. Geez, Tom you are ridiculous. I knew I should be careful and not fall in love. I though back on my speech and felt moronic. What the hell must she think? I doubt I'll ever see her outside of school again. She'll probably avoid me there. It was pretty obvious I am madly in love, as much as I tried not to show. When I finally drove away, I thought for a second I saw her curtains move like she had been watching. Sure, Tom, just fucking stop it!

I don't think I slept three hours in the whole week. What had I done? On Thursday Michelle didn't come to class. Her friends didn't stop in our little group. Shit! I should buy some clown shoes. After class ended my phone dinged. I looked and it was Michelle: "Please come over. I'll expect you by six."

I went home and showered and got dressed. I looked in the mirror. I looked haggard. It was taking a lot of time. I finally started driving, slow. I thought, "Grow the fuck up! You aren't some lovesick boy, or am I? What has she done to me? I wasn't a lovesick boy when I was a boy!"

I texted: "I'm here."

She replied. "Come on up." I walked up to her door and knocked lightly. She opened the door, stretched up and kissed me a quick peck on the cheek. I knew where this was going. I girded my loins, as the saying goes, determined not to make a fool of myself again. "Sit here on the sofa." She was still standing. I sat and she sat maybe 10 inches from me.

She looked right in my eyes. I sunk into them, kicking myself. "Tom, I gave a lot of thought to what you said about me living my life and looking for Mr. Right. I think you're right." My eyes fell without me wanting them to. She paused. I couldn't look into her eyes when she did this. "Look at me, please." I did and tried not to feel anything. "I need to level with you." Her voice lowered, "Don't be mad. I think I have found Mr. right. I have been falling in love with you since before you peeked down my shirt."

I was thunderstruck.

I opened my mouth, "I, uh, you... Do you realize what you are saying?"

She looked into my eyes and I thought she looked determined. "Has this all been a fling for you? No. I knew you were falling in love with me. I know how strong your love is right now."

"That's the problem sweetheart. I am head over heels like a damn schoolboy."

She jumped up and stood in front of me. She barked, "No, you can't cut me out of your life. I love you and you just said you are head over heels in love with me! I'm not going to let you listen some idiotic worry about our ages and ruin this."

"Sweetheart, are you sure? Absolutely sure?" Shut up, Tom!

"Of course, aren't you? I'm not a kid. I'm a grown woman. Don't let my size fool you. I know what I want and exactly what I don't. I feel like the adult around children when I'm with boys my age. They are boys. You are a man. My man."

I started to speak, "B..."

"No! Hear me out. I want you to be sure of my love. I'm not blind, I've seen a lot of people and a lot of couples. My parents are deeply in love. I have been searching for love like that since I grew up. It is terribly rare. You were so selfless helping us and wanting nothing. You were always kind and patient, no matter how many times you answered the same question. Like I said, I was pretty sure before I let you look down my shirt."

"Let me?"

"How can you be so smart and so dumb. I knew you never looked at us as sex objects. I started to fall in love. I would look deep into your eyes and I would see you felt the same way. You denied it. You would look away and blush. I could see you were afraid to be attracted to me. The end of the school year was looming large in my mind. Allison told me I better make you see it soon or I'd lose you. She suggested lust."

I wanted to make you see me and see your feelings. You think a woman can't tell love from lust? You were attracted to my eyes. To what is inside me. Not just my body. Do you think a woman doesn't know if you are romantically attracted when you look into her eyes? Why do you think it got so hard for you to look into them? Now I wanted your lust. You think a woman can hang her boobs out on display and not know it? Do I look like a ditz? Allison and I bought that shirt in a size too big. I didn't wear a bra and I gave you a peek. I always wear one, I have to. You saw my tight shirt the next week. My tits look like I have huge nipples like fat cookies. I gave you a peek and you turned away and wouldn't look. I had to practically crawl up on the table and put my tits in your face. You STILL turned your eyes away. I could have screamed. I wanted you desperate for me. I practically put my tits on the book so you couldn't avoid seeing them. Then I had to rub all over you like a cat in heat the next week. My friends could barely keep straight faces both weeks. They knew weeks before that you were nuts for me. "

"Okay, maybe I am dumb. But turning me on wouldn't mean I cared."

"I knew I could make you want me sexually. That's easy. I wanted to see what happened when you full of that lust. Whether you were the sweet man I saw. I felt there was no risk taking you behind the bushes. Allison stood next to the bushes, she to be sure. Everybody knows it is a make-out spot. You had never been grabby or crude. Then you waited for me to let you know what I wanted and didn't want and when. You never acted like I was meat. I kept saying no to see if you would try to convince me or push it. I knew right then you were the man I was looking for. When we made love I knew I was hopelessly in love. I never dreamed any man could be so sweet, so tender, or so loving. And I saw so much love in your eyes. That is when I decided I'd be with you every minute I could until you had to let your love out."

"You started to. You could not say the word or even hear it without panic rising in your eyes. You blushed and stammered like a school boy. You could not deny it anymore. You were still sweet and caring last week when we made love, but you had a hard time looking in my eyes. You were scared of loving me. You insisted I take time to think, all worried about me. You can be so thick. I decided I would take time, but it was time for you to think, not me. A chance for you to think about life without me in it. That was the longest week of my life..."

"And mine!"

"So take me in your arms and kiss me, dammit. No more denying."

I did. I held her in my arms and smothered her with kisses and my love. I knew I would forever.

A few months later I asked her to marry me.

She said yes and knocked me off my feet. Again.

The End

This is my first story, be gentle, please.

It looks like it won't indent, so if it doesn't it isn't because I didn't indent.