Her Teacher's Temptation Page 5

  “What, really?” Connor interrupted, sounding genuinely surprised. “You turned me down.” He reminded.

  “Yeah, because you're moving to London,” I responded honestly. “I didn't want to have to do the long distance thing.”

  “Right,” Connor muttered, sounding torn between being pleased and disappointed.

  “Thanks for letting me hang around with you guys.” It was spoken to all of them, but attention was all on Ollie. I found myself moving forward and standing on my tiptoes slightly to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. “Sorry,” I whispered into his ear before turning around and allowing Connor to lead me back to his house. “See you later!” I called back over my shoulder. “Nice to meet you!”

  “Who was that?” Connor inquired when we'd started walking at a steady pace.

  “Just some guy I slept with in summer,” I explained briefly, only half lying. “Meg ditched me and I saw him so I was just passing the night with them. I wasn't expecting to see you.” I linked my hand with his automatically, not enjoying the contact anywhere near as much as when Ollie had touched me. His fingers set me on fire.

  “Were you going to sleep with him tonight if you hadn't run into me?” I wasn't sure if he was jealous or just genuinely interested.

  I chuckled. “No. He has a girlfriend. They come into the restaurant sometimes.”

  “Okay. My dad lives in town, so it's only a five minute walk.” He explained, glancing over at me and then offering his jacket.

  “Nah, I'm okay,” I assured him. “I can't even feel the cold at all.”

  He touched one of my bare arms and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, you're boiling. You're not ill or something are you?” He joked.

  I shook my head and my resolve faltered for a moment. “I've taken ecstasy,” I told him honestly. “If you're not cool with that, or anything, then I can go.” I hadn't thought about it until now, but there were plenty of people who were completely against drugs. I didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

  “No, I'm still up for this,” he grinned. “I didn't realise you were into that stuff, though.”

  I shrugged. “Occasionally. It’s pretty fun every so often.”

  “I'm the same.” he admitted, squeezing my hand before letting go to retrieve the house keys from his pocket. “I wouldn't want to get properly into it, though. I've seen people messed up pretty bad by drugs.”

  “Yeah.”

  We didn't talk anymore because Connor explained that we were at his house. “Just try and be quiet, my dad will probably be asleep,” he explained, unlocking the door slowly and inching it open, gesturing for me to go inside. I slipped my shoes off and breathed a sigh of relief that I managed to stay silent before following Connor upstairs.

  We were barely through his bedroom door before we were all over each other. It took some serious effort to not let my moans slip through as he ravished every part of me – satisfactorily, even if not expertly like Ollie had handled me.

  And though I felt guilty for thinking of Ollie through some of our sex, I decided it was only natural since he was the one who'd got me riled up in the first place.

  As we lay afterwards, completely exhausted, and my high almost worn off, Connor traced random patterns on my back. “I really liked you, you know?” He murmured into the darkness, his voice genuine.

  “I really liked you too,” I admitted. “But, I just couldn't bring myself to go out with you. I didn't want to spend the summer with you and end up more than liking you and having my heart broken when you left for London. Because long distance never works.”

  He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “I understand. I think you probably made the right decision.”

  “I'm glad we got to do this, though,” I replied with a chuckle. “It was definitely a good way to say goodbye.”

  Chapter Six

  My phone making an obnoxious buzzing sound on the bedside table was what woke me the next morning. Releasing a groan and finding it difficult to move due to the muscular arm that was slung protectively over my waist, I managed to grab the loud device. “Hello?” I hadn't bothered to look at the caller ID.

  “Maddie?” A slightly worried voice checked, which I instantly recognised as Meg's mum. “Is Meg with you? I've tried ringing her loads and she hasn't picked up. I thought you were staying here last night.”

  I knew that Meg would just be fast asleep like I had been and decided it was best not to worry her mum. “She's with me,” I assured her, quickly putting a finger to my lips when Connor woke up and looked about to speak. “We decided to stay at mine last night since I have to walk the dog in the morning. She's still asleep though. Shall I get her to ring you when she wakes up?” I lied fluently. This was a conversation both Meg and I had had with the other's mother many times during the summer.

  “That's great, thanks Maddie.”

  “No problem.”

  I hung up after that and returned to snuggling into Connor's side. "Morning," I muttered into his skin.

  He chuckled and I felt the action reverberate through me. "Morning, Maddie."

  I could already feel that my jaw was aching and I'd bitten into the side of my tongue so many times that it was incredibly painful. Eating was going to be a chore for the next few days. And the aching muscles were there. It wasn’t something I noticed when I was actually high, but everything was constantly moving. I spend almost the entire night clenching and unclenching my hand.

  I could also feel guilt creeping up on me. For a number of reasons. The first was for riling Ollie up so much and then just ditching him for Connor. In reality, I knew that all Ollie would have done is walk me home and that would have been the end of it. But because I'd left I'd never really know if he'd been willing to sleep with me again.

  The second reason was for using Connor. I'd thought that I wanted to sleep with him. Which I had, to a certain extent. Only, when it came to the actual event, I'd almost screamed Ollie's name. Which definitely wasn't what I'd been expecting when I'd gone home with Connor. It worried me slightly that I apparently was so hooked on Mr. Wright. Having said that, I'd been head over heels for Connor for a year and that hadn't gone anywhere, so I supposed I'd just have to deal with another year of unrequited feelings.

  "How're you feeling this morning?" Connor broke my train of thought and I almost groaned. I wished I was in bed, rather than having to deal with him. I'd made a pretty terrible decision.

  "Just tired," I answered honestly. "Aching. My mouth hurts," I did groan this time, as my tongue caught the side of my teeth painfully.

  Connor laughed. "Pretty much what I expected you to say," he admitted, sitting up in bed and revealing his naked chest. I didn’t want to have to look at it. "I'm going to go and get some breakfast. I'm guessing you don't want any? You can lay in bed as long as you want."

  I nodded, still somewhat sleepy, and Connor gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead before standing up and putting some clothes on. Seeing him naked in front of me didn't stir up any feelings like I knew seeing Ollie would and that was my confirmation. I scowled.

  Grabbing my phone, I decided I should try ringing Meg, so that she knew what I'd told her mum. I wasn't really expecting her to pick up, though.

  "Hello?" Her groggy voice answered, sounding much like mine had.

  I chuckled. "Hey Meg. Just letting you know your mum rang. I told her we stayed at mine. Ring her back at some point.”

  I had a feeling Meg was nodding rather than actually replying. "Good night?" She inquired. "Sorry for ditching you, but I really needed this."

  "It's no problem. I'll tell you about my night later." I decided it was a good idea to confide in Meg about what happened a bit; it was what I'd always done about my problems. Plus, it was sure to cheer her up if she was feeling down.

  I could tell that even that small comment had made her grin. "I can't wait."

  “I expect to hear the details of your evening too,” I warned her.

  “Don't worry, I can't wait to tell them to you
,” she replied teasingly. “I'm going to ring my mum now, though,” she told me, sounding properly awake by now. “See you on Monday.”

  “See you later Meg.” I hung up just as Connor walked back into the room.

  “Looking a bit livelier,” he informed me with an affectionate smile, sitting down on the side of the bed in the space that my body had left from the way it was curled around.

  Connor was still incredibly gorgeous; there was no doubting it. I just didn't feel the same pull towards him that I remembered from when we were in school together any more. “I'm feeling a bit livelier,” I agreed. “I really have to go home soon, though. I actually do have to walk my dog.”

  “Sure, I can give you a lift home.” I was grateful that he drove. I really didn't feel like the walk of shame this morning.

  I didn't mind getting dressed in front of him, but I was loathed to put my uncomfortable shoes back on and grimaced the whole way to the car. “Have you looked around at universities yet?” Connor made conversation as he drove me home, asking for directions every so often. “You've probably started writing your personal statement by now.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I'm not as brave as you, going to London, though. I think I like Nottingham the most from what I've seen. It's really good and still pretty close to home. I think I should kind of be around for my mum and sister, you know?”

  Connor nodded. “Yeah, my two sisters are older than me so there was nothing really stopping me leaving home. Your sister is really young, right?”

  “Her first birthday was a few weeks ago. And my mum's a single mum, plus I have the dog. It'd probably be pretty unfair of me to go really far away. Plus, I didn't really want to anyway. I think I'd get too homesick.”

  “I've never really been a homey person anyway,” Connor admitted. “I've always wanted to live in London. I think I was pretty lucky to get into UCL really. Especially for medicine.”

  “Yeah, I'd never want to do anything that gruesome. I'm going for journalism, I think. Or maybe Law. I haven't really decided yet.”

  “Just do whatever you think you'll enjoy most. You're clever enough to do well at it.”

  I flushed under his compliment. “Thanks Connor.”

  It was only a ten minute drive back to my house and it seemed even shorter than that due to our easy flowing conversation. We had always been able to talk to each other well and that didn't change now that we'd slept together. “If we're both still single if I ever come back from uni to visit, we should definitely do this again,” Connor said with a chuckle. “I mean, that is as long as you want to.”

  I forced myself to laugh. I couldn't bring myself to leave this on a bad note. “Of course,” I agreed enthusiastically. “Just let me know.” I was sure that Connor had my number.

  He leant forward and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. Nothing like the way he'd been all over me last night. He was telling me that he really did care about me. “I'll see you soon, Maddie.”

  Undoing my seatbelt, I grinned at him. “I hope so.”

  As soon as my face was away from Connor, I felt my smile fade. The guilt was still there. I couldn't understand it and it was frustrating me to the point where I wanted to scream into my pillow. I'd barely even spoken to Ollie that much – he wasn't supposed to keep me from sleeping with someone I'd crushed on for a solid year.

  Turning and giving Connor a final wave, I slouched into the house. My whole body was aching and I just needed my own bed and some soup and some soothing music. “Hi Maddie!” My mum called from the living room as soon as I entered, though, and I knew I had to go and talk to her. “How was the party?”

  I didn't particularly like lying to my mum, but I didn't want to worry her either. She'd sit at home panicking if I told her what I was really doing, so I figured it was just easier this way. “Yeah, it was really good.” And the time I'd spent with Ollie had been really good; it was just the end that had fallen off a bit. I should have just listened to him when he wanted me to not go. “How was your night?”

  “Pretty good. Game of Thrones and a glass of wine,” she teased, smiling up at me from the book she was reading. “I'm guessing you want some soup,” she inquired, giving me a knowing smile. It was my go-to hangover cure.

  “Yes, please,” I paused before following her into the kitchen, which was obviously not what she was expecting. “Mum?” I hesitated again before just coming out with my question. “Who was that guy you were talking to in town the other day?” I'd been meaning to ask her since it'd happened, but Lily had been ill the rest of the week and I hadn't wanted to interrupt her. Now seemed like a good time to ask.

  My mum's face paled slightly. “Oh, no one, really.” She really wasn't a good liar. Thankfully she hadn’t seen my timetable, so there was no reason to think I’d been skipping classes.

  I rolled my eyes. “You can just tell me. You just didn't really seem comfortable around him, that's all.”

  She grimaced. “You've already guessed who he is, haven't you?” I must have given it away in my voice that I had my suspicions, but I still shut my mouth with wide eyes.

  “You're serious?” I checked. “But he's so young.” I knew she wouldn't take offence at my comments. She was probably impressed with herself. “Or at least he looked young. And tattooed. And totally nothing like dad.” I found myself saying with a chuckle.

  My mum had to laugh at that. “Yeah, I wonder why,” she teased.

  "But why did you look so uncomfortable around him?" I found myself asking. "You must have known him, like, pretty well."

  My mum flushed at that. "Well, I didn't exactly tell him about Lily," she admitted, glancing away guiltily. "I didn't want him involved."

  "So he's worked out that Lily is his?" I checked with a small frown. She nodded her confirmation. "And how is he feeling about that?"

  She paused. "I'm not really sure. He's not the kind of person to give anything away. Or at least I don't know him well enough to say."

  "You don't think he'll be interested do you? He looks pretty young."

  My mother chuckled slightly. "I'm fairly sure you think he's younger than he is. But I really don't know. I hope not. Things have been going so well lately."

  A smile worked its way onto my face. "Yeah," I agreed. "I guess they have." And it was kind of true. The inner conflict I was feeling regarding Ollie was hardly life changing, it was just a bit confusing. It was nothing compared to what Meg was dealing right now. I'd have to make sure I treated it as a joke in front of her, rather than something I was actually concerned about.

  “I doubt he'll even think much about it.” My mum's voice didn't quiver, but I knew she was just trying to convince herself. “It's not like there's any reason he'd want to intervene.”

  I nodded as enthusiastically as I could without being obvious that I was unsure. “Of course.”

  “Go and get into bed,” my mum told me with a small chuckle. “And I'll get making your soup.”

  Chapter Seven

  "Tell me. Tell me. Tell me," Meg was gushing as soon as she laid eyes on me. "I expect every detail of what happened on Saturday night."

  I was forced to chuckle. "I know," I assured her, still confused as to whether I was feeling guilty or fond about the memories I’d made with Ollie. "Don't worry, there's plenty of time."

  "I want to know now,” she whined, making me laugh again.

  "Okay, well, I'm guessing you didn't see who happened to be stood behind me when you left the club," I baited her in. It was too fun to mess with her like this: she was so excitable.

  Meg groaned. "Just get on with it."

  "It might have been a certain teacher," I smirked at her reaction.

  "No way. You slept with Mr. Wright? And you said nothing would ever happen.” The smugness as she crossed her arms was almost too much to bear.

  Her face fell again when I said my next words, though. "I didn't sleep with Mr. Wright." Then I grinned. "Not to say I didn't come particularly close to it."

  "Maddi
e!" Meg exclaimed. "You know he has a girlfriend." She'd clearly not expected me to have even come close when she exclaimed I'd slept with him earlier. It was good to know that I could still genuinely surprise her.

  I flushed. "I know. I was high. It's his fault more than mine. Thankfully, I ran into an old friend. Not that Ollie and I would have had sex anyway,” I said seriously. "But yeah, I might have seen Connor."

  Meg looked even more shocked now. "You really did have an eventful night, didn't you?" She joked.

  I giggled slightly. "I guess I did," I agreed. "But yeah, I left Ollie all riled up and horny and slept with Connor." Saying it so bluntly made it sound more impressive, though the guilt weighed down on me slightly.