Page 10 of Hot Four Teacher (The Lawson’s #4)

Chapter ten

Did you?

Michelle

“ T he detectives discovered that the killer was none other than the butler,” the narrator on the true crime show explains.

“No fucking way,” I mumble.

I finally managed to get Ronnie out of here this morning. I love my sister, but she’s quite a lot to handle when I’m feeling fine, let alone when I’m hungover.

After she left, I attempted to knit for a while, but my mind just wasn’t in it. My lack of concentration ended up just knotting all my yarn into one giant heap. That was when I gave up on knitting…for now anyway.

I moved onto playing video games. I’ve been snuggled up on the couch, eating crackers and trying to calm my churning stomach.

It may not be as exciting as last night, but this is way more in my comfort zone.

I’ll take an evening like this over going out every single time.

I’ve always been more of a homebody. Sometimes, I think maybe it was a good thing I had a kid young.

That way, I didn't have to do the whole crazy partying thing.

Maybe I just think that because I never got to do any of it. Now, the whole idea of it doesn’t even sound appealing.

A knock on the door gets me to put down my game. I assume it’s Ronnie again–or another one of my intrusive family members. These are about the only people who ever come over.

Good lord, I’m lame.

I slowly make my way to the door. When I swing it open, I’m shocked to see Dane standing there. I freeze, unsure of why he’s here and even more unsure of what I should do.

“Hey,” he says with a grin that makes me tingle the same way our kiss did last night.

“Uh, hi,” I stammer.

“Look, I'm really sorry if this is creepy of me just to show up like this, but I didn’t have your number, and I wanted to talk to you.”

“You wanted to talk to me?” I ask, just to make sure I heard him right.

“Yeah.” Another smile. “Can I come in?”

“Oh, yes. Of course.” I step out of the way, so he can walk inside.

I don’t even notice the bag he’s carrying until he hands it to me. “Here. I made you a little care package. All of the stuff that’s good for a hangover.”

“How’d you know I would have a hangover?”

He lets out a little laugh. “Well, you were pretty drunk last night, and you just kept saying how you never drink. So, I just had a hunch.”

“Right.”

I look inside the bag as Dane lists off what’s inside. “Some water with extra electrolytes. Some extra strength aspirin. Peanut butter sandwich crackers. A banana. And some bland chicken noodle soup.”

“Thank you,” I tell him. “I’ve been sipping water all day, but I still don’t feel great.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says.

“I’ll survive. So, you said you wanted to talk?” I ask, motioning for him to follow me into the living room.

He eyes the giant tangled ball of yarn. “It looks like there was a struggle.”

I smile. “You have no idea.”

After I shove the ball on the floor, we each take a seat on the couch. How is it that he looks so relaxed, and I feel so damn awkward?

I look down at my outfit and realized I’m wearing a white t-shirt with no bra and holes in it and a pair of equally ratty sweatpants. Quite the opposite of what I was wearing last night.

Clearing my throat, I say, “Dane, I have to ask…why are you here? I made a complete ass out of myself last night.”

“How so?”

“Well, I asked you to give me some orgasms. Then, I kissed you before throwing up. And then, I took my clothes off, and you didn’t even get laid.”

Is that why he’s here? To finish what we started? He must have low standards if he is still wanting some with how I look now.

After what seems like forever, he finally speaks. “Michelle, as much as I would’ve loved taking you to bed last night, that wasn’t why I left the bar with you.”

“Then, why–”

“Because I liked you. Still do, in fact. And I came over here to see if maybe I could take you out on a real date.”

My stomach starts doing small flips. I’m not sure if it’s Dane asking me out on a date or the remnants of the alcohol.

Probably both.

The thought of going on a date with someone like Dane is enough to get me excited, but I don’t want him to expect something that I’m not.

“Dane, before we go any further, I feel like I need to come clean about something. That woman that you met last night…that wasn’t me. That was the first time in a decade that I went out to a bar and had that many drinks. And it’s been equally as long since I’ve had sex.”

He jumps in. “Yeah, you mentioned that last night.”

“Oh…I don’t remember telling you that.” I clear my throat and try to get over the embarrassment an d continue. “The truth is that I’m a mom. That’s why I never really have done the dating thing–or at least not in a long time. I’m not sure I would be any good at it.”

He rubs his hand over his thick beard as he begins to speak. “Well, that’s a relief.”

“Why is that a relief?”

“Because quite frankly, I don’t know if I’m going to be very good it at either.”

I give a scoff in response because I highly doubt that this gorgeous man doesn’t know what he’s doing.

“I’m serious,” he says. “I’m divorced. Although it’s been a while since the papers were signed, I haven’t really gotten back out there. And I can tell you that I don’t have a clue of what I’m doing. Dating is absolutely nothing like what I remember. So, all this stuff is new to me, too.”

“Oh,” I say, processing everything he just told me.

He goes on, “Look, I’m not asking for some big commitment or anything. I’m saying maybe you and I talk or text. Maybe occasionally, I take you out on a date. No pressure.”

Everything that he’s saying sounds great. I look at him, and I swear that he looks better than he did last night. He’s a beast of a man, and I can’t stop staring at his hard chest and large biceps.

Stop staring.

I say, “Before I agree to this, I also need you to know that how I looked last night is not par for the course. How I look right now is usually how I look. I very rarely get all fancy.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t care. First off, I think you still look great. And secondly, I’d rather you be comfortable.”

Man, he has the right answers to everything.

Could I really start dating this guy? Maybe he could make good on his promise to give me those orgasms.

Or maybe I’m getting really far ahead of myself.

My inner teenage girl is screaming to say yes to this. He’s gorgeous, nice, and doesn’t seem like a total pig. Maybe I could actually like this guy.

As loud as the teenager inside of me is screaming, the mom of a teenager is screaming even louder.

That version of myself is telling me that I need to be very careful if I’m going to do this.

I can’t afford to be making any mistakes that could hurt Eve in any way.

I never want to disrupt her life negatively.

When I’ve been quiet for quite some time, he says, “If any of this is coming across as creepy, please feel free to tell me to fuck off, and I’ll leave you alone.”

“No!” I cry. “That’s not what I want!”

Damn, that sounded desperate.

I take a deep breath and try to calm down. “I am not saying I’m not interested. But I think maybe we need to establish some ground rules.”

He leans back on the couch. When he crosses his arms over his chest, his biceps bulge even more. “Alright. Hit me with the rules. ”

I do my best to gather my thoughts before beginning to speak. “Okay. Although I’m a mom, she’s not used to me dating, and I don’t want her getting attached to someone that might not be around for the long-term.”

“Totally understandable.”

“Because of that, I think you and I should only hang out when my daughter isn’t around like when she’s with her friends or with her dad. I don’t want her to know about you…until there is actually something to know about.”

“So, we would keep this whole thing a secret?”

Oh, shit. I hope I haven’t offended him.

“Uh, yeah. Is that a deal-breaker?” I ask.

“Not at all. I find it strangely hot.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Okay, good. Also, I really can’t commit to anything serious. This would just be fun–partly because of my kid but also because I don’t have a single clue what I’m doing. And quite frankly, the idea of dating is absolutely terrifying.”

“We can take this at whatever speed you want.”

“Okay, Dane. I need to ask you something,” I say.

“Shoot.”

“What is wrong with you?” As it comes out of my mouth, I realize how awful it sounds, so I try to fix it. “Not like that. Well, kind of like that.”

I’m making it worse.

I take a deep breath to try to calm down.

“What I’m trying to say is why are you being so accommodating? You are clearly a very good-looking man. I’m sure you have no problem getting dates, yet you are willing to go along with all of my crazy conditions. That tells me that maybe there’s something wrong with you.”

He smiles and rubs his beard as he begins to speak. “Michelle, when I told you that my dating life hasn’t been going well, I meant it. I recently had a woman ask me to fuck her belly button.”

I’m not quite sure how to respond to that. The only thing I can think to say is, “Did you?”

His deep laugh fills the space between us. “No. I did not fuck her belly button. Quite frankly, I don't know how either of us would get any enjoyment out of that. There are so many other places on a woman’s body that I would much rather fuck.”

Just that one sentence is enough to get me feeling flustered. I’d like to hear him say more things like that. But instead of confessing that, I opt to make a joke instead. “Her ear?”

He laughs again. “Exactly.”

“So, now that we are on the same page, what do we do now?” I ask.

“We could have a no-pants party.”

“Huh?”

He smiles. “I’m kidding. That’s how you phrased it last night.”

“Oh, shit. I don’t remember that part. Sorry I’m so lame.”

“Don’t apologize. I liked it.” He winks. “I’ll get out of here, but would it be okay if I took you out this weekend?”

I think for a moment, but really, there’s no need. I already know my answer. “That would be great.”