Page 17 of Hot Four Teacher (The Lawson’s #4)

Chapter sixteen

Chasing Waterfalls

Dane

W hen we are back in my truck, I ask Michelle what she wants to go do now.

“Uhm, I don’t care,” she says, sounding a little uneasy. Her eyes flick down to her shirt, and I can tell she’s embarrassed.

I get it, and I don’t want her to be self-conscious.

“I have an idea,” I tell her.

“What’s that?”

“Well, I’d completely understand if you wanted me to just take you home, but I’d really enjoy spending a little more time with you.

I know you don’t feel comfortable with your shirt, so maybe…

” I reach into a heavy-duty box that sits on the floor of the backseat and pull out a t-shirt. “Maybe you’d want to wear one of mine.”

She takes it out of my hand and looks at it. I have no idea what she’s thinking. Back in the day, I could read my ex-wife’s face like a book. With Michelle, it’s quite a bit more difficult.

Since her silence is killing me, I speak again, “Look, if I’m being creepy, please feel free to say that, and I’ll take you home, no questions asked.”

“No!” She answers rather loudly. “I just think it’s really nice of you to offer. I’m not really used to nice.”

“Michelle, I don’t know exactly how to say this, but me offering you my shirt isn’t all that nice. I mean, it’s just being a decent human being. What kind of guys have you dated?”

Her eyes flick up to mine. “You don’t want to know.”

Probably not.

Without warning, she leans forward to pull her sweater off over her head. As quickly as I can, I look away, trying not to notice the purple lacy bra that she’s wearing.

“Sorry,” I say.

But she replies with, “Oh, come on, Dane. Nothing you haven’t seen before.”

We both laugh, and a moment later, she has my t-shirt on.

I look back at her, and somehow, she looks even better than she did before.

While I loved the low-cut sweater, seeing a woman wear something that’s mine brings out a whole other primitive side of me.

Immediately, my thoughts go to taking that t-shirt right back off to get to what’s underneath.

It’s not enough that her tits have been on display all night or that her ass looks incredible in her leggings, but now, I’m the most turned on that I have been ever since I picked her up.

My dick starts to come alive in my jeans, but I tell it to calm the fuck down. I’m not pressuring this woman into anything. As much as I’d love to take her to bed, I’m not in any hurry.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop thinking about ripping my t-shirt clean off of her body and bending her over to watch that big ass of hers bounce.

Michelle speaks and pulls me from my thoughts. “So, what do you want to do?”

“To be honest, I don’t have anything planned. I thought maybe you and I could just go for a drive.”

“Are you going to drive me out to the middle of nowhere and leave my dead body there?”

“What?” I ask, completely caught off-guard.

“Sorry. I’ve been watching way too much true crime lately. A drive sounds great.”

“I promise not to murder you,” I tell her with a smile.

As we start to drive, she asks, “So, do you always keep a spare shirt in your backseat?”

“Actually, yes. See that box back there?”

She looks into the backseat and nods.

“It’s kind of my emergency box. There’s a change of clothes, jumper cables, bottled water, shelf- stable snacks, a flashlight, and a few other odds and ends.”

“Wow. Were you a Boy Scout or something?” She giggles.

“A Marine. They always taught us to be prepared. Plus, I’m a bit of a worrier.”

“Well, tonight, I’m thankful for that. I felt ridiculous with pasta sauce all over my shirt.”

“Happy to help.” I smile at her. “And believe me when I say that you look wonderful, pasta sauce or not.”

She wiggles around a little in her seat, and it’s becoming more and more clear that she isn’t quite comfortable with compliments. Maybe she just hasn’t heard them enough. I sure as hell want to be the one to change that.

“Can I ask you something?” Michelle says.

“Of course.”

“Why’d you get divorced?” After asking the question, she adds, “Is that too soon to ask that question? If it’s weird, don’t feel like you have to answer.”

“No, I don’t mind.” I’m sure she’s asking to make sure that I’m not a cheater or something. Totally understandable. I’m just not exactly sure how to condense a very long story into a much shorter one.

After a deep breath, I begin. “Her name was Cassie. Well, I guess her name is still Cassie.”

Off to a smooth start, Dane.

“When I graduated from high school, I immediately knew I wanted to go into the service. I signed up the second I was able to. Basic training didn’t start for a couple of months, and in the meantime, I met Cassie.

We were crazy about each other, and we both felt that two months wasn’t nearly long enough together.

Long distance is almost always a terrible idea, but we thought that getting married would make things more stable. ”

Michelle shoots me a look that makes me laugh.

“I understand it wasn’t the brightest of ideas, but the two of us were a ball of hormones which clearly were overriding our critical thinking skills.

After basic training, I was home for a short stint before being deployed overseas.

Without that time, I don’t think we would have lasted nearly as long as we did.

But it helped us connect and try to really cement our relationship. ”

She asks, “Was it just too hard while you were deployed?”

“Actually, no. Cassie and I had a relationship built on the idea that we were never in the same place for very long. We had it down to a science. I’d be gone for months on end, and Cassie would hold down the fort.

When I’d come home, we would have fun and reconnect, and then, I’d leave again.

But when I left the service, it quickly became clear that neither of us really even knew the other one.

After a decade, we had both changed. We weren’t those two horny kids anymore who believed in nothing but passion.

We discovered that we wanted something more that we just weren’t getting from our relationship. ”

“Do you guys keep in touch?”

“Not really. For a while after things were finalized, she would reach out every once in a while if there were some papers or something that I had to sign–things like getting rid of our old storage unit or handling the title on her car since both of our names were on it. But eventually, all of that ended. I haven’t heard from her in a couple years now. ”

In a low voice, Michelle asks, “Do you ever miss her?”

I don’t feel like she’s asking because she’s insecure. It’s more like she’s just curious and trying to get to know me.

“Nah. For a while, I thought that I did, but I realized the girl that I was missing wasn’t who she was anymore. Just like she shouldn’t miss the old version of me. We’d both grown into different people.”

Wanting to return the favor and get to know Michelle better, I ask, “What about you? What happened between you and your daughter’s dad?”

“Uh, we were in high school. He said all kinds of wonderful things to make me fall for him–things about us always being together and me being his one and only. Then, I got pregnant, and suddenly, his true personality came through. Maybe he cared for me, but it wasn’t enough to make him give up his life to marry me and be a father.

He gave me the ultimatum–keep the baby or keep him. ”

“Jesus. What a dick. How long did it take you to make that decision?”

She giggles. “About half a second. It took me no time at all to realize that anyone who could force me to make a decision like that isn’t someone I wanted to be with.”

“Can’t say I blame you.” Wanting to ask her the same question she asked me, I go on to say, “Do you ever miss him?”

“Fuck, no!” She laughs. “He eventually came around and now has somewhat of a relationship with his daughter, but I would like to stay as far away from him as possible.”

As we drive through the streets of Lilly Leaf Falls, all of a sudden, Michelle says, “I know where we can go! Turn right here.”

We wind up and down a few streets until she shows me where to park. I do as she says, but I have no idea where we are. It looks like we are in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing around us.

As I look over at Michelle, she’s already unbuckling her seatbelt.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

Leaning over, she gives me a quick kiss before saying, “You’ll see.”

Fuck, if she keeps kissing me, I’ll follow her anywhere she wants to go.

She jumps out of the truck before I have a chance to open her door for her. As quick as I can, I follow after her, not even pausing even when she heads straight into a thicket of trees. I have no clue what she’s doing, but I’m enjoying the view of her ass in front of me.

The sun is almost completely down, and the further we get into the brush, the harder it gets to see where we are going. When I start to slow down to try to get my footing, Michelle grabs my hand, urging me to keep up.

I could keep pestering her about where we are going, but I decide to just go with the flow. It’s a concept that isn’t easy for me, but I urge myself to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Finally, we pop out of the trees, and I see what it was that she wanted to show me. In the middle of the woods sits a waterfall.

An actual fucking waterfall.

“Damn,” I say, looking up at the moon reflecting off the flowing water. “It’s beautiful.”

“Welcome to Lilly Leaf Falls’ best kept secret.”

“I never would have guessed there was a waterfall here.”

She smiles. “Most people don’t know. Even the ones who do know don’t typically come here because the trails are so overgrown. It used to be a lot more popular. Sometimes, I think my siblings and I are the only ones who still come out.”

“I love it,” I tell her, still taking in the view.

She points her finger at me. “Now, you better keep it a secret. If we have everyone here again all of a sudden, I’m definitely going to blame you.”

“My lips are sealed,” I tell her.

With a smile, she says, “Come on. Let’s get a little closer.”

I follow her to a large flat rock where she takes a seat. After I sit next to her, we sit in silence for a couple minutes, just trying to enjoy the moment.

Finally, Michelle says, “I keep telling myself I need to come out here more, but I never do. It seems like life just always gets in the way.”

I’m not quite sure what to say to that, so I just put my arm around her shoulder. She relaxes into me, and I enjoy this moment while it lasts. For the first time in a long time, I feel the slightest bit of contentment. I like that, and I don’t want it to be over too quickly.

I have no idea how long we sit in a comfortable silence. It isn’t until she looks up at me that I’m pulled back to reality.

Staring up at me with her brown eyes, she says, “I’m sorry if this was lame. I just wanted to show it to you.”

“Why?” I ask. “Why did you want to show me?”

She thinks for a second. “I’m not really sure. I just really like it, and I wanted to share that with you.”

Staring back at her, I say, “I’m glad you did. I love it.”

Maybe I shouldn’t push things, but I can’t help it.

All I want to do is kiss her. As I move closer to her, she doesn’t pull away, so I softly press my lips to hers.

She immediately kisses me back, but I want more.

Licking the seam of her mouth, I get her to open for me so that our tongues can dance.

She turns her body so that we both have a better angle for the kiss. With every touch of my tongue to hers, my cock gets harder and harder in my jeans.

I do my best to be a gentleman and not take things further until Michelle tells me she’s ready. She’s admitted that she hasn’t had sex in over a decade. Because of that, I don’t want to push her.

So, this is enough.

For now.

***

After a little while, we manage to come up for air. I love a good make out session–makes me feel young again–but it’s hard not going further.

And it’s not the only thing that’s hard.

When the moon starts to disappear behind some clouds, we hightail it back to the truck before we lose all of our light.

Once inside, we talk and laugh all the way back to Michelle’s house. I’m not in any hurry to take her home, but it’s getting late, and I don’t want to push my luck.

Before I know it, we’re standing on her front porch, and I’m telling her goodbye.

“I had a really great time tonight,” I tell her.

“Me too. Do you…uh…want to come inside? I have the place to myself.”

Fuck, that’s tempting, but I like this woman. I don’t want to do anything to derail what we have going.

“That’s okay,” I say. When I see a look of disappointment on her features, I add, ‘But I’d love to see you tomorrow. Would you maybe want to come hang out with me?”

Her lips pull into a smile. “I’d like that. ”

“Do you want to come hiking with me?”

The question seems to catch her off-guard, but she says, “Uh, sure. That sounds great. I love hiking.”

“Awesome. How about I pick you up about nine?”

“It’s a date.”

I lean forward to give her a goodnight kiss. The moment our lips touch, she melts into me. The little moan she gives makes pulling away one of the hardest things I’ve done.

But I finally manage to do it.

And now, it’s home to take a cold shower.