Page 50 of Hot Four Teacher (The Lawson’s #4)

Chapter forty-nine

The Panty Drencher

Michelle

A nother soccer game.

But this one is a little bit different. This one has me on pins and needles, but it has nothing to do with the game itself.

After this soccer game, I’m taking Eve out to dinner to tell her about Dane and me. I’ve been trying to plan how to do it ever since we got back from Portland a few days ago. Every time I’ve opened my mouth to do it, though, I’ve chickened out.

What’s the best way to do it?

Should I just be blunt?

Eve, I’m dating your teacher.

Eh, I don’t know.

Should I try to add some humor into it?

Eve, your teacher and I are playing human wheelbarrow.

Probably not.

I know I just need to tell her and get it over with. She’s been wanting me to start dating, so I hope she thinks it’s a good thing. And I mean, she loves Dane, so I think that’s a point in my column as well.

But she’s a teenager, and I don’t really know what to expect. One time, she cried for an hour because we were out of yogurt.

My knee bobs up and down nervously as I watch the clock of the game slowly count down. Part of me is ready to get this over with, but part of me is nervous and wants the game to go on as long as possible.

I figure I’ll butter her up by taking her to her favorite spot for dinner. Once the meal is over, we can discuss it. She probably won’t get too mad if we are in a public place.

At least, I hope she won’t.

As nervous as I am, I am ready to stop keeping this enormous secret. Being able to go out with Dane in Portland without the fear of anyone seeing us was incredible, and I want to be able to have that same feeling all the time. I want Eve to see her mom happy for once in her life.

If Dane and I are going to build something real together, it’s not going to happen while we are hiding away from the world.

So, tonight’s the night.

I just have to get through the game…and try not to throw up from all my nerves.

***

The game finally comes to a close, and Eve scored the winning goal, so that should put her in a pretty good mood. She sends me a text saying that she’s going to be a few minutes, so she will meet me in the car when she’s done.

Knowing I have a little bit of time, I see Dane walking to the equipment shed and decide to go say hi before I head for the car. As quickly as I can, I walk to the building.

When I’m inside, Dane turns around to look at me. “Hey, baby.”

“Hey.” I smile. “Just wanted to come say hi before I take Eve out to dinner.”

“Where are you guys going to eat?” He asks while dragging the soccer balls to the corner.

“We are going over to Mama Roma’s. It’s her favorite. Between that and her scoring the winning goal, I’m hoping she will be in a good mood.”

“Why’s that?”

“I’m telling her tonight.”

“Are you really telling her, or are you going to chicken out again?” He teases.

“Hey! I’m going to tell her!”

“Promises, promises,” He says with a wink.

“I will! You’ll see!”

He walks toward me. “How about we make things a little more interesting?”

“What do you mean?”

When he’s in front of me, he says, “How about if you tell her, I will give you anything you want?”

I scrunch my nose and wiggle it back and forth. “You kind of do that anyway,” I giggle. “I think I’m going to need some more incentive than that.”

“Oh yeah?”

I nod as he grabs my chin and pulls me toward him. He kisses me in a way that I can only describe as the panty drencher. It is so hot that I could practically swim in the puddle that’s between my thighs right about now.

We break the kiss and start to pull away when I hear a loud, “What the fuck?”

I know that voice.

Turning around, I not only see Eve standing in the doorway but about five of her friends. They all look absolutely shocked.

“Uh,” I say. “Coach was just–”

She doesn’t even give me a chance to come up with an excuse before running out.

“Fuck,” I mutter, walking after her.

I think about telling Dane I’ll call him later, but the rest of the girls are still standing there

“Eve!” I call after her, but she doesn’t answer.

At this point, she’s taken off in a full-blown sprint. As much as I want to chase after her, I know if I try running, I’m going to cause myself physical harm.

I see that she's running toward our house, so I figure I can meet her there. We are pretty damn close to the fields, so by the time I get to the car and get home, she will probably have beaten me.

On the short drive, I pound my fist on the steering wheel, hating myself for not telling her before now. If I would just have told her any time in the past few days, things might not be as bad as they are now.

When I get home, I walk in to find Eve stomping toward her bedroom.

“Hey!” I shout. “Freeze! We need to talk.”

“Oh, you want to talk? I’m sorry I can’t understand you without my coach’s tongue shoved down your throat.”

“Okay, I know that was a big shock to you. You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Hey!” I yell again. “I know you’re pissed, but I’m still your mom.”

“You’re damn sure not acting like it. What kind of mom goes around making out with her kid’s coach?”

“It’s not like we are just making out, Eve. Dane and I–”

“Dane? You’re on a first name basis with him?” She walks toward me. “Exactly, how long has this been going on?”

I consider lying, but I know that’s probably not the best idea right now. I should just show all my cards.

“It’s been going on since before he became your coach.”

“What? Mom, that was months ago!” She gets a shocked look on her face. “Oh my God! You guys are doing it, aren’t you?”

“Well, I don’t exactly like to put it like that,” I begin.

“Gross!”

“Don’t say gross. There is nothing gross about it. It’s actually–”

She points her finger at me. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

“Eve, we wanted to tell you, but we knew it was all so complicated. Dane and I met in a bar and hit it off. It wasn’t until we’d been seeing each other for a while that I found out he was your teacher and your coach. We tried to stop, but at that point, we were pretty crazy about each other.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“In all fairness, look how you’re acting. I wasn’t too far off in thinking that you wouldn’t handle the news well.”

“I’m not handling the news well because I had to find out like that. I had to find out by seeing you sucking face with him while I was with my friends. Do you know how humiliating that is?”

“I’m sorry, Eve. I didn’t want you to find out like this. I was actually going to tell you tonight.”

She rolls her eyes. “Sure you were.”

“I’m serious. I was going to tell you at dinner.”

“Oh, I see. You were going to butter me up with my favorite food in hopes that I wouldn’t be so mad.”

I look down at the ground. “Well, when you say it like that, it doesn’t sound great.”

“Newsflash–none of this sounds great!” She starts pacing back and forth. “Oh my God. Is that why he made me captain? Because he’s sleeping with my mom?”

“Of course not. Dane wouldn’t show favoritism like that. You got the captain spot before he knew I was your mom.”

She doesn’t say anything, so I go on. “Eve, I realize that the way you found out is not ideal. But for months now, you’ve been telling me you want me to be happy. Hell, the night he brought you home, you even said that you wished I could find someone like Dane.”

“Mom, I was drunk. I didn’t mean for you to actually find him.”

“Honey, for the first time in a very long time, I’m really happy. Dane makes me that happy. Don’t you want that for me?”

She thinks for a minute, and I wonder if we are about to have some sort of breakthrough, but she just says, “I don’t want you to date him.”

With that, she turns on her heels, walks to her bedroom, and slams the door. I consider going in and trying to talk more, but I know it’s not going to do any good. She needs time to cool off.

I think we both do.