Page 51 of Hot Four Teacher (The Lawson’s #4)
Chapter fifty
Mother Humper
Dane
T hey say everything happens for a reason, but I’m not sure that’s entirely true. I don’t know what the reasoning would be for Eve and her friends to see Michelle and I in a passionate embrace.
From what Michelle said, Eve hasn’t been taking it well.
That’s further proven when I don’t have her in class the following day.
I figure Michelle let her stay home to try to process everything.
With her home today, that would give her a long weekend before having to come to school and deal with things.
Meanwhile, I’ve gotten some interesting looks from other students. None of them have outright come out and asked me about it, but I can tell it’s making its way through the town gossip mill.
Shit has already hit the fan with Eve. It’s not long before it does here too. That’s why after the final bell rings, I decide to go in and talk to the principal. It’s better he hears it from me than from someone else.
Knocking on his door, I poke my head in. “Hey, Tony. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure, Dane.” He closes the folder he was reading and sets it on the desk next to him. “How can I help you?”
As I take a seat in the chair across from him, he asks, “Kissed any good girls lately?”
“Wait, you already know?”
Shit.
“Of course, I know. You could fit this whole town of ours in a Ziploc bag. Secrets run through this place faster than the flu.”
I decide to just go ahead and get the big question out of the way. “Am I fired?”
He laughs–actually laughs. “No, you’re not fired. Once again, Dane, this is a small town. If I fired everyone who worked here that was married to a parent, I would have no staff left. It comes with the territory around here.”
“Oh.” I breathe a sigh of relief.
“But maybe don’t make out where students can see you.” He smiles. “That will keep a lot of the gossip to a minimum.”
“Will do.” I pause a moment. “Do you think it’s going to be an issue with the other moms with kids on the team? I mean, I made Eve captain before I even knew who her mom was.”
“Dane, around here, we don’t take sports too seriously.
Most parents know that their kids are not going to grow up and go pro.
We have a culture of keeping sports competitive yet fun.
Any parent who takes it too seriously isn’t welcome at the events.
If you have any parent who is freaking out because of this, you let me know. ”
“Man, I really thought this was going to be an issue. That’s why we’ve been being so secretive.”
He nods. “Understandable. But I assure you it’s fine. My wife is head of the PTA, and both of our kids actually go here. No one has accused us of any type of favoritism."
“How do you balance it all?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Work is work. Home is home. I try not to let the line blur too much between the two.”
Before I can say anything else, my phone rings in my pocket.
“Sorry,” I say, pulling it out. I see it’s Michelle. I hit ignore as not to be rude, but she immediately calls back. “I should take this. Hello?”
“Dane, it’s Eve. She’s gone.”
“What do you mean she’s gone?”
“She skipped school today.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. You didn’t let her stay home?” I ask.
“No. She left this morning like she was going to school. I came home and got a message that she skipped, but she’s not here.”
“Okay, okay,” I say in a calming voice. “She’s probably with her friends or something.”
“Dane, I called every single one of them. None of them have heard from her since last night. She’s not at all her normal hang out spots. She turned off the location on her phone and has it on do not disturb.”
“Okay, I’m on my way over.”
***
I walk into Michelle’s house and see that her siblings and parents are already there. As much as I’d like to formally introduce myself and get to know them better, I know this isn’t the time.
She comes over to hug me. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course.”
She paces as she talks. “Okay, Eve doesn’t have any money, so I don’t think she could have gone very far. We need to check everywhere around town that she might be. Even if it seems dumb. She’s trying to throw me off the scent, so she’s not going to make it easy. We should all split up.”
The woman I assume is her mother says, “You probably need to stay here in case she comes back. If anyone finds her, make sure you escort her butt home. She better hope I’m not the one who finds her because I’m going to kick her ass for making us all worry like this.”
As everyone files out of the house, I ask, “Do you want me to stay here with you?”
“No, I think if she comes back here and sees just the two of us, it’s going to make things even worse. Will you just go help look for her?”
“Of course.” I pull her into another hug. “I’m sorry, baby. I shouldn’t have kissed you like that last night.”
“No, this isn’t on you. It’s on me. I should have told her a long time ago. I just didn’t want this to end.”
A little worried, I ask, “Are you worried it’s going to end?”
With as much of a smile as she can muster, she replies, “No, I’m not going to let it.”
***
I leave Michelle’s and drive around, thinking of everywhere that Eve could be. I still don’t know this town very well, so I’m not sure how much help I’m going to be. I’m not all that well-versed in Lilly Leaf Falls yet.
Wait a minute.
Lilly Leaf Falls.
Michelle told me that she and Eve used to go over to the falls all the time when Eve was little. Maybe she’s there. I’m not quite sure how to get there, but after looking at the GPS on my phone and walking through some very thick woods, I finally pop out by the lake and the waterfall.
I’m not quite where Michelle and I were last time which tells me I didn’t go the right way, but I made it all the same. I look around and am just about to give up when I see a slight movement on the other side of a large rock.
I walk closer and see Eve’s dark hair poking out from beneath a baseball cap.
Thank God.
But why did I have to be the one to find her?
When I reach her, I say, “You know, you have a lot of people looking for you.”
She glances up at me. “Well, hello, mother humper.”
I sit down next to her. “Okay, I deserved that.”
“You think?”
“What’s going on, Eve?” I ask. “Why do you have everyone so worried?”
“I just wanted to be alone. I didn’t want to go to school and have to face my friends…or you. I just needed a day off.”
“I get it,” I tell her. “Maybe next time, just leave somebody a note.”
She bites her fingernails as she looks over the water.
“Eve, I’m going to tell you a story, and I want you to hear me out.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I came out here to find you, my ass is already wet from sitting on this rock, and if you don’t, I’ll make you run endless laps on Monday.”
She just gives a heavy sigh in response.
“I don’t know if you know this, but I’m divorced.
I got married way too young for all the wrong reasons, and it just didn’t work.
Since then, I haven’t found anyone I even want a second date with–let alone a relationship.
And then, this woman in a bar comes over to me and starts talking.
She’s funny, beautiful, and nervous as hell.
We hit it off. We started seeing each other, very casually, and it became clear how much we cared for the other.
Then, it turns out she’s one of my student’s moms.”
“I’ve heard this story," she says.
“But here’s the part you haven’t heard. This is not just some fling for me, Eve. I’m in love with your mom.”
Her head snaps toward me. “What? You two aren’t just boning?”
“No. I have fallen for her hard. When we realized who the other was, we tried to stay away from each other, but we just couldn’t.
We didn’t want to give each other up, and I think that means something.
I know it feels like we did something to hurt you, but that wasn’t our intent.
Your mom wanted to keep this from you until we knew it was serious. Her plan was to tell you last night.”
“That’s what she said.”
“And it’s the truth. She has been so nervous about telling you because she didn’t want to make you upset. She cares so much about your happiness–just like I care about hers. I would do anything in my power just to see her smile. And for the record, I care about you too.”
She sniffles as if fighting back tears. “This is all so weird to me. I’ve never seen her date anyone before.”
“I think that right there should tell you something.”
“Do you think you’ll get married?” She asks.
“Well, it’s a little soon for that, but if she’ll have me, I’ll marry your mom in a heartbeat.”
She goes quiet again for a minute before looking at me. “If you become my stepdad, can I get an automatic A in history?”
I laugh. “No.”
“Will you let me run less laps than everyone else?”
“Eve, I know you. You’ll probably do something to get yourself running more laps.”
She looks down at her fingers. “I’ve always worried about her being lonely in a few years when I go off to college. I’m glad she found someone that makes her happy. Promise you’ll take care of her?”
“I promise.”
“And for the love of God, please keep her occupied enough to where she will stop trying new hobbies.”
I chuckle. “I will do my best to keep her occupied. Come on, let’s get you home.”
As we start to walk, she says, “She once grew weed. Did she tell you that?”
“No, but now, you have to tell me.”