When I pulled away and trailed the pads of my thumbs across her cheekbones, her lips finally curved in a soft smile. “I'm not.”
“Good.” I pressed my forehead to hers and let my eyes fall closed as I soaked up her soothing scent. “Thanks for hanging out with me today.”
“I should be thanking you.” She murmured, her fingers dancing across my shoulders and making me dizzy with desire. “What's this?” Her fingertips drew slow circles around a single, fiery red mark on my skin.
I winced before shrugging it off. “Guess you were a little too rough in the water.” I teased and caught her lips between my teeth, dragging and pulling in an effort to drive her as insane with desire as I was. It seemed to work when her hands clutched at my shoulders and she swayed into me, her still damp body brushing against mine.
“We really don’t want to be caught.” I hummed and chased her lips as she pulled away, her head dancing with mine in a sensual taunt. I finally grasped her head in my palms and swallowed the smart retort I'm sure she had ready with my lips. One hand trailed down the elegant dips and hollows of her form while I kissed her, soft breaths and the rustle of clothing the only sounds between us.
“I should get going.” She finally pulled away, breathless and looking thoroughly wound up.
“Oh, sure. You’re coming back later, then?” I pulled away, calm and collected, exactly how she wasn't feeling. I couldn't help the grin begging to turn my lips up for leaving her flustered, how she often left me, on purpose, I was sure of it.
“Oh, I don’t know.” She mused as she pulled her jeans up her legs. “Callie says she’s making me, but if I can get out of it, I will.” She said while pulling her shirt over her still-wet tank top. The water spots soaked through almost immediately, doing nothing for the fragile sense of control I was trying to hang on to.
“I was going to go home and work on plotting a new story that's been running through my head, but you're more than a little distracting.” I grasped the hem of her shirt and pulled her back to me.
She darted around me on a giggle before swiping her shoes from the dirt and backing away from me, a devilish glint in her dark eyes. “Hands off in public.” She chastised with her index finger.
“Such a distraction.” I shook my head, a grin splitting my face. Her smile deepened before she finally swiveled and jogged back the way we'd come from, barefoot and carefree the entire way.
I threw my shirt over my head and walked up the river bank feeling like I'd fallen into a never-never land where kissing a student felt as natural as breathing. Except this wasn’t just any student, this was Auburn.
five
I found myself still awake at eleven pm that night. Being awake at that time wasn’t unusual, but being so fucking mentally blocked I could hardly function was. I'd done some outlining for a new novel and tried to write a few paragraphs in the story I’d been writing about my boyhood in northern Michigan. It was something I'd been working on the last few years. I never seriously intended to publish it, it was just too personal, my life’s work, and I wasn't willing to send it out into the world for public criticism.
After scrounging out three sentences, I'd shut my laptop and moved to the chair by the fireplace to read, for pleasure, then for work, without avail, which is why I currently sat behind my wheel, fingers tapping to an old Eagles’ song on the radio, driving mindlessly. Except I'd known exactly where I was headed when I'd gotten behind the wheel of the old Blazer.
Shelton Road. The old train bridge. Her.
I white-knuckled the steering wheel as I chastised myself. “Fuck.” I ran a hand through my hair as I drove through the cool summer night. I shouldn't be going to her, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. My mind had begun to conjure ways we could be together, but all seemed like a dead end. Perception was cut and dry in our small midwestern town -- dating a student? Always a bad idea. Nearly criminal in offense for the scandal we'd be subject to, and my teaching career would be all but destroyed.
I shook all the reasons we couldn’t be together out of my head and drove as the road twisted through forests of hardwood and evergreen until the final corner. I turned off into the beat up gravel parking lot for the second time today.
In contrast to earlier, the lot was now nearly full with old pickup trucks and compact cars. I scanned for Auburn’s vehicle before realizing she must have decided to stay in tonight. I put my truck in reverse to leave when a couple caught my eye through the back window of my truck. Long dark hair, snug jeans, and Chucks. It had to be her.
My heart felt like it would beat out of my chest. There was no turning around anymore -- if I backed out, she would without a doubt see me. What the hell had I been thinking coming here? Wrong move, major fuck up, Reed.