“You realize what he’d have to give up to be with you, right?” Callie asked.
“That’s why I’ll wait for him. No one has to know the baby is his, and when he graduates from College, he’ll be twenty-three and I’ll be twenty-seven. That’s hardly unheard of. I know what you must think of me, but I can’t just let life slip away from me.”
Callie shook her head. “You know, I spend a lot of my time dealing with situations almost exactly like this one with women almost exactly your age, except instead of a nineteen year old, the guy is usually around fifty and has a family and kids and a high profile public job, and every time, I get the woman to sign a contract and take the money and keep quiet. I never judge anyone for it either way. I have the authorization to write you a large check and get you on a plane to some place far away. It’s a good deal, but I’m guessing you’re not going to take it. So let me ask you something else. What do you want?”
“I just want to keep my job. If I take the fall semester off, I can start again in the spring. I can make do until he graduates from college, and then we’ll figure things out from there. I’ll even sign the non disclosure agreement if I can keep my job.”
Callie had everything she wanted from Erin, and she wouldn’t have to do a thing other than hand her the NDA, but she just couldn’t do it. “I have someone here who might be able to convince you otherwise,” she said.
“If you’re trying to scare me,” Erin said, “you might as well give up. I don’t know what you think I have left to lose, but without Luke or my job, I have nothing. Luke and I have to do what’s best for our child.”
“I’m not trying to scare you,” Callie said. “Hold on right here, and I’ll be right back. You’ll like this surprise.” Callie walked over to the door and motioned down the driveway to Logan and Luke. If this didn’t work, Callie would be the one out of a job.
***
Logan watched Callie step out the front door of the house onto the porch. With a quick motion, she summoned him. It was time to finish this thing. “Looks like we’re up,” he said. He had been in the car with Luke for at least fifteen minutes, and had struggled to find a way to keep the teen from running inside to see his girlfriend. It was clear to him that they were just two kids in love. Christ, a twenty three year old was no more of an adult than a nineteen year old. If Luke had been some poor kid who just happened to live in town no one would have thought anything of it. Hell, the school probably would have hired him onto the staff to show how progressive it was, but Luke’s father was rich, and rich fathers had expectations. Logan just wanted to help Luke live his life. If Logan had given his full attention to the matter at hand, maybe it would have been easier, but he couldn’t. He just kept thinking about Callie.
Even when talking to Luke, he had kept his eyes trained on the door, waiting for his next glimpse of her. Now that he was looking at her, he momentarily forgot about everything else. He thought back to waking up next to her on the yacht, the warmth and comfort of lying next to her. It had just felt so natural, so perfect. With other women, it had been different; usually Logan couldn’t leave quickly enough, but with Callie, he wanted each moment to last just a little bit longer.
As he sat and looked up the driveway at Callie, the golden sunlight filtered through her hair just like it had that morning. He thought back to pulling her on top of himself and kissing her. It had all felt so right, no worries about anything beyond the moment. There had been a music to the way their bodies had moved together, and he wanted to hear it again.
He liked what he had with Callie. Sure, the whole thing was a little confusing, and Callie could be impossible when she wanted to get her way, but his time with her had felt like a dream. He would annoy her and flirt with her, and she would shoot him down and eventually come to him on her own terms. Her way of dealing with him was unusual, and it was kind of hot. He was used to women either being pushy or pushovers, and Callie was neither. His only worry was that he would screw up whatever it was that they had together. He didn’t want to do anything to upset the balance of their relationship. All he had to do was get Callie and head home, and they could resume their little back and forth.
Of course, the whole scandal had been fun, different from his other time with Callie, but still fun. He liked having to think on his feet, and he liked helping out a kid who reminded him so much of himself. As he thought this through, he realized he needed to get Luke up to the house. “Hey,” Logan said to Luke, “don’t mention anything about where you got the money for the ring to your… teacher.”