Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 34206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Out of the blue, the image of her full lips and sexy body pressed against his, and he had no choice but to stay behind his desk.
This was all kinds of wrong. He shouldn’t have agreed to tutor her. Being close to her wasn’t going to help this. It was only going to make things harder. So much harder. There was only so much strength he had.
She put the pen to paper again and started to scribble the answers.
Before he even realized it, the clock buzzed, bringing an end to the examination, and to finish, Teal growled.
“I didn’t finish it!” She slapped the book closed and moved it toward him. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. Math can be tricky.”
She slumped back. “I have no idea how I did.” She dropped her pen to the table and then covered her face with both of her hands. “I used to be good at this. I don’t mean genius level, but I tested well. Then, like overnight, boom, everything fell apart.”
“There can be many factors that affect us.”
Teal dropped her hands and blew out a breath. “Like what?”
“I haven’t seen your dad around.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know if he’s coming back.”
“That could be a factor. It … I’ve heard your mother on the phone.”
Teal laughed. “So pretty much every single time you see my mother. Trust me, she’s on the phone all the time.” She sighed. “That’s not new.”
“It could still be adding stress to you.”
She shook her head. “I doubt it. I’m used to my parents’ kind of life. Before we moved here, before my mom quit her job, they used to work in an advertising firm. Rival firms. They were known to get dirty. Steal each other’s clients, but I don’t know, that seemed to keep the spark alive between the two of them.”
“Really?” he asked.
Teal chuckled. “I know, it sounds odd, right? Two people staying together, loving one another, and building a life together, even though there are times they scream and yell. I know how all of that ended.”
“But your dad’s not here,” he said.
“I know, because my mom, well, she took it too far. She slept with her boss and my dad found out. He’s pissed and went on a business trip. This was six months ago. Mom quit her job, moved us here, and is trying to convince my dad that it all meant nothing.”
“Did it?”
“I don’t know,” Teal said. “She has changed her whole life for him. I guess that has to account for something, right? It means she loves him enough to change everything.”
It sounded like it.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t be unloading this on you. You’re just my teacher.”
“And neighbor.”
“Shouldn’t that make me not tell you anything?”
He laughed. “I guess, but don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
Teal stared at him, and he couldn’t help but stare at her.
Silence filled his home. It wasn’t awkward. But comfortable.
He had an eighteen-year-old student in his home, and all he could think about was how good she would feel pressed against him. Jaxson knew he should be fucking shot or castrated.
And … he needed to move. To bring some distance between them.
“Do you want some more coffee?” he asked.
He didn’t wait for an answer but grabbed their empty cups and headed into his kitchen. The coffee pot was still warm.
What he needed was something stronger than coffee. Whiskey. Brandy. Something stronger.
Or a good fuck.
He hadn’t been with a woman for over a year. The last person he’d been dating had gotten a little too close. She had started to talk about moving in together so they could be close to one another.
Their dating was only supposed to be sex. Fun, casual sex with no complications. All of a sudden, she was asking for a key to his apartment and his schedule at work. There was even a whole host of questions about what he liked and didn’t like.
A casual fuck had turned into a nightmare. So, he’d ended it. One year ago. There hadn’t been anyone else. And he hadn’t had any desire to be with anyone else—until Teal.
Damn it.
After pouring them both a mug of coffee, he turned to find Teal standing in his kitchen. “You don’t have to get me coffee. I appreciate you trying to help me. Let me know if I did badly.”
“Where are you going?”
“It’s your weekend, and I’m pretty sure you had a lot more interesting things to do than hang out with me.” She’d pulled her bag up to her shoulder.
This was his chance to get out of it. She was giving him an opening. Just tell her that he didn’t want to tutor her and that he had a whole lot of crap on his plate. Only, he couldn’t bring himself to say a word of it.
He wasn’t going to get the distance he craved because the truth was that he didn’t want it. Not from Teal. He could want her.