Everything But (32 page)

Whew
.  She’d been expecting the girl to say she was pregnant or something.  She felt relieved that this was a preemptive strike.  But she wasn’t talking anymore.  “Well, there’s no need to give in
to pressure.  You can say
no
.”

“Yeah, I
know
that.  Tim’s pretty cool about it.  It’s Brenda and Rainy who are being total bitches about it.”

Erin blinked.  Yes, she remembered having quite a potty mouth when she was in high school (and, frankly, not much had changed—she was just better about hiding it nowadays), but she didn’t think she’d ever cursed in front of a teacher before.  Still, the girl was being honest and not pulling punches.  “Uh…what are they
doing
exactly?”

Kendra swallowed.  “They’re…um…telling me I’m not a real woman, not a real cheerleader, because I’m a virgin.”

Erin patted the girl’s hand.  It felt awkward after she’d done it, but it had been a natural impulse.  “Don’t worry about what they think.  What do
you
want?”

The girl took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “I’m not ready.  I mean…I really like Tim.  I really,
really
like him and when I’m ready, I want it to
be
him.  But…I’m nowhere near ready.  I’m not even on the pill or anything.”

“Then you can just tell the other girls that what happens between you and Tim is private.  Sure, they’re going to assume you’re still a virgin, but who cares?  You won’t necessarily want to tell them once you’ve consummated that relationship anyway.”

She nodded.  “That’s true.  In fact, the only person I ever want to tell about that is Pam, my best friend.”

Oh, that’s right.  Erin knew Pam.  Pam was also a junior, a young woman who’d taken English classes with her for two years, a fairly smart girl. 
A girl like Pam would help keep Kendra grounded.  “Then she’s the only one you should tell.  Don’t worry about what cheerleaders like Brenda and Rainy think.  They just feel better about themselves by pushing you and the other girls around.  But they’ll stop once they see you’re not just caving.”

“I think you’re right about that.”

The girl started chewing her lip again, so Erin knew she wasn’t quite done talking.  “What else is bothering you, Kendra?”

“Well, like I said, Tim’s cool about me wanting to wait, but I don’t want him to get bored or anything, you know?  So, I…uh…was thinking about doing
other
things with him.  Do you think that’s okay?”

Whoa…Erin really didn’t feel equipped to talk birds and bees with her students, but—she supposed—that was part of being a high school teacher. 
This girl might not have anyone else she felt comfortable talking with.  “Well, of course, I think the bottom line, Kendra, is how
you
feel about it.  Do
you
feel like you really
want
to do other things with him?  And it might help if I knew what the
other things
were.”  If the girl said
drugs
, Erin was going to flip.

Kendra dropped her voice more and looked down at the pen on the desk.  “Uh…I was considering…um…oral sex.”  The girl’s face looked red as a rose.

Ah, young love.  “Do you feel ready for that?”

Kendra looked up, somehow finding the courage to make eye contact with her temporary cheer coach.  “Yeah…I think I want to try it.”

Erin could only think one thing, and it was not appropriate to tell Kendra, but she knew the girl’s boyfriend would love it.
  She cleared her head and managed, “Well, it might not hurt to consider talking with a doctor anyway.  I can tell you from personal experience that, once you start exploring your sexuality, one thing can lead to another.  Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but you might want to be prepared.  If you’re already on the pill, it won’t be so bad.”  She leaned her head down, coaxing Kendra to make eye contact again.  “Does that make sense?”

“Yeah.”
  Kendra stood.  “Thanks, Ms. Lancaster.”

Erin smiled. 
“Anytime.”
  As she watched the girl walk out of her classroom, Erin couldn’t help but think about Riley.  Here was a young girl eager to enjoy her first sexual experience with a boy she cared very much about.  It made Erin think about a guy who was becoming pretty special to her and she was anticipating a sexual encounter with him soon.

To hell with the papers.
  There would always be time for grading in the morning.

Chapter Thirty-three

WELL, RILEY HAD
rented a hotel room in the Super 8, so it was no great shakes, but it was clean
,
and the bed was soft
but not too soft
.
  Unfortunately, he was finding it impossible to nap
anyway
.  So he got up off the bed and walked up and down Main Street, taking in the stores.  There were several that
hadn’t been
there when he’d left town, and there were even a few that had just popped up since the last time he’d been in town.  He knew Main Street was ever-changing, but he was glad to see a few shops were still the same—the pharmacy that had been there for forever, Harriman’s Drug Store; the pizzeria; the music store.  Seeing the same old sights was comforting somehow.

He stopped in a bar and had a beer and a slice and just looked out the front window.  Winchester really hadn’t changed much since he’d been a kid living here.  There still weren’t many traffic lights and Main Street was a friendly, kind of quiet place.

He wondered if Erin was happy living here.  And he wondered if he could be now that he’d been gone for so long.  He didn’t know.  He’d been living in the big city for so long, he didn’t know if he could readjust to a place like Winchester, even with Colorado Springs and the Denver Metro area close by.  He’d have to ask Erin how she felt about city living.

Jesus…was he really thinking that far ahead?  It was a little scary but…
cool
too.  The last time he’d thought beyond tomorrow about any girl had been when he and Marla had been hot and heavy.  And he’d been so stupid.  He’d even bought a ring for her.  What a blind dumbass he’d been.

But Erin wasn’t like Marla.  He was sure of that.  She was sweet and genuine and everything Marla could never be.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her
,
and he still had a
t least an
hour before he could go to her place.  So he walked a couple of blocks off Main Street to the Winchester Public Library.  He hadn’t been there since high school and he wondered if it still looked the same inside.  The lawn outside the library was green and the trees were budding.  He admired the stone work of the building and started walking up the ramp to the door when he heard
his phone ringing in
his jeans pocket.

He smiled as he flipped the phone open and held it to his ear. 
“Hi there, beautiful.”

He heard
Erin’s
laugh, rich and deep.  “How’d you know it was me?”

“You should know you rate high enough for your own ringtone.”

“I
do
?”

“Of course, you do.”  He laughed too, pausing and holding t
he railing with his free hand.

“So, what
is
it?

“What? 
Your ringtone?”

“Yeah.”

“You should know…”

“I
should
?” 
Riley chuckled and started
scatt
ing
the opening bars to
Van
Halen’s
“Hot for Teacher.”  Erin laughed.  “Yeah, I guess I should have.”

“So, what’s going on?”

“I left work earlier than planned and wondered if you wanted to come over now.”

Shit…that was like asking a man dying of thirst if he’d consider having a glass of water.  “Sure.  I’ll be a few minutes.”  He started walking back down the ramp to
ward
the sidewalk. 
“I’ve been wandering around downtown, checking out what’s changed and what’s stayed the same.”

“What do you think?”

He grinned.  “I
think I
should come home more often.”  It almost surprised him hearing it come out of his mouth, but it was true.

“Has it changed that much?”

“No…it’s been that long.”  He inhaled a deep breath.  “See you in a few minutes.”

* * *

When Riley got to Erin’s apartment, he really had intended to just sit on the couch or at the kitchen table with her and talk.  But when he saw her and she looked happy and content, he couldn’t resist her.
 
When s
he
peeked
her
head out the door and saw him, s
he grabbed his wrist and yanked him inside, a mischievous look on her face.

Even then, he figured he should talk, knew that was probably what she wanted, but she wrapped her arms around his waist and reste
d her head against his chest.  Complete f
orgiveness?  That’s certainly what it felt like.  He held her close, breathing in the scent of her hair, and accepted it.  So much had happened over the past week, not just with Erin but with his family, and it was almost too much to process at once.  But there in her arms, it all felt okay.

And he couldn’t stop his hand from moving up her back and into her hair.  She responded by looking up at him and, as though moving with a will of their own, his lips were on hers in seconds.
  She seemed to sigh in satisfaction as she parted her lips to take him in.

He felt something strong wash over him just then, an emotion that threatened to take him over.  But he restrained himself and pushed it to the back of his mind.  Right now he had to quit focusing on himself and give Erin his full attention.  What was
she
thinking and feeling?  Did she really still want
him,
even after he’d tried several times to monumentally fuck it all up?

If her response to his kiss was any indication, that was all past history.  Not only had she warmed up to him, if he wasn’t mistaken, this wasn’t just a kiss.  They were going to make love before all was said and done.

And he wouldn’t complain about it.

He didn’t think he’d ever quite understand how women felt about sex, but he knew that was one thing he loved and excelled at, and the only girl he wanted right now was Erin.  So why not enjoy each other?

He didn’t want to be presumptuous, though, knowing that the way he was feeling could be overshadowing his judgment.  Erin would have to let him know that’s what she wanted.  Otherwise, he’d just be content holding her in his arms kissing her.

So when her lips did leave his, he expected her to invite him into the kitchen for a cold drink or to sit on the couch.  He didn’t expect her to take his hands in hers and lead him down the hallway to her bedroom.  He wasn’t about to protest,
though, even though
his only thought was wondering if this was going to be like her revenge on him at the hotel earlier in the week.  But she didn’t have handcuffs and, really, if she were plotting any kind of revenge, he had it coming.

But when they got to her bedroom, her lips attacked his and she ran her hands up under his shirt, her fingers dancing on his bare skin.  That’s all it took for all his thoughts to dissipate into the ether.  He couldn’t think of anything else now except pleasuring her and himself in the process.

I’m all yours, babe
, he thought, not wondering where it came from, but relishing her
hands on his skin.  He gathered her hair up in his hand so it was up and off her neck and then kissed the delicate flesh under her ear.  She inhaled sharply, giving him a sign he was on the right track. 
She pulled his shirt up
his torso and he grabbed it with his free hand
, maneuvering it over his head and then dropping it to the floor.  He moved his lips back to her neck.  He could feel her warm breath on his
chest,
feel her nipples grinding into him. 
Good
, he thought.  She was as turned on as he was.
  He moved his hands to the front of her blouse and unbuttoned it, kissing a trail down to her bra, then licking
and kissing
the skin between the cleavage just above the bra until all the buttons were unfastened.
  He pushed the blouse off her shoulders, letting it fall down her arms.  She let the blouse drop to the floor.

Then he picked her up under her thighs, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he moved toward the bed.  He set her down
on the bed and cupped her face in his hands. 
God
…he wanted to say so many things, but now wasn’t the right time.  He’d fuck it up for sure in his present state of mind.  So instead he kissed her again, slow and deep.  Her fingers were digging into his
pecs
, and he knew she was as turned on as he was.