Thou Shalt Not (11 page)

“Hi, Luke,” she said.

I neared her and I wasn’t sure whether or not I should hug her or shake her hand or just stand with my hands in my pockets like a fool. She might have already sensed my hesitation, might have already determined she was going to hug me, or perhaps she was just naturally a hugger, because she went in for the hug like we had been friends for much longer than a week. The embrace was short, but feeling her body pressed against me, however briefly, made my thoughts fire away in many different directions. She wasn’t large breasted by any means, so our bodies got closer than they might have if I had been hugging a different woman. Her body felt lean and strong, and I was more convinced now than before that she was probably an avid runner. Or maybe she played tennis her whole life.

As she stepped back, I found myself wishing I could see her eyes. I usually read people pretty well, and I wanted to have been able to see her eyes before and after the hug.

“So,” she said, wringing her hands in front of her body, “You’re probably wondering why I called this meeting.”

I laughed. That was a line Principal West used often. Clearly, April had already heard him say it. She broke the ice nicely.

“Actually, I was just looking forward to a clandestine parking lot meeting,” I said. “It’s been too long!”

She laughed this time.

“Always a quick joke with you!”

I smiled. “So, what’s up, Mrs. Batista?”

I don’t know why I just turned it formal. Maybe my subconscious wanted me to stop thinking about hugging her.

“Okay,” she said, “I hope you don’t think this is weird or inappropriate, but I know the last few days have been rough for you. So, I made you something.”

She unlocked her car and it beeped loudly as she walked toward the front seat on the passenger’s side. Her head ducked inside the car along with her arms, but when she came out she was holding a very large, covered red Tupperware bowl.

“Made me something?” I asked, with no idea what could possibly be in the bowl.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve been where you are. I mean, I have lost people close to me before, and I know it’s easy to neglect yourself and stop eating.”

Did she really cook food for me?

“I’ve skipped a few meals, that’s for sure,” I admitted, truthfully.

“Well, the day I met you I told you my husband probably had a really good recipe for the posole you mentioned. But, I have a confession.”

“Okay?”

“I really didn’t have a clue what posole was, so I just assumed it was something his family probably made.” She laughed. “It’s not. He’s Cuban, and posole is apparently not Cuban at all.”

Now I laughed. It most certainly was not Cuban.

“So, I found a supposedly great posole recipe online and made you some. I hope that’s okay. I don’t even really know how it’s supposed to taste. If it’s awful, we can just pretend I never tried?”

I was speechless for a minute.

“Oh my god, no. I am sure it will be great,” I said, shocked that she would do something that thoughtful. “You really didn’t have to though.”

“I know, but, I mean we will probably be working together and all, if everything works out for me. I just wanted to do something nice. I don’t know.”

“That’s really so nice of you, April. Thank you.”

This time I was the one initiating the hug and she didn’t back away.

“I don’t even know what to say,” I said after the second hug ended.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just promise you will eat it and pretend to like it.”

“I most certainly will be eating it,” I said. “And I highly doubt I will have to pretend to like it.”

“Let’s hope not,” she said as she handed me the bowl.

It dawned on me at that moment that she had said that we would probably be working together, and I wondered if she had been approached about it. I didn’t want to bring it up if she hadn’t, but my mouth wasn’t heeding my warning.

“Has anyone talked to you about maybe taking over full-time?”

I paused for a second, and when she hadn’t said anything, I added, “I mean, I know it’s a delicate topic. You don’t have to say anything.”

“Actually, they’ve asked me if it’s something I would be interested in. I told them yes. I think it could be really good for me to get back into the classroom full-time.”

“So, is it official?”

“No, nothing is official yet. I did some paperwork, and I guess they will go to the school board to get everything approved. Guess we will see...”

God, I hope she gets the job.

“Well, I really hope you get it. You’d be great for the job.”

“Thank you, Luke. That’s means a lot.”

We stood there in silence for a moment, and then I said, “I should probably get inside and say hi to some people. It’s always weird mingling at things like this.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“You said you were going to stop in for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, probably. I mean, I don’t know anybody, but I want to pay my respects.”

“Well, let’s get inside then. I’ll introduce you to Walt, Robin’s husband. He’s a saint. I am just going to put this bowl in the car or people inside might devour it before I get a chance to. Thanks again, April. It was really kind of you to do this.”

“It was my pleasure, really. Who knows, maybe you’ll like it and I’ll be able to add a new dish to my culinary
résumé
.”

I put the bowl in Holly’s car and walked inside the church with April. I hadn’t expected to have someone take my mind off my own grief, but to my surprise, April was doing it. I don’t think she even knew she was. When we got to the room holding the reception, I found myself feeling better than I had in a long time.

The reception was a far more refreshing experience than I had anticipated. Walt was surprisingly peaceful and greeted April even more warmly than I had hoped. Of course, I didn’t tell him that she was the one currently occupying Robin’s old room, and was probably the one who would take her position at the school. Even if I had, I think he would have been okay with it.

I was able to take April around to different groups and introduce her to the staff that she probably hadn’t had the chance to meet. Everyone was swapping Robin stories, and more than once did the Dum-Dum story circulate from a source other than myself.

My phone vibrated against my leg halfway through the reception. It was a text from Holly.

Hope you are doing okay
,
it read.

Thanks. I really am.

Then I sent,
Did you end things with K?

Yeah, I did.

How’d he take it?

He really didn’t seem all that surprised. A little angry though.

Are you okay?

Yeah. I’m relieved.

Good. I’ll be back to the house in about an hour. Maybe we can go out to eat tonight?

Okay :-)

I had moments where I would entertain the idea of my schoolboy crush on April, but the better half of my mind (or at least the more responsible half) would quickly push those thoughts away. Then they would replace them with thoughts of Holly. Maybe we were too young when we first dated. Maybe we were at bad emotional places in our life. Maybe trying again would be worth it. No marriage would be wrecked, for one thing. This was becoming the constant ping-pong battle in my brain.

I decided to head home, and so I slipped out, but not before saying goodbye to Walt and thanking April once again for the posole. To my surprise, she had stayed much longer than I had thought she would, and seemed to hit it off well with quite a few of the teachers. She was apparently going to stay longer than I was. This made me happy.

The walk from the driveway to my front door was excruciatingly hot. I was growing more and more thankful for Holly, and for her car. I needed to take her somewhere to show my gratitude.

When I got inside, I walked to the kitchen to place the large Tupperware bowl in the fridge. I didn’t see Holly and assumed she was in the bedroom. It took me a second or two to remember what she had promised me for the end of the day, and I was praying she hadn’t forgotten. But I didn’t see her or hear a peep.

It took a little rearranging of the fridge to make space for the bowl, but after a minute or two, I made it work. Normally, my fridge was pretty bare, stocked only with essentials. Milk, eggs, bacon, beer—you know, the pillars of the male refrigerator. But, when Holly showed up for one of our rounds, the whole grocery store could be found in my fridge. Another point in her book.

I closed the fridge and turned around, stretching my arms out over my head. She was standing in the middle of the living room, maybe ten feet in front of me. I froze mid-stretch.

Her blonde hair looked unruly, untamed, like she had just woken up from a nap. Her lips were pouty and her eyes were
glazed.
She was wearing a tight, pink fitted t-shirt that stopped just above her hip bones. A few inches further down she was wearing white lace panties, pulled down just enough so that I could see the small star tattoo that normally stayed hidden. The tattoo had been a “drunken high school mistake” that she now wore with pride.

Holly walked straight toward me, and when she was close enough, I pulled her by her hips the rest of the way.
I slid my hands down behind her and gripped her ass, pulling her up. Her legs instinctively lifted and wrapped around my waist. I could feel myself grow instantly hard.

“Couch” was all she said between frantic kisses, and so I carried her over to the couch in the living room. We fell backwards, too consumed by what was happening with our mouths to stop. Holly was now straddling me. She was grinding her lower body into mine. My hands found the bottom hem of her shirt. I
pulled it up and off, revealing a matching white lace bra. I quickly reached behind her, and with one flick unhooked it. She grabbed the strap and threw it across the room as her breasts fell and bounced into place. I stopped everything for a moment and just looked at her body.

It was amazing to me that I could see the same woman naked so many times, and it still have the same effect on me like it was the first time.

I grabbed her by the sides of her head and pushed up, giving my mouth and lips and tongue access to her chin and neck. I kissed her chin, and then greedily kissed down her neck. She continued grinding into me and even though I was still in my dress pants I could feel how wet she was. I wanted nothing more than to be inside of her. So I told her, right before my mouth landed on her breast. I cupped one breast in each hand and lifted her right breast toward my mouth. I traced all the way around her areola with my tongue a few times quickly, before taking her nipple into my mouth. She leaned back and moaned, her lower body now pushing harder into mine. I repeated with her left breast, and she moaned louder. My mouth went back up to hers, and we kissed a hot, sweaty, sloppy kiss.

She pushed me back against the couch and grabbed my tie at the neck.

“God, I fucking love this tie,” she said as she yanked down on it. She threw it across the room and it landed on top of her bra.

My shirt buttons were undone quickly and my shirt was off and into the ever-growing clothing pile on the floor.

“Stand up,” she ordered, and I immediately obliged. My belt was off before I knew it and she pulled my pants to the ground. I kicked them away as she grabbed my dick through my boxers and lightly bit down along the outline of it. She growled and then my boxers were at my ankles.

She took my throbbing dick into her hand and began quickly stroking it.

“God,” was all I could say. I laced my hands behind my head and closed my eyes. Then I opened them, because I wanted to see what she was doing.

She pushed my dick up against my body and used her tongue to lick from the top of my balls all the way along the underside of my dick. When her tongue came up and reached the tip, she opened her mouth wide and took me as far in as she could. She sucked, hard
.
Then she slid me out of her mouth and repeated the process.

“If you keep going I am going to come in your mouth,” I said.

She looked up, my cock in her mouth, and smiled, sucking harder than before.

“Oh fuck,” I said.

Then, she stopped and pushed me back onto the couch as she stood up. Her panties were directly at my eye level, so grabbed them and yanked them down. She was very wet.

I leaned forward, grabbing her ass and pulling her toward my face. My tongue parted her and found her, sticky and wet and delicious. I ran my tongue up along her pussy, tasting her. My hands spread her legs apart some more, and I slid two fingers inside her while my tongue found her clit.

“Oh my god,” she moaned, and I could actually feel her become more wet as I slid my fingers into her pussy before slowly dragging them back out. I had been with a few girls after Carrie died. But, no one got as wet as Holly. I loved it.

She pushed me back against the cushions and leaned forward, kissing me hard and square on the mouth. Then she grabbed my hand, the one that had been inside her, and put my fingers into her mouth, sucking them.

She had never done this before, and it was so fucking hot.