Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Della

When my phone rang, I scrambled to answer. “Well?”

“Signed,” Jeff said. “Alcott is officially mine.”

“Yes.” I fist-pumped and giggled, excitement driving me out of my chair. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Me too, baby. I’m nervous but…I still can’t believe this is happening.”

“You’re going to do great,” I said.

“Hope so.”

“Know so.”

It had been two months since I’d seen Jeff in person. Two agonizing months.

But true to his word, we’d talked every day. Usually it was at night. We’d FaceTime and talk for hours.

We talked about Rosalie. About how her trip to the ER last week had been eerily similar to a visit two months ago. She’d taken Katy along and Jeff had needed to go rescue her. And like months ago, the doctors hadn’t found anything wrong.

Part of me kept expecting the doctors to uncover this mysterious illness. Each time she was sick, I’d get drawn in, waiting for the outcome. And each time Rosalie turned out to be fine, I felt a little bit like a chump.

The ER trips didn’t seem to faze Jeff, other than hating when Katy was dragged along. Probably because he’d grown numb to Rosalie’s manipulations.

Beyond that topic, we talked about anything. Everything.

I told him about my family. He told me about his. I could say with confidence I knew his favorite foods and candy, even if we hadn’t shared them together.

And we talked about Hans and his retirement plan. How instead of waiting for the end of this season, Hans had decided to escalate the transition. He hadn’t just accepted the idea of retirement but had embraced it.

Jeff would pay him over the next fifteen years per their contract, signed today, but he was the new official owner of Alcott Landscaping.

And tonight, we’d get to celebrate. Together.

“Three hours,” he said.

I glanced at the clock. “Three hours.”

Jitters danced through my limbs as I walked around my classroom, taking in the empty desks. It was the last day of school and the kids were already outside, loading into buses and cars on their way to summer break.

Katy was no longer my student, and she was staying at Rosalie’s until Sunday. Staff members were expected to stay until four, but then I’d be going straight to Jeff’s house to pick up where we’d left off two months ago.

“I’m nervous.”

Jeff chuckled. “Why?”

“What if you don’t like me anymore?”

“Della.”

“I’m serious. What if it’s different? What if the chemistry is gone?”

“Were you not paying attention last night? I came all over my stomach watching you finger that pretty pussy.”

My cheeks flamed and I closed my eyes, picturing the way he’d looked last night. Before Jeff, I hadn’t tried phone sex. Two months of watching through a screen as he’d stroke his cock had been the most excruciating type of foreplay.

“Don’t be nervous,” he murmured.

“Okay.”

“Did you pack a bag?”

“Yep.”

“Good. You’re not leaving my house until Monday morning. I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too,” I whispered. More than he’d ever know.

But maybe these past two months had been good for us. We’d had to set the physical connection aside, and though we’d mastered phone sex, most of our conversations were exactly that.

We’d shared our lives in the past two months through calls and texts.

Was it possible to make a best friend in two months? Was it possible to fall in love with a man in that time? I wouldn’t have thought so before, but now…

“I’d better go,” he said. “I’ve got some stuff to do before I take off. Three hours?”

“Three hours.” Not a minute more. “Bye.”

With the call ended, I went to my desk, grabbing the totes I’d brought along this morning. Teachers would be in the building for another two weeks before our summer break started, but I’d decided to pack up my desk today, taking home the gifts from students that I’d collected this year and the extras I’d kept on hand, like a box of tampons and a pair of gloves.

I was just starting to empty my bottom drawer when footsteps echoed in the hallway. Beyond my open door, Luka passed by.

He didn’t stop.

I didn’t wave.

The friendship we’d had for years was all but over. That morning when I’d come home from Jeff’s house and Luka had made his snide comments about me sleeping with a parent, well…we were done.

Whatever suspicions he had, I’d refused to acknowledge. Instead, I’d spent a lot of time in my room with the door closed, either talking to Jeff or searching for apartments.

He must have expected it because when I’d told him this morning that I’d be leaving in September when my lease agreement ended, he hadn’t at all been shocked.

Packing my desk would be a breeze compared to the house, but Jeff would help.

I was just finishing with a drawer when more footsteps sounded in the hallway. This time, they carried a visitor straight into the classroom.

“Rosalie?” I looked past her for Katy but she was alone. “Um, hi. Is everything okay?”

“Okay? No, it’s not okay.” Her lip curled. “I came to pick up Katy. You know, I almost left. I almost let this go. But I can’t walk away. It’s not right, what you did. Do you sleep with all your students’ fathers? Or just my daughter’s?”

My stomach dropped along with my jaw.

Somehow, she’d found out. Somehow, this secret hadn’t been a secret. And maybe two months away from Jeff had been the solution, but we’d still crossed a line in the first place.

“Shame on you.” Rosalie huffed, giving me a glare. Then she turned and stormed out of my classroom as quickly as she’d entered.

“Oh God.” I wrapped my hands around my stomach, feeling like I was going to hurl.

It wasn’t like this had been some flimsy affair. It wasn’t like he was still married to her. But the guilt, the shame, crept beneath my skin like a fog, gray and thick.

Jeff. I had to tell Jeff.

I spun for my desk where I’d left my phone, but before I could pick it up, another voice filled the room.

“I knew it.” Luka scoffed. “I’ll give you credit though. You hid it well. I was starting to second-guess myself. Do you guys meet to fuck when you say you’re going to the grocery store? Or maybe a quickie before work?”

Once upon a time, I’d loved this man. Or…I’d thought I loved him.

I faced him, squaring my shoulders. Then I said something that was long, long overdue. “Fuck you, Luka. Why does this bother you? Because I’m not dangling on your chain anymore?”

He had to have known about my crush. And he’d exploited it. He’d kept me in his life for when it was convenient for him. For the nights when he was alone and needed a companion.

“You’re the one fucking a student’s father, Della.”

And my indiscretion would give him a reason to blame this all on me. To turn me into the villain.

Maybe I was.

He looked me up and down, shaking his head. “What happened to you?”

Jeff Dawson. He’d turned my life upside down. Or maybe he’d turned it right-side up.

“I met someone worthy.” I crossed the room, passing him for the door. “And I made a mistake.”

A mistake I intended to own.

So I kept my chin up as I walked to the principal’s office.