26. Callie
Callie
Heavy knocking woke me up the next morning and left me feeling disoriented.
I couldn’t sit up and I panicked for a moment, jerking my head to the side to see why I was trapped.
My brain caught up, though, and then more panic hit.
I was in bed with Cole and we were both naked and it seemed like he was a heavy sleeper.
He was on his stomach with his arm across my back, hand cupping my side and holding me close.
His face was turned towards me and I took a moment to appreciate just how handsome he was. He looked like he was having a good dream, with a small smile on his lips. I wanted to lean forward and kiss him again but our one time was over.
Whoever was at the door knocked again and I jumped hard enough to wake Cole up. He scowled and spoke with a voice full of gravel. “Who the fuck is that?”
I pushed at his arm and flew out of bed. I was already hopping into a pair of leggings when he finally sat up. I grabbed the first shirt I could see and yanked it over my head, just to be swallowed whole by it. I looked down and groaned. “I don’t know who it is but you can’t be here.”
He stood up leisurely and took his time stretching, letting all his delicious muscles flex for my hungry eyes. He took advantage of my stunned stupor and walked over to wrap his arms around me and plant a kiss to the top of my head. “You look fucking good in my shirt.”
More knocking made me flinch away from him. “Is it the police? Good lord. How are the boys sleeping through that? I’m just going to peek out the window to see who it is.”
I checked and then ran back into my room, full-on freaking out. “It’s Darren. It’s freaking Darren and I’m going to lose my job! You have to hide!”
Cole’s face darkened. “What the hell is he doing here? Does he just come over to your house?”
I shook my head. “No! Never! Do you think he knows? Oh, shit. I’m going to lose my job.”
“There’s no way he knows, baby. Just breathe.” He ran his hands down his face and then jerked his jeans on. “I’ll hide. If he crosses any lines, I’m not going to stay hidden, though. I will break his fucking face if he does anything to you. Understand me?”
I hesitated at the bedroom door. That roughly growled promise did something to me.
I bit my lip and stared at him in his low-slung jeans and sleep-lined face.
He was so attractive that I almost forgot what I was doing.
My core was deliciously sore, as was my throat, and I grew wet again just thinking about taking him back to bed.
“Keep looking at me like that and I’m going to fuck you against the front door while he knocks, Callie.” The warning was clear.
I rushed through the house and stopped to catch my breath at the front door.
My heart was hammering away, fear sending tingles up and down my spine.
I didn’t know what to expect but at least it seemed like the boys were still asleep.
Oliver woke up at eight on the weekends so it made me wonder just how early it really was.
I put on my most normal face and opened the door.
Darren was on the other side with his hand hovering over the door like he was just about to bang on the door again.
I took in the shorts and tank top he had on and cringed.
If a professional wrestler from the eighties walked out of a time machine, he would’ve mirrored Darren.
He glared at me like I was in his house and had locked him out.
Without waiting for my invitation, he moved at me, forcing me to step back to avoid him brushing against me.
He stepped into my house with the audacity that only a slightly wealthy, rejected frat boy in his early fifties could. “What took you so long?”
A choked sound fell from my lips as I turned and watched him take in my home. “Excuse me? Principal Darren, why are you in my house?”
He huffed and picked up a pair of panties from the floor. “It’s no wonder you’re a mess at school, Callie. Look at this place. Honestly, I guess I should be grateful for how put together you are at work, even if it’s a pitiful effort. Do you clean?”
I had a bottle of fabric glue with a pointy tip within reach and I pictured shoving it up his nose.
I was an awful mixture of furious and mortified.
I didn’t like anyone seeing how I lived but at least when Luke and Cole looked at my mess, they hadn’t judged me.
Out loud, at least. Much. “I’m sorry? What is going on? What time is it?”
“You’ve been so…lackluster…at work lately, Callie, so I decided to come and investigate.
Are you seeing someone? He snuck that question in so quickly that I gave a surprised blink.
“It’s part of my concern, Callie, that you’ve gotten yourself involved with someone you have no business being with and he’s leading you astray.
You were never the best teacher but these days, I can’t help but notice something’s off. ”
My brain was going to explode. “You came here to ask me if I’m seeing someone?”
He let out a disgusted sigh and focused his gaze on me.
“Whose shirt is that? You are seeing someone, aren’t you?
He must be a real loser if you’re living in this pigsty.
I can’t have my teachers turning to bad men.
Next comes drinking in the classroom and stripping on the weekends for beer money.
You’re not my best but…you’re a warm body in the classroom. ”
There was so much to process in everything he’d said that I had to reach up and rub my eyes to make sure I wasn’t still asleep. “You came to insult my home and warn me away from bad men?”
“You clearly need my help.” He sighed and his mask slipped for just a moment but it was enough for me to see the smirk twisting his lips when he glanced down at the panties still dangling from his finger. “Lucky for you, I’m a hands-on principal.”
My skin crawled and I finally found my footing enough to put a stop to whatever the hell was happening.
“No. I-I don’t need your help, Principal Darren.
Thank you, but…no. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here, either, considering the way people gossip and the non-fraternization policy our school has always held firm.
I would really hate if people got the wrong idea.
While I appreciate you being concerned about it, next time I’d love it if this could be a meeting during school hours with a rep from the union. ”
Darren’s eyes narrowed and his face darkened with an anger I’d never been the recipient of. It scared me to my core and I found myself backing up a step before his face transformed back into its normal level of annoyance at me. “Of course.”
I swallowed nervously and glanced down the hallway, wondering just how fast Cole could get to me if I needed him. “Well, thank you for understanding.”
He let out a laugh that said he found nothing amusing about what I’d just done.
“Get your shit together, Callie. Find a real man to keep you in line. You’re a pretty woman but that’ll only take you so far and I’d hate for you to wake up one day, old, ugly, and alone.
I might not be around to help you then.”