Since we'd been sitting there for over an hour, there was no time for another, "interlude," even if we'd both been in the mood. After our discussion and her revelations, it appeared that neither of us was interested in anything but letting all that had been said, by both of us, sink in.
Walking her to her car, she finally noticed the bag I was holding and inquired about it. "Brain fart," I lied, "carried it into the building by mistake."
She accepted the excuse, made me give her a kiss goodbye, and we promised to see each other sometime during the following week.
I used that time to analyze her predicament, as it related to her experiences and those disclosures. It was hard for me to fathom why any man would treat her the way that her husband did, no matter how Catholic. Degrading her in private because of his insecurities was bad enough..., but to do it in front of, and to actually enlist their own daughter to join in this debasing was downright abusive. Why did she allow it?
When I looked at the totality of her claims, the fact that she'd only had one actual relationship in her life, that with Todd, and sexual relations with only three men..., maybe her lack of, "real life," experiences lead her to believe she had no way out, his maltreatment all she knew.
In light of that, her fantasy life with me might seem downright plausible.
Monday noon my receptionist buzzed me. "A Mrs. Adams calling, says she was Lexi's teacher."
Elle calling from school, "In all the talking the other day, I forgot to tell you the name of the book. If you stop by after school, I can give you a copy."
I didn't have to ask what time and promised to be there.
Questions filled my mind, most importantly, "Why was I still doing this?" The obvious answer..., and really the only answer was, "SEX!" I could rationalize all I wanted, but that was THE reason. Beyond that, my feelings of "GUILT," might have been the ONLY thing to stop this before it went any further. That reasoning had gone out the window when I went back to her classroom knowing..., absolutely positively certain, that she would try to seduce me, and I'd gone anyway.
That encounter had been so unbelievably erotic that it rendered these circumspective thoughts useless. Why bother faking guilt?
There were a half dozen cars in the parking lot when I arrived, an unusually large number considering Elle was normally the only teacher still there after 4:00 PM. With my heightened sense of self-preservation tingling, I wondered if I was being set up? Had someone, Mrs. Harrington perhaps, figured something was going on and alerted the principal?
Then it hit me! This could be my way out. Someone accuses us of something and, unless Elle was a complete idiot, we deny, deny, deny and I never go back to her classroom again. It would be over!
But sitting in my car, the engine still running, thoughts of a, "U Turn" and "I'm out'a here," echoing in my cranium..., the memory of her walking around her desk, wearing the mini skirt and whatever that blouse thing was, continued to replay endlessly in my mind. Was any of this stupidity worth what might happen if we'd been caught?
"Only," I said out loud to myself, "if you let the, "little head," overrule the, "BIG HEAD."
I parked the car and carried the stuff from, "2 Hot," back in with me.
She was alone in her classroom, another long bib dress and turtleneck..., "How many of those things does she own?" I thought.
Part of the staff was still there because, "..., there's a faculty advisory board meeting this afternoon, the board reviewing applications for the principal's job here, Leo is retiring at the end of the school year."
We discussed Leo for a few moments, Elle very fond of the man. "He's been a mentor and advisor to me, a shoulder for me to cry on when things get tough for me..., he knows about my troubles at home."
"Lucky to have him," I answered.
Shaking her head, "Yes," she was quiet for a moment and then told me, "I even talked to him at the beginning of the school year. How I'd been thinking about, maybe divorcing Todd, maybe meeting, "..., the man of my dreams." He told me, "Well when you meet Prince Charming and he asks you to marry him..., I'd be proud to walk you down the aisle."
"He's really a sweet man and I'm really going to miss him."
We sat there not saying anything, her thoughts about Leo's departure heavy on her mind.
Finally she looked at me, smiled and asked, "Is that the same bag?"
I said, "No," for the same reason I'd lied the day before..., no need for explanations.
So, without an explanation, I handed her the bag.
"A present for me?" with a smile.
I shrugged.
I'd made sure there were no tags or store name on the bag, the location would be a surprise if she ever agreed to go there with me.
Looking inside, she squealed in delight went she saw the black satin, "Shelf Bra and G-string set." But after pulling it out, she seemed puzzled at what she was looking at?
"You don't like it?" I asked.
"No..., I mean yes," more confusion showing, "but how do you..., what does it..., cover?"
"It's not meant to cover a whole lot," I admitted. "The bra just holds your breasts up from underneath..., like a push-up bra without the cups. The bottom is..."
"I know what the bottom is..., but I've never seen anything like..." as she held up the bra looking at it.
When I saw her start to stand up, I tried to stop her, saying, "The other the people in the building!"
"They're in Leo's conference room," she said, "and there's no need for them to come down here," as she got up and walked around me, stopping to give me a kiss on the top of my head. "Oh, and the book is on my desk."
Getting up to get the book, I glanced out the window, since the blinds were still open and saw, what had to be the board members walking to their cars.
One less thing to worry about!
Then I heard footsteps in the hallway.
Before I could do anything, a young woman stuck her hear into room. With a surprised look on her face, she did a double take before asking, "Mrs. Adams?"
Luckily, I was standing next to Elle's desk, the book in my hand. I smiled and pointed towards the bathroom.
At that moment, Elle opened the door..., my heart sinking into my stomach, figuring she'd be modeling the bra and g-string set..., only to hear her say, "Sorry about that, but..." as she was wiping her hands on a paper towel, her pilgrim dress still in place, then surprised to find..., "Oh, hi Judy, what's up?"
With, "Judy," still staring at me, she said, "Just looking for your copy of, "How to Train Your Dragon."
Turing, Elle introduced me and said, "That's what he's holding in his hand."
She then explained to the woman who I was and why I needed to keep the book. After a short discussion, I promised to return the book to, "..., Mrs. Adams on Monday." Satisfied, Judy left, but not before adding, "Think you could tell your story to my class too?"
After she was gone, I had to ask, "Is she on the Advisory Board?"
"Yes," Elle replied, "and isn't she sexy?"
