“I know. She’s been blowing up my phone,” I replied as I turned and walked down the long hallway to see Sarah leaning against my door. Even if I gave Sarah a key, she’d have trouble finding anything in here.
“Blowing up your phone?” She repeated as I rolled my eyes and unlocked the door. “It’s not like you to miss a day at the office. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I was just relaxing at home. I was up late having dinner with Marie.” She knew a bit about my family, nodding as she followed me inside of the room. “So, I copied off all of the lectures for you that I have planned. The test is tomorrow, so that will take up class, but everything else is here.” I have her a folder, and she smiled at me. “How do the students feel about the test?”
“The ones that attend sessions regularly seem to be fine with it. I don’t want to talk about the people that can’t make it and beg me for help,” she replied as I shook my head.
“Their problem, not yours. You’re one of the greatest tutors a teacher can have,” I complimented her as I sat down to check emails for a second.
“I noticed that Elena stopped coming to sessions. Is she doing better? I saw her here that day and worried that she might be slipping behind again.” Sarah asked, and I forced my gaze to stay on the computer screen. Heat and shame washed over me as I fought it, trying to push it away.
“She’s good. She caught up quickly, and I think that she’ll do okay on the test.” I kept everything casual as I logged in to the university email and read the list. There were a few from the students that Sarah described, but I told them from the beginning that their grade for the semester was all on them. I helped as much as I could. “Jesus. These kids need to grow up.”
“Agreed,” Sarah said wryly as she gathered up her things. “I’ll get started on these. You have the tests?” I patted to a stack of papers on the left of my desk, and she nodded. “Have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I was left alone, and I let out the breath that I was holding. I didn’t look at Sarah at all during the conversation to read her expression since I knew that I might blow it. I just tried to keep control as best as possible when I responded, hoping that I played it off. As a tutor, Sarah was aware of the rules surrounding college relationships, and she wouldn’t hesitate to rip me a new one over what I was doing with Elena.
I didn’t want it to get to that point. I kept reading, saving a few important ones into a folder and deleting several others. Anything else that I needed to do, I could be home for. I told Graham to have a good night and started my car, driving home with a heavy foot as I thought about Elena.
I parked and left to walk to my door as Ellie, a sweet older widow that lived near me, stopped me. I did some handiwork around her condo every now and then, and she explained that her fridge was acting up. She had two sons that should be helping her since they were close, but they didn’t. It pissed me off because she was a great lady. I promised her that I’d stop by later tonight to have a look, knowing that Elena was waiting for me as I unlocked my front door.
She was sitting on the couch, watching something on the big television. Elena was beautiful, and I took her in as I closed the door quietly, thinking about Sarah’s question back at the office. I set the keys quietly down on the counter and made my way to her as she blinked and glanced over. “You’re home. I was just…thinking.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked as she smiled and nodded.
“Got everything done?” Elena asked as I smiled. She was trying to change the subject.
“Enough. I get to play handyman tonight for my neighbor, too. She’s a widow, and her sons suck ass.” Elena smiled warmly at her as I leaned in to kiss her. “She is an amazing cook, so it’s no trouble at all.”
“You’re sweet,” Elena told me as I shrugged and reached for her water.
“I’d do it for my mom if she were here.” The words saddened me, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
We stayed on the couch for about an hour longer before she kissed me and made her way to my room. I knew that she was going to head home and I glanced at the television to see that it was past six. She probably had to study, and I pinched the bridge of my nose for a moment. Elena had the test tomorrow, and while we hadn’t discussed it, I also knew that she had to study.
Elena came out dressed in her clothes from yesterday and her hair in a low ponytail. I guess I should go. You have your neighbor, and I have to get some stuff done.”
“Yeah, I do. I don’t know if I’ll fix it tonight, but I’ll feel better looking at it.” I stood and walked over to her, cupping Elena’s face before I kissed her. It was dark out, and I watched her make her way to her car in the lot before she was pulling out.
The room was suddenly empty, and I took a breath. I grabbed my keys and went over to Ellie’s, only to realize that I needed to tear her fridge apart to fix the problem. I knew that it wasn’t going to happen tonight but promised her that I’d be back tomorrow in the afternoon to take a closer look. She had cooked some fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy for dinner, inviting me to stay as I agreed and pulled up a chair at her table.
“I’ve seen a girl leaving your house a couple times,” Ellie started as I sipped my water to get the lump in my throat down. “Is it serious?”
“Nah. I don’t do serious,” I told her as her hazel eyes twinkled at me.
“You’re a wonderful young man, Liam. Any girl would be lucky to have you,” she assured me as I laughed and shook my head.
“You’re too sweet, Ellie.” She shook her head and sipped her tea.
“I just see what the world is like now. I feel sorry for people looking for love since it’s very different from when I was younger.” She frowned and looked at my plate. “Want more?”
“I am stuffed. Save me some for tomorrow,” I teased as she nodded with a warm smile. I helped her put the leftovers away and wash dishes before I made my way home to the empty condo.
I changed into something comfortable and thought about how good Elena felt without a condom. I was a little nervous about that backfiring on us, but she was responsible and wouldn’t want a surprise pregnancy to alter her path. The thought made me shudder, both in horror and a little bit of hope. Was this getting to be more than either of us wanted? Was it too much to walk away from?
I fell asleep in front of the TV, the sound of sports in the background. My alarm was set early so I could get to class and be ready for the test. It would make for a shorter class for the ones that knew everything that knew what they were doing and a stressful one for those that didn’t study. Which group would Elena be in? We’d been so focused on our affair that she didn’t seem to have much time for schoolwork. I knew that I would be nervous until the tests were graded and knew that I wouldn’t be fucking up her life.
I didn’t want to do that to anyone, particularly Elena. She was too good, too driven and she deserved to have the best life possible. If she did score low, I’d have a talk with her and decide what we were going to do from there, since I didn’t know what I had to offer her.