Page 4 of Tangled
“In case you’ve forgotten, my wife was hired here and that’s how I met her. Marrying a teacher is the best man. You both get the same time off, you understand what the job is like… it’s the perfect relationship for men like us.”
“That’s pretty sexist, Drew, even coming from you. A woman who can teach math shouldn’t be looked at differently. In fact, that’s pretty hot. But sorry to burst your bubble, I’m not looking for a happily ever after. Knowing my luck anyway, she’s probably in her fifties or something,” I chide while Principal North drones on about the tardy policy.
I swear, with the way these kids are late to class, I wonder how any of them will ever hold down a job.
Drew holds his hands up in the air in defense. “Just sharing my thoughts. Although it seems to me like you could use the company of a woman right now. You’re more surly than normal.”
“I get plenty of company from women when I want it. And I’m not being any more of an asshole than normal, just tired,” I grumble under my breath, knowing damn well that a wet and willing woman would be enough to snap me out of my funk.
It’s been almost a year though since I’ve had the company of a woman in my bed. After Natasha wrecked our future, I sowed my wild oats for a while since she had been the only woman I’d ever been with. It got old really fast, so I called it quits and have only enjoyed the company of my hand for months now.
“The next item is the big rivalry game against Ashland High School next week,” Principal North continues. “This is the biggest game of the year and we get to host. I would appreciate a few of you stepping up to help with taking tickets and just being present in the stands. Security will do the dirty work, but the more eyes we have in the stadium, the better things run. And of course, the kids loving seeing the teachers there.”
The rivalry between Emerson Falls and Ashland High has been a long-standing one for over thirty years. I grew up in northern Oregon, so I was uneducated on the tradition, but the Emerson-Ashland rivalry has always been a brutal game and both towns take the competition very seriously.
“You’re gonna be down on the field with us during that game, right?” Drew pulls my attention back to him while I survey the room. The soldier in me never stops observing my surroundings.
“Yeah, no problem. I can help in any way you need.”
“Thanks. It helps to have another guy down there to keep the boys level-headed. Cory and Holt wanted me to remind you about it anyway, so now I’ve completed my job,” he winks at me just as we hear Principal North end the meeting.
Corey Tanner and Holt Bennet are a P.E. teacher and athletic trainer respectively for the school, and two of the other men I’ve made friends with over the past few years. Drew, Corey and Holt coach the football team together, and I’ll chip in sometimes when needed but couldn’t commit to the team entirely. After one bad case of PTSD during a practice where the sound of the helmets hitting snapped me back to an IED going off in Afghanistan and I froze on the field, I realized coaching probably wasn’t a good idea. I’m hoping one day that won’t be the case anymore.
“Have a good weekend everyone! See you back here on Monday!” Principal North shouts over the noise of teachers making a mad dash for the parking lot.
“You going to Tony’s tonight?” Drew asks as we grab our stuff and head for our trucks.
“Probably. Lord knows I’ve earned it after this week. It was a full moon and the kids were just more ornery than normal,” I say while stroking my hand through my jet black hair and down the beard I’m obnoxiously proud of. After keeping a clean-shaven face in the Army for eight years, I was itching to grow a beard. So I did, and it looks damn good if I say so myself.
“Wish I could join you, but after the game, I’m headed home to pass out,” Drew says through a laugh and I wish him luck before we both settle in our trucks and peel out of the parking lot.
Tony’s bar is the local hangout for the working class. The younger crowd hangs out at Half Full, a hipster bar on the other side of town. Tony’s is known for an older crowd who know how to keep to themselves and behave, which is fine by me since I don’t really have much to say to anyone nowadays.
After I moved from my hometown to Emerson Falls and bought my house secluded in the thick forest on the outskirts of town, a trip to Tony’s was the only interaction I allowed myself to unwind after a long week of teaching. Tony, the owner, became a close confidant I didn’t know I needed, especially since he served in the Army as well. So most weeks, I take a trip to the bar, have a couple of beers with Tony, and then call it a night, retreating to my life of solitude that I’ve become accustomed to.
But if someone would have told me how my night would end when I made my way into Tony’s later that evening, I would have laughed in their face and bet them a hundred bucks that it never would happen. Because there was no way that some woman would knock me on my ass and give me the best sex of my life. No way.
Good thing I never placed any bets against anyone else, because losing a bet to her took my evening in an entirely different direction.
Chapter 3
Olivia
“Well, I think that’s the last one,” Clara exclaims as she sets the last box on my dining room table.
“Finally. I love you, Liv, but this moving thing is for the birds.” Perry slides up next to her, slinging her arm around Clara’s neck.
I sigh before turning around to face my friends. “I know, but you have no idea how much I appreciate your help. Believe me, if you asked me last week what I thought I’d be doing on Friday, I definitely wouldn’t have described this,” I gesture around my new apartment with my hands in the air.
Looking around the two-bedroom place, I’m hit with my new reality for the first time since I left northern California last week. Moving back to Emerson Falls was not on the agenda of my life. Of course, neither was catching my boyfriend fucking his secretary either.
My heels click on the cobblestone floor that stretches throughout the entire winery, the mustard yellow walls and maroon accents surrounding me. The smell of oak and berries wafts up my nose as I inhale deeply, savoring the aromas only a true wine lover would appreciate.
Trevor said he would be working late trying to complete an order for next week. They have several tours coming through and wanted to make sure enough of their wine was bottled and the shelves in the gift shop were stacked and ready for purchases. So as I hoist the picnic basket in my hand and make my way down to his office, I beam with pride that I took the initiative to surprise him with dinner so we could spend some time together. He’d been working late a lot lately and I missed him terribly.
I approach his door and notice it’s slightly cracked open instead of closed as he’ll normally keep it. He probably left to use the bathroom which would make my surprise even more worthwhile when he returned and I could see the expression on his face when he found me in his office. The sexy bra and panty set I wore underneath my dress would give me an even bigger pay-off as well.
Suddenly, heavy breathing and moaning fill my ears as I slowly push open the door and am granted with the vision of Trevor’s bare ass thrusting into a woman who’s heels I instantly recognize because I complimented them just last week.