His Mistress

Fourteen: His lesson

Levy

When I woke up, it was 4am. I looked over to see Athena laying naked, only covered by a thin blanket on the futon.
I got up and got dressed.
I had a class this morning that I had not fully prepared for.
It was obvious that I had been distracted.
I threw my coat on, grabbed my keys and cellphone from my dresser and left Athena laying alone.
When I stepped outside, the sky was dark and the cold wind sent shivers down my neck.
There was no students out and the university was quiet.
Probably the most quiet it has ever been since I've been here.

I walked to my car and jumped in. The first thing I did was put the heat on.
While I waited for the heat to pick up, I looked at my phone.
Six miss calls from Julie.
Shit.
I started the car and drove home.

I quietly turned the key in the hole when I arrived, hoping I wouldn't wake Julie up.
I put my briefcase in my office and quietly climbed the stairs.
I found it hard getting dressed without making any noise.
But I managed to do it without waking her up.
I laid in the bed next to my wife, realizing that I had cheated on her for the first time.
At first, the guilt kept me up at night.
For two hours I thought about what I did and how hurt she would be if she found out.
I thought about what our friends would say. What her over protective father would do to me.
I thought about it hard until the thoughts changed from the potential consequences that may arise from my actions and switched to the feeling of Athena's breasts in my hands.
Once again, she had corrupted my mind.
The guilt passed and the longing for her quickly took its place.
What was wrong with me?
I was ready to go again.
I was ready to cheat on my wife again.
The guilt clearly was not strong enough to stop me.
I wasn't planning on stoping.
I just needed to be smart about it.
With that, I became exhausted.
My overthinking had finally drained me.

I woke up to an empty bed.
I did my morning routine and rushed downstairs. Empty.
No breakfast, no morning greetings.
Did I even have a wife?
This made me angry.
Most men had wives who cooked for them. Wives who spent time with them. Wives who made love to them.
I didn't.
I was used to the fact that she was a doctor and that she was always busy.
I honestly believe I was just getting upset and that I was just looking for justifications for my actions last night.

I grabbed a coffee and ate a bagel for breakfast.
When I arrived at my class, the room was full and the students were waiting patiently for me.
It didn't matter.
I looked in the first row and the only person I wanted to fill that room was there.
Athena.
I gave her a quick smile before I started the class.
While teaching, I glanced around the class, looking at students when I spotted Chris.
The sight of him maybe me angry and I couldn't help myself.
"Christopher," I said.
He jumped up. It was clear that he was not paying attention.
"Please explain the concept  flight or fight to me."
He stared at me. I knew he didn't know the answer, but I waited it out.
Other students put up their hands to answer but I ignored them.
The longer he didn't answer, the more embarrassed he became.
Good.
That's what I wanted.
Finally the silence was broken by a "I-I don't know sir," said by him.
"Okay, fair enough," I said.
"Can you then please explain what the bystander effect is?" I asked him.
Again, he didn't know the answer.
"Did you not read the assigned pages for this week?" I asked him.
"No," he replied.
"And why is that?" I asked him.
"I just had a lot of things I had to take care off," he said.
I stopped pacing and looked directly at him. I smirked before I said, "I bet you did."
He looked confused.
"Next time," I said. "Instead of harassing female students, you should take the time to read your textbook."
And suddenly he knew what I was talking about.
His face flustered with guilt, embarrassment and anger.
I called him out in front the class. Most of the students in the class looked back at him.
He took his bag and stormed out of the classroom.
I looked at Athena who did not take her eyes off of me. She looked like she had something to say to me. And knowing her, she wasn't going to hold back.

When the course ended, the students picked up their belongings to leave.
"Miss Bailey," I called out. "A moment please." She waited until everyone left before she approached me.
Before I could say anything, she spoke.
"Why did you do that?" She said angrily. "I don't need you protecting me like that. I can do that on my own. It was embarrassing for him and me. He's going to know something is up with us."
"No one knew you were the girl he was harassing."
"And what happens when they find out?"
"How would they find out?"
"I don't know, Levy. People talk. People saw us at the party."
"Athena, you're reading too much into this. If he's embarrassed. Good. He should be. What he did to you wasn't right."
"I understand. But what you did to him wasn't right either."
I stayed quiet. She was right. I got a feeling that she was almost always right.
She just looked at me, her bright brown eyes staring at me, waiting for a reply.
Instead we were interrupted by a professor.
"Hi," he said. "Is it okay if I get ready for my course now, or do you need a bit more time?"
"No, sir." Athena said before she walked off.
I watched her leave.
I wasn't sure, but I think we had just gotten into our first fight.