I pulled up in the school's parking lot 5 minutes before our next class. Jess was definitely relieved after our conversation and I could tell that she was now looking forward to our 5th period. And it wasn't because she loved science, I was pretty damn sure about that. We were making our way through the crowded hallway, when I suddenly felt the need to check my bag.
"Shit.", I mumbled as I shuffled through its content.
"What?"
"I left my book in my locker.", I grunted, frustrated. "Go ahead and grab a seat for me, okay?"
"You sure? We can share mine if-"
"No, it's fine, really. I'll be there in a heartbeat.", I cut her off as I started sprinting towards my locker, trying my best to dodge whoever stood in my way. Once I got there, I nervously searched my pockets for the slip of paper on which I wrote the combination, but I couldn't find it anymore.
Goddamit! Okay Alex, think. You can do this.
1-9-6-..8? Nope.
1-9-6-..4? Nope.
1-9-6-..2? Obviously not.
Were the first three numbers even in the correct order? Fuck me.
The tardy bell went off and I was late, again.
1-9-6-..7? Oh, fuck it!
I punched my locker and desperately started to run towards my science class, hoping the new teacher would be fashionably late just as I was. To my luck, the door to the class was unbelievably still wide open, so don't judge me if I basically threw myself through it. But, as all good things must come to an end, so did my luck: by throwing myself through the doorway, I violently crashed into someone, causing the content of my bag to fall all over the place.
"Oh shit. Shit shit shit.", I whispered under my breath as I got on my knees and quickly gathered all my stuff. I soon realized that I didn't even bother to check on whoever I bumped into, so I got back on my feet and looked up.
That's when my eyes locked with the stranger's gaze, causing my heart to shift. Standing in front of me was possibly the most beautiful girl I've ever met: she had the most amazing grey eyes I have ever seen. The features of her face were defined but at the same time softened by her long and wavy black hair that fell gently on her shoulders. And her lips: they were full and perfect, and covered with a sexy red lipstick. Even from where I was standing it was possible to see how soft and kissable they were.
Oh get a grip on yourself, Alex!
I looked at her from head to toes, taking in her outfit: she was wearing a sleeveless white blouse tucked into a skinny black skirt that hugged her curves in all the right places and ended right before her knees, all completed by a pair of black and white stilettos.
Who in hell comes to school dressed as they were going to a fashion show?!
I realized I spent the last 30 seconds just checking this girl out, so I snapped out of my trance and spoke. Or at least, I tried.
"Uhm. Sorry. I'm sorry. Are-.. are you okay?", I mumbled as I tried to catch my breath and compose myself.
"I'm okay.", she chuckled as she handed me my headphones, a curious look on her face.
"Good. Again, I'm really really sorry, I didn't want to be late so I-", I trailed off as I looked around the classroom and noticed the teacher's desk was empty. "The teacher hasn't arrived yet?", I frowned as I turned back to face her.
"That would be me, actually.", she replied, raising an eyebrow and eyeing me suspiciously, her smirk never leaving her lips.
"Yeah, right!", I scoffed, letting out a nervous giggle. As if.
"Why don't you take a seat so I can start with my lesson, young lady?", she gently suggested, her tone turning somehow serious.
Oh, for the love of God! Seriously?! She wasn't kidding. This gorgeous creature really was my fucking teacher and I just wanted to dig my own grave right now. Great. Just. Fucking. Great.
"Y-Yes. Of course, Miss..?", I blurted in utter shock, trying to ignore the fact that the entire class was making fun of me, or that my cheeks were probably on fire by now.
"Miss Stevens."
"Miss Stevens. Noted. Again, so sorry.", I mumbled basically to myself as I made my way to my seat, next to a very amused Jess who was about to speak.
"Don't. Unless you wanna be homeless.", I gritted through my teeth as I sunk into my chair. Thankfully, she took the hint and kept her mouth shut.
It wasn't that I was bothered by the fact that my teacher was breathtakingly stunning, or by the fact that I just made a fool out of myself in front of her. I mean, it was. But, above it all, the more I kept looking at this girl- woman. The more I kept looking at her, the more I couldn't shake off the feeling that this wasn't our first encounter. And let me tell you this, it made me so fucking uncomfortable. So it's no surprise that I didn't pay any attention to the lecture.
I studied her for a good twenty minutes before my eyes fell on her right ankle, where there was a small butterfly tattooed on it. And that's when it all came back like a fucking hurricane.
The music in the club was pumping, the floor was trembling at every bass sound coming from the big ass speakers placed right in front of my face. Saying that I was drunk and high as a kite was an understatement: this was the last summer event at my favorite club, and you can be sure as hell that I was determined to have a good time.
I lost Jess an hour ago when she was shamelessly making out with a cute random guy by the bar. Don't get me wrong, I would've never left her with some creepy douchebag on a night out, but she set her eyes on him as soon as we got here, and there was no coming back from it. Plus, he seemed like a decent person even after 5 rounds of tequila, so I wasn't really bothered by it.
I was enjoying my lonely time on the dance floor, swaying away to the music and eventually pushing away every guy that pushed themselves on me, when an arm snaked around my waist from behind, pulling me closer and grinding against me. I was ready to turn around and give this creep a piece of my mind when I heard a sexy female voice whisper something in my ear.
"Hello, gorgeous."
"Hello to you too.", I chuckled, suddenly feeling relieved that I didn't have to turn another dude down. I had no idea what this girl looked like, but I followed her lead as we continued dancing, our bodies tightly pressed together.
"Can I buy you a drink?", she eventually asked me, causing me to turn around and look at her.
"Y-Yeah. Sure. How about shots?", I asked her dumbfounded as I realized how beautiful she was.
"Deal.", she winked at me and grabbed my hand, guiding me away from the dance floor and towards the bar.
We ordered three shots of tequila each, and I downed them like my life depended on it. As I tried to ignore the sting in my throat, I realized she still had one left.
"Damn, you're fast.", she stated, getting ahold of her third shot.
"I am.", I chuckled in reply as I confidently stole her piece of lemon that was supposed to go with her last shot and stuffed it in between my teeth, nodding towards her shot and urging her to down it. As if we were on the same page, she downed her tequila and turned to face me, her face just inches apart from mine. I smirked, quickly sucking on the lemon juice before getting rid of it and pulling her in a long, heated kiss.
"Wanna get out of here?", she whispered seductively in my ear when we pulled away from each other.
"Y-yeah. Just.. just give me a second.", I replied as I quickly scanned the room looking for Jess, but she was nowhere to be seen. I took out my phone and tried calling her at least 4 times, but to no avail. I quickly texted her:
Alex 1.45am
'Babe, I'm going home with someone. I can't reach you and I don't see you anywhere. I'm leaving you 20 bucks for an Uber at the bouncer, not the creepy one, the nice one. Just tell him Alex sent you, and please be safe. Talk to you in the morning. Sorry.'
"You okay?", the random girl asked me.
"Yeah, I'm good. Let's get out of here.", I smiled at her and grabbed her hand, dragging her outside the bar.
No fucking way.
———
I sat through the rest of my lecture in complete shock. Yet, I couldn't take my eyes off of her, and I can swear to you that she flashed some unreadable looks towards me. But I couldn't make any of it. I just wished that this class would be over as soon as possible.
Was it possible that the universe was fucking with me in such way?! Jesus!
As the bell dismissed us, I quickly gathered my things and stormed out of the classroom, feeling Miss Stevens's glance on my back till I was out of sight.
This couldn't be possibile. I must be tripping on something cause there was no way that that woman was my fucking teacher. No way.
I tried to compose myself as I sat in my car, waiting for Jess's lazy ass as I also tried to make any sense of what was going on. Before I knew it, Jess was sitting in my passenger seat, nonchalantly making fun of me.
"Dude, I know she's hot, but you made yourself look like-"
"I slept with her.", I suddenly blurted, causing her to shut up and look at me as if I stole her last french fry or killed her cat.
"You WHAT?!", she almost screamed in disbelief.
"I-.. I fucking slept with her, Jess.", I sighed, running a shaky hand through my hair and tightening my grip on the steering wheel.
The car fell silent for a while.
"What..? When?!", she eventually asked me after the news properly sunk in.
"Uh.. do you remember the night we went to the Rouge a couple of weeks ago? The one I left with someone?"
"Of course I remember, you left me there you bitch!", she grunted recalling that night. I raised my eyebrow and stared at her, waiting for her to put two and two together.
"Holy fuck! You left with her?!", Jess finally asked me as her jaw fell. I nodded in silence, sinking further in my seat.
"Did you two have-"
"Yes. Yes we did."
"Oh my god!", she squealed with excitement, childishly clapping her hands. "Is that why you ran out of the classroom as if your ass was on fire and now you look like you've seen a fucking ghost?!"
"Pretty much, yeah.", I deadpanned.
"Do you think she remembers?", she softened her voice as she realized that I wasn't finding it funny at all.
"I-.. I don't know, Jess. I mean, she flashed me a couple of weird looks throughout the entire period, but I don't know if they were related to the fact that I completely humiliated myself in front of her or because she actually realized who I was. I can't believe this..!"
"Well, talk to her. You know, clear the air.", she suggested.
"Oh yeah, totally. 'Hi Miss Stevens, do you remember me? You don't?! Well, that's odd since we fucked like rabbits for 6 straight hours just a couple of weeks ago!'. I can't see what could possibly go wrong with that.", I snapped before resting my forehead on the steering wheel and letting out a sigh.
"6 hours?!"
"Seriously? That's all you have to say about the whole situation?!"
"Okay, look.", she started, her voice finally turning serious. "Just, don't mention it. Pretend like nothing happened and go with the flow. If she mentions it, talk to her. If she doesn't, either she's avoiding the subject or she really doesn't remember. Don't stress over it, okay?"
I nodded in agreement, before releasing a nervous laugh. "Is it bad that I'm slightly offended by the possibility that she actually might not remember me?"
"Why would you be?"
"Jesus, I can't believe I'm actually saying this.. Jess, the sex that night, it was earth shattering. Hands down the best sex of my entire life.", I confessed as I felt my cheeks blushing.
"Uuuh, she's dirty, isn't she?!", she teased me, flashing me a sexy look.
"Stop."
She reached for my hand and squeezed it. "Hey.. do you want her to remember?", she whispered, taking in my distraught state.
"Ugh. Yes? No? Maybe?", I replied hesitantly. "I don't know.. what if she actually does? What if she mentions it?"
"Well.. in that case you have two options, babe."
"Which are?"
"You either move on as if nothing happened, or you start fucking her like no tomorrow.", she replied, mischievously wiggling her eyebrows.
"Oh fuck off! You're disgusting.", I scoffed, retrieving my hand and starting the engine.
"Senior year is going to be so interesting!", she exclaimed hysterically, causing me to roll my eyes in annoyance and flashing her a deathly glare before I headed towards her house.
"Not. Funny."
——
After I dropped Jess, I headed back home to catch up with the boys and eventually update them about our future living situation. I wasn't nervous about telling them. In fact, I was still shook by the whole Miss Stevens's situation.
I stumbled through our front door, carefully trying to juggle my school bag in one hand and the three pizza boxes that I was barely balancing on the other hand.
"Hey guys! What's up?", I asked as I noticed them on the couch and I safely dropped my bag on the floor and carried the pizza towards the kitchen.
"All good, sis. What about you?", Matt replied for the both of them.
Chase was barely talking at all in the past few weeks. You'd say I should be worried, but knowing my little brother, he just enjoyed keeping to himself, and I was more than willing to wait for him to come to me.
"The usual, I guess.", I replied as I stored the pizza in the oven and joined them on the couch. "How was your day?", I asked them as I pulled Chase in for a much needed hug.
"It was okay. Nothing special though.", Matt shrugged, fully absorbed by the tv.
"What about you, little bud?", I focused my attention on Chase, slightly tickling him and causing him to giggle.
"Good!", Chase replied as he was struggling to catch his breath.
Once he collected himself, he climbed on top of me and buried his face in the crook of my neck, wrapping his little arms around me. He was only 10 years old, and some might say that it was totally normal for a kid to act all smushy with his older sister. But Chase wasn't the case. He and Matt, actually all three of us, went through some deep and tough stuff, therefore moments like these with him were just meant to be cherished. So I hugged him tight, as if he could slip away any second.
"So, guys.. I wanted to talk to you about something before I leave for work.", I started, fully grabbing Matt's attention as Chase started to play with my hair.
"Jess is having some pretty nasty issues concerning her family situation. Long story short, she needs a place to stay till she figures out her next step, or else she'll have to move to another state with her parents and start over. Would it be okay with you guys if she stayed with us till she gets back on her feet?"
"Yay, Auntie Jess!!", Chase exclaimed, clapping his hands before crashing once again on my chest.
"I'll get that as a yes, little fella!", I chuckled before looking towards Matt.
"Yeah?!", Matt asked in disbelief.
"Keep it in your pants, jerk.", I retorted as I rolled my eyes.
"Ha, can't promise you that!", he playfully winked at me. "Honestly though, of course I'm okay with it. She's family, Alex. There was no need to even ask us about it."
"Exactly, she's family.", I eyed him half seriously. "And I had to ask you guys. It's your house too, I'll never make decisions without consulting the both of you."
"And I, we, appreciate it.", Matt smirked at me before focusing back on the tv.
"Okay, then I'm off to work!", I stated as I reluctantly got Chase off of me and stood up from the couch. "There's plenty of pizza in the oven, if anything happens-"
"If anything happens we'll call you. If you don't pick up, we'll call Jess. As for any other medical emergency we'll call 911. I know the drill, sis."
"Great. Remember that Chase-"
"Has to be in bed by 9.30, no sweets or he'll get all hyper and stuff. No horror movies nor porn. Make sure all doors and windows are close in case he has a nightmare and wanders off in his sleep. Got it."
"Sometimes I forget that you're all grown up.", I replied, raising my hands in defeat.
"Yeah, I can see that.", he chuckled as he pulled his little brother closer to him on the couch. "Go get 'em, tiger."
And with that, he dismissed me to my weekly bartending job. The hours weren't great. Like, at all actually. I worked 5 days a week from 6pm till 2am, but the money was absolutely insane. So I didn't really mind trading a few hours of sleep with a good paycheck. This job itself granted me and my brothers a roof over our heads, and that was all that mattered to me.