“Oh…yeah, I did.”
“Did you make them for me?”
“Yes. I did.” Heat scorched across my cheeks.
Lea lifted his head and looked at me, an unreadable expression on his face. Then he trailed light fingers along my cheek, his eyes following them as he drew them down the slope of mynose to my mouth. “What kind of muffins did you make for me, Beau?”
“Banana.”
His lips twitched and then curved upward. “Mm.” He swept his index finger along my bottom lip, a light touch that heated me from within. When he slid it past my lips, flames sparked through my entire body. My cock throbbed against the tight barrier of my jeans, but Lea just barely touched my tongue and then withdrew his finger, leaving me aching beneath him. He swiftly replaced his finger with his tongue, pressing himself against me and drawing a moan from my chest. When he pulled back, I could barely breathe.
How could one person have such an enormous effect on me? I never knew love was as wonderfully debilitating as it was invigorating.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “For making me muffins. For being so thoughtful all the time. Thank you, Beau.”
“I—you’re welcome,” I said, staring into his eyes. His lips parted as he took in a breath, hesitated, then closed his mouth again. What had he been about to say?
“Do you still want to do the tutoring?” he murmured.
“Yes,” I replied. I’d already spoken with the coordinator. It wouldn’t be fair to the kids if I backed out now. And besides, I’d have Lea there.
Lea wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed. “Good. I’m excited for you.” He sat back and smiled softly at me. “I think you’ll like it, but if you don’t, we don’t have to go back. Okay?” His fingers brushed along the short, soft hair above my ear. It was getting longer, I’d have to buzz it again soon.
“Yeah,” I said. His support meant the world to me. Him giving up his time to just be there with me meant so much more than I could ever express.
More than he wanted me to express.
And his smile? That gorgeous, cat-like curve of his lips? The elegant arch of his wicked brows?
They were all aspects of him that only amplified my doomed love.
“Then let’s do this, sugar.”
“And if you’reinterested in game development, you would use JavaScript or C++,” I finished, blushing furiously in front of eight middle schoolers.
A boy in the front row raised his hand—I couldn’t believe how polite they’d all been so far—and I said, “Yes?”
“When will we get to try?”
“Oh, well the—Mrs. Walsh said our first session would just be a rundown of the basics, but next time we’ll go to the computer lab,” I told him, smiling. “So that—” I pointed to the print-outs I’d given them. “—will be your homework and we’ll go over it next time. You also have the handbook with you to help while completing your homework.”
A girl with a blue bow in her hair raised her hand. I think she said her name was Samantha…? It might take a few classes before I remembered all their names.
“Yes?”
“Can we use the internet too?”
“Yes, that’s totally fine. Are there any other questions before I let you go?”
Three hands shot up, and I suppressed a smile that wanted to take over my entire face.
This whole thing had been nerve-racking at first. I’d never been in front of a group of people before; having so many eyes on me, with the added pressure of being their teacher, had myhands shaking and I’d held them behind my back for the first fifteen minutes. But once I’d gotten into the groove and this small group of seventh graders had shown me how respectful and eager to learn they were, I’d been able to relax a bit.
It didn’t hurt that Lea was sitting at a desk in the back, smiling softly at me. No, it didn’t hurt at all.
After answering their questions, I let them go for the day. Their parents were hovering outside the room, and some of them introduced themselves.
I made sure all the kids had someone to take them home before going back to the table at the front and letting out a long exhale.