Lessons From the Professor (10 page)

Chapter Nine

“Fuck!”
 
Sidney
fought back the
urge to pound his fist on the steering wheel as he drove away from the house.
He knew he’d been a complete
git
, but her hesitation
had set off warning bells inside his head. She was so new to all of this; of
course she’d be nervous.
 
If he was half
the man he thought he was he’d go back and apologize.
 
But
really how did he know she wouldn’t flake on him later?
His gut churned in
as he thought back to the day that had thrown his entire world off balance.

****

“Is he gone?”

Sutton looked up from the couch and nodded as her sister
entered the room clad in a shorts and tank set.

“Good. You want to tell me what’s up with the older man, and
that piece around your neck?”

“
Jackson
was almost eleven years older than me.”

“Yeah, eleven not twenty.”

“
Sidney
is only eighteen years older, and I don’t appreciate your comments.”

“Look, Sutton, I know it’s been a long time since you had a
man in your bed, but that’s no reason to settle.”

“Are you sure you want to have this conversation?” Sutton
asked. She was tired of biting her tongue when it came to Carissa. Her days of
playing nursemaid were long gone.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You heard me. Do you really want to talk about settling in
life? You’re twenty-one, still live at home with Mom, go to school part time,
and flit from job to job. Your relationships read like a Tyler Perry movie, and
yet you want to judge me?”

Carissa’s jaw dropped as her hazel eyes rounded.

“I can’t believe you said that! You’ve always resented me!
You had to take care of me your entire life after Dad died, and it kills you
that I’m so different from you and Mom.”

“No, what
kills
me
is that you’re so irresponsible and ungrateful.”

“No one asked you to do a damn thing, Sutton!”

“You’re right, I did what needed to be done, and all I ever
wanted in return was to see each of you go on to be successful.”

“Bullshit!”
“I don’t know where you get these warped views, Carissa!”

“It’s in everything you do, the way you talk to me, the
disappointment in your eyes when I screw up yet again. Just because you don’t
say something out loud, doesn’t mean it’s not coming across loud and clear.”

“I won’t apologize for
wishing you’d grow up and make better decisions. “
“
See
!”

“You’re acting like a damn child, Carissa!”

“I don’t have to take this—”

“Actually, I think this is a long time coming. It’s time you
got your head on straight and realize you’re not a child anymore. Mom and I
aren’t always going to be there to bail you out.”

“Whatever, Sutton.
I wonder
what Mom would think of you and your kinky new lifestyle with your latest beau.
I bet you wouldn’t be the golden child then.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That collar you have wrapped around your neck isn’t just
some Goth accessory.”

Her heart pounded in her chest as her mouth went dry. She
was not ready to have this conversation.

“Funny how quiet you’ve become all of a
sudden.
Afraid I’ll tell Mom?”

“Tell her what, Carissa? That you think the man I date ties
me up in a dungeon and beats me with a whip?”

“Don’t make it sound so far-fetched.”

“I refuse to do this with you.”
 
Sutton stood from the couch and headed to her
room.

“I finally have dirt on the lily-white Sutton!”

Sutton slammed the door to her room behind her, shutting out
Carissa’s taunts as she eased down on to the side of her bed. How had things
spiraled out of control so fast?

Chapter Ten

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like hell.”

Sutton snorted as she took in the concerned expression on
Leigh’s face.
 
It had been almost a month
since she’d last heard from
Sidney
,
and the tension in her condo was mounting by the day. She and Carissa were like
ghosts, as they moved around the small space in silence.
 
Every day she expected her Mother to call
ranting and raving about all the things she’d heard from Carissa. That worry on
top of her job and the sleepless nights filled wondering what
Sidney
was up to had taken their toll.

“I feel like it, too,” Sutton said. She sighed as she leaned
her head against the locker.

“What’s going on? James said
Sidney
has had a bee in his bonnet for the
past few weeks, too. I can’t help but think the two are related.”

“We had an argument, and he said we both needed time to
think about what we wanted to get out of our relationship.”

“Why would he say that?”

“Carissa—”

“Oh God!
I know she’s your
sister, but I could kill that wench. She’s so jealous of you she can barely
stand it.”

“We had it out. She’s convinced I resent her, and
I’m
jealous of her worry free way of
life.”

“Ugh.”

“My thoughts exactly.
It’s like a
battle-field in the house. We avoid one another as much as possible and don’t
speak when our paths do cross, and at any moment I expect my Mom to call and
read me the riot act.”

“Why?”

“Carissa saw me in my training collar and went off on a jag
about how she finally had dirt on the lily-white golden child.
 
Dealing with her and that mess on top of this
separation from
Sidney
is a bit much.”

“What happened?”

“I’m really not sure. I guess I hesitated to call him my
boyfriend, and he thought it made me ashamed of him somehow.”

Leigh sighed and shook her head.

“You know something.”

“I do, but it’s not my place to say. Just don’t give up on
him, Sutton. He has a good reason for over-reacting.”

“I can understand that to a point, but how long does he
expect me to wait?”

“You can always go to him.”

“
Sidney
didn’t strike me as the type of man who wanted to be chased.”

“Don’t we all want to know someone cares about us enough to
bring us back when we pull away?”

Sutton smiled. Leigh had a point.

“You’re right; I can at least give him a call and feel
things out.”

“There’s my girl.”

“Thanks, Leigh.” She turned and hugged her close.

“That’s what I’m here for. We’ll get together on your next
day off for some girl time.”

“A pedicure sounds like heaven about now.”

“You’re on.”
 
Leigh
said.

They finished dressing in comfortable silence and headed up
toward the exit. They were just a few yards from the exit door when she heard
someone call out her name.
 
Damn!
 
Sutton let out a groan before she pasted a
smile on her face and turned around.

“Thank goodness I caught you. There’s a handsome older
gentlemen here to see you.”

A grin lit her face as she turned towards Leigh who shared
her enthusiasm. She made a shooing gesture and Sutton turned on her heel and
rushed towards the front desk.
 
She’d
never been so happy to be called back onto her floor after a twelve hour shift
in her life. The heels of her sandals clacked against the off white tile as her
stride ate up the length that separated her from
Sidney
. She’d never expected something like
this from him.

 
She rounded the
corner of the hallway and skidded to a stop.
 
The man who stood a few feet away from her was not the one she’d
expected to see.
 
Even from the back she
would know
Jackson
anywhere. He was well over six feet, with broad shoulders, a trim waist, and
wheat colored hair he kept cropped close to his head. Her heart pounded in her
ears as her stomach soured.
 
Her feet
felt like they were glued to the ground, and time seemed to slow down as he
turned to face her. She saw a flash of perfect teeth as his full lips spread
into a wide smile that made the women around her twitter with excitement.
 
They whispered about how lucky she was, but
all Sutton wanted to do was
scream
the hospital down
around her and head for the hills.

“Hi, Sutton, long
time
no see.”

“
Jackson
,
what are you doing here?” She crossed her arms over her chest, and shifted her
weight from one leg to other, hiking the book bag she carried back up her
shoulder.

“I came to see you.”

“Why?”

His smile faded at the unfriendly tone of her voice.

“I think we should talk in private, don’t you?”

“No, but some place quieter would be ideal.”
 
The last thing she wanted to do was be
somewhere alone with him.
 
That was when
he went for the jugular.
 

“Follow me,” she said.

Sutton
turned and headed for the cafeteria, slowing as she passed Leigh. “This is my
ex,” she mouthed before she continued down the hallway. The blood drained from
Leigh’s face, and Sutton nodded her agreement as she continued at a brisk pace.
They stepped into the near empty cafeteria, and she took a seat by a set of
vending machines in the far corner.

“I have to say you don’t seem very happy to see me,”
Jackson
said as they were
seated.

“That’s because I’m not. Why are you here, and how did you
find out where I worked?”

“Your mother mentioned it. Was I misinformed about you not
dating since we went our separate ways?”

Did this self-centered son of a bitch really think that
highly of himself? The looks and air she once found attractive had lost their
charm.

 
“I don’t understand
what any of that has to do with you. I made it clear we had nothing more to say
to one another on the phone.”

“Come on, Sutton. It’s obvious there are still lingering
feelings. We were good together, so why waste time playing hard to get?”

“No,
Jackson
,
we really weren’t. Good to you was getting to do what you wanted with me at
home waiting for you. If you’d truly loved me you never would have done or said
half the things you did.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You were a master at manipulation. Every disagreement we
ever had you flipped around until I was the one apologizing and feeling guilty.
You acted like I was some sort of shrew who was riding you too hard, when all I
ever wanted was what I was due. A boyfriend who respected and appreciated me
for who I was and the things I did for him. You isolated me from my friends and
family. You had me thinking you were the only one who’d ever truly understand
me or put up with my shit. What a joke!”

A scowl lined his lips as his brow furrowed.

“That’s not how I remember it.”

“How was it then,
Jackson
?
Please tell me, because I’m dying to hear this, because just a few weeks ago
you were bending over backwards to reassure me the reason we failed rested on
your shoulders.” It looked like a leopard didn’t change its spots. All that
feel-good bullshit he’d spewed had been an attempt to win her back. The deception
fueled her anger. She narrowed her eyes and scowled as he continued.

“Look, I was willing to wait for you to finish out your
education and get situated in your career before we got married. I never
pressured you to have sex.”

“Because it gave you an excuse to stick
your dick in everything on two legs in the hospital!”

“A man has needs.”

“Then he should stay single.”

“You’ve changed.”

“I sure as fuck hope so.”

“You were always such a frigid little bitch. Everything was
about school and launching your career. I had to get what I needed somewhere.
It wasn’t just about the sex, Sutton. I kept waiting for you to finish one goal
and free up time so you could turn to me, but then it was always on to the next
one.”