Chapter 14

Author’s note: some of the events referenced at the start of this chapter occur in a side story - nothing essential to the main plot is missed.

Jason begrudgingly trudged his way to school in a foul mood. He had woken up late; entwined in his mothers soft limbs he hadn’t had enough time to do anything with her. He knew he could have pushed the issue and she would have acquiesced, but that would’ve made her late for her class. Besides; she had promised him a surprise for that night and he was very intrigued for what she had in mind.

It had been a revelation-filled day yesterday and he was still processing all that had happened. He had been in a fugue state all weekend - completely intent of exploring and enjoying his mother’s incredible body. He remembered his momentary horror at discussing birth-control with her wryly; he had been so entranced that it had never even occurred to him and he had been relieved when she had laughingly told him that she was already on the pill for other health reasons.

And then of course there was the unexpected encounter with both his aunt and his mother on the couch. Remembering how they had interacted together with him still managed to make him uncomfortably hard.

He couldn’t wait to finish the day and get back home to them.

As Jason approached the school, something niggled at the back of his subconscious that something wasn’t right. It took him until he reached the front doors before he realised what it was - he couldn’t see Emma anywhere.

He looked around in confusion - she was definitely nowhere to be seen. She was always there waiting for him and it felt absurdly wrong that she wasn’t bounding over to him with a smile on her face. Jason knew they hadn’t left off their date the best way, but it had been a good night overall. Anyway, if Emma was unwell she would normally text or call him...

Shit. Jason realised with a sinking feeling that he hadn’t actually ever called Emma back after their date on friday night. It was completely understandable; who wouldn’t forget to call if they had spent all weekend in bed with someone as gorgeous as his mother! But he couldn’t exactly tell his friend what the reason was for him not getting in touch with her.

Jason waited at the front of the school almost until the bell rung before he gave up and went inside. He was lost in thought and worried - maybe she was sick today? But as he made he way to his first class he saw a flash of long red hair out of the corner of his eye. Jason swung his head around quickly to check - it was definitely Emma - but she was acting so unaware of his presence that it had to be on purpose.

The entire rest of the day was like that - she was making a serious effort to avoid him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get her alone. Jason had enough time to stew about the whole situation. He knew he had overstepped his bounds at the end of their date, but he had said sorry - hadn’t he? Why was she...

A small part of him knew he wasn’t being fair but he wasn’t giving it much notice. After a good first date, they had been making out and he had gone too far. She had said no, and then ... he hadn’t given her another thought all weekend.

It wasn’t personal - he hadn’t avoided her on purpose. Not long after he had said goodbye to Emma he had ended up in bed with his mother and had then spent the entire weekend fucking her. But as far as Emma was concerned, after she had pulled him up for going too fast, he had ignored her.

Jason knew Emma wasn’t a fickle person. If he had been nervous about their date he knew she would have been as well. How could he fix this? He knew he had to apologize, but he didn’t know what to say. He would have to lie - to make up an excuse - but she knew him so well he wasn’t sure if he could pull that off.

It wasn’t until the end of the school day that Jason finally cornered Emma. She had even made herself scarce during lunchtime. He had hung around in the main hallway after the final bell had rung to wait for her. When he saw her coming he lurked unobtrusively next to the wall before stepping out when she neared.

When Emma saw him she looked down at the ground with a hard expression, but then she squared her shoulders and continued on as if he wasn’t there. She would have walked right past him if he hadn’t taken a step in front of her. She pulled her stride short to avoid crashing into him, and looked up with an expression that was half hurt, half accusatory. She didn’t say anything, so Jason had to break the awkward silence.

“Em, I -” Jason began before she cut off.

“Look, not now - I need to get home.” Emma said, shifting uncomfortably.

“I’m sorry, okay!” Jason said in an exasperated voice.

“Oh, you’re sorry?” Emma asked him in an odd tone. “What are you sorry for?”

“I know I should have called you, but -”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said stubbornly. “Is there anything else?”

“Don’t be like that.” Jason said, actually hurt.

“Jason, I can be however I want to be.” Emma said, firing up a little - admitting she knew what he was talking about. “If you didn’t like how it went, that’s fine!”

“That’s not it at all!” Jason said heatedly. He was aware that the emptying hallways still had some people in them, and they were turning to look curiously at them both. He was starting to feel embarrassed.

“Then what’s it like then?” She asked, frowning at him in challenge.

“I really liked our date.” Jason said uncomfortably. He hadn’t decided what excuse he was going to use. “I wanted to call you...”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Hey - why didn’t you call me!” Jason burst out. He knew going on the attack wasn’t a smart idea, but he had nothing else to go on. He knew he hadn’t done the right thing by her.

“Don’t put this on me!” Emma said, raising her voice.

“Well, it’s true!” Jason retorted, doubling down. “You didn’t call me either, so why am I the bad guy here?”

Emma looked up at him, and with a jolt he realised there were unshed tears welling in her eyes. Without a another word she pushed past him and fled out of the school, leaving Jason standing in the hallway feeling like shit. A few straggling students faux-clapped his performance.

He heard a soft sigh of disappointment and he turned to see Karla standing in the doorway to one of the empty classrooms with a pitying expression on her face. She turned and looked up and down the hall - no one was watching now. She crooked a finger to Jason and went back inside the room. He looked up and down the hallway himself before following her in.

He entered the classroom, closing the door softly behind him. Karla was leaning on the edge of a desk with her hands behind her steadying her. Her feet were crossed casually at the ankles. She was wearing a white satiny shirt with a long grey skirt. She looked at him with a hidden expression for a moment before her bow-lips quirked upwards in a smile and she shook her head at him.

“Jason, Jason, Jason.” She said, amusement bubbling under the surface of her rich voice. “You didn’t handle that very well.”

“I know that.” Jason said shortly. He roamed his eyes boldly over his art teacher; he wasn’t sure what exactly was going on here, but he was far more confident in himself than he used to be. He saw that Karla noticed him looking at her, but she didn’t seem to mind. If anything she seemed pleased.

“I’ll give you some free advice.” She told him. “Sometimes being right doesn’t mean that you win.”

“How much did you hear?”

“Enough.” Karla said simply. “I gather you two are exploring some options other than friendship.”

“Maybe.” Jason said shortly.

“Ah, young love.” Karla said lightly.

“It’s not - I mean, I don’t -” Jason flushed, thinking that she was mocking him.

“It’s okay, Jason.” Karla laughed. “Sorry, I wasn’t making fun of you. It’s just I remember what it’s like. Being a teenager I mean.”

Jason looked at her anew. He knew she was young for a teacher, and in that moment he fully realised that she was only a few short years older than he was.

“It’s okay.”

“Are you though?” Karla asked him, looking serious now.

“I guess so.” Jason shrugged.

“Things didn’t go well then?” She probed gently.

“No, they did.” he said slowly. He didn’t really understand why he was telling her this. But then again, it wasn’t like he had anyone else he could talk to. Emma would normally be his first port of call if he had to talk something out, and he obviously couldn’t talk to her about this. And his mother was ... not a good option. It was unlooked for, but it felt good to say some of this out loud. “But we went a bit fast. That is, I mean - I went too fast...”

“Huh, it’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for isn’t it.” Karla said, almost to herself in a musing tone.

“Sorry?”

“Never mind.” She said hurriedly. Jason could have sworn she blushed a little. Her porcelain skin coloured the faintest tint of rose. “Anyway, do you want my advice?”

“Sure.” He said neutrally.

“Don’t try and be logical - even if you have a point, you won’t get anywhere with that tact.”

“But we are both to blame if you think about it -” Jason said, beginning to feel indignant.

“It doesn’t matter.” Karla said simply. “Of the two of you, I’d say she’s more upset. And if she’s truly your friend do you want to win - or do you want to make her feel better?”

Jason stood there silently, actually thinking about what his teacher had said. She had a point. He remembered Emma’s face as she fled by him; her eyes watery with unshed tears, and he felt guilt squirming within him. He didn’t want her to be upset, and he definitely didn’t want to be the cause of it.

“You’re right.” He said eventually. He gave her a weak smile and to his horror felt his eyes prickle uncomfortably with tears of his own. He blinked rapidly and looked away, not wanting her to see him like that.

“Oh, Jason.” He heard her say softly. She got up and walked over to him. She looked around carefully, checking to see if there was anyone that could see them through a window before very gently giving him a hug. “It’s alright, it’ll be fine. Just talk to her. You’ll work it out. Trust me.”

Jason gingerly put his arms around her before hugging her gratefully. He took a shuddering breath and felt himself master his emotions. He could fix this; all he had to do was talk to Emma, and then it would all be...

Jason realised with a start that he was embracing his sexy teacher. He was confused - how the hell had that happened? She felt small and slender in his arms, and her hair smelled pleasantly like violets. His hands were resting on her lower back, just above the line of her skirt, and her arms were around his torso. He couldn’t help himself, he tightened his hold on her, and pulled him into him slightly.

He heard her take a sharp breath at his action, but she didn’t pull away at first. He felt her fingers dig into his shoulders but then she relaxed. She leant backwards so that she could look him in the face, but she didn’t move way from him. They were still standing very close together with their arms loosely around one another. Karla moved her hands to his biceps and jovially rubbed them up and down as if there was nothing going on and everything was fine.

“There, you see - it’s never as bad as what you think it is.” Karla said lightly.

Jason very softly moved his finger tips in little circles on her lower back just on either side of her spine. He was very tempted to reach down and grip her round little bubble-butt but knew that would be going to far.

Karla’s face went blank as he gently caressed her and she stopped talking. This time he was watching her face carefully and saw the faint blush arise in her pale cheeks. She took a deep breath and slowly stepped back out of his arms. Jason let her, but allowed his arms to trail along her sides as she backed away. He saw her pink tongue dart out lightening fast to wet her lips; almost so quick that it made him doubt that he even saw it.