Chapter 12

“Well, well, you actually made it to class today, in spite of it being daylight! I applaud your resolve and resourcefulness, my new vampire student! Class, let’s give Charles here a hand! This can’t be easy. He has a major handicap here, having to deal with the sun’s light sapping his strength. I’m just glad that it doesn’t fry him as the legends claim. I kinda like having him around,” Mrs. Barker, who had NEVER shown any interest in me, sexual or otherwise, stunned me by flirting with me in front of the class.

I decided to test the waters and boundaries just a bit by using her first name, “So, Camille, I hope that you’re cool with Trevor being gay, just as you are with me being a vampire. We didn’t get along in the past, but I now know that he had a lot of stress. Hopefully, that has eased a bit.”

“Um, yeah ... he’s been through so much, Charles. By the way, class, since there isn’t much work to do after the finals, I’ve decided to have you all write a single equation that amounts to the number sixty-nine. I don’t count how you get there, just do and turn it in by Friday, and you all get As. Except for Charles, who gets an A plus, because he has to work with daylight sapping him,” Camille didn’t even flinch at my use of her given name.

“You seem to be in a better mood, in spite of that,” I observed while quickly completing that equation and reaching sixty-nine even faster than expected.

“That’s because Joe and I are trying for a baby ... and we’ve agreed to open up our relationship again. It was closed in the past, at least partly to mollify Ryan. That’s my very estranged husband. He didn’t feel like screwing around back then and he didn’t like the idea of me spreading it for so many men.

“He accepted Joe, but that was it, and not even for that long. Joe didn’t have any interest in chasing women right then, so soon after his second messy divorce, and I could hardly blame him for that. It was a temporary situation. Even more temporary than expected. To calm or soothe the ruffled feathers, I agreed to be faithful, just as Joe did.

“I think that, deep down, Ryan had a lot of sexual issues. He hated pregnancy, hated any kind of embarrassment, mess, humiliation, risk, disease, etc. I don’t know if he was truly gay or bi, but he was very fond of ... teens at least. Nothing wrong with lusting for youths, but he could have been open about that with Joe and me.

“Ryan also liked fucking his patients, and by fucking them, I mean ... raping them. He definitely preferred virgins, probably at least somewhat because of lower risk with them. Yeah, he had issues. It was a toxic marriage. Joe and I plan to get married as soon as this divorce goes through, too.

“I hid my love for him behind Ryan for far too long. It’s time to come out and admit that I adore that man and that he’s the great love of my life, not a dentist who liked to knock out his patients and have his way with them. If my family can’t handle me being with a black man, then tough. Same thing with me being in an open marriage with him.

“Or if they can’t handle that he’s a teacher and coach, not a corporate raider or lawyer or whatever they think is ambitious enough. Whatever flaws he might have, he’s a teacher and he has an impact on people’s lives. I am proud to be dating a fellow teacher who is also a coach,” Camille Barker insisted.

“Not to mention a veteran who has served this country honorably as a Marine. Whatever petty differences he and I have had, that’s a fact. You got nothing to be ashamed of, though I wasn’t expecting this much of a detailed confessional. Then again, it’s the last week. Why the hell not? Why not spill the beans and be open about your life, right? What are they gonna do? Fire ya? You’re tenured, right?” I observed, even as Camille stared at me with very frank sexual interest.

“Yes, I most definitely am,” Camille agreed, just as the bell rang.

If anyone minded Camille Barker’s single-minded focus on me during that class period, I had yet to hear a single complaint. Of course, that could have been because they seemed to all be busy writing out their equations and/or staring at the two of us. What a fucking day! This was certainly a much improved side of my math teacher, no less, wasn’t it?