Chapter 9

Tuesday Morning.

Old Bean Coffee Shop

Harborton Washington

Kelly was devastated. No Ben. All morning long every time the bell over the door chimed she looked up hoping that it was him coming through the door. She remembered him coming in between 7 and 8 am most days of the week. Why hadn’t she paid more attention to him before this? Why was it so important to her to see him now? Did she say or do something stupid? Oh right. She had acted like a total idiot, not putting on the lid to his coffee and knocking everything over etc. etc. He probably thought she was a ditzy clutz. Why did he not stop by today? Wasn’t she cute enough for him to pay attention to her? People had told her she was pretty, she didn’t really believe it now, but at least some people said she was. Did he not like her?

She had just about given up on Ben when that married slut, Vicki or Nicki (whatever!) with the big hooters walked in pretending to want coffee. Kelly instantly knew she was really there looking for Ben. Kelly really didn’t want to wait on her but had no choice when she got in line.

“Have you seen that dreamy Ben this morning Kristy?” Nicki said after ordering her single tall mocha latte.

Kelly looked daggers, swords, hand grenades and a bunch of other killy stuff at her, “The name is ‘Kelly’ see right here on the name tag” Kelly said pointing to her chest. “And no I haven’t seen anyone of that name this morning.” More’s the shame, thought Kelly. She had worn this low cut tight shirt just to show off her own rather nice bust to Ben this morning.

“Oh, well if you do please tell him Nicki says ‘Hi’”. Nicki knew they’d be serving Otter Pops in Hell before Kelly relayed her message but couldn’t resist twisting the knife a bit.

“Sure, will do.” Kelly replied with a tight ‘fuck you’ smile. Let’s see, deliver a ‘slut o gram’. Yep that’s going to be my top priority this morning thought Kelly as she slammed Nicki’s coffee down on the counter. “That will be $4.75” said Kelly, adding under her breath “you skanky ho”.

“Uh what was that?” Nicki couldn’t quite believe what she thought she heard.

“Have a nice day”. Kelly ‘repeated’ with a sickly too sweet smile.

“Sure you too” Nicky replied skeptically as she dropped a five on the counter haughtily and turned to leave.

As Nicki walked away Kelly found that the glass paperweight that held down counter receipts had suddenly appeared in her hand. Bet I could nail her right in the back of the head from here. Maybe Ben would visit me in jail, she thought with a soft smile.

Kelly couldn’t really understand why that woman got under her skin so much. She didn’t own Ben or even know him. As she thought about it she realized that it came down to a single look. When his kind eyes had met hers for that brief instant she somehow knew that he would never judge her and that maybe, just maybe there was something in those eyes that could help her with these awful feelings. It was insane but she immediately knew that Ben was special and that an immoral slut like Nicki could never appreciate him. Never appreciate him like she could. She had to find him.

Yesterday she had spent some time at the Women’s Shelter asking about Ben. She thought she had been discreet but she noticed a couple of the women there had given her a bit of an amused look. She had never expressed any interest in any one before, maybe they were just curious, or maybe they were a little concerned for her.

Luckily, after thoroughly going over every time he had been into Old Bean that she could remember she had recalled him having a brief discussion with a student in line a few weeks ago. She thought he was probably a high school teacher and his last name began with a ‘C’. Harborton was a relatively small town and with this information and a description she was able to determine that his name was Ben Clarkson and he was the history teacher at the high school. She also discovered that he was an avid runner. One of the women at the Shelter had seen him running the green belt trail before school a few times recently.

Finally, reaching the end of her shift she had started to come up with a plan. If Ben wouldn’t come to her, she would go to him.

Tuesday Morning.

Harborton High School parking lot

Harborton Washington

Ben pulled into the high school in his old blue Cherokee and realized he was almost late to school for the second day in a row. He really had wanted to stop by the coffee shop to see Kelly but just didn’t have the time thanks to Tom and an early morning trip to Home Depot. He had promised Tom that he would install a cat door so that Tom could continue his neighborhood ‘patrols’ and still have a convenient place to get out of the rain and maybe a snack or two. After all it was the least he could do for a drinking buddy who also happened to be a cat. Hah, I know I’m going crazy but it’s an interesting trip Ben thought as he grinned to himself and slid out of his truck.

“Dammit Fuckity Fuck Fuck Fuck!” He heard from the next row over in the staff parking lot accompanied by some loud bangs. He saw a sleek black tressed head pop out over the top of the car between them. “Gawdammitohell!” was next.

Ben estimated they were just about to reach the “mother fucker” stage of her soliloquy when he thought he should probably intercede before the tender ears of approaching students were forever scarred.

“Ummm ... can I help?” Ben said carefully to Ms. Hensley, the new French teacher as he rounded the car between them.

For his trouble he got an extremely advanced version of ‘The Look’. Apparently, he was not just an idiot, he was a fucking idiot.

“Auuugggghhhh! Shit, maybe, I don’t know” she said with one hand on a shapely hip and the other pointing to a snarled nest of canvas and wood strips that protruded from the back hatch of her black Citroen. It looked like the tiny black car was trying unsuccessfully to give birth to a giant Pinterest project.

Ben scratched his head and then moved closer to take a look. “Okay maybe if we let this seat down a bit we can free up the frame and pull everything out” Ben said.

“Alright, let me see if I can reach the release on the far side, that side door doesn’t open” She said as she opened the driver’s side rear door and leaned into the back seat in her short black skirt.

Ben suddenly realized that if she had worn ‘day of the week’ undies he’d have known that it was Tuesday for sure. Instead he was privileged to have a front row seat to Victoria’s worst kept secret in lacy black.

“You’d better not be staring at my ass!” she said, glaring in his direction over her shoulder.

“Wouldn’t dream of it!” Ben lied. He thought that his adventures with Sarah the night before had drained him of any carnal ambitions for at least another decade or so. But he was wrong. It was quite a delectable backside after all and he was old, not dead.

The latch finally popped and the seat reclined back freeing a corner of the awkward assemblage.

“Okay I think I can get it now” Ben said, starting to reach into the birth canal of the Citroen.

“Wait! It’s quite delicate,” she said. The words ‘and you are a big oaf’ were implied in her tone as she stood and skirted around the back of the car to help. They leaned in together and she wedged under his arm to grasp an edge. Suddenly she gasped and he could feel a small firm breast embedded into his side. Ben’s head shot up and he banged it soundly on the underside of the hatch.

“Dang!” exclaimed Ben.

“Oh Mon Sher! Are you alright?” simpered Ms.Hensley.

“Ummm yeah I’m okay” said Ben wondering when the annoyed potty mouthed sailor had been replaced by the randy French hooker.

They were frozen in an awkward tableau as Ben realized his woman troubles had not disappeared with the morning dew. If she had been pressed any tighter to him she’d be on the other side. He could hear her breathing get ragged and feel the warm humid heat radiating from the slim body glued to him.

“Ahhh. I think we can get it now” Ben broke the moment and gingerly began backing his way out with a handful of school project and half an armful of extremely horny woman.

“Ah yes, brilliant! Here we go. Can you help me with this into my class?”

Ben wanted to say ‘no, sorry running late’ but he just couldn’t. He didn’t know if it was his built in gallantry or just sexual curiosity instead he said “Sure. no problem.” But as he backed away his head cleared for a second and an image of Sarah giving herself to him, then Kelly with her mysterious eyes and then Lizzy and her soft sweet blush flashed into his head and he knew that this was one temptation that held no real sway over him.

As he helped Ms. Hensley into her class room with her ‘French Bistro’ project he struggled to understand why those particular images had flowed into his consciousness from out of nowhere. Sarah he understood. He knew instinctively that she had branded him for life. Kelly even, he had been almost obsessed with her for months. But why little Lizzy?

Tuesday Morning before 3rd period

Harborton High School

Harborton Washington

Sarah rounded the corner toward Ben’s class room when she saw him at the end of the hallway moving toward her. Ben hadn’t spotted her yet and she was just about to call out to him when from the doorway opposite Ben’s classroom a lithe dark haired figure darted out and laid a hand on his arm.

“Ben, do you have a second?” said Ms. Hensley.

“Uh ... sure what can I help you with?” said Ben uncertainly.

Sarah had never seen the two of them talk before. What the hell was this she-devil up to?

“I know you are doing an upcoming unit on European history and I was hoping we could do a combined project.” Ms. Hensley said with a seductive smile.

At Ms. Hensley’s first words Sarah felt herself going completely over the top. And what was with the hand on the arm? Was that really necessary? Sarah was frozen in place except that she began bouncing slightly up and down on the balls of her feet. Anyone who had watched a National Geographic special about the predators of the Serengetti would recognize her posture and movements as that of a cheetah about to unloose on an unsuspecting gazelle. This cheetah was about to rip every hair out of that slutty gazelle’s head. Through the pounding of her heart Sarah could vaguely hear them continue their conversation.

“Not sure how that would work, but maybe?”

“Could we have lunch and discuss it?”

Ben almost coughed up a lung as he started to speak and Sarah’s offer of the night before struck him, “Ummh Ahhk ... sure Ms. Hensley but I can’t today. And I’m pretty busy. Maybe next week?” Somehow he didn’t think Ms. Hensley would appreciate Sarah instructing her on how to give him a BJ during lunch.

“Please, call me Lauren!” Ms. Hensley laughed trying not to sound perturbed and laying her hand on Ben’s upper arm once more.

Sarah glowed with rage. He’ll be calling her ‘pizza face’ if she touches him one more time she thought.

“Okay then, until next week Lauren.” Ben said turning to extricate himself.

“Ta- Ta for now Ben.” Lauren somehow managed to pout and smile at the same time as Ben turned away from her.

“Ta-ta my pretty pink butt!” Sarah growled “I have ‘em and she doesn’t!”

Unknown to Sarah, Maria, one of her closest girlfriends was approaching her from behind. “Hey Sar Bear, are you okay?”

Momentarily distracted from her potential prey, Sarah took a brief second to compose herself and unclench her fists. “Yeah I’m fine Mar Bear, just can’t believe what a ... oh never mind,” she caught herself in time. She really didn’t want any awkward questions. Sarah was literally saved by the bell as the warning for the next classes rang.

“Gotta run, talk to you later Mar Bear!” Sarah said over her shoulder as she strode off to her history class leaving a puzzled Maria standing in the hall.

“Wonder what’s gotten into her?” Maria said under her breath as she headed off for her own class. Maria, of course, had no idea that the question was not what but rather who.

In the few steps it took to get to the classroom door Sarah analyzed what had just happened in the hallway and realized that she couldn’t let it stand. She had to erase any thought of that skank out of Ben’s head immediately, Sarah knew that Ben was the most beautiful man around and that other women would be attracted to him. She could almost live with that, but Lauren had a horrible reputation around school and in the small town they lived. She wouldn’t love and treasure Ben. She would deceive him (men are such idiots after all!) and then hurt and discard him. Then Sarah would have to kill the bitch and hide the body, and since she didn’t know how to do either she would get caught and go to prison. And to top it off she looked horrible in orange!

Her look of intense concentration morphed into a sweetly innocent smile as she saw Ben at the door waiting for the last students to trickle in. She gave a quick glance around to ensure no one else was in earshot and then fixed Ben’s kind brown eyes with her flashing sapphire ones.

“Anytime, anywhere, no excuses needed,” Sarah said in a low, matter of fact voice.

Sarah could see a startled look cross his face as he struggled to process her meaning as simultaneously the blood in his brain drained below decks. That should about do it she thought as she crossed the class room and flounced into her seat, just a trace of a smug look gracing her beautiful face.