Something Fierce Read Free

things were reversed, he wouldn’t be reminiscing that way. In fact, when he was seventeen—three years younger and light-years more naïve than Kerri Engel—his high school English teacher, Candice Bracknell, had made a move on him. He was still a virgin and so infatuated with her that when she placed her hand on his lap, he’d been too stunned to react. Before he could snap out of it and fulfill the fantasy he had entertained countless times, “Candy”—as the leering boys called her when she was out of earshot—had immediately withdrawn her hand and never so much as flirted with crossing that line again. Which, of course, was the right thing to do. But even now, he wished it would have gone the other direction. Despite a love life that has been, for the most part, satisfying and even adventurous at times, he still wondered what it would have been like to lose his virginity to an older woman that inexperience and masturbatory fantasies had elevated to a sexual goddess. What might she have taught him in their first few sessions that took years to figure out with girls his own age, fumbling in backseats and dorm rooms?
    He didn’t have nearly enough money to cover the cab and the women had contributed nothing so he had to wake Graham before they got to his place and hit him up for the fare. “See,” he said to Graham, as his buddy handed over a fist full of cash, “if it weren’t for those golden shackles of the corporate world, we’d be on our way to jail.”
    Graham mumbled something inaudible as they walked into Seth’s place, a beautiful home that was on loan to Northeast’s guest instructor until May. Graham went straight to one of the spare bedrooms. Seth checked his email one last time and found what he’d been looking for. In fact, there were two emails from Kerri-Go-Round121. He scrolled down to the one she had sent first. The subject read: Two Ships Passing in the Night…
    “Oh no,” he said, to the empty room, and opened it.
    Dear Mr. Hardy,
    Although my heart is broken, I want to thank you for letting me down so gently and reminding me that I am still an “attractive and intelligent young woman.” You are a very nice man. That’s probably why I liked you so much. I guess it is natural for girls to have crushes on their teachers. It was very courteous of you to remind me of this. I hope we can still be friends. (Check yes or no in the box below)
    Your Former Student,
    Kerri Engel
    “‘Check yes or no?’” Seth said aloud and laughed. “Smartass!” He opened the second email, sent five minutes later and titled: One More Thing…
    Sorry, Seth. I couldn’t resist. But it serves you right after that insipid reply. Honestly! Self-deprecation is not your style, nor is waxing philosophical about boundaries and judging someone solely on the amount of years she has spent on the planet. Just so you have it in writing: I am not naïve. I am not a child. I know the risks, if you want to call them that. I considered all of the possible consequences of that first email long before I sent it. I thought about it all semester long, in fact, and had the good sense to wait until the class was over and grades were turned in.
    My feelings haven’t changed and the offer still stands…if you think you are up for it.
    Kerri
    Still slightly buzzed, Seth had hit reply, typed: Noon on Monday—downtown Willoughby at Coffee and Books, sent the email and swaggered to the shower.
    And here he was. It was exactly noon now. He was relieved in a way that it was finally too late to turn back. He climbed out of his Escape—the first vehicle he’d ever paid payments on, the first he’d acquired with less than 100,000 miles on the odometer—and walked into the coffee shop.
    Kerri had been there all along drinking a cappuccino and reading a book. Striking in a black, leather jacket and casual blouse, her thick golden hair spilled wildly over and well below her shoulders. She wore designer jeans and knee-high boots,