New Job, New Relations

Talon watched her leave, feeling a bit guilty for his conduct.

He knew he was being rude, but yesterday… He needed more time to assimilate everything that had happened, and he could not do that with her with him all the time.

Surely she would understand that? Right?

“You dick,” Carrie spat at him as she went by.

The rest went about their business and bid him good day, but he could sense their displeasure at his comment.

What was he supposed to do? He had just realized he had a true home and family, he was finally free from his past, and he was completely in love with a woman.

He needed time to process everything and figure out how to move forward.

Surely they could give him that.

***

The following week went by in a blur for Wren as she started her new job, tried to figure out how to accept Talon’s distance, her training, practicing, and all these new emotions she was feeling.

Life sucked.

By the end of the week, she was tired and ready for the weekend.

She locked up her classroom and headed for her car.

Talon had absolutely refused to go to work with her or be associated with her in any way, shape, or form once they left the house in the morning until they returned in the evening.

“Have a good weekend!” one of her new students called out as he waved.

“You too. Be careful.”

“You bet!” came the reply.

Wren made it all the way to the parking lot before she remembered.

That morning, when she had shown up for breakfast, Lily had stopped her.

***

“You will need to catch a ride with Talon today. Your car is in the shop today for maintenance,” Lily said.

“No.” Talon appeared before them.

“Talon. It is no big deal,” Lily sighed.

She could not handle the tension in the air any longer.

Everyone had hoped there would be a change in their relationship after the bonding and the whole situation with the…visitor.

But if anything, the two of them were even further apart than before.

They did not speak to each other unless it was necessary, so everyone had decided, after watching this for four days, to make sure they had to spend time together today.

“I already told you. I am not associating with her at work.”

“You do not have to associate with her, just get her to and from school. What is the big deal?” Lily put her hands on her hips.

~The big deal is that if I spend too much time with her right now, I might do something stupid like kiss her again~ was Talon’s thought. ~If I did that, I would scare her away completely.~

After another sleepless night, he had decided he was overthinking everything.

As the week had moved along and he had watched her settle in at the school, it became obvious she was well-liked by students and staff alike, and that set his teeth on edge.

He had not meant to avoid her so much, but he was trying to find the right approach.

Why the hell was he having so much trouble with it?

Was it because he had something to lose if she rejected him?

That fear lived in his soul.

This week had been brutal on him.

If he had to go to school with her right now, he would make a mess of things.

“It is all right, Lily. I will catch a ride with Evan and Emerald.”

“Nonsense. It would not do to have a teacher ride with students who are not their own. Talon will take you, and he will get over it.”

***

Wren sighed.

Talon had been avoiding her all week.

Even when they were together, he kept his distance and only spoke when he needed to.

Once he had given it some thought, her past really did bother him.

What could she do other than make sure she stayed out of his way at this point?

Wren looked at the cars in the parking lot and then at the science building of the school and let out a sigh.

She would have to go find him.

She rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn.

Maybe she should just wait here?

The dreams had returned this week, probably because of their talk, and she had not been able to keep them away.

She needed rest, her concentration was failing, and Talon was starting to notice.

She could not stay here waiting for long.

Someone might notice.

She found the science room after stopping for directions and knocked on the door before entering.

“Excuse me?”

Talon and half a dozen students were gathered around one of the tables, doing something with beakers and liquid.

Talon kept up his instructions until the students finished the experiment successfully. He was good, she thought to herself. She would have loved to have him for a teacher.

He glanced up. ~What are you doing here? You have no right. What if someone found out we live together?~ His body started to heat up at the sight of her, making him even angrier.

“What do you want?” he asked gruffly.

Wren started to speak and then stopped. She could not say that in front of students, and it looked like it would be a while.

“Ummm, yes. I was told to come and speak to you about a student. Could we step into the hall for a moment?” Wren thought quickly and hoped it was a plausible excuse.

Talon nodded and followed her out into the hall.

“What do you need?” Talon growled. “I thought I made it clear. We are not to associate at work.”

He spoke harshly, but his heartbeat had picked up at the sight of her on his turf. What he really wanted to do was push her up against the wall and plunder that mouth of hers.

He could clearly remember kissing her once before, and it made his body ache for another one.

“How long will you be?”

“Why?”

Wren sighed, realizing Talon had forgotten.

“Because you brought me here. I need to know when you are leaving so I can find something to do,” she snapped back.

Talon stepped back. Damn, she was right. He had forgotten that she had had to ride with him today.

What an inconvenience. When they had arrived, Talon had dropped her off a few blocks from the school and made her walk the rest of the way.

It was a good thing he had, or a couple of the teachers would have seen her exit his car.

“Another hour, maybe a bit more.”

“Call my room when you are done, and I will meet you at the car,” she said. She turned and walked away.

~Great,~ she thought as she headed back to her room. ~Guess I won’t be going home early tonight.~

She re-entered her room and closed the door.

Stupid man.

***

“Are you ready?”

Wren jumped, turning to see Talon leaning in the doorway. She had been listening for a phone call.

“Why did you not call?” she asked.

“Forgot my cell at home. My morning routine was interrupted, remember?”

“How could I forget?” Wren mumbled as she stood and headed to collect her stuff.

He took Wren’s bag from her. “Let’s go.”

“I can take my own bag, you know. People will stare. I would hate for them to think there was anything between us,” she said softly with her head down.

Talon shrugged. “It is the least I can do for snapping at you earlier. Besides, I do not let ladies carry things, and everyone knows it. It will be all right.”

They continued a polite conversation as they headed for the car.

Talon handed Wren her bag along with the keys.

“Go down three blocks, take a right, and park in front of the little café you see on the right. I will meet you there. We have eyes,” he said.

Wren nodded. “Thank you for walking me to my car. Have a good weekend.” She raised her voice so others could hear and climbed in, taking off as Talon turned and headed toward the school.

He obviously did not want others to know they were more than colleagues. It was his choice, and she needed to respect it, but it still hurt.

She stopped the car in front of the café and went in to wait for him. She did not know how long he would be, and she wanted to get something to drink.

***

Talon headed to the café. He had been held up by some of the teachers asking him about Wren.

He shook his head. It seemed Lily had been right. The men did look at her with dirty thoughts.

He remembered the physical education teacher had asked him, “You and the new music teacher an item?”

“Not a chance,” he’d replied, the words sticking in his throat. The physical education teacher was a known player, and it seemed he had his eye on Wren.

“Told you, man.” The history teacher had slapped him on the back. “She is all yours. That is, if I do not get her first.”

“Shut up,” the physical education teacher shot back. “You already have a girlfriend. Besides,” he said, slapping the history teacher’s dad bod, “she is not into fatties.”

Talon had just shaken his head. He needed to start remembering names so he could keep Wren safe from them.

“Have a great weekend,” he’d told them, turning and waving at the two men who were still arguing over who would end up with Wren.

Damn, he was an idiot. He wondered if he should have taken the others’ advice and set up an engagement with her so that other male teachers would have no way to get to her.

He could only hope now she was smart enough to see through them.

He spotted the car and headed toward it. He changed his route when he saw her sitting in the window of the café.

He stepped in and sat down across from her.

When the waitress came up, he ordered a coffee with a vague smile. He turned his attention to Wren.

“Sorry about that. I got stopped by a couple of the teachers. It took longer than I thought it would.”

“That is all right. I figured it was something like that.”

“While we are out, is there anything you would like to do?”