I was relieved to have already written down what I was going to say as I cleared my throat. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have tripped over my words. He was staring at me, and I could see I was having trouble even with the paper. I must have been overanalyzing it. What transpired between us was only a one-night encounter, which I believed I could easily forget. He was now seated in front of me, and I was starting to recall.

How in the world did I allow this to occur? How could I miss that?

"She hasn't caused you any problems, has she? He tousled his daughter's hair and made fun of her, "I know how much of a problem she can be.

My heart warmed up as I enjoyed hearing her giggle. My own smile developed as I watched him torment her while grinning. There was a welcome change in the way the man behaved with his daughter as opposed to the way he usually merely prepared beverages in silence. But that wasn't the first time I had seen a distinct aspect of him. I discovered a part of him during the night I spent in his bed that I couldn't forget.

I became more agitated just by thinking about it again. I shook my head and pushed myself to focus on the person I was facing. She's the complete opposite, in fact! She puts forth a lot of effort and is constantly focused. I said as I put my work down, "Eva is one of my best students. I was already aware of all of that without even having to look at it.

She smiled at me when I spoke kind things about her and flushed herself.

On the other hand, Madison sighed, He poked her and said in jest, "Why are you so good for her instead of with me?"

Naturally, I'm a fantastic fit for her. She proceeded to compliment me, saying, "Miss Robinson is awesome and amazing and—" she counted off on her fingers.

Madison gave me a startling glance. He chuckled softly and gave me a contrite look. This was a welcome relief from the difficulties I often face with these kids during the day. I wouldn't stop her from complimenting me if she wanted to. Additionally, she was preoccupied and didn't see that we were focusing more on each other than she was.

She struggled to finish her statement in one breath, exclaiming, "—and awesome!" while exhaling hard.

He took his eyes from mine to gaze back at her, "You already said awesome, Princess," he murmured.

I was astounded by how many minutes had already passed when I looked at the time. Was he just so distracting that I didn't notice? I gave my paper to him after clearing my throat. I stated to him with tightened lips, "This is her report in case you wanted to dig more into how she's doing. I surprised myself by how unhappy I sounded as I informed them, "Unfortunately as much as I enjoyed hearing how great I am, I sadly have the next set of parents coming in soon so we'll have to cut it here."

They followed my direction and stood back up before I led them to the door. Eva quickly extended my hand for a handshake before giving Madison another opportunity. Despite not knowing what I wanted to say, I found myself looking up at him and the warmth of his hand was more than welcome. It wasn't appropriate here anyhow. I would confront it when that moment arrived if what I was experiencing was genuine.

He offered me one final grin before leaving the classroom as his hand slipped from mine.

I found myself gazing at the doorway with my heart racing like the hopeless romantic that I was.

We were just intended to have a one-night stand; sentiments weren't supposed to develop. Love wasn't intended to be in my future, and feelings caused me to be injured again.

With the next set of parents arriving with their student, I had to shake the troubling thoughts out of my head before putting a smile on my face and shoving Madison to the back of my mind. I would then attempt to identify the source of these sensations once I was back at home.

Jane

As I climbed the steps to my residence, my feet were heavy and I was feeling lethargic. It had been a long day, and I was exhausted. I inserted the key into the lock and then allowed myself in while trying not to yawn. I felt a tiny bit of life return to me as soon as I opened the door to the welcome meow.

I said gently, "I missed you too," and shut the door behind me. I crossed the calico cat and moved into my kitchen to put my things down. A home-cooked lunch sounded wonderful just now since I was famished. But given my level of energy, ordering some pizza seemed just as appealing. The flavor of grease could help me feel less lifeless on the inside. I quickly called the closest store and then went to my bedroom to change out of my clothes and put on something more cozier.

I quickly ordered pizza while looking for a movie to watch, then found myself curled up on the sofa with a pizza in one hand and a Snickers bar in the other. I watched the beginning of the love scene unfold with my eyes riveted to the television. What was I to say, even if I had given up on myself, it didn't stop me from finding satisfaction in seeing imaginary characters fall madly in love with one another.

I kept watching, but I started to gradually lose interest as my mind kept wandering back to Madison and Eva. The possibility of running into him again via one of my kids still had me in disbelief. It caused me to wonder whether what I did with him wasn't simply a coincidence. Madison could wind up being more to me than simply a bartender.

Was I stupid to have thought such a thing? After a few weekends alone, I became aware of how lonely I was now that my schedule was more flexible. It seemed weird even after some assurance from Alice.

Even though I tried to ignore what had occurred that evening, my emotions had started to return now that it had come to light.

It was fantastic what occurred between Madison and myself. He had given me an unforgettable night. I have to admit that I was really let down by this new revelation. He had no more need to interact with me now that he was aware that I was his daughter's teacher. There must have been a line there.

Was it the rationale I was using for myself? What kept me from returning to that pub on foot only to see him? At least I could acknowledge that I was absolutely afraid. The sex wouldn't only be something to fill the need in my heart once I was alone with him. Leaving passion aside, I wanted to find out who he really was. I would surely be asking for too much if I tossed it his way.

It was that wall that I fought to get over, knowing that he had just consented to a few hours of my time. Would requesting a little extra really be unreasonable?