Jaded (Jaded #1)(68)
He’d been inside of me. And then someone else had taken his place.
“Fine,” Miss Connors took another deep breath. “Someone wanna clue me in on the very large, very white, invisible elephant that’s in this room?”
Crickets chirped.
“Alright. No one wants to tell me. I’m not going to ream you out like yesterday.”
She sighed and reached for a book. “How about today we’ll just read a story. You guys can sit and listen. It’s probably appropriate and if you don’t pass my quiz at the end, I’m going to require daily sessions.”
“What?”
Corrigan asked.
“Ah!” Miss Connors smiled. “And the middle-man speaks. Now, story time so sit and listen, little children.”
She opened the book and sighed as she sat straight, “So there was once a little girl fish, named Spooky, who loved to swim, but she’d never been taught to swim. And there was this frog named Harry Green. He liked to chirp to the friendly pond that he called home.” Miss Connors paused dramatically…
“Are you serious?” Bryce asked, annoyed.
She looked at him with chilled eyes. “No. Talk time was earlier. This is story time. So zip it.”
He opened his mouth again—“Zip it,” she cut him off. “And if you’re going to complain again—whip it!”
Corrigan laughed.
“Mr. Raimler,” Miss Connors chastised.
“Why am I Sheldon? Corrigan is Mr. Raimler? And Bryce is Bryce Scout?”
“Can you three please make up your minds? I’m not a puppet for you to string along. If you want to talk, let’s hear what the white elephant is and if you don’t—you’re going to listen to my stories.”
“Your stories?” Corrigan asked, eyebrows arched.
“Elephant or story. Your choice.” She raised her own eyebrows to match his.
“Story,” Bryce said automatically.
“Elephant,” Corrigan voted.
“I had sex with Denton Steele,” I named the elephant and startled myself.
Without missing a beat, Miss Connors remarked, “Well, that makes sense.” She was serious.
Everyone looked at her, puzzled.
She sighed and said, “You found someone you knew and considered a friend dead. You’re normally cut-off, Sheldon, but quite a bit’s been going on. You realized how truly crappy your parents are. You found someone murdered. You’re getting threatening letters. And…I got a phone call from your father. He said your mother came home yesterday. I’d say for someone who usually flies under the radar, emotionally-speaking anyway…you needed a different avenue to avoid everything that’s been going on. Sex with someone you don’t love—that makes sense.”
Sex with someone you don’t love. Those words echoed in me.
She continued, “And I’ve seen his latest movie.” She whistled, “Hot stuff.”
Bryce asked as he stretched his legs out, “What do you mean? Sex with someone she doesn’t love?”
“Ah!” Miss Connors grinned coolly and replied, nonplussed, “That’s what you heard out of that whole speech.” She nodded my way and said, “I bet she’s thinking the same thing.”
Corrigan laughed.
Miss Connors ignored him and looked at me, “Because you do love him, Sheldon.
And guess what? That’s a decent thing for you to do. To be with someone that you love.”
She looked at Bryce, “She might not know it, but she loves you.”
“My father called you?” I asked, quietly.
Corrigan stopped laughing.
Miss Connors nodded and murmured, “I called him yesterday to let him know that I saw his daughter for a successful session. I couldn’t tell him anything, but he called me back and told me what was going on.” She leaned forward. “For the record, Sheldon—he sounded sorry about everything that’s gone down.”
“What’d you tell him?”
“Just what I said right now. Sheldon came in for a session with her two best friends and I felt it went very well. That was it.”
“Nothing else?” I prompted.
“Did I divulge all your secrets? No.”
Corrigan suddenly asked, “Can we get back to Sheldon’s question? Why am I Mr. Raimler, she’s Sheldon, and Bryce is Bryce Scout?”
Miss Connors grinned and said, “Because you’re so informal that you’re formal.
A formal title only makes sense. Bryce is a legend. He deserves two names. And Sheldon because, half the time, she forgets her own name.”
Huh?
“What?” Corrigan echoed my sentiments.
Miss Connors shrugged, “You’ll get it. Someday, maybe.”
“I get it,” Bryce said softly and leaned forward. “Mr. Raimler because you flirt so much to actually be real. It comes off as kinda impersonal or…formal.” He shrugged.
“And Bryce Scout because she said it herself, she hears about me from all those girls. I’m not really real, but… I don’t know, like a celebrity or something.” He took a deep breath, “And Sheldon because…Sheldon forgets that she’s human sometimes. She tries to be a robot all the time.”
“A robot who has mad passionate sex,” Corrigan joked.