Wrongdoers by S.M. Williams (book club reads txt) 📕

Lauren Simms was not feeling well one summer afternoon. Her stomach was tangled up; she twisted and turned trying to ease out the discomfort. I would rather have gone with them, she thought. Lauren was all alone in a small bungalow. It became less than cozy when no one could lend an ear. Being ill only had advantage when she wasn’t alone.

It wasn’t even the pain that made it annoying. It was the boredom. Lauren flipped through the same set of outdated magazines over and over again. She could no longer laugh at contemptible wardrobe choices and began imagining herself in them instead. She needed company bad.

Unfortunately for Lauren, practically the entire tenth grade had gone to Tahiti, the year’s summer trip. Adam and Tara had promised they would stick together. Of course, they hadn’t expected she’d get a bad case of the flu. Lauren wondered if she should blame Todd, her most recent dinner date, who seemed kind of queasy. But family history won the cake. And now they were on vacation too.

At this point, she was recovering from it. If it wasn’t for her aching insides, she might have considered herself cured or even asked Todd to go out again had he been good-looking enough. It was time for her second breakfast.

The kitchen was not where she shone. Frankly, Lauren didn’t really excel anywhere; she was average and standard, nothing special. Even in eating habits she was fine with some heated up TV dinner. But as soon as she opened the fridge, she saw that she was short on supplies. No one had expected her to ravage through them as quickly. At least her parents left Lauren her good pal, the extra allowance.

Ed’s Quick-Mart was the nearest store she could walk to. Lauren had visited the Quick-Mart several times already; she knew each aisle by heart. She practically ran towards the frozen food stand. TV dinner here I come. Thud!  

Her mind went blank for a few moments, she felt as though her head was about to explode. As soon as she could see in front of her, the feeling grew figurative. She scolded herself, unsure how she could have missed this kid; Pembroke Hall only had one school. He wasn’t just good-looking, he was gorgeous. Lauren thought he looked better than the male models in her mother’s Cosmopolitan. Pretty hazel eyes that complimented his cropped dark brown hair, she wasn’t letting this one go.

“I am so sorry,” he apologized as he got up. His real voice sounded sweet and salty. But maybe that was just her stomach talking. “Here,” he said extending his hand to help her up. Lauren wished she’d prepared herself better as she held it. Not only did he have a strong grip, but he just had to smile and jumble up her adolescent hormones some more. Luckily, she mustered up the courage to thank him, just before getting lost in his eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked politely. If she hadn’t been before, his dream-like expression had made her okay.

Lauren tried to carry a conversation as best she could. “I’m fine,” she replied as normally as possible. “My head hurts a little.”

 “Maybe I should give you a lift to the clinic, just to be safe. Would your parents mind?” Her heart fell as soon as she realized why she hadn’t seen him around school. He had already graduated. Lauren’s head may have cracked in that small incident. School wouldn’t start for another month, she told herself, and this could be fun.

“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen my parents since high school,” she lied in an awfully flirtatious manner. He looked confused. “I’m sorry; I thought you were a teenager.” He didn’t seem entirely convinced that she wasn’t. “Yeah, I get that a lot,” Lauren explained. She did not have to lie about everything. “People say I look a lot younger than I am.” He nodded in agreement. Lauren found it difficult to keep track of herself around him. “Well, I’m new in town so I guess I’ll have to get used to a couple of things.”

A half hour later, frozen food bought, connection made, Lauren invited him back to her place. “Do you want to come back to my place?” How obviously suggestive it was must have gotten through.

“I would like that,” he answered. She smiled. I’m attractive, he finds me attractive, she thought.

The Simms estate was not much to be proud of. Lauren noticed how normally he went about. He’d been expecting this. “What’s your name?” Lauren finally asked. She could have sworn he looked puzzled for a split second. Why name a chicken you plan to kill? “It’s Eric, Eric Young,” he responded. “What’s yours?” It was as though he didn’t care for the answer. Lauren Young, she thought, wait. It suddenly dawned on her that his name was identical to something somewhere. Oh God! Her shock appeared on her face.

“Is something wrong?” Eric asked with that same concerned look on his face. This expression was always an omen for Lauren’s dishonesty. “I’m Laura Simmons, another new teacher on the school board.” She adapted to the situation quickly, unaffected by the new development. His mouth made an O and he nodded in understanding. “But we don’t know where it’s going from here,” he justified their unlawful situation. Lauren shrugged and waltzed towards the sofa, curling her legs up to lift her skirt just enough for him to see her underwear, if he wanted to. “Now we do.” She wore a devilish grin.

Eric Young wanted to alright. He may have even wanted it more than Lauren. He tried not to sprint but Lauren could see the lust in his eyes. It made her even hotter.

“So why teach?” Lauren asked in the spirit of conversation. “There seems to be loads of other things you could do.” She genuinely wanted to talk, long enough for him to lose the pants. He left her no choice but boring old chit-chat. “I enjoy it. I mean each class has its troublemakers but I like a challenge.” Lauren started smoothing her skirt over her legs. “Do you ever get truly close to any of your students?” she said, a hint of laughter audible. “I still contact some of them from years ago, if that’s what you mean.” Eric was older and so much more innocent than Lauren. She leaned a little closer. “Have any came up to you like this and said,” She tilted her lips toward his ear and whispered, “I’d do anything for an A.”

Eric gulped. His breath became warmer as he panted. Lauren found it adorable and pulled her face away. Now they were in kissing proximity. “I don’t exploit a student wanting to achieve,” he managed to say.  She cupped his face in her palms, spreading her fingers out on his cheeks. “Oh. Really?” He gulped; completely unaware that she wasn’t simply teasing him.

Lauren was a virgin. She wasn’t sexually active but that didn’t make her innocent. She knew a lot about sex and trained herself in the art of seduction. She had a vibrator for practice and often used her fingers to pleasure herself. On a date with a boy named Scott, she’d darn near lost it to him if he had a condom. It was towards the end of the year and she couldn’t bear to face him after that. How would that make her look?

Publication Date: 07-29-2015

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