Disclaimer: I own nothing. All original storyline and characters are property of E.L. James.
Alright guys, there's a huge time jump here because I needed to speed up the storyline a little bit. The story is starting to get a little bit long, and it's deviating a bit from what I originally envisioned. So this is just my way of getting things back on track, and progressing in the right direction again.
Sorry I haven't been updating as much recently. I haven't been anywhere with my laptop recently that has wifi. That means though, that I am able to write a few chapters ahead. Which means a double update for all you amazing people!
To say my final month of high school was eventful would be a huge understatement. Apart from all my course work, I was finishing up last-minute College applications just in case my first choice didn't work out.
That proved unnecessary though, because I received a letter from Portland State shortly after saying I was accepted with a substantial academic scholarship.
When I wasn't busy with school work or prepping for college, I was finding anyway I possibly could to spend time with Cavin. Mostly we stayed at his house, and the more time we spent together, the surer I felt that he was the man I would spend my life with.
As I set my pencil down after completing Cavin's English final it really starts sinking in that I am no longer his student, and though it is still frowned upon, from a legal standpoint we can be together without repercussions.
I glance up at him, and he is smiling widely at me, surely thinking the same thing I am.
We already celebrated a bit yesterday during my aiding period, but now it is official, and we are both giddy at the fact.
I wait patiently as the rest of the class finishes their finals one by one. With a few minutes left in the period everyone had finished, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
"I would like to thank you all for a wonderful trimester, and ultimately a wonderful year! It has been my pleasure watching you grow, not only as students, but as individuals as well.
"And as you all prepare to take the next step in your lives; I would like to announce mine.
"After this year I will no longer be teaching at this school. I will be leaving with all of you. This has been one of the most influential graduating classes I've had the pleasure of knowing and I know in my heart this is the right choice.
"At the encouragement of a very close friend of mine I will be moving to Portland, and taking the next year off to finish writing my novel. After that I will see where my heart leads me." As Cavin says this his eyes land on me for a brief moment.
"Thank you all for being my inspiration and I hope to see you all at one point in the future, happy, and successful in whatever it is you choose to do." As soon as he finishes his speech the bell dismissing class rings, but I find myself unable to move.
Shock has frozen me to my seat. I had no idea he was planning any of this, and I suspect that's the reason he waited until this class to tell anyone.
In a daze I gather all my stuff up, and shove it into my book bag. I make my way to the front of the classroom. Once all the other students left the class I hissed at Cavin, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Are you angry at me?" I could tell he was surprised by my reaction.
"Of course not." I say in a softer tone. "I was just shocked that's all. It would have been nice to know, so I could have controlled my reaction better."
"I'm sorry, I wanted to surprise you, and I figured that would be the perfect time to do it. My next class will be arriving soon, and if I'm not mistaken you have a Spanish final to take. We can discuss this later. Good luck." He says, and I know he's back to his careful professional façade.
"Thank you." I say, and make my way to Spanish. Our final schedule is a bit different from a normal school day. They're split up into two half days. Yesterday we took our finals for first and second period, and today is third, fourth, and fifth period finals."
"Hola Phoebe." My Spanish teacher says as I walk into class.
"Hola." I mumble, still distracted by the bombshell Cavin just dropped on me.
I breeze through my next two classes despite my distracted state of mind, and just like that my high school career is over. As excited as I am to start my life away from my parents, and with Cavin, I am a little sad. I'm no longer a child in any sense of the word, and that makes me a little afraid.
When the bell rings dismissing school I wait around for a little bit, until I'm sure the majority of students have left the building, and I make my way to Cavin's classroom.
I peak around the doorway and watch him for a second, before he realizes I'm there. He smiles wistfully as he looks around the room, and then he begins to pack things away into one of his empty boxes.
"Knock, knock." I say quietly, finally bringing attention to myself.
"Phoebe!" he seems somewhat surprised to see me here. "Shouldn't you be out with the rest of your classmates celebrating the end of your finals?" He asks, but I can tell he's pleased I'm here.
"I thought I would come see if you needed help with anything." It wasn't unusual for teachers to ask their aids to come in after school to help them finish something up. Of course it was always up to the student, but it wouldn't be too unusual for me to be here with Cavin after school hours.
"Nothing would make me happier." He tells me. So I text my mom letting her know I would be late, and I grab a box to help him start packing his personal belongings away.
We make small talk while we work, nothing that would make anyone suspicious, and it's nice knowing we can keep things light, and hang out together without having to worry about getting caught. I realize this is what it will be like in Portland.
"Thank you." He says when we finish.
"It was my pleasure." I tell him with a smile. "It I would have known you were leaving I would have brought you something. You've helped me so much this year, and I know I have you to thank for my college acceptance."
"You have no one to thank for that but yourself. You're a very intelligent young woman, and it has been so wonderful getting to know you, and seeing your writing grow this year. I know one day you will make a name for yourself, and not because of the one you already have."
"Do you really believe that?" I ask.
"With all my heart Phoebe."
I smile warmly at him, and wish that I can give him a hug. Instead I say, "Thank you."
"So what are your plans for this evening?" He asks, as we make our way out of the school.
"Well tonight my family is having a celebratory dinner for me, but right now I'm hoping to maybe go over to my boyfriend's house for a little bit." I say, and I know he understands what I'm getting at.
"I'm sure he would love that." He tells me with a sly smile.
My heart leaps with excitement. With the stress of finals, and making sure I got into the college I wanted to I've been neglecting Cavin, and I'm anxious to spend some real time with him.
"I'll see you soon Mr. Blumm." I tell him. He nods back, and smiles as he makes his way to his car.
I head to my car in the opposite direction. After making sure Cavin had already drove out of the lot I begin to drive to his house.
"I'm so glad you decided to come over! I feel like I haven't been able to do this for days!" Cavin exclaims as he wraps me in a hug as soon as I step through the garage door.
"I know! Finally we can take some time to relax." I say then give him a light peck on the lips.
"So what do you want to do? When is your family having dinner?"
"Dinner is at seven, so we have some time. Can we just order a pizza and hang out? Maybe watch some movies or something? I just want to relax."
"Alright, you go pick something out on pay-per-view, and I'll order the pizza. Delfino's right?" He asks.
"Yeah, the Perfect Pesto deep dish please, and can we get some garlic cheese bread too? With some marinara dipping sauce?" I call from the front room where I've put on "The Croods."
Shortly after, Cavin joins me on the couch. "I'm going to pick the food up in about fifteen minutes. Do you want me to get anything else while I'm out?"
"I would kill from some salted caramel ice cream actually! And maybe some vanilla Coke."
"Alright baby." He says, and then pulls me tight to his side. For the next few minutes we cuddle on the couch watching the movie.
I don't even realize I've drifted off to sleep until Cavin jostles me awake to let me know he's going to pick up the food. As soon as he's out the door I'm asleep again.
A half an hour later he wakes me up again, this time so we can eat.
"So how do you think your Spanish and math finals went?" He asks as we dig in.
"Spanish was good I know I aced that one. Math was ok I guess, I'm sure I didn't get 100% but I know I at least got enough to get an A and graduate." I tell him.
"Well that's good news for us, not that it would matter if you didn't graduate this year, as of today I'm no longer your teacher." He says, and his voice is full of awe. "Which means I can do this without fear of getting caught." He continues, and then leans in to give me a kiss.
I quickly deepen it, and at that moment out pizza is forgotten, and all there is, is him and I.
He climbs over me, pressing me into the ground as he trails kisses down my neck, and over the top of my chest.
"Finally I can call you mine for real." He whispers, and pulls my shirt over my head.
We quickly get lost in one another. Reveling in the fact that we can finally be together without repercussions.
It doesn't take long for both of us to crash into oblivion, calling out each other's name as we fall. Then, spent, we lay on his floor just enjoying the feeling of being with each other.
"We better eat that pizza and bread before it gets cold." Cavin says after a while. I pull my shirt over my head, and hungry from all our amorous activity, dig into the food.
"Are you full? Or do you still want ice cream?" Cavin asks after we've eaten a good portion of the pizza.
"Oh yeah we have ice cream!" I exclaim happily.
Cavin laughed and said. "I take it that means you still want some."
"Yes please!" I say with a smile on my face.
"Magic shell?" He asks.
"Yum! You know me so well."
He heads into the kitchen, and I rewind the movie so that I can try to watch it again.
I check my phone and see that I've been here for almost two hours, and my parents are going to start wondering where I am.
"I'm going to have to go soon." I tell Cavin when he walks out to hand me my ice cream.
He makes a pouty face, but nods. "I wish you could stay the night." He says.
"Me too, but we'll be in Portland soon enough, and we will be able to have all the sleepovers we want." I tell him and dig into my ice cream.
"I think I could get used to that." And then he said something I didn't expect to hear just yet. "What do you think about just getting an apartment together."
I almost choke on my ice cream, but am able to hide my shock pretty well. "Cavin I can't. I have to live on campus at least for my freshman year, not to mention it's being paid for by my scholarship." I tell him.
"I didn't even think about that. I guess you're right though. But you can stay at my place any time you want to." He said with a wink.
"I'm looking forward to it." I say with a laugh, and a sigh of relief.
It's not that I don't eventually want to get my own place with Cavin, but we haven't been dating for very long. And I know my parents would freak out if I told them I was dating Cavin and then just a short time later told them I was moving in with him. If I am being honest with myself I know they are going to freak out either way.
There is also a small part of me that wants to have a little bit of freedom at college. Not the regular I'm going to go out and party, and hook up with random guys all the time, type of freedom, but I don't want my boyfriend there watching my every move.
"We'll just have to wait until you're able to move off campus. That will give me more time to save up for a nicer place too." He says.
"Do you already have a job down there?" I ask, confused, because I thought he was just going to be working on his book.
"Well I have an interview this weekend. I'm hoping that goes well because the pay is ok, and the hours are constant so I'll have a few hours out of the day to work on my novel." He says.
"Oh? Where's the interview at?" I ask.
"It's at a bank down there. I have a bit of a background in finance, and they seemed pretty excited when I spoke to them on the phone."
"Well that will be nice, and you'll have weekend and holidays off, so we'll be able to spend a lot of time together."
"That's what I was thinking when I applied." He said with a smile. "There is just one thing though."
"What is that?" I ask slightly preoccupied with my ice cream.
"If they were to hire me, they would want me to start the Monday after graduation, so in two weeks."
That's enough to pull me away from my food.
"So you would basically only be here for graduation, and then you would be gone."
"If I were to accept the job yes." He says, and his face looks a little sad.
"Well of course if they offer you the job you have to take it Cavin!" I say, though I'm sad too. I thought we would have the whole summer together.
"Are you sure?" He asks me.
"Of course! Obviously it's not ideal to have you so far away for so long, but it is only going to help you in the long run, and we'll be seeing so much of each other when I do move down there that we'll probably get sick of each other. So what are a few months for the moment?"
He smiles and says. "I love you."
Without question I respond with, "I love you too."
It's the first time we've ever said the words out loud to one another, but they feel so right. I love this man, and I would do anything for him, including facing my parent's wrath, which was going to happen sooner than I realized.