Hey. I'm making a quick note at the start to say that I'm going to take a break from the "death" element of this collection. I want to give y'all some happier shots for a while. I don't think I did darkness a lot, but let's cruise for a bit and see what other drama I can think of.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.


When neither wanted the parent-teacher conference to end.


Mercedes was a divorced single mom of three. She attended every sports game, field trip, fundraiser, and PTA meeting. She carried the world on her shoulders, and she looked beautiful doing it. She gave her all to her kids.

Her ex-husband was her opposite. He was a mystery to teachers. A musician that never took a second for school activities.

When planning parent teacher conferences, Mercedes had an unhealthy pattern. She always requested the meeting at the end of the day. She unwisely believed that her ex would show up. She called him repeatedly before the meeting, but he was a no show.

"It wouldn't kill you to take an interest in your kids' education," she whispered into her phone.

I leaned back in my chair as time passed. I had taught her two older kids, so the cycle wasn't surprising. I could easily hear her conversation, but I was lost watching her. My eyes followed her as she paced in the hall. When she stopped and began to sway, I smiled, thinking of her as innocent.

Some of her mannerisms did seem a little girlish, but she was all woman. Mercedes' brown and restless legs disappeared behind her dress. She had hips and curves that demanded attention. Her ripe breasts rode high on her chest. Her black hair hung over her shoulders and bounced with every nod and sway of her head. When she gave a genuine smile, her full lips would stretch before parting and revealing white teeth.

Mercedes stepped back, amazed by what she heard from the other end of her call. "It's not babysitting when they're your kids." She took a deep breath causing her chest to rise then fall. "Okay, let them stay with you for tonight. You can drop them off in the morning."

I straightened back up in my seat before she ended the call. Wanting to seem busy, I began to shuffle the stray papers on my desk. I watched the door out of the corner of my eye.

Mercedes entered with a tight lipped smile - her facade of happiness. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you're ready to get this over with so you can enjoy your Friday night." She sat across from me.

I didn't have much to say; all her kids were the silent genius type. I couldn't overlook her eyes that were missing their usual light. I ran through the meeting quickly, but I ended it by asking, "Do you want to go out for coffee?"

She was confused by the offer. She hesitated but agreed.

We sat at the coffee shop for hours. We talked about everything that came to mind. We were surprisingly natural outside of school. We learned a lot about each other and had a great time.

To be sure that she got home safe, I followed her. I rolled my window down as she approached. When she thanked me, I smiled. "It was my pleasure." I accepted her invitation to come in.

The good times didn't have to stop.

I leaned over the kitchen island, taking in every work Mercedes said to me. I couldn't hold back my smile every time she laughed. I was so fascinated by her.

She thanked me again, but stopped me before I could speak up. "I mean, thank you for being… really nice." She spoke as if it was foregn to her. She had to learn that not every conversation had to be an argument. She could be heard without having to raise her voice.

"I think everyone deserves a chance to sit down and breathe. Everytime I see you, you're rushing somewhere." I moved to stand in front of her.

"Mr. Evans-"

"Sam," I corrected for the tenth time that day. In five steps, I had derailed her train of thought. "You take care of your kids. You take care of the school and the students. Who takes care of you?" I looked into her brown eyes as I waited for an answer.

She gave another tight lip smile. "I take care of myself." She couldn't admit that she was at the bottom of her own todo list.

Taking her hand, I announced, "You don't have to. If you let me, I want to take care of you."

She chuckled. "What does that mean?"

"Honestly, you deserve the world, and I want to give it to you. If you need someone to talk to and have dinner with, or If you need someone to change a light bulb, I want to be there." I slowly move my hands along her arms and stop on her shoulders. "Just let me know if you need anything."

She quickly glanced at my lips before returning back to my eyes. "I, umm, I-"

I threw professionalism out the window and pulled her close. For years, I had wanted to kiss her, and when I finally did, I didn't want it to be full of lust. I wanted to show how much I cared for her- show that I treasured her. I rested my lips over hers and prayed that she wanted the same as me.

She stepped closer and deepened the kiss. Her fingers dragged over my torso. "Anything?" she breathed against my lips.

I smiled down at her. "Anything," I promised. I returned to kiss her; her lips, her cheek, her neck. I was falling in love with her scent as I reached for the zipper covered by her hair. I slowly lowered her dress, building anticipation.

She stepped out of the ring of fabric at her feet, and I finally had a view at her body that she kept hidden under her modest outfits. She shyly whispered about the bedroom and took my hand. In the room, she had her turn to undress me. She hardly had a chance to look me over before my greed took over.

I moved her to the bed and crawled over her. I let my hands and lips roam the body that I had spent years dreaming of. I pulled the straps of her bra down until her breasts were freed from the cup. I was too hungry for her to think of unhooking the lingerie; her moans were like gasoline to a fire. "Condom?" I didn't trust myself with her.

She paused, praying for a miracle. "Maybe the top drawer." She had just as few reasons to have condoms as I did.

I was on a mission. I dove for the side table. When I didn't find one in the first drawer, I jumped into the second and got a different surprise: a vibrator. I grinned, "So this is how you take care of yourself?"

She covered her face. "I am so embarrassed," admitted Mercedes. She didn't have to feel bad; it was going to take a lot more to run me off.

If she was comfortable, I wanted to see her use her little toy. I helped strip the last of her clothes. I stole a kiss before letting her fall into her pillow. I inched backwards to give her space. I had the mother of one of my students in front of me, legs spread open like a butterfly. I licked my lips as I studied every inch of Mercedes.

She turned the toy on, and it buzzed in her hand. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as the tip of the toy made contact with her clit; waves traveled through her. She closed her eyes to phase out the real world for a fantasy.

I wondered out loud, "Have you ever thought about me?" I couldn't even count how many times I daydreamed about her.

She nodded. "More than a few times." She was shy to say that it was just the idea of us fucking like animals, but I asked her to tell me more. Teasing her clit, she worked the toy around it with changing patterns. "It all starts with you whispering in my ear, and I can feel your breath on my neck. I'm alone, but I could actually smell your cologne. You promised me the hottest sex of my life." She angled the vibrater South, lightly putting pressure at her entrance.

All her sounds went straight to my dick. I felt my dick hardening to the point of extreme pain as it aches for its own release. I freed my member, finally putting one of Mercedes' questions to bed. My head was sensitive, and the shaft stiff. I stroked it slowly and firmly, starting to yearn more to feel Mercedes wrapped around it instead of my fingers.

"I think about you over me." One of her hands managed the purple vibrator, letting the toy enter her with care, while the other massaged her breasts that rose and fell with her long breaths. "Your bare, strong chest rubbing against me. Your cock stretching me wider than this toy." She returned to her imaginary world where I was in her instead of beside her.

I could see her juices pouring past the toy and covering her folds. Stroking my dick faster, I imagined thrusting in and out her. My lust for her peaked again. "Say my name," I ordered in a gruff voice.

"Mr. Evans, please don't stop," she huffed. She sounded too sexy for me to correct her like before. Her legs spread wider. Her thrusts speed up, landing hits on her G-spot. "Yes, fuck me harder!" Her moans got louder, and each echoed in my ear.

I didn't know if I should watch her toy or her bouncing breast. My blood was flowing, my heart was racing. I complimented her beauty; She glowed in ecstasy.

Soon she began to cry out, "I'm going to cum!"

"Please, not yet, Mercedes." I was close, but not as close as her.

She coached me through it. "Focus on me. Think about me kissing you, riding you, crying out for you... Ohh, Mr. Evan. I need you to cum for me. Baby, please." Her body squirms and her thighs close around the toy. She struggled to stay together. "Think about thrusting into me with all the energy you have left and-"

Her fantasy was cut when we both cried out. We were paralyzed by our release: me kneeling with my dick in my hand, and Mercedes on her back with my white spunk on her stomach. Our glazed over eyes stared off. After a minute, our spirits returned to our bodies.

I started, "That was-" With years of college, I couldn't think of a word to sum up what we did; amazing was an understatement. I leaned down to kiss her lips, but was rejected.

"Did you hear that?" She didn't need me to answer. She was sure of what she heard. At the speed of light, Mercedes hopped out of bed and bolted for the window. She cursed under her breath before warning me, "You have to get dressed." She disappeared into her bathroom.

"What's wrong?" I got off the bed to see what she saw: a fancy black car parked outside of the house and a man walking up the driveway of the house. I didn't think of her ex-husband, but I knew it was someone that I wasn't supposed to meet.

Mercedes dashed out of the bathroom with the end of her long silk robe flowing behind her. She huffed when she noticed that I was only half dressed. "Quicker, please." She pulled me out of the room when the visitor began to impatiently knock and ring the bell. She passed me my shoes that I had left by the door. She asked me to wait in the coat closet as she tried to send him away. She took a calming breath before opening the door. She coldly greeted, "Tank." Mercedes didn't verbally invite the man in, but the door closed with a slam.

A stern voice announced, "My key didn't work,"

"Because I changed the locks."

He finally noticed her, and wondered, "What the hell are you wearing?"

"What I do with my Friday night is my business," she argued. She would put her hands on her hips and pout her juicy lips: I could see it. "Why are you here? Where are the kids?"

He passed the closet, and Mercedes was on his tail. "With my parents. You always said their relationship was crucial." From a different room, Tank's voice still boomed and filled the house.

After a moment of silence, Mercedes asked, "What are you doing?"

"Just checking out my house." He didn't want to be challenged. "Yes, my house. I bought it."

"And you gave it to me in the divorce."

"I gave it to my kids."

"Your kids?" She didn't control her volume as she objected. "Now, you want to talk about your kids? What was more important than the teacher parent meeting four hours ago?"

He refused to tell her that. "You're not working on music now… You're supposed to do the stuff at school." He didn't want the conversation to be about him. He asked, "Who's parked outside?" He had that question burning inside since he pulled up.

"The neighbors can't have company?"

"Mercedes, I'm not playing with you." He warned, loud and clear, "if you have a man in my house, you are getting out of it."

I wanted to hop out of the closet and defend Mercedes, but I couldn't. Because she told me, I knew Tank had a tight grip on her. Neither of us liked that she had to depend financially on someone else, but I didn't want to ruin what she had.

She let time pass before she responded. "If I brought a man here, he'd be in my bedroom." She dared him to check. "Go." She shoved and pulled him deeper into the house.

I took that as my opportunity to get out.