A Stooge's Teacher

Ch. 8 - Pensive Recollections

Daylight started to filter in through the heavy beige curtains, and the smallest dust particles were visible in the air. Rachel blinked rapidly, and as her eyes adjusted to the light, she turned around. It hadn't been a dream. He was there, in the flesh. She couldn't recall what had possessed her to invite him to stay. She chucked it off on her drowsiness because she definitely wouldn't have done so with a clear mind. On that thought it struck her: she lay in bed, in her short pjs with an almost stranger. Her instincts were purring but she just wasn't ready to go there yet. Colin might feel differently, he would want to go there, and if not then, then at least sooner rather than later. Rachel felt her insecurities bubble up, and for a moment she let them. She had learned to examine them without dwelling too much. A quick look at what her emotions were telling her couldn't hurt. She felt a bit bloated, and her breath was anything but fresh. Her hair was tousled as she hadn't blow-dried it the night before. Her legs were at least 7 days unshaven (she hadn't ever bothered much with it in winter) and she wasn't wearing the most flattering or even sexy panties. Her initial instinct was to run and hide. "Na, ah! Not this time!", said a voice in her head. Rachel grinned. For some reason she always imagined the voice to be her mum's, or maybe her therapist's or her tween-self's. She had learned to ignore societal standards, and to not care about random people's opinions of her. However, it was a different chat all together when her family voiced their opinions. In that case, she had learned to manage them. To evaluate them before taking them to heart. And it had been way too long since she had cared about a man's opinion about her. Did she care about Colin's opinion? That was a definite yes. But then again did she want to pretend? Did she want the struggle of always being perfect? That was a definite no. She had been there with her last boyfriend, and she had sworn to herself that she wouldn't pretend ever again. She wanted to be all her. Her dad said, that was the best version of her anyhow. Her dad was such a goof sometimes. Grinning to herself, she suddenly felt being pulled into Colin's arms. "Good morning!" He grinned sleepily. "Good morning." He moved in for a kiss but she pulled away. "My breath is just as bad as yours, darling. And even if it weren't, I couldn't care less." Her grin got wider, and she pulled his face close, touching her lips to his. There was no denying it: It felt good to sink into a man's arms. And it had been too long. Their kisses grew hungrier and their hands roamed each other's bodies. When one of Colin's hands had reached her belly, Rachel suddenly pulled back. Her insecurity monster stirred its ugly head. "As nice as this is, let me check the time. I don't want to risk being late." She grinned and turned away, however Colin held on to her arm that wasn't reaching for her phone. "It's 5.50-" He cut her off immediately, "so we're swimming in time." With that he decisively pulled her against his body, effectively knocking all doubt right out of her mind. It just had been too long.

"There are new toothbrushes under the left sink." Rachel gestured towards the white, wooden cabinets to their right. Two round sinks were set on top of white granite, and the faucets and other hardware had a gold-mat finish. Colin opened the cabinet and found nothing to surprise him. Organized to a T, neatly set into small trays or bins, there were female hygiene products, toothpaste and -brushes, cotton swabs, cotton pads and so forth. He grabbed a green toothbrush, closed the cabinet and then looked around for an open toothpaste, which he found perched on top of a white ledge under an oval mirror above the sinks. While brushing his teeth, he took in the rest of Rachel's bathroom: to the left of the double sink vanity was the toilet. Opposite this was a huge bathtub from which you would face an enormous window overlooking the skyline of Hartford and tucked into the left corner next to the doorway, divided by a black glass feature wall, was a huge walk-in shower. Once he was done with his teeth and had also washed his face, he exited the room to look for Rachel. The door in front of him, directly across from the bathroom, was ajar. Through it he could see her putting her hair in a ponytail. He knocked and slit the door aside. "Nice walk-in!" He offered admiringly. "Thanks. It was a must-have when I moved in, along with the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling mirrors over there." She nodded, and he turned around. "Holy moly! That's huge!" Colin stepped back out of the closet and took in the ginormous mirrors. "How do you clean these?" The question had escaped him without any filter, and he started laughing immediately. "Sorry, that's a weird question. It's just ..." Rachel grinned. "I get that question all the time, honestly. I have a cleaning service here every other month, and as a rule I don't use any hair products or whatever in front of them. That keeps them clean enough for the most part." She walked past him into the bathroom. "Give me a minute in here, then we can sort out breakfast." She closed the door and Colin's attention was caught by the reflection of her closet. He stepped inside the walk-in and wasn't surprised again: color-coordinated dresses and such on hangers, and sweaters, t-shirts and such on the shelves. To the other side, there was a huge vanity holding hair tools, he presumed because she had left out a flat iron, and her makeup which was set on display to one side. "You snooping again, mister?" Colin jumped. He hadn't heard the bathroom door and was now caught off guard when Rachel stood behind him in the doorway. "Maybe." He returned her grin and stepped in front of her. "Well, how do you intend to make up for your poor behavior? That tell-on list to your nanny is getting longer." Instead of answering, he put an arm around her and pulled her close. A tiny gasp of surprise left her but she found herself relax as soon as she felt his heartbeat. "Really? You think you're that good?" Again with the boldness, Rachel! Who are you? She admonished herself. "Oh darling, I know so." His cockiness was turn off and turn on all in one. She didn't know what to think, but then again, she didn't want to think. She just let herself fall into his embrace. His kiss was gentle and possessive, which she weirdly enough found to turn her on just as his cockiness. "So, what do you say?" His forehead rested against hers, their noses were touching, too, "payment enough?" She nodded carefully. "Yes." Her answer escaped her on an exhale, then she perked up. "Now, what about breakfast?" "Hm?" He didn't follow her. "What would you like? I usually only have tea and some cereal. But I think I ..." He interrupted her, finally catching on. "You're not making me breakfast. You have to get to work, too." The firmness in his voice wasn't harsh. Rachel just had to school herself not to take it personally. "I'll take a coffee to go. I have to get going myself. I have a breakfast meeting at 8.30 and I need to change." "Oh, right." Colin caught her insecurity. He held her face in his hands and looked at her. "Why do I get the feeling that you're going to obsess over this for the rest of the day, thinking I didn't want to stay? Just so you know, the total opposite is the case, darling. I would very much like to stay or even take you out for breakfast, but since we're both busy working people, that ain't an option, right?" Rachel shook her head. "See. So, will you get me a coffee?" Colin kissed her quickly and led her out of the bedroom, down the hallway towards the kitchen. "Sure thing." Rachel smiled and busied herself with the coffee machine. "To-go cups are in the cabinet over there." Colin chose a plain black cup from among her collection and carried it over to the island. Rachel poured his coffee and handed it to him. "Thanks. Alright, I gotta go. As do you, I guess." A quick look at the clock on the kitchen wall told her that she was still good on time but yeah, she should get going. "Yeah, I should." They walked over to the door, Colin opened it and made to leave, but not without kissing her deeply. "Have a great day."