Make Me Bad(Private Lessons)

Chapter Fifteen




Luc





I feel bad for Madison as I watch a myriad of emotions cross her face. One second she is bright and hopeful, and the next, the reality of how problematic us being together truly is sinks in, and she’s sad and forlorn.

I don’t even bring up my own issues. At this point, the less she knows the better.

“That being said,” I say, not wanting to upset her, “I would still like to see you more. And to be perfectly honest, I don’t have any desire to see other people.” I frown darkly as I imagine her with some young college bro. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t see other people, either.”

That brings a small smile to her face. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Ooh, are you jealous?”

“Yes,” I say bluntly. “I am jealous. The thought of you with some cocksure, young college frat brother is a bit more than I can take.”

She bursts out laughing. “Doesn’t appeal to me,” she bites her lip seductively, “You’re the only one I can think about.”

She’s crazy. Maybe Madison has mental issues too. The fact that she wants to be with me over someone her own age is ridiculous though, secretly, I’m glad.

“Okay, but we have to make one exception on who knows.”

I shoot her a wary look. Nothing good can come from that.

“Cleo,” she explains. “She’s my roommate and my best friend. I’ve known her since my freshman year, and I’ve never kept anything from her. I promise she won’t judge and this will make things a lot easier. I can’t keep sneaking around behind her back like this. She’s going to figure it out eventually and then it’s going to hurt our friendship.”

She crosses her arms stubbornly, challenging me to argue with her.

She does have a point. She and Cleo live together and Madison has had to lie and sneak around so much already.

“Fine. Cleo and Cleo only. No Grace. No Ava. No one else in the study abroad program.”

“Seriously? That’s great!” She bounces up and down in her seat with excitement and once more, I find myself drawn to her energy. When she calms down, she takes a sip of her soda and stares at me. “Do you plan on seeing Juliette again?”


I gather my thoughts before responding, trying to think of an appropriate way to answer. “At lunch we talked about getting together again,” I say carefully, “She has two children that she would like me to meet.”

“She’s married?”

“No, divorced.”

I can see that she isn’t thrilled by this revelation, though she seems to be trying hard not to make a big deal out of it.

“And you believe that Juliette has a thing for you?” she asks instead.

“I don’t know,” I say, unable to hide the slight annoyance in my voice. How the hell am I to know what goes on inside the mind of any woman?

“Possibly… I’m not an expert on these things, but I would say she might have some interest. She knows that I’m only here until December, so I don’t imagine she’s interested in a long term relationship.”

“Lovely. So she just wants to be your f*ck buddy.” Madison sticks her tongue out, the thought completely unappealing to her.

“I really don’t know what she wants. But I have a feeling she wants more than I want.”

“So, do you plan on seeing her again?” she repeats.

“She is a very old friend from the past. Since I don’t have any intention of sleeping with her, or starting a relationship with her, I have considered seeing her again and meeting her family.” I watch Maddie’s reaction. “Unless you'd have a very big problem with that. I wouldn’t want to do something that would make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not crazy about the idea, but I think I should trust you,” she says slowly. “From what I saw on the street, I would definitely say she has a thing for you. But if you’re telling me that you aren’t interested, then I don’t want to be a bitch and tell you that you can’t go.”

The truth is the way that Juliette was coming on to me was very flattering. But aside from the fact that Juliette and I live on different continents and I’m not a kid person, she has an air about her that a lot of single, divorced women have – desperation. Apparently, it’s not exclusive to American divorcées.

I’ve noticed that divorced women, especially in their thirties, seem just a bit on edge. They are about as obnoxious as they come – biological clocks ticking and all. And while Juliette is beautiful, sophisticated and charming, there is just a hint of desperation about her. Some women are afraid to end up alone and I think Juliette sees her days as numbered if she doesn’t find someone soon.

The last thing I need is to get involved with Juliette and wind up with a whole lot of crazy in my lap. No thank you.

“How about this?” I suggest. “I go and meet her family since I sort of agreed that I would, and we’ll leave it at that. There’s no reason for me to continue to socialize with her anyway.”

“That sounds fair.” She finishes her sandwich. “Oh, and there is a possibility that my parents will be coming to Paris to visit for a long weekend, probably in about two to three weeks. Just thought I would give you a heads up.”

“Okay, I appreciate that. I guess I’ll just have to make do without you for a weekend.”

“I don’t like that idea.”

“Neither do I, but I’m certainly not going to be hanging out with you and your parents.”

“Well, maybe you can at least meet them,” she hedges, “I can introduce you as my music professor, which you are. You are giving me private lessons, after all.”

“There are plenty of private lessons that I’d like to give you,” I growl.

Madison giggles, flushing pink. “I like the sound of those lessons.”

Before I can make another smart-ass comment, her phone starts to vibrate.

“It’s Cleo,” she says, “I should answer.”

I nod and wait for her to take the call.

“Hey,’’ she says and then pauses. “Yeah, we finished early. My group worked pretty quickly.” Another pause. “No, I’m not home yet. I stopped to get a sandwich; I was starving.”

I sit back in my seat as I watch her. Her hair is different today and I notice her nails are a different color than they were earlier in the week. I think about taking her back to my apartment, slowly undressing her, and spending the rest of the day having that lazy kind of sex where you take your time and nap, and then do it all over again.

But I have a feeling that isn’t going to happen today.

“No, don’t worry about it,” Madison says, “I’m just finishing up now so it doesn’t make sense for you to meet me.” She’s quiet again. “Okay. See you at home.”

She hangs up and gives me an apologetic look. “I’m going to have to go in a few minutes. Cleo is on her way back.”

“It’s not a problem.” I pull out a few Euros to pay for our meal. “Are there any plans with the study abroad group this weekend?” I ask casually.

“Nothing I’ve heard of, but I’ll check with Cleo. Why? Would you like to come with us if we do something?”

“Well, I don’t really care about everyone else, but I do like seeing you.”

“I’ll text you if I find something out. I imagine some people will try to get together.”

“It might be weird if you text me,” I point out.

“Maybe not. I could say that I have your number because of our lessons.”

She does have a point. “Or, I could invite everyone over to my apartment,” I suggest. I’m not crazy about the idea, but if that means that I get to see her, then it might be worth it.

“That’s an idea,” she says slowly. “Let me know if you decide to do that and I’ll spread the word.”

“It’s too late to plan something for tonight,” I say, actually thinking about entertaining. “Maybe tomorrow.”

“I’ll miss you,” Madison says in a small voice as we stand up. “I was hoping to see more of you this afternoon.”

Her meaning isn’t lost on me.

“I was hoping for the same thing,” I say in a husky voice. “I could have given you some of those other private lessons that we were talking about.”

She closes her eyes with anguish. “Another time.”

“Yes,” I promise. “Another time.”

We walk out to the street and part ways, purposefully not embracing.

As I head back to my flat, I wonder what I've just gotten myself into. I’ve knowingly and willingly entered into a relationship with one of my students.

What the hell is wrong with me?