Chapter 2 Mr Ellis

• I cut the engine and step out of my car. My hands are shaking as I place the keys in my pocket. Taking a deep breath, I traipse across the parking lot towards the reception of the police station.
• “Where’s Mr. Ellis?!” I ask, my heart pounding.
• The woman on the desk raises her eyes at me. Still, she answers, “He’s in his office. Don’t come in now. They are pretty busy.”
• “When can I come in then?” I ask, politely this time.
• “Maybe in two hours.”
• “But it’s just 6.30 pm.”
• “Then come back at 8.30 pm. This is a police station. There are times this place gets too busy.”
• I grunt and yet, I move away from the desk. “Fine, I will return at 8.30 pm. Should I go directly there?”
• “Yes. I will inform him that you are coming. You are?”
• “Miss Cassie Curtis.”
• “Oh, you are that prodigy teacher!”
• I stop myself from rolling my eyes. I don’t like being called like that so I say, “I am not. I am just an average teacher.”
• “I heard about you from my daughter. She’s happy that you will coach her next month for a science quiz.”
• “You are Alinn Avery’s mom? It’s just a temporary schedule. The coach is pregnant so I am coming in as the replacement.”
• “Oh, but my daughter adores you!”
• “I’m not that great, Mrs. Ave—”
• “Now, let’s see, because you are my daughter’s favorite teacher…” She leans towards me and adds, “You can enter the room. For five minutes, I won’t let anyone go there except for Mr. Ellis. How’s that sound?”
• I grin at her and reach for her hands. “That’s great. That will help me a lot.”
• “Now, go,” she gestures.
• I give her another smile before walking into the room. As Mrs. Avery says, no one is really in the room, but I see Mr’ Ellis’ nameplate on the top of the table.
• Suddenly, the door opens and an angry-looking man comes into the room. I feel like I stopped breathing. I did not expect Hilda’s husband to be very attractive. I am expecting someone average in everything. Yet, the man in front of me is over six feet tall, has brown skin, red lips, and bushy eyebrows. He also looks muscular in his casual clothes. Is that why he looks angry? He hasn’t even changed his uniform and he is already this busy?
• “You!” he snaps at me. “I said—”
• “Your wife is cheating on you,” I cut him off. I shake my head and focus on the reason why I am here. Yes, he’s very handsome, but I have seen a lot of handsome men in my life. He will not rattle me.
• “Pardon?” he asks. He walks closer to me and he smells… really nice. Why the hell is Hilda cheating on such a hot specimen?
• Before he approaches me, I open my phone and flash it to him. It is a picture of his wife and my ex-boyfriend having sex. “That’s my boyfriend. He’s my ex now. And I have just taken it earlier in the home EC room.”
• He’s speechless. Understandable. I move closer to him and say, “Now, that you know, let’s have sex as well.”
• “What?!”
• “I am saying that I want to take revenge against my cheating boyfriend. And I want your wife to feel the same pain I have now.”
• “Ah, I think—”
• I move closer to him and press my lips on his. He’s taller than I am so I need to tiptoe to reach him. He didn’t move and didn’t respond as well. I pull back from him.
• “I’ve told you already! Your wife is cheating on you! Why are you not getting angry?!”
• “As angry as you do with your boyfriend?”
• “Yes!”
• “And so, you want to have sex with the husband of the cheating wife?”
• “Exactly, Mr. Ellis!” And then, I realize that I might not be up to par with his ideal. Hilda is beautiful, even if I don’t want to admit it. “You don’t think I am good enough? Not pretty enough?”
• “What will you do if I don’t agree?”
• “I don’t know, probably drink the night away and get a man or two.”
• He laughs. “Get a man or two, huh? Together?”
• I scowl at him. “We are just going to fuck. No attachments. Be thankful I can kiss you. I don’t normally kiss strangers,” I admit.
• “Now, I am curious how that will go.”
• The door opens and Mrs. Avery comes in. “Ahm, Teacher Cassie…” She shifts her attention to me and then to Mr. Ellis.
• Then, an idea comes to mind. If I drag him now, people will talk and his reputation will be tarnished. It’s the same as mine, but I don’t care. I can just find another job. I have a safety net. And so, I take Mr. Ellis's hand and drag him out of the room.
• “We’re leaving!” I inform Mrs. Avery.
• I drag him across the police station. He is struggling at first, and then, he starts not to struggle.
• “Where do you plan to have sex?” he asks.
• “Anywhere!”
• “My car is parked here. We can do it there so I can return to the station soon.”
• I glare at him. “I am a teacher too. So, I want to do it in a private room.”
• “Ah! To save some kind of reputation?”
• “Exactly!”
• “Should I drive then? And use my car?”
• I narrow my eyes at him. “No, I will be driving this time.” I look around and then my eyes catch a hotel. “On the other hand, there’s a simple inn. Let’s do it there. We can walk.”
• I try to drag him again. But this time, he walks beside me. “You seem open to cheat on your wife now,” I comment.
• He just shrugs his shoulders. “If a pretty woman is asking me to have sex with her with no payment, why would I say no to that.”
• I snort. “Aren’t you as bad as your wife?”
• “Probably,” he says as we walk towards the hotel’s reception area. “Besides, if I am decent. I should not be here with you. I should be at the police station taking care of my work.”
• “Well, I should be at a local restaurant eating dinner with my boyfriend! And yet, your wife decided to destroy that and choose to fuck my ex instead! And guess what, she even chooses this day! It’s my birthday! It’s even our monthsary!”
• “Ha! Touche, ain’t it?”
• I ignore his taunt. However, when I am facing the receptionist, I vent at her. “One night!” Then, I slap cash on the table.
• The young woman shifts her attention to me and Mr. Ellis. “Okay, ma’am, sir. Room 26 is available.”
• I grab the old-fashioned room key and make my way to the stairs. This place is just a four-story building. What the heck am I doing in the province when I have a high paying job in the city?!
• I pause and laugh at myself. Right, I was ghosted. I was out for a month on a business trip and when I came back, my almost-boyfriend told me that something already happened between him and another colleague. He wants to be responsible. I smirk. Good for them.
• “F*ucking congratulations to your baby!” I scream at the air.
• “Are you okay?” Mr. Ellis asks.
• I push open the hotel door and snap, “Do I look fine to you?!”
• I shift my eyes to him. He seems to be hesitating. Seeing him up close. That bitch Hilda is lucky. Tonight, I will be the one lucky. And so, I pull him into the room and push him against the door.
• “I said it’s hard to kiss strangers, but you look clean and you smell clean…”
• He chuckles. “So, I am not disgusting?”
• “You are not. So, kiss me, Mr. Ellis,” I order. And then, as I command, he presses his lips against mine and I close my eyes to savor his taste.