Episode 574: Step By Step

From the corner of his eye, he watched her enter the room. Adria’s long blonde hair swished behind her back and Ryley’s skin tingled at the memory of all that softness rushing over him in their bed.

Adria kept her chin determinedly high as she passed by him, her eyes dead ahead, pretending not to see him, not to care, but Ryley saw the way her arms tightened around the textbook pressed to her chest. He knew she wanted to put her arms around him as much as he longed to feel them. He could only hope that the more time they spent in one another’s company, the more likely she’d realize apart wasn’t any kind of life, not compared to what they had together.

Once he convinced her they belonged together, he’d work on getting her away from pursuing a career in the business world and into the arts again, where she would be truly happy and fulfilled.

One hurdle at a time though, patience, Ryley warned himself as everyone took their seats and he rose from his.

"Pop quiz today guys and girls," Ryley announced to a chorus of boos. Rather than have his students take one test paper and pass the rest onwards, he personally, and purposefully delivered each. It worked out better than he hoped. Not only did Adria protest the quiz, she grabbed his wrist in the process and he revelled in her touch, willing to take whatever he could get from her. He missed her fingers. Everything.

"You only just took over the class. Isn’t it kind of soon to spring tests on us?"

"I’m willing to discuss that with you after class." The statement cost him her touch, but Ryley assured himself it would be worth it. He’d seen her grades thus far. Addie couldn’t afford not to stay after class and argue against the quiz further dragging down her scores.

He turned from her, overjoyed at the thought of some alone time with his wife. A broad smile swept across his face, though it fell away the instant he heard someone suddenly gasping for air behind him. To Ryley’s horror, he saw that it was Adria.

Episode 575: Drowning