Scandal: Crossing Boundaries (Scandal Series #1 INTERRACIAL ROMANCE) (14 page)

"I'm so sorry guys," she gasped, glancing up at the clock above the chalkboard. It was eight minutes past class time. "I had a little trouble getting to school today."

Relief flowed through Zack's body as he searched her face for any signs of bruises and his eyes were subsequently drawn to her breasts as they heaved from exertion.

God, I would love to suck on those things.

His pants immediately began to tighten below, but unlike usual, Zack did not panic. He had gotten used to popping wood every time Keisha was present. It had become second nature to him.

But what was becoming more difficult to control was his growing lust for the woman. It raged in his body like a powerful tempest, pounding away inside, demanding to be set free.

Keisha began to take roll then, calling out everyone's name. When she got to Zack, she did not even look his way. Zack had to fight back the disappointment that he felt at that.

C'mon Zack
, he scolded himself.
I'm acting like a stalker. She doesn't have to look at me anytime I want her too.

But still he wanted her too.

He watched the woman for the rest of the period. Not once did she look his way. He got so upset that he did not even pretend to do badly on the class assignment they were told to do.

I hope she isn't acting that way because I saw part of her family.

Maybe she was embarrassed that Zack had witnessed a 'real' part of her life and just did not want to look at him because of the shame she felt. Now Zack could understand that...and he hoped that wasn't what it was.

She had nothing to be ashamed of.

He could only stare at the black woman. Stare at how beautiful she was and think about how much he wanted her. He just wanted to protect her...love her...fuck her.

When the bell rung he sat in his seat for a moment while everyone jumped up from their seats. He needed time for his erection to go down...and he wanted Keisha to look at him just once before he left.

Half the room was gone by the time he stood up and stretched, taking his sweet ass time. He glanced near the front of class. Keisha was sitting at her desk, looking like she was preoccupied with grading papers.

Sighing, Zack gathered his things and made his way to the door, upset that she had not acknowledged his existence.

He was just hitting the doorway when he heard that sweet voice, "Zack?"

He nearly hurt his side spinning around. "Yes?"

Keisha gave him a weak smile. "I think I'll take you up on that offer."

"S
o show me what is troubling you," Keisha said.

She and Zack were at a local park, out near a pond, sitting beneath a large willow tree. A cool breeze wafted over the area, sending tingles all along Keisha's skin. Discomforted, she pulled her hat lower over her face.

She had gone home to change quickly before meeting her student at a tranquil park near her home. Davonte had been home when she went back and had asked her where she was going. She'd told him that she had to return to school to get some papers she forgot to grade.

She did not know if he believed her or not, but she did not care. Not after what he did. They were still barely speaking and when Davonte got in the bed at night, Keisha made sure she moved as close to her edge as she could without falling off.

Now she was sitting there, breaking the rules to help a student that she was not even sure needed the help. But she needed the money. Upon arrival, Zack had given her a large envelope filled with one-hundred dollar bills.

Too prideful to count it in front of the boy, Keisha figured it out to be several thousand dollars.

It made her uncomfortable.

How was Zack able to have his hands on that kind of money? As far as she knew, he did not work. So that would have meant he took the money from his parents, who he claimed were rich. But even so, did he steal it from his parents? Or did he ask them?

Just the thought of who his father was made Keisha feel uneasy. He was the mayor of the city for heaven's sake. Not that it made it any worse. A crime was a crime.

She did not know if she would keep the money in the long run. It was unethical, and not to mention, she could get into a lot of trouble. The only reason why she was even in debate with herself was because of the thought of her poor babies having to be uprooted to move to a less desirable area.

And the only reason why I am here is I feel like I owe the boy for helping the other night.

Keisha was still grateful for Zack's help the other night. She felt totally embarrassed by the whole thing, but Zack hadn't seemed to mind. That was one thing about him that she liked. He did not seem to be a judgmental person.

Another breeze wafted over the area, bringing with it more unease.

Keisha pulled her hat down a little lower while she waited for Zack to respond. She had dressed down because she did not want to be recognized by some someone from their school if they happened along while she was tutoring Zack.

Opening the heavy text book at his side, Zack replied, "I'm having problems with some of the pre-calculus stuff." He paused, looking intently at her with his piercing blue eyes. "Everything okay?"

"I just don't want anyone to come along and see us, is all," Keisha replied, looking around uncomfortably.

Zack waved a dismissive hand, giving her a soft smile. "We're alright Mrs. Johnson. It's just you, me, the wind and math." The happiness in Zack's face touched Keisha. He always seemed happy whenever he talked to her and more than a little nervous.

I guess that's why I called him over to watch my babies.

Zack's comfortableness began to put Keisha at ease. She was just overreacting because she was doing something wrong.

I'll do it just this once, give him his money back and find some other way to deal with my problems. Then I'll be in no legal trouble.

Leaning forward, Keisha said firmly, "Okay mister Palmer. Let's get to work."

They studied for the next half hour with Keisha showing him how to work out the equations that he was having problems with. Every now and then Zack would make a joke that would have her cracking up and she found that she was having a good time tutoring her student.

But then it happened.

She was in the middle of a very difficult problem that was pissing her off. Here she was the math teacher, having a hard time with something that should have been beneath her.

That's when Zack snatched the pencil out of her hands and said, "You're doing it all wrong Mrs. Johnson. Here, let me show you." Within minutes, he had the problem figured out...to a T.

Keisha stared down at his work, frozen like a statue.

Zack suddenly seemed to realize his mistake, dropping the pencil on the grass, his face panicked. "Shit."

"You lied to me from the start," Keisha accused finally, looking up into his beautiful eyes.

"Mrs. Johnson, I can explain," Zack said hastily. "I—"

"You never needed my help," Keisha muttered with a shake of her head at how she had been taken for a fool. "I certainly had my suspicions because some of what you said did not add up, but I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt."

Zack sighed, running his fingers through his blonde hair nervously. "I have a lot of explaining to do, I know.

"But you don't have to worry about it Mr. Palmer," Keisha said, quickly gathering her things. "I forgive you for it this once, because I had no business being here in the first place...but do not waste my time like this again." She pulled out the envelope from her purse and handed it back over. "Here. Take this."

Zack stubbornly folded his arms across his chest. "I'm not taking it."

Keisha snorted angrily, brandishing the envelope in his face. "Boy, take this damn money."

Hold up now, Keisha,
she warned herself.
Keep Shanuika inside.

Softening her tone, Keisha repeated, "Take the money, please. It was wrong for me to ever accept it, and even worse, to come here at all. Trust me, I'm not going to hold it against you. I am to blame for my own lack of judgment."

Zack set his jaw stubbornly. "I'm not taking it. You were to tutor me in exchange for money. That was the deal."

"But you needed no tutoring," Keisha objected. "On top of that, why in the hell would you purposely do bad on all of your work so I would feel like you needed help?"

Zack stared down into his lap and softly said, "The answer should be obvious."

The answer should be obvious.

For some reason, Keisha's eyes were drawn to the equation Zack had written out. The writing on it seemed so familiar.

That's because it is familiar.

It was the same writing as those handwritten notes.

"It was you," Keisha gasped, staring into Zack's guilty eyes.

He nodded slowly.

"Why?" she asked, though she knew the answer. This was getting totally bizarre. Never in a million years would she think she'd have some young white boy lusting after her.

He smiled weakly at her. "Because you're so beautiful, Mrs. Johnson. I've had a crush on you the moment I laid eyes on you."

This can't be happening.

Keisha was flattered...but also very afraid. And it was not the inappropriateness of Zack's lust that scared her the most, though. Looking at Zack's handsome face and gorgeous blue eyes...the real fear was that she actually was attracted to the young man.

Jumping to her feet, Keisha tossed the money-filled envelope into Zack's lap. "I have to go Zack."

Zack climbed unsteadily to his feet, his face pale.

Keisha felt a moment of sympathy for the boy. He looked like she had struck him and told him to go jump off a cliff. Well, it was just too bad. She could not do this. Not now. Not
ever
.

"We'll pretend this never happened," she told him. "I'll forget all about it. I'll even go back and re-grade your work so your GPA does not fall."

Zack's voice was filled with aching pain. "I don't give a shit about my GPA."

Keisha pushed away the urge to reprimand the boy for his language. "Bye Zack. See you in class tomorrow."

She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard him say, "Your husband is cheating on you."

Spinning around and staring at him with wide eyes, she asked, "What did you just say?"

Zack held the envelope in his hands, gazing at her with longing. "Your husband. He doesn't deserve you."

Filling anger build up in her chest, Keisha said very slowly, "I think you need to switch math classes as soon as you are able."

The boy was obviously too emboldened by his lust and was forgetting that there was boundaries that should never be crossed with an adult, and a teacher no less. Their relationship as teacher and student was a professional one. And it would remain that way.

Cursing herself for ever letting herself be seduced by money, Keisha turned away to leave the boy standing there looking like his heart had been broken.

"Bye Zack."

D
avonte was figuring out bills at the kitchen table when Keisha came storming into the house like a lion.

Jumping up from the table with alarm, Davonte asked, "Keisha, what's wrong?"

"Don't what's wrong me, nigga!" Keisha shouted, her eyes blazing with fury.

She must still be mad about me knocking that chickenhead upside the head.

"Look girl," Davonte growled, just wanting her attitude to be over with. He had been putting up with her coldness and nasty attitudes for an entire week and it was getting rather old. "I'm sorry for knocking your auntie out. Even if she deserved it, that was wrong of me."

If he thought that would calm Keisha down, he was sadly mistaken.

She ran up on him, shaking with rage. He prepared for her to slap him across his face. In a way, he wanted it. He wanted her to release that emotion she had bottled up so maybe she would stop acting so vile and they could start working together to fix their problems instead.

But the blow never came, and she stood there staring at him, her brown eyes searching his face.

"Who is it?" she asked after a moment.

This is your time to tell her
, he thought.
Your time to come clean.

But when he thought about all the nasty shit he had did with Maria, and in the Johnson's own bed, no less, he could not bring himself to say the words. For some reason he felt like Keisha would never forgive him if he told her all the things he'd done behind her back.

His cheating and mismanaging their finances would be too much for her.

Putting on his most confused expression, Davonte said, "I don't know what you talking about."

Keisha continued to stand there with her hands on her hips, searching his face.

Lord, I hope she believes me.

He had no clue why she had suddenly asked, anyway. She never had suspected him before. But he supposed it was because he was hiding their troubles. If a nigga could do that, what else would he not do?

Keisha nodded suddenly, as if something had just occurred to her. "I see it now." She stared at him for several more moments before walking away, leaving Davonte confused.

"Keisha," he called at her back, but his wife refused to turn around.

She can't know anything,
he told himself as he watched her angrily walk up the stairs.
There's no way. Not unless Maria told her.

And he was sure the young Hispanic girl would not tell.

He sat back down at the table and went back to figuring out bills. There was no way that Keisha could know anything outside what he chose to reveal to her.

He had to believe that.

"Y
ou look so handsome," the tux lady told Zack while he checked out his reflection.

But I feel like shit.

Zack was picking up his tux his mother had ordered for the Sadie Hawkins dance that was taking place later that night. The fitting lady had told him to try it on before he walked out the door to make sure there were no problems with the measurements.

He had just gotten off the phone with Mandy before entering the store, telling her to just meet him at school rather than come by to pick him up. He wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.