Your Pet: The Teacher's Girl

108. Day Dreamer

EMMA's POV :

"Great work today, Emma!" said the people in the editorial team as they passed by my desk.

"Thanks guys, y'all did a great presentation," I replied.

"All thanks to your research," Jack nodded and waved goodbye.

It was a Friday at 4:55 PM, so everyone was in a good mood. Diana was pleased with our pitch meeting earlier, so we could all go home feeling satisfied with ourselves and not having to worry about losing our jobs. For another week.

"Hey Emma," Jane appeared into my periphery, "A couple of us are going out for drinks at O'Halligans. It's ladies drink free night. You wanna come?"

"Oh, I wish I could go, but I promised Ian I'd be home soon. He's making dinner tonight," I said, flashing her a sorry smile.

"Aw, he's such a great guy, isn't he?"

"The very best," I nodded my head furiously.

"All right, I'll see you on Monday then," she waved goodbye and walked away. "Bye, Emma,"

"See you on Monday," I waved back. "Have fun. Say hi to everyone for me,"

I only had a few things to do before I could leave the office for the day. Looking around the room, I couldn't help but feel some sense of accomplishment. I had been working here for about four months now and things were finally falling into place. Diana seemed to be warming up to me. She called me Emma now and she only yelled at me twice a day at most. I also made some friends and I was getting along great with my colleagues. Plus, I loved receiving my paychecks. I mean, whoever said money can't buy happiness clearly haven't been to Trader Joe's.

Overall, I guess adulthood is not so bad after all.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was a crisp and chilly day in late October. Pulling my coat tighter around my body, I climbed out of the subway tunnel and made my way down the streets. I was anxious to get home. Ian called me up out of blue and told me to come straight home tonight. He sounded exceptionally chirpy, which was odd, this was Ian we're talking about.

I didn't know what I was walking into. I had no expectations. So imagine the shock on my face when I opened the apartment door and found a five course meal already prepared on the dining table. There were white lilies everywhere, Andrea Bocelli's voice singing in the background, and candles adorning the room.

Ian was standing in the middle of the room in a three piece suit. He looked hella sexy in that. My jaw fell at the sight of him and he just smirked at me.

"Oh my god?" I gaped. "Is it someone's birthday today? What is all this?"

"Nothing," he shrugged and strode towards me. "Can't a guy just make dinner for the girl he loves?"

"Wow, you must really love me a lot," I said as I linked my arms around him.

"You just realized that?" he replied dryly.

Shaking my head from side to side, I smiled really wide, and I pulled him in for a kiss. I kissed him long and hard. Going home after a long day and seeing all this, a girl could only be so lucky.

"This is so over the top insane, even for you," I said after we broke away from the kiss. "I'm not complaining. But I'm curious. What's all this for?"

"Care to take a guess?" he said in a playful tone.

"Let's see..." I said as I scanned around the room. "We have lilies, we have grapes... pasta dishes... Italian Wine... Tiramisu... you're wearing a three piece suit... "

"Are you seeing a pattern?" he asked.

"Ian Hayes, have you been shopping in Little Italy?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

He let out a deep chuckle and shook his head. Lending out his hand to me, he then said, "Can I have this dance?"

I was still eyeing him suspiciously, but I took his hand anyway. We started slow dancing to Andrea Bocelli's rendition of Can't Help Falling in Love. I was so confused by what was happening, but I was smiling the entire time.

Wrapping his arms around my waist, Ian leaned his forehead against mine and said, "Baby, what do you think about going to Italy with me for a whole summer?"

"That sounds amazing!" I said in excitement. "But, wait, the whole summer?"

"Yeah," Ian nodded simply.

"I can't go for an entire summer, I have work," I said matter-of-factly. As a teacher, Ian could have the entire summer free of work, but that was not the case with me.

"You can take your vacation days," he said.

"I only get, like, 15 days, not a whole summer,"

"Plus your sick days,"

"Still, that's like 23 days at best. And that's if Diana even allows me. I can barely get out of the office for lunch sometimes," I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"What if you quit?" he said suddenly. "You hate working there anyway,"

"I can't just quit!" I exclaimed. "Ian, what are you talking about? What's going on here?"

I pulled away and stared at him, waiting for an explanation. Ian went to lower the music and he returned with a serious, but hopeful look on his face.

"So, today, a guy by the name of Sergio Rossi came to my studio. If you don't know who he is, he's like one of the greatest artists of all time. I think he's a god. I'm a huge fan of his work. Anyway, he came with Ally to the studio-"

"Wait, Ally?" I gaped.

"It's a long story, but Sergio-"

"No, no. Go back," I demanded. "Why was Ally in your studio?"

Ian told me everything that happened between them. He thought she was his friend. He treated her like she was his own sister. But the bitch basically took advantage of Ian when he drunk! I still got so mad whenever I think about that night. She was the reason why Ian and I broke up for so long and I went to Paris never knowing what truly happened.

Ian cut off ties with her once he found out about her secret crush on him. He quit the gallery and started teaching and painting. He said he never talked to her since.

"Why was Ally in your studio, Ian? Tell me," I said again, sounding hella possessive.

"She came by to bring Sergio to my studio," he sighed, pausing for a moment before continuing, "Look, she's married now, she got back together with Richard. She's pregnant, they're having a baby. There's nothing going on between us, I promise you," he said reassuringly.

Tilting my head to the side, I said, "Okay..."

"She was sorry for what happened. Anyway, she brought Sergio to the studio because she knew I'm a huge fan of him and he happens to be in town, doing an exhibition at her place," Ian's eyes lit up again at the mention of this 'Sergio'. "Sergio Rossi loves my work, Emma! Like, he went crazy for it,"

Wow, he must really like this guy.

"Aw, that's great. You must be so happy,"

"I was beyond happy. The whole time, I was thinking this must be a dream," Ian was grinning from ear to ear.

Wait, did I just get jealous because Ian is fan-girling over another guy?

"But anyway, at the end of his visit, he offered me a teaching fellowship in Florence, Italy," Ian continued. "He told me to bring you with me. We could spend the whole summer there. I'll be helping him teach his classes and I could learn from the great master himself,"

Nodding my head dramatically, I said, "Ah, okay. I see what's happening here. Now everything's making sense,"

This was why Ian went all out with the Italian themed dinner party. He got offered a teaching fellowship for the summer in Italy by his art hero and he got all excited. That was kinda cute.

"Come on, baby," he laced his fingers with mine and looked at me with pleading eyes, "Let's go to Italy together,"

Sighing softly, I gave him a weak smile and said, "Ian, I'd love to go to Italy with you, but what am I gonna do about work?"

Ian looked at me with his smoldering eyes. Dang it, I can't think straight when he looks at me like that!

"Fine," I breathed. "Let's say, I take all my vacation days and sick days, and I can go there, but it'll be a month top,"

"I'll take it," he said quickly.

"So, you're saying I can just come for a month and then leave, and you'll stay there for the rest of the summer?" I asked him.

"That's an option, right?"

"I guess so," I shrugged. "We'll just be apart for two months. But that's not a big deal right? We've done long distance before,"

"Exactly," he nodded his head.

Yeah, and look how that turned out.

The last time we did long distance, Ian thought I cheated on him with Tristan and he ended up kissing Ally in front of me. Man, that was painful.

Playing with his fingers in my hand, I admitted to him, "Ian, I don't wanna do long distance with you, though. It was hard enough already the first time around..."

"I know, I don't wanna do long distance too," he shook his head and let out a deep breath.

This must be tough for him. I could see how much he wanted to go and be with me at the same time. I would love to go with him, but I was doing so well in my work... and leaving for the whole three months would be plain impossible. Diana would fire me on the spot even for just thinking it.

"But baby, just think about it," Ian said softly, he cupped my face with his hands and continued, "Imagine spending an entire summer with me in Italy. We'll take long walks around the town. We'll try all the wonderful pizzas. I could paint and teach with Sergio Rossi in the daytime and we could go out dancing at night. Imagine that. It's gonna be an experience of a lifetime!"

Closing my eyes, I could just picture it, Ian and me traveling along the Italian countryside. Think of all the great memories we could make here! We could visit all the museums and day markets. We could go to the beach, watch the sunset, and make love all night. Oh, maybe we could even get a Vespa? I've always wanted to know what it feels like to ride a Vespa...

"A whole summer in Italy, huh?" I opened my eyes and smiled softly.

"Just you, me, the food, the wine, and the art," he said with the biggest smile on his face. "It's pure heaven, baby,"

"That does sound kind of nice," I leaned my face into his hand, sighing longingly.

Leaning down, he kissed the top of my head tenderly and said, "Hey, the summer's still about six months from now. There's still plenty of time to think about it,"

I nodded meekly and smiled. His lips moved down to kiss my cheek this time.

"I'm just saying, please think about it," he said as he kissed the tip of my nose. "Like, really think about it," and he kissed the corner of my mouth, my chin, my jaw, and then his lips landed gently on mine.

How can I think when he does things like that?

"Mmm - Ian, what about dinner..." I protested.

"Dinner can wait," he said simply and continued kissing my lips.

He kissed me long and tenderly. I welcomed his kiss breathlessly. My hands ran across his jet-black hair and he stiffened at my touch. His tongue grazed my bottom lip and he bit me when I refused to open my mouth. I gasped in shock and he used the opportunity to push his tongue inside. He tasted each corner of my mouth before twining our tongues together.

Ian... teaching fellowship in Italy... my job in New York... oh come on, brain, think!

Ian's lips suddenly left my mouth, leaving me high and dry. He leaned lower down and started nibbling on the sweet spot of my neck. Soft moans began escaping my lips and it only made Ian kiss me harder. His hands traveled down my body and he started unbuttoning my blouse. He left the top part open, exposing my breasts in my black lace bra. With both hands massaging my breasts and his mouth on my neck, I couldn't do anything but close my eyes, tip my head back, and surrender to his touch.

That's it, my brain just checked out. It's booking a first class ticket to Italy as we speak.

One of his hands then traveled to my stomach and snaked inside my skirt. In one swift move, his fingers pushed my panties to the side and started rubbing against my folds. He let out an appreciative groan once he felt the slick wetness. Meanwhile, my body had turned into jelly. I was trembling and writhing, hanging on his every move.

Suddenly and without warning, he slipped a finger inside me and I let out a sharp breath. Curling his finger slightly, he started pushing in and out of me, hitting my g-spot every time. I could feel build-up rushing to my stomach. I was so close to reaching my climax, but suddenly, Ian pulled away.

"Ian...!" my eyes jerked open and I groaned in agony.

"Come with me, baby girl," he said as lent out his hand. "Let me take care of you,"

I took his hand in a heartbeat, no questions asked. He smiled triumphantly at my reaction. I didn't care that his words had a double meaning. I only cared about being led to the bedroom at this point.

Damn you, Mr. Hayes. You're gonna be the end of me, aren't you?

- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -