Make Me Bad: Private Lessons (14 page)

The group is excited, and everyone
starts suggesting different times we could go. More wine is consumed as the
night goes on, though I notice that Luc is careful not to drink too much.

I do the same.

The group starts a ridiculous game
of charades and I watch with amusement. Luc sits down on the couch next to me.

“Enjoying yourself?” he whispers.

“Sure.”

He keeps his voice low. “Have you
told Cleo?”

“Not yet. I thought it would be
easier if I waited until after tonight. I didn’t want her to be watching us
like a hawk.”

He nods, randomly calling out a
guess to the game going on.

“I’m surprised. I thought you would
have told her right away.”

“Nope.”

“Can I see you during the week?”

I smile. “I’d like that.”

“How about a real dinner? Just you,
me and a nice restaurant?”

My insides get all jumpy and I feel
warm all over. I nod, suddenly feeling shy.

“How about Monday night? Should be
a quiet night in the city and then I’ll get to see you the next day for lessons.”

“I’d like that.” I take a sip of my
wine, feeling giddy.

“Will you tell Cleo before then? If
so, I’ll come get you at your apartment.”

“Yes, I’ll tell her by Monday.”

“Good. Text me your address and
then I’ll come by at seven.”

Wow! Luc and I were going to have a
real date!

He’s quiet for a moment, and I turn
my attention back to the game. Cleo is trying to act out a movie and failing
miserably.

“Have you been photographed here in
Paris?” Luc whispers. “Does the media know who you are? Are you even bothered
by the press?”

“I’m not really bothered by the
press – that is one of the great things about my parents having kept me out of
the limelight. And definitely not bothered here. I don’t think anyone knows me
here.”

Luc nods, taking in what I’ve said.
“Have you found out if your parents are visiting?”

“No, not yet. I’ll probably check
in with my parents tomorrow.”

“Seriously, Jeff? You’re falling
asleep!” someone laughs and everyone looks over. Sure enough, Jeff’s head bobs
up and he grins sheepishly.

Ava looks at her phone. “It’s after
midnight,” she says, stretching her arms up above her head.

“We should probably go,” Grace
adds, slowly standing and taking her wine glass with her.

Everyone starts to rise and gather
things to clean up. Luc jumps up and starts taking glasses from everyone and
tells us not to worry.

“Oh stop,” Ava says, “Don’t be
silly.” She picks up a few plates and takes them over to the sink.

A few people say goodbye and leave
as the rest of us gather our things and finish picking up the plates. Out of
the corner of my eye I see Grace nudge Ava and I hear Ava whisper, “Walk home
with Cleo and Maddie.”

What the hell?

I catch Luc’s eye – he’s also
happened to see the exchange, and he grimaces, giving me a quick shake of his
head.

The rest of the guys leave and it’s
just Cleo, Grace, Ava and I left.

“Alright girls,” Cleo says in a
loud voice, “Let’s go.”

“Go ahead,” Ava says, “I don’t mind
staying to help Luc finish cleaning up. Look at all these dishes!”

“Not a big deal, Ava,” he says dismissively.
“I’m tired so I’ll just get them in the morning.”

“But they will be a bitch to rinse
in the morning,” she says matter-of-factly, “I’ll help you now and then you can
relax in the morning.”

Grace rolls her eyes and grabs her
purse. “Just leave her alone,” she whispers to me, “She’s been after him since
we arrived.”

The jealous side of me wants to say
Well that’s too damn bad because I’m the one who is screwing him.

Instead I wrinkle my nose. “Please.
He’s our teacher. I don’t think he’s interested.”

Grace shrugs. “He’s not that much
older than us. And he’s definitely hot. I know a few teachers who have hooked
up with students back home on campus.”

Of course she did. They were probably
all friends of Ava’s. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked Ava; but right now I
was seeing red. Not that it was her fault. How was she supposed to know that I
was already hooking up with Luc? And she probably trusted us all enough not to
say anything should something happen between her and a teacher. Of course, Ava
didn’t have as much at stake as I did, so what did she care about other people
knowing?

I can tell Grace is annoyed, and
isn’t going to battle with Ava. She pulls the door open. “Alright ladies, let’s
go,” she says again, motioning to Cleo and me. Cleo doesn’t really seem like
she cares what Ava does.

Luc walks coolly over to Ava’s coat
and purse and picks them up. He smiles sweetly at Ava and hands them to her.

“Good
night
, Ava,” he says
pointedly, guiding her towards the door.

Ava makes an annoyed scoffing sound,
and slightly trips over her feet. Perhaps she’s had more to drink than I
thought.

“Whatever,” she grumbles, yanking
her purse across her body.

Luc herds us out into the hallway.
“See you ladies in class on Tuesday. Make sure you have those melodies
transposed.” And with that he shuts the door.

“Do you believe that?” Ava huffs,
as we trudge down the steps.

“Please,” Grace says, “You’re
drunk.”

“I am not.” Ava trips down the last
step and lands in a heap.

Cleo laughs loudly. “You most
certainly are. But that was definitely a valiant effort to get into Luc’s
pants.”

“Whatever. His loss.” She brushes
herself up, tossing her hair back.

“Besides,” Cleo says, “he’s a
teacher, not to mention American. Go find yourself some hot French guy.” She
gives us all a sly smile. “I promise they won’t disappoint in bed.”

“Cleo!” I exclaim, swatting her.

“What?” she asks innocently.
“Philippe is amazing! And it’s fun! We’re going home in six weeks! Live a
little.”

“I think Cleo has the right idea,”
Grace agrees, “Go find some sexy university student, Ava. Luc is so hot and
cold anyway. He always seems to be brooding.”

“He wasn’t brooding tonight,” I
can’t help but point out.

“True. But that’s what I mean about
hot and cold.”

Cleo nods. “We were just saying
that the other week, weren’t we Maddie?”

I nod, because we were talking
about his Jekyll and Hyde personality.

“But think about how hot it would
be to hook up with your teacher?” Ava moans. “That’s the kind of thing to do in
Paris.”

“Well then hook up with one of your
French
teachers,” Grace stresses, “You can hook up with any American
teacher at home.”

Ava nods, slightly mollified,
“You’re right. I’m going to find myself a hot French guy.” She twirls around in
the street. “You hear that, Paris?” she yells.

We all burst out laughing.

“Shh!” Grace says, tugging on her
sleeve. People are staring at us.

Ava ignores her, yelling back into
the street. “I’m going to find myself a sexy French man!” she cries.

A few people on the streets hoot
and holler back at us.

“Oh my god, you’re embarrassing,”
Cleo says. “Get her home, Grace.”

“I’m trying,” Grace says, tugging
on Ava’s coat to pull her along. “I didn’t realize she drank so much.”

We reach their building and Grace
waves us off as she helps Ava up the stairs.

“Well, that was interesting,” Cleo
remarks.

“Yes, it was. Ava’s a bit of a
loose cannon.”

Cleo laughs. “Well, those loose
cannons are always fun to have around. Always entertaining.” She looks over at
me. “You seemed quiet tonight.”

Damn. She’s perceptive and she
knows me too well.

“Really?”

“Yeah. You didn’t drink much.”

“I didn’t really feel like it
tonight.”

“Everything okay?”

Well, if there was ever a time to
tell Cleo, it was now.

“Actually, there is something I
want to tell you.”

Cleo stops in the street, staring at
me. “Jesus. I knew something was wrong.”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic,” I scold,
pulling her along. “It’s not that big of deal.”

Though it kind of was.

“So, what’s going on?”

I look over at her, giving her my
most serious face. “You need to swear, and I mean
swear
that you are not
going to say anything.”

Her eyes gleam excitedly. “I
swear!”

“No, really, Cleo. I mean it. No one
can know. Not Grace, not Ava, not Philippe. No one.”

“Fine, fine, fine. I swear! My lips
are sealed! I’m dying to know now.”

I giggle and take a deep breath.
“I’m secretly seeing Luc.”

Cleo stares at me blankly as if she
doesn’t quite comprehend what I’m saying.

“Wait,” she says, stopping in the
street and holding her hand up. “Can you say that again?”

I laugh. “You heard right. I’m seeing
Luc – our teacher. I’m sleeping with him.”

“Holy shit!” she cries, waving her
arms in the air. “Are you freaking kidding me?”

“No! Come on, let’s keep walking.”

“Oh my god, Maddie! Are you
serious? You are sleeping with Luc? The same Luc whose apartment we just left?”

I giggle again. “Yes.”

“Oh my gosh,” Cleo laughs, “And Ava
was just throwing herself at him.”

“I know,” I say darkly, “So
annoying, but it’s not like she knows.”

“Oh. My. God. I can’t even wrap my
head around this! How have you not said anything? For how long?” She peppers me
with questions. “How the hell did you not tell me this?” she demands.

“It hasn’t been very long at all,”
I say defensively, “and I’m telling you now.”

“You could have told me
before
we went over tonight!”

“Yeah, so you could watch us all
night and smirk.”

She laughs, caught. “Okay, but I
need details! Most importantly, how is he in bed? I’m
dying
to know.”

I giggle again. What the hell? When
did I turn into this ridiculous giggling girl?

“He’s amazing,” I say, blushing.

Cleo squeals.

“Totally mind-blowing,
unlike-any-other-sex-I’ve-ever-had good!”

“Oh, you lucky bitch!”

“You just said that sleeping with
Luc would be boring! You were telling Ava to go find a French man.”

“Well, yeah, because she was
embarrassing herself! But don’t get me wrong! Sleeping with any teacher is hot,
especially if they look like Luc. Oh my god! I cannot believe this! Madison Evans,
this is downright scandalous! I’m shocked!”

“I know! I can’t believe it myself.
But I can’t stay away. I can’t stop. He’s just too damn good!”

“Okay, okay. When did this start?”

“Barely two weeks ago. And we’ve
only hooked up a few times. But we saw each other yesterday, and we kind of
agreed to see each other more. We both really like each other.”

“So wait? This is more than just
screwing?”

“Well, kind of. Though, that seems
to be the most important thing,” I admit. “But I really like his company, and I
like being with him. I want to do things with him outside the bedroom too.”

“You sound like a freaking grown
up! This is insane.”

We’re heading up the stairs to our
apartment now.

“Look Cleo, I wanted to tell you
because you’re my best friend and I don’t want to lie to you or go sneaking
around behind your back. But Luc and I have to keep this completely quiet
because he could lose his job and it could be really bad for both of our
reputations. It could ruin my career before it starts, and not just because my
parents are famous. People would see me as just a fame whore, trying to better
my career by sleeping with him. Neither of us wants that.”

“Of course, I understand. It makes
sense. I swear I won’t say anything.” She shakes her head in wonder. “You
seriously amaze me sometimes, Maddie.”

“Alright, freak,” I say as we enter
our apartment, “enough excitement for the night. I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight you little whore,” she
calls out playfully. I roll my eyes and head back into my room.

~~~

Sunday and Monday seem to crawl by,
but finally it’s nearly seven on Monday night. Cleo is sprawled out on the
couch with some of her textbooks, and she has finally stopped grilling me with
questions about Luc.

I feel like I’ve just spent the
past thirty-six hours dissecting every single moment I’ve ever spent with Luc.
Needless to say, I am exhausted.

I walk into our living room and
Cleo raises her eyebrows at me over her book.

“Looking good,” she smirks.

“Shut up.”

I’m dressed in a pleated gray skirt
with black boots and a simple black top.

“Very naughty school girl,” Cleo
laughs.

I was second-guessing my outfit and
now I’m worried. I hurry over to a mirror that hangs by the door to reassess my
outfit.

“Oh stop,” she teases, “I’m just
kidding. You look amazing. I’m sure Luc won’t be able to keep his hands off
you.”

Before I can respond, there’s a
knock at the door. Cleo puts her book down, and eagerly sits up on the couch.

“It’s not a damn show,” I hiss,
going to open the door. I’m not sure why I’m so anxious.

I pull the door open to find Luc
looking as handsome and dangerous as ever. His hair is less messy than normal,
but he’s wearing dark-framed glasses that give his face a whole new level of
sexy. He’s dressed in a fitted gray shirt that accents his trim physique, with
a distressed black blazer and worn in jeans.

Talk about looking good enough to
eat.

I was almost panting.

“Maddie,” he says, his voice raw
and intense.

“Hi,” I say softly, leaning in to
kiss his cheek. He gently grabs me around the waist, holding on just a little
too long.  I finally pull away and hold the door open. “Come on in.”

He steps into our apartment and he
lets out a low whistle. “You didn’t tell me you had an apartment like this.”