Chapter 9: Try Bonding

\[Leo’s POV\]

“What the hell were you thinking?”

I narrow my gaze on Mykel while he watches me in amusement.

“I told you,” he sighs, holding up his hands innocently. “I wasn’t the one who approached. She came to me, and could you…ouch!”

I don’t give him a chance to finish what he is saying before I’m smacking him in the back of the head, and as he grumbles and rubs the place I hit, I turn my gaze to Rue, who sits alone.

From the purse of her lips, it is clear that she isn’t happy with what happened, but honestly I don’t care.

How could I possibly let her get close to Mykel when I knew how much of a womanizer he was? I already watched her suffer because of others, and now that we were related, I couldn’t allow that to keep happening.

But is it really any of your business? The small voice in the back of my head says. She isn’t your student anymore, and she isn’t truly my daughter despite my trying to consider her as such after marrying her mother.

“I’m telling the truth.” Mykel says in annoyance. “But since you don’t want me getting close to my niece, I won’t.”

“That would be for the best.” I tell him. “Now go; shouldn’t you be helping at the front desk?”

“I’m not scheduled in yet.” He pouts.

“Go,” I repeat, narrowing my gaze.

“Fine, fine,” he grumbles, giving me a look that screams spoil sport, and then waltzes off.

When he is out of sight, I turn my gaze to Rue once more, and I find myself remembering her as that teenager who I was always helping.

I was glad to see that she was doing better for herself despite all that, but even now I could still feel a strong wall built up around her.

It was clear that she kept everyone at arm’s length, but since we were family now, I didn’t want her to do that with me.

“What should I do?” I murmur, tearing my gaze away and then heading to where Darlene sits on the pool's edge, soaking in the sun.

“Did you handle things?” She asks as I drop beside her. “Although, I think you shouldn’t have interfered.”

“I can’t let Mykel get involved with her.” I sigh. “He isn’t good.”

“Oh, I don’t know if that’s true,” she giggles, bumping me. “He is your brother, and you’re pretty good.”

I wasn’t always. I think, remembering my past self, who was always getting into trouble and leaving a trail of broken hearts in the process.

That version of me still existed when Rue was my student, and I would be lying if I said that I never had a few affairs with the students I taught after they graduated.

It was only recently that I decided to get my shit together, and even now I wasn’t entirely sure that I was doing a good job of that.

“Not good enough to make Rue warm up to me.” I say, trying to ignore the sting that I feel from her continuously insisting that we weren’t family.

“Oh, give her time.” Darlene sighs, leaning back so her wet, glistening breasts heave, and when a few men start to ogle her, I shoot them a glare. “She has always been a withdrawn girl, but if you keep trying, she eventually warms up to you.”

“Is that so?”

Honestly, I thought that it wouldn’t be so hard for us to hit it off since she seemed pretty attached to me in school, but maybe that was simply because she considered me a hero. Or…

I couldn’t be sure about this assumption, but there were a few times that I would see something in her eyes that hinted toward her feeling more for me than a student admiring a cool adult, but I always pretended I didn’t see.

Now, in this time and place, I thought I might have seen that look again, but just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared, and I was left wondering if I was just imagining things.

“Just give her time.” Darlene says now, snapping me out of my reverie. “I’m certain that soon enough you’ll be as close as a father and daughter should be.”

“Maybe.”

“Oh, I have a great idea!” She claps. “Why don’t we do something as a family, and I will allow you and her to spend some time together without me.”

“What?” I gasp. “Why on earth would we…”

“It’s perfect,” she counters. “That way you will have a chance to bond. I fear that when we return home, she will escape back to her college and not return. I know she said she would come home and apply at her old high school once she graduates, but even then I have a feeling she won’t. I think that place brings back too many bad memories for her. She insists that there is a teacher that she wants to work with, but… Oh, I don’t know. I just can’t really read what that girl is thinking.”

At her words, I remember what Rue told me about her reason for becoming a teacher, and I get the feeling that the teacher she was referring to was me, but there was no way I left that much of an impression, right? And if I did, did that mean that she did harbor other feelings other than hero worship?

Ugh. Why the hell did I keep thinking of such a thing?

So what if she did? It wouldn’t change anything. I was her stepfather, and she was once my student. There was no way that anything could or would ever happen.

“Anyway, why don’t we head back to the room?” Darlene murmurs, touching my chest and running a finger along it. “Since it’s empty, we could…”

“Say less,” I smirk, standing and then holding out a hand. “Let’s get going before Rue returns.”

Laughing, Darlene takes my hand, and then we begin to move, heading back into the resort and upstairs, and when we reach the room, our mouths are finding one another, but as they do, I find Rue’s face appearing in my mind, and it completely ruins the mood.

What the hell was that? I think, trying to focus on Darlene, who is mewling like a cat in heat against me. Why would I even think of her?

There was no reason for it, but even then, with her face comes our time together in high school and then that night when I found her in that alley.

Even back then I found myself feeling strange as I carried her back. I just chalked it up to a natural reaction to a woman pressing her body against a man, but still it was wrong to think that way, and it was wrong to even be thinking about her while I was with my wife.

Was I feeling this way because I was concerned about our relationship or lack thereof? That had to be it, right? But then, why would I even care? Sure, I was her new stepfather, but she was an adult, and she didn't live with Darlene, so it wasn't like we would be interacting much.

“Hey,” Darlene murmurs, drawing me out of my head. “Are we just going to sit here and make out, or are we going to go to the bedroom?”

As she speaks, she peeks over her shoulder at the door to our room, but before we can even take a few steps, the door behind us opens and Rue appears.

“Ugh!” She gasps, covering her eyes. “What the hell are the two of you doing?”

Eyes widening, I quickly untangle myself from Darlene and take a few steps back, and when my gaze meets Rue’s, that damned conflicted feeling appears again.