Page 39 of SaaS & Class

There was a moment of silence, then Taal shook his head. “Sorry. Where were we?”

“You sure you’re ok?”

He nodded. “Fine.”

I wasn’t so sure, but he didn’t smell off, and his breathing had returned to normal. All I could do was trust that he’d tell me, Adam, or Dylan if something was wrong.

“You’d just suggested I talk to a contract lawyer.”

“Right…”

∞∞∞

~August~

“It’s not too professional, is it?” Adam asked, turning one way, then the other in front of the mirror, examining his outfit.

I chuckled. “The school’s AC sucks. It’s there, but barely. You’ll be a bit hot with that suit jacket. Grab a lighter one, or ditch it.”

“This is my lightest one,” Adam replied with a sigh. He took it off, decided to ditch the tie, and popped up the top button of his shirt. “Now I feel too casual to be giving a presentation.”

I stood, walked up behind him, and slid my arms around him. I rested my hands on his stomach, where our baby was growing inside him. I kissed his bond mark, which made him shiver.

“You’re fine. It’s not a boardroom or a keynote address. You’re going to be talking to a bunch of teenagers, and…” I let out a single chuckle. “Don’t be offended when several are checked out. It’s not you. It’s just part of dealing with high schoolers. There are always a few. But there are more paying attention than you think. They’re at that age where they think they know everything, but also are willing to listen to advice when they feel respected by adults.”

“Umm…”

I laughed. “I read your notes. You’re fine. They don’t like being talked down to. Your presentation acknowledges their preferences and doesn’t discount them. You’re not trying to take away what they know, but explain why they need more. That goes farther than you think. Once they understand that you’re not going to bash them for being on their devices all day, they’ll be fine.”

He hummed and leaned against me. “Ok.”

“Now,” I started. “How’s the morning sickness?”

“I think I’m ok. And you showed me where the restroom was when we went in to set up your classroom for the year. It’s close enough that I should make it if I start to feel queasy.”

“Good.”

“And how many more bets are you going to have to pay out when people meet me today?” he teased.

“I paid the last of them on the first day of school. The gossip mill did its thing, and anybody who’d bet I’d be mated came calling.” I laughed. “But it’s not a bad thing. It was a good bet for years, and I won it too many times. I’ll gladly take shelling out if it means having you.”

His smile was radiant, even if I could only see it in the mirror.

I kissed the top of his head. “You ready?”

“Yeah.”

As I led my mate from our apartment, I couldn’t help but remember that it was the desire to have him speak to my students that had brought us together after weeks of searching.

∞∞∞

~December~

Warm spices filled the air inside my mate’s family home.

We’d decided to visit Valle Granja for the holidays, since Adam’s family hadn’t seen him since our small wedding. And it seemed his baby bump had been dubbed the guest of honor. Extended family and friends all had to take their turns rubbing his bump and telling him how radiant he looked.

It wasn’t as if I could argue. Adam was as stunning as I had imagined all those months ago when I first thought about breeding him.