“Go back to class, Zara,” I called.
“No, Cole. Let me in.”
I sighed, pressing my forehead to the door. If I were to let her in, I stood a chance of getting my ass handed to me. I didn’t know if Richardson had anyone watching me. I’d seen security drive by an hour earlier. Who was to say they weren’t still patrolling the area, watching to see if Zara would appear and seeing if I’d take her in?
“Cole, please,” Zara begged. “I have to see you before you go.”
My chest tightened. I couldn’t deny that I wanted to see her too, and if I didn’t see her at least one more time before I left, I was going to regret it.
“Damn.” I took a step back and unlocked the door, pulling it open. She stood on the other side, dressed in ripped jeans and a pink crop top with a smiley-faced cotton candy illustration on it. “Zara, you shouldn’t be here.”
“Dean Richardson told me the agreement you made,” she said, ignoring my statement and walking right past me to get inside. “Why would you do that? Why would you agree to that?” I should’ve known this was coming—that she’d find out and be upset about the decision.
“I had to.”
“And you were just going to leave? Without saying anything?”
“I was going to text you once I left.”
“Yeah—after you left, so I could never see you again,” she scoffed. “Where are you even gonna go?”
“I have a colleague an hour away who has a room. He said I could stay with him until I found a new place.”
Zara shook her head and lowered it, biting hard on her bottom lip as she folded her arms. “I feel like this is all my fault.”
“No.” I stepped closer to her, holding her by the upper arms. “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”
“I understand if you regret it,” she said in a lower voice.
“What?” I frowned. “Zara, no. Are you kidding me? I don’t regret anything about what we did.” I tipped my head back to get a clear view of her face. “Do you?”
Her head shook side to side slowly. “No. But if you hadn’t done anything with me, this never would’ve happened.”
I pulled her into me and held on tight. She whimpered but managed to hug me back. When I pulled away, I tipped her chin with my forefinger and said, “Zara, I did what I had to do. There was no way I was going to be the reason you didn’t get your degree and continue chasing your dreams. I want you to have everything, even if that means you have to have it without me.”
“But this will ruin you, Cole. It’ll ruin your reputation.”
“Yeah, well, Richardson has agreed to keep this under wraps so long as I follow his rules and leave. The only way my reputation could get ruined is if Alisha runs off and tells the whole world, but I don’t think she will after her talk with the dean. He’s told her to keep it under wraps too unless she has further proof. The images weren’t enough, and she doesn’t know that I confessed to him. The images only showed you and me talking outside my apartment, nothing more. And what she saw yesterday after class—that’s hearsay.”
“Well, how do I know you’ll be okay?”
I smiled. She was such a good soul, more worried about my future than her own, despite the fact that she had so much more ahead of her.
“I spoke to my agent last night, after the whole thing with Richardson and Alisha.”
“Okay?”
“I agreed to a two-book deal with a pretty big publisher. The contracts are being sent over later today.”
“What? Wow, Cole, that is amazing!” Zara jumped up and wrapped her arms around the back of my neck. “I’m so happy for you!”
I hugged her back. “Thanks.”
She pulled away. “So…you’ll really be okay?”
“I’ll be more than okay. Will you?”
She let out a long, weary sigh and walked into my arms again, her ear on my chest over my heart. “If you’re okay, I’ll be okay too.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
She huffed a laugh then picked her head up, her glossy brown eyes locking on mine. She was so damn beautiful. I couldn’t believe I was going to leave this behind. Of course, I could stay in touch after my departure, but I knew better than that. She had to finish college, and I had another book to write. Both of us needed to stop being selfish with our actions and actually focus on what lay ahead…but I figured that could happen after today. After one last time.
I cupped her face in my hands and dropped my lips on hers. She moaned instantly, lacing her arms around my neck. My palms slid down her sides, coming around to cup her ass in my hands.