Dirty Professor

She pulled away and just stared at me and I stared back at her. We were both equally shocked by the utterance and I already had a hand extended, ready to grab her wrist as she tried to bolt out of the apartment. I didn’t want her to leave. Not like this. Fuck. I needed to fix this and fast. I could see every muscle in her body poised and ready spring into action.

“Lena. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean— “

"What did you say?" Her words came out in a trembling voice.

Shit. She wasn't going to want anything to do with me

now. She was standing there, staring at me wide eyed with a blank expression on her face, her fingers twitching at her side.

"Don't run, okay?" It was the first thing I could think to say. "I care about you." I was trying to back pedal, even if I knew there was no getting out of this.

"That’s not what you said."

I pressed my lips together and groaned, silently angry at my apparent inability to keep my mouth under control. "I said 'I love you', okay?" Why was she forcing this out of me? Couldn’t she tell I was embarrassed enough? Did she really need to rub it in?

Her face softened and she stepped forward, touching my hand. "Do you mean it?"

The question surprised me. My eyebrows shot up and I wrapped my hand around hers, my heart fluttering in my chest. I never wanted to let her go. "Of course I mean it. Why would I lie?"

She paused and shrugged. "It doesn’t make sense, but a lot of people lie, especially about love."

I paused and kissed the Back of her hand. "Well, I'm not lying. I was just afraid to tell you."

She pressed herself against my chest. Her warmth radiated through me and I felt the distinct sensation of being home.

"No one else had ever told me they loved me."

I kissed the top of her head and offered a gentle smile. "Glad I could be your first,” I said, trying to keep the mood light.

“This isn’t a joke,” she murmured, her face still buried in my chest.

I cleared my throat and nodded. “Right…Right. Sorry.”

Finally, after a long moment of stressful silence, she looked up at me and sighed. “I love you too.”

I could barely believe what I heard. I hadn’t expected her to return the sentiment. “What?”

“I love you too. Are you deaf?”

A stupid grin spread across my face and I scratched the back of my neck. “I just wasn’t expecting to hear it back.”

I sat on the loveseat that I’d bought after Lena started coming over more. It was the perfect size for the balcony. We eased into the soft cushions and I pulled her close as she tucked her legs underneath her body.

“Well, I do. I love you. I can’t really explain how or why, but you got under my skin and I can’t seem to get you out.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

She shook her head slowly and her fingers tangled in mine. “As long as I know you love me…I think I can do it.”

“Do what?”

She looked at me with a fierce determination. “Go home.”

I wasn’t going to argue. I wanted her to face these demons. I kissed her tenderly and said the only thing that made sense. “I’ll call my pilot and let him know we’re leaving in the morning.”

I didn’t know where we were going. All I knew was that I’d follow her to the ends of the earth.

Bellefontaine. We came over a small hill and I could see the quaint wooden sign that welcomed you to my home town. Just under the sign was a little counter that read ‘pop. 789’. It had grown since I’d last been here.