"Let me walk you home," he said. I took his hand and he helped me stand up.
"What's in the plate?" I asked him as we walked out the building.
"Your pizza," he told me. I smiled.
"Why are you so nice?" I asked him. He smiled and shrugged.
"I don't know," he answered. As we walked, I thought about how easy things could be if I loved Richard instead of Professor Moore. But I didn't love Richard and things were damn near impossible.
When we got to my apartment building, Richard handed me the plate.
"Thank you, for all of this," I said with a smile.
"You're welcome. I hope you feel better," he told me. We hugged and he started walking back to campus. I was just about to go inside when I noticed someone watching me from a car parked in front of my building. It was Professor Moore.
I stood on the outside of the building and waited for Marquise to get out of his car and approach me. When he got close enough, I could see that he too had been crying.
The first thing that came out of his mouth was, "hanging out with your little boyfriend?" I rolled my eyes.
"He's not my boyfriend. He's just a nice person. He might be the only friend that I have left," I said.
"Well, who's fault is that?" He asked me. I shifted uncomfortably. I hoped that he hadn't come here just to make me feel worse. "Why'd you, do it?"
"Do what?"
"All of it? The panties. Breaking into my office. Drugging my wife? Everything!" He said, throwing his hands up. I shrugged.
"I don't know! I've never done anything like this! I've never felt this way before," I told him.
"I guess, I just want to know that it wasn't all for nothing. That all the destruction and pain aren't in vain. I want to be more than just a casualty," he said. The way he was looking at me was breaking my heart. I had hurt him and I felt terrible for it! I felt like crying, but to cry now, in front of him, felt selfish. I had hurt him and now I was the one crying. I didn't want to make him feel bad for me. I didn't want anyone else trying to comfort me when I didn't deserve it. "I met with my lawyer today. My wife was served divorce papers," he continued.
"I'm sorry," I blurted out. "I'm sorry for the pain that you are feeling and for the way I did things. But I'm glad you're getting a divorce. I want to be with you. You belong with me," I told him.
"You're the craziest person I've ever met. But I've got to admit, no one’s ever gone to these lengths for me. A part of me thinks that you're trouble. And you are. You're dangerous. You could ruin me if you wanted to. But I made you a promise and I meant it. I love you Dahlia," he said,
"I love you too Marquise!" He opened his arms to me and I almost jumped into them. It felt so good to be back in his embrace. We stood like that for a while, just holding each other. It was getting dark out and the temperature was dropping but his arms kept me warm. We pulled back and he tried to kiss me but I stopped him.
"What if someone sees us?" I asked him.
"Then they'll have been lucky enough to witness true love," he said. I grinned and we kissed. His kisses warmed me inside and I didn't want him to leave.
"Do you want to come inside?" I asked.
"Do you think that's a good idea?" He asked back. I shrugged and frowned, then smiled once more.
"Probably not, but I want you to come inside anyway," I told him. We let each other go, only to hold hands as we went inside. We didn't let go as we went upstairs or when we entered the apartment. It was dark inside with no lights on, and quiet. I closed the door, turned on the living room light, and set down the plate of pizza on the coffee table. I didn't think that Gemma was home. Before we could do anything else, there was a pounding on the door. Alarmed, I checked the peephole but whoever was on the other side had it covered. I called through the door, "who is it?" There was no answer. Whoever it was, just pounded again. Professor Moore stood beside me as I opened it. I gasped when I saw who was on the other side. It was Sharon and she was a mess! Her eyes were red and swollen from crying and she smelled as though she had been drinking. As soon as the door opened wide enough, she lunged at me. We both went tumbling to the ground.
"You fucking bitch! I knew you were fucking him!" She growled through gritted teeth as she attempted to wrap her hands around my neck. Professor Moore pulled her off of me before things could escalate any further. "This bitch set me up!" She yelled and spit on me. It landed on my shirt. I was so disgusted that before I could even think about it, I cocked back and slapped her as hard as I could. She struggled against Professor Moore's arm trying to get to me. He had to restrain her with one arm and keep me back with the other.
"This bitch set me up!" She shouted.
"Calm down!" Professor Moore yelled.
"No! She set me up and ruined our marriage!" She screamed. We glared at each other. She was panting and bucking like a wild animal. Sharon wanted to get to me in the worst way.
"I would have never done that if she hadn't drugged me! Yea, Gemma told me what you did!" She said. My eyebrows shot up my forehead. I couldn't believe that Gemma had told her. "I should press charges!"
"Calm down!" Professor Moore repeated. She took deep breaths but spit at me again. This time it landed on the floor at my feet. Sharon started sobbing.