I pressed my finger to her lips. Neither of us needed to hear the end to that sentence. “You’re mine, Christine. Do you hear me? Mine. We belong to each other, so we need to behave that way.” I ran my thumb along her bottom lip, enjoying the way she shuddered. “I know we can’t exactly be open and honest that we’re together, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t respect one another. Otherwise this isn’t going to work, and I don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t want to lose you either,” she whimpered sadly. “I’m sorry if it looked like I was flirting with anyone. I was just trying to make friends.”
“Well I hope you didn’t plan anything for the weekend, because you’re coming to stay at my place.” What a good idea. We could really focus on one another there. “We can have movie nights and spend all day in bed. Be like a real couple.”
I had her hook, line, and sinker. It was obviously what she craved, and I could give that to her. A relationship where we were locked away at home would be awesome.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” she whispered. “Order take away and just talk.”
“Right. I can really get inside that head of yours and learn who you are.”
Her eyes darkened for a moment. “I haven’t had the best life. You might not want to know who I really am. You might not like it.”
Ha! If she thought a bit of darkness would put me off, she was wrong. I could dig right in to my good girl having a little bit of a cloud in her past—that would work for me.
“You’re talking to your bad boy professor here,” I teased her playfully. “I bet you don’t have a darker side than me. And if you do, we are going to have fun.”
Christine initiated the next kiss, and as she held onto me enthusiastically, it was good to have her back. She knew where she stood now as well, no more fucking around with boys. I was her man, and she needed to only have her eyes on me.
It took a lot of resistance not to pull her pants down here so I could take her up against the wall in my office, but I didn’t think she’d fully go for it. If I proved I could wait until the weekend when we were alone, Christine would probably appreciate that.
But this weekend, I was going to be gagging for her.
She was in trouble for sure.
4
CHRISTINE
All eyes are on me. I knew I wasn’t just being paranoid, I could feel it. I could hear the unpleasant words being muttered about me, I knew they were there. Everyone knows. Everyone suspects. Oh God, I am in the shit for real.
“Hey, you!” The always upbeat Maggie threw her arm over my shoulder. I tried to shake her off because I didn’t want her being tarred with the same shitty reputation I was developing. “What’s going on? You seem really freaked out.”
I leaned closer to her and whispered because I didn’t want anyone to overhear. If I did a single thing that gave everyone more ammunition against me, then this would never die.
“Maggie, I think everyone knows about me and…you know who.” I couldn’t bring myself to say his name out here in the courtyard. “I feel like everyone is talking about me.”
“They are,” Maggie confirmed in a lighthearted tone as if this was nothing. My heart sunk into my stomach. I feared I might puke. “But don’t worry about it. No one knows. There’s no way anyone can know; there’s no proof, and I certainly haven’t said anything. It’s all just rumors. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
If she thought that was going to calm me down, then she was wrong. I hugged my arms tighter and more protectively around me as my anxiety heightened.
I wanted a new life for me here, but I didn’t want the sort of life that would have everyone talking about me.
“Look, it’s no problem,” she continued when she spotted my expression. “Rumors will die out and go on to other things soon enough. You just have to ride the wave until something else happens.” She paused thoughtfully for a second. “Maybe just tell him not to pull any shit like he did the other day. Yelling at you like that in front of everyone was off. I mean, I knew what he was up to and everything, but it seemed crazy.”
I nodded silently. I’d tried to tell him, but I wasn’t sure he listened. I suppose he’d kept his distance a bit though, because we had plans this weekend, but it hadn’t stopped the gossip.
“I just don’t want it to get to the faculty though,” I half whispered again. “I don’t want to get kicked out of NYU. I don’t want Brandon to lose his job.”
“Well, you have me on your side, and that’s all you need.” She gave me a mock salute. “I will always be your alibi, so I wouldn’t worry too much.”
I couldn’t shake off the sick feeling though. I hated being this exposed; I hated feeling the pain of the hushed conversations as they brushed passed me. I needed to get away.
“I think I’m going back to the room for a bit,” I muttered to Maggie. “I need a break.”
“You want me to come with you?”
I shook my head hard. “No, you carry on. I just need to be alone for a while.”