Firefighter's Virgin

“They knew I dated a guy named Chance,” Natalie told me. “I never told them that Chance was my professor.”

“Oh.”

“And I never mentioned your name to them, so as far as they’re concerned…”

“I’m just one of your professors and nothing more,” I surmised.

“Yes.”

“Would they not approve?”

“Does it matter now?” Natalie asked.

“Fair point,” I nodded.

She was looking a little nervous, and even though I was curious as to why, I knew I needed to leave soon before my resolve weakened. She seemed to sense that I was about to leave because she took a tiny step towards me and blurted something out so fast that I couldn’t decipher a single word.

“What?” I asked. “I didn’t catch that.”

Natalie blushed scarlet and all I wanted to do was reach out and hug her.

“I… I wanted to know if you would have dinner with me tonight,” she repeated, slowly and clearly this time.

I raised my eyebrows. “That’s not a good idea.”

“But—”

“We’re broken up, Natalie,” I said firmly, reminding myself that her future was at stake. “Dinner is off the table for us now.”

“I know that… I’m not asking you out on a date,” she clarified. “I just want to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“About us,” she answered honestly. “I need you to explain to me what really went wrong because I don’t feel like I know the whole story. I need to know the whole story, Chance… I need the closure.”

I was instantly nervous. “I gave you my reasons.”

“But you didn’t really explain them.”

“And you really want me to sit down with you over a meal and explain my reasons to you in detail?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you think that’s going to be painful for you to hear?” I asked, when what I was really thinking was it was going to be really painful for me to say.

“Possibly.” She nodded. “But I need this, Chance… I need this if I want to move on once and for all.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. As much as I wanted her to move on and be happy, an equally large part of me was scared that she would move on and forget me. Not that I didn’t deserve it, though.

“Wouldn’t you rather spend the night with your parents?” I asked, hoping for some kind of escape.

“I’m spending the whole of tomorrow with my parents,” she informed me. “But tonight, I’m free.”

“What if I’m not?” I asked.

Natalie’s face fell visibly, and she didn’t attempt to mask her emotions. “Did I mean absolutely nothing to you?” she inquired softly.

“Of course not.”