Black Rainbow (Rainbows 1)

Kissing her, I unbuttoned her jeans.

We had both taken a hot bath and she crawled into bed before I could even stop her. The snow was coming down too hard for us to leave just yet any way. The moment I got into bed with her, I noticed how tightly she clung on to me. She was different. We were different. But we were also living in a bubble. What would happen when we got back to the real world, and class started? I was afraid that she would run away again.

Tomorrow would be our first test to see if we could actually do this. Could we really be together? I was well aware of the consequences, but when I weighed them against the alternative of letting her go, the risks far outweighed a life without her.

Reaching for my phone, I texted Bethan.

“Thea is going to need a dress for the New Year’s ball.”

I didn’t even have time to put down the phone before she replied.

“You’re bringing your student/girlfriend? Welcome to the dark side, brother.”

“I invited all of my students, and who said she was my girlfriend?”

She was, but Bethan, with her big mouth, didn’t need to know that.

“So you always help your female students shop for dresses when they’ve been invited to our parents’ party? Is that like a special side gig professors do?”

“Bethan, can you help or not?”

“Fine. But first, I get to meet her.”

“No.”

Thea was not going to go for that.

“So how do you expect me to get her a dress if I don’t even know what she looks like? What size she is, or even what styles she likes?”

“Her favorite color is teal.”

Moments later, my phone’s ringtone echoed within our tiny cabin space.

“Urgh,” Thea groaned in her sleep, turning away from me.

I answered the phone before it could ring a second time. Getting up, I went to the window and whispered into the phone, “I texted you instead of calling for a reason Bethan.”

“I need to meet her,” she whined. “Tristan already knows her, and you obviously care about her. I need to get to meet her before you act like she’s just some normal student at the party. Why are you being all weird about it?”

“I’ll talk to her about it, okay?” I wasn’t sure why I was being “weird.” I was just worried about how Thea would react. She was still a flight risk.

“Talk quickly…” she said, then trailed off as a tiny, shrill cry rang out in the background. “Shit, I woke her up.”

She hung up on me as her daughter’s cry reached full volume.

Shaking my head, I turned back to the bed, only to find Thea sitting up, glaring at me. I laughed at the look on her face.

“What’s more important than sleep?” she demanded.

“Sorry. I was trying to get you a dress.”

Her face softened, even though she pretended that she was still mad with me.

“You didn’t need to do that. I’m sure I would be able to find something nice for myself. I have a few dresses back home that should be okay.”

“Would you happen to have any dress made by Giorgio Armani, Stefano Gabbana, or Prada and Miu Miu?”

She looked at me as if I had lost my mind.