ChristopherI grinned. “I suppose I’ll just have to go fishing more often.”“Excuse me?” he snapped.“Fishing. You put a worm on a hook and toss it in the water with the hopes of catching a fish. You’ve heard of it, right?”“Do not get smart with me young man.”I leaned forward. “No offense, but I’m guessing you might be ten years older than I am. I appreciate the compliment, but I haven’t been called a young man in a very long time.”“This isn’t a game. I will ruin you.”“I don’t think you understand, your threats are empty.”He leaned back. “You think because you are wealthy, rules don’t apply to you.”“I never said that.”“Look, I can see you care about furthering your education. It’s important to me everyone has access to higher learning. I’m willing to make you a deal.”“A deal? You’ll let me finish the semester?”He nodded. “In exchange for a donation to the school and the name of your partner in crime, I won’t put this on your permanent record.”“A donation?” I questioned, skep
LeilaI sat at the table, sipping my coffee and staring out the window. My eyes burned from lack of sleep. I could hardly think straight. The cup in my hand was my third. I was going to need a dozen more to concentrate.“All right,” Kami said sliding into the seat. “Sorry about that. That was a crazy rush.”“It’s fine,” I said, not pulling my eyes from the window. I was spacing out, staring at nothing and seeing nothing but my own thoughts.“What’s going on? You look horrible.”I sighed and pulled my eyes away from the window to look at her. “I feel horrible.”“Did you and Hot Stuff break up again?”I groaned. “I don’t know. I think so.”She looked confused. “How do you not know?”“Remember when I told you about the thing in the library?” I asked.She grinned, nodding her head. “How could I forget? I’m pretty sure that’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done.”“The dean has it on video.”Her mouth fell open. She slapped her hand over it, her eyes laughing. “Oh my god!”“It isn’t funny,”
LeilaShe held up three fingers. “Scenario three; you go to work, the dean doesn’t know shit, and you go on with your life.”“And what about Christopher? I think in every one of those scenarios he’s expelled.”“You could be his private tutor,” she grinned. “Wear a sexy little outfit, rap his knuckles with your ruler.”I rolled my eyes. “You’re deranged.”“If he cares about you, he’ll respect your need to keep your involvement a secret. If your identity has been revealed and you are fired, then he will understand if you have to move to find a new job. If he cares, he will offer to support you in whatever you do.”I wanted to buy into that line of reasoning, but that was the best-case option. “And if he doesn’t?” I whispered.She looked at me, the sympathy I saw making me ill. “Then it wasn’t meant to be.”I physically recoiled from the words. “I don’t want it to be that way.”“I understand, but sometimes we don’t get those choices. Sometimes, the choice is taken away from us.”“Can thi
ChristopherI felt like a bum, but I didn’t suppose it really mattered. I had no reason to jump out of bed. I had nowhere to go and no one to see. Lying in bed under the warmth and comfort of my blankets was about all I had the energy for.I knew I was being weak. I was caving in. I was letting the world win. I had been fighting for so long, and I was tired. I was tired of having everything only to have it cruelly yanked away. I didn’t have the energy to get out of bed and face the world. I just couldn’t do it.I would do it tomorrow. There was no reason I had to get out of bed. No reason at all, which was probably what bothered me the most. Olin was old enough to get himself to school. No one needed me. I could lay in bed for a week and the world would keep marching on without even a hiccup.Maybe that was my problem. I was so used to being significant. My business depended on me showing up for work and kicking ass. My wife had depended on me to support our family. I had a nice littl
ChristopherThe situation sucked. I hated that after all we had gone through to get to a place where we were both comfortable with the relationship, it was pulled away. Easy come, easy go, I supposed. Although, none of it was very easy.I checked my hair in the mirror, only then realizing I had dressed in all black without even realizing it. The color suited my mood. I was mourning the loss of a friendship, my education opportunities, and a woman I had come to care a great deal about.I drove to school, wondering if I would be removed from campus by security. I would put up a fight. The dean had given me some time to mull over my decision. I would remind him of that if it came to it. No one stopped me as I walked across campus. I didn’t notice anyone pointing their fingers and laughing either. I hoped that meant the video had not been released to the masses like Alan had warned me about.I could have never guessed he was talking about me when he’d mentioned the video. I was a little e
LeilaChristopher was angry. I could feel the anger radiating off him. He made no move to touch me. He barely even looked at me. It hurt to see him that way.“How are you?” I asked finally.“Fine. You?”“Terrified,” I whispered.“Of what? Your secret is safe.”“What happened?” I asked.He shrugged. “Why don’t you tell me? I saw you coming out of the dean’s office.”“You did?” I scowled. “I didn’t see you.”“I figured you were purposely ignoring me,” he said angrily. “Not wanting to sully your good name.”“No!” I exclaimed. “I didn’t see you. I was a little distracted. I tried calling you over and over. Why aren’t you taking my calls?”He blew out a breath. “Because I wasn’t sure what to say to you after what you did.”“After what I did?” I questioned. “What did I do?”“You told the dean who I was.”My mouth dropped open. “I did no such thing! He asked me if I knew the man in the picture and I lied. I told him I didn’t know who you were.”He scoffed. “How is it I got pulled out of clas
LeilaChristopher leaned back in the chair, crossing one leg over his knee. His foot bounced as he rubbed his jaw. “I’ll drop out. He never has to know it was you.”“But your education,” I protested.“I was only taking classes to keep myself busy. I don’t really need that now. I have you—don’t I?”I nodded. “You do but I can’t let you make a sacrifice like that. I understand you are seeking something. I don’t know what it is exactly, but you have to go on this journey. I don’t want you to resent me because I got in the way of what you want. What you need. There has to be another way.”He slowly shook his head. “I don’t want you to lose your job—your career. You’ve worked so hard to get your dream job. I won’t let you give that up, not for me to chase something I don’t need.”“You might not need it, but you want it,” I insisted.“What do you have in mind?” he asked.I wasn’t sure how much to tell him. Then I thought about what he’d just spent the last twenty-four hours thinking and fee
ChristopherLeila returned, taking her seat and the offered coffee. There was a weird awkwardness between us that I didn’t like. I realized the misunderstanding was on my end. She had no involvement in me being exposed. I had taken it out on her and it wasn’t right. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you the benefit of the doubt. I jumped to some very wrong conclusions. It wasn’t at all fair to you.”She smiled. “It’s okay. I’m sure it didn’t look good from your side of things. I thought for sure you told the dean who I was. I thought that was why you weren’t answering my calls.”“I would never do that to you,” I told her. “Never.”“I wouldn’t do that to you either. I love my job, but I do understand loyalty.”I chuckled, shaking my head. “I guess we’ll need to work on our communication skills.”“Definitely. I should have tried harder to talk to you and clear things up.”“I promise to be more open-minded and not automatically assume the worst,” I promised.“Me too.”“I hate that there was a lot