Chapter Three

Vanessa was confused. It was against the school's ethics for students to have a personal or private relationship with their professors. Although she had no personal relationship with Elio, their sexual tension was no doubt intense.

For example, last night, his hand lingered on hers unnecessarily when he handed her the rest of the keys. His eyes also wandered to her boobs during the meeting last night. If this continued, she wasn’t sure she would be able to resist throwing herself at him.

Elio’s eyes met hers as he spoke. “Good morning everyone. As some of you might already know, I’m professor Astor, but you can call me Elio. I’m your assistant professor for modern literature.”

While the guys mummured about how chill their professor was, the girls giggled at his handsome masculinity. Except Vanessa of course. She was mortified. It felt like they were doing something wrong. How would she explain that Professor Astor had seen her naked in a tub before, or that he had picked her rose toy off the floor?

She just hoped that she would be able to survive this. Since she got to Brooklyn, she had been going through one drama or the other. While she didn't entirely hate her experience, she was mortified by it. Now that she was in this, there was no going back.

For the rest of the class, she couldn’t focus. She just tried her best to avoid eye contact with him, and in turn, he showed no sign of recognition either. After classes, she didn’t know whether to go home or find somewhere to hang. Since she had no friends yet, she decided to go home.

Clara, the girl from the club, was not really her friend. She was just someone she happened to meet the moment she got to Brooklyn. All Clara cared about was parties and hearing about Vanessa’s wish for a wild sexual adventure, she took an instant liking to her.

So, Vanessa canceled out the thought of hanging out with her. She headed straight home with the intention of avoiding Elio. When she got home, the door was locked, indicating that no one was home. Relieved, she went to her room and took a nap after a late breakfast.

It was getting hot when she woke up. Deciding to have a home-cooked meal, she went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. However, she met Elio there. His sleeves were rolled up as he chopped some vegetables, his muscular frame intimidating. His brown hair was wet with sweat which made her gulp.

The man looked good. It was a pity that he was her professor. Who knew what could have happened if not? She turned away from him and tried to tiptoe back to her room when she heard his voice.

“You don't need to avoid me.”

She clamped her lips tightly together before answering him. “Okay.”

When she stood near the counter, just watching him, he looked at her again.

“You can take what you want, I’m not bothering you.”

“I want to make my lunch,” she said quietly.

“I’m making a turkey sandwich. You can either join me or make yours.”

She froze. Was he inviting her to join him? Calm down, Van, she cautioned herself. It’s not a big deal.

But this was a big deal to her! The man wanted them to stay away from him. Now, he was asking her to join him? Why should she miss that opportunity? So, she washed her hands and joined him, careful to be as quiet as possible.

As they cooked, she thought of him being her professor. She had a lot of questions and things to say, but she kept mute. He must have sensed her worry because he spoke.

“When Charlotte comes back, we have things to discuss.”

She nodded and made to pick up her plate, his hand reaching out at the same time. As their fingers brushed each other, she brushed profusely and rushed to the living room. Luckily, Charlotte came in at that very moment. She was relieved that she didn’t have to face him.

“That looks good,” Charlotte said eagerly. “Is there any left?”

“Help yourself,” Elio said behind Vanessa.

After lunch, Elio cleared his throat and informed Charlotte of the meeting.

“I knew something was up when you made us food and ate with us. Are you planning to send us away?”

“It’s against the school’s ethics for your professor to have a personal relationship with you. We might not have one, but how would you explain it to people outside? We all live together.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened. “So you’re a professor!”

“Not just any, but Vanessa’s modern literature professor.”

“Oh no. What’s going to happen then?”

“I’ve spoken to the agent. As soon as they find some people, you both can swap places with them. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that your new place will be as good as this one, if not better. All you need to do now is to keep this a secret, so that you don’t cost me my job.”

Charlotte got up angrily. “We can continue keeping it a secret. I’m not moving out of this house!”

She stormed out, leaving them all alone in the house, and Vanessa sighed. “What do we do now?”

“Will you leave?” He asked.

“I don’t want to leave either.”

He got up from his seat. “You don’t know what you’re playing with, Vanessa. The sooner you leave, the better for us both.”

She didn’t know which he was talking about. The school ethics, or the sexual tension between them. Either way, she knew what she was doing. They heard a knock on the door.

“Who’s there?” Elio asked.

“Mrs. Miranda Wells,” came the curt reply.

“Go to your room, Vanessa,” Elio said.

“Why?”

“That’s the chancellor’s assistant. She’s probably heard rumors of me harboring female students in my home.”

“But it's not your fault! You thought we were boys.”

“Just wait here.”

He went to speak to the woman and came back inside shortly.

“What happened?”

He grimaced. “I told her about the agent issues. But I said that you both will leave this week.”

“I understand,” she said quietly. “I don’t want you to lose your job.

They stared at each other with mutual understanding. And suddenly, they were painfully aware that they were alone in the house. She got excited and could almost feel her wetness slide down her thigh as her chest heaved up and down. Without warning, Elio moved towards her, lust and darkness in his eyes.