DRAWING LINES

ARIANA'S POV

I blinked twice as my heart began pounding hard against my chest. My breath caught, hands trembling.

Maybe I wasn't the only “Ariana Castillo” in the hall. Maybe he wasn't referring to me. Maybe—

“Ria… he's staring at you.” Maya’s annoying voice boomed behind me.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

I cursed inwardly, throat bobbing.

Professor Thiago turned and walked out of the class, calm and professionally.

As soon as he left, the hall erupted with murmurs. A few toxic girl fans of his instantly threw me a “why did he notice you on his first day?” kind of look. It wasn't just a look, they were glaring.

I glanced away from them sharply, heart racing. My mind reeled with several possibilities.

Why would he call me out of everyone? Did I do something wrong? Or… was it about last night?

Yes, it was definitely about last night.

Oh shit… what have I gotten myself into?

Ariana!!! Gosh, you should've listened when he told you to stop moving.

“Kiss me… touch me… I feel hot.”

Fuck.

I could still recall how I begged him to touch me.

Shit.

What if he thinks I’m a whore? What if he thinks I'm one of those cheap girls on the street who will gladly throw themselves at him?

I mean… he was hot enough to attract women anywhere he stepped into.

Maya nudged me lightly on my arm. “Ria…” She raised a brow at me suspiciously. “Why do I feel like you two know each other?”

Maya has never for once failed to read and understand me. But I couldn’t admit it yet.

“Know that old man?” I muttered, without thinking.

Maya's mouth opened in shock. “Are you fucking kidding me right now, Ria?” She placed her hands on her hips. “He's currently the youngest and hottest professor in this college.” She muttered, turning to face the group of girls who were still glaring at me. “Look… look at how those girls are glaring at you just because he noticed you on his first day.” Then, she looked back at me. “Now, don't give me that ‘old man’ bullshit.”

I gulped.

She was right.

He wasn't only hot, he also had the most attractive pair of blue eyes I had ever seen.

Really Ariana?

I almost slapped myself to reset my thoughts.

“You should get going to his office.” She grinned, like she was the one who wanted to see him. She pushed me forward slightly as her expression suddenly turned sour. “We will talk about Scott later.”

I sighed, and walked off as images of him and Tania on the bed flashed back. The same bed Scott had taken my virginity. The same bed Scott had spooned me and told me how special I was to him.

“You really think I loved you?”

His words rang out in my head and I felt something trail down my cheek.

Shit.

I sniffled and wiped it away, pushing away every thought about him.

I had a whole new problem now.

Professor Thiago definitely recognized me.

Shit… I even came on his thighs. Did he find it disgusting?

My heart sank.

My legs felt heavier with every step. Why did he call me to his office?

Last night kept replaying in my head, refusing to leave me alone. I told myself it didn’t mean anything… but my heart didn’t get the message.

I walked down the hallway leading to the professor's office. I stopped in front of a door, his name was printed on a tag and glued to it.

My chest tightened.

I knocked lightly. “Come in.” I heard his deep voice.

My heart began pounding hard.

Slowly, I pushed the door open and stepped in. He was behind his desk, flipping through a file without looking up like I wasn’t even there.

Silence stretched, awkward and heavy.

“Sit.” His order came again.

I obeyed immediately. My hands rested on my thighs because I didn’t trust them not to shake.

Another few seconds passed before he finally looked up. Those attractive blue eyes met mine and I inhaled sharply.

“Do you remember last night?” he asked simply.

My throat went dry.

“Yes… yes sir.” I hated how my voice cracked. “I was drunk,” I added quickly. “I didn’t— I mean, I wasn’t thinking properly.”

That's a lie.

I wasn't completely out of my mind. Part of me knew exactly what I was doing, even through the haze of alcohol.

He held my gaze, but didn't speak.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “I should have listened to you.”

He leaned back slightly, studying me like he was trying to figure something out. “Why did you drink that much?”

My gaze dropped as my hands gripped my gown tightly.

My mind immediately drifted to Scott. I had caught him cheating and expected him to feel guilty or try to explain to me that it wasn't what it looked like.

But he didn't.

Instead, he said hurtful words to me. Words I never imagined Scott would ever say to me. Scott had looked me in the eye and told me I was just a toy… a tool for his satisfaction.

My heart felt like it was shattering all over again. “Fuck you, Scott.” I cursed in my head, as I glanced up at Professor Thiago to meet his gaze.

“I caught my boyfriend cheating and…” I muttered sadly and paused.

His expression hardened slightly. “And?”

I looked down. A bitter laugh escaped me as I recalled Scott’s words. “He dumped me right after.” I fiddled with my fingers, and continued, “He said he never really loved me and I was just….” I inhaled deeply, eyes turning glassy. “a toy to him.”

Honestly, I didn't know what suddenly came over me that made me sit here and tell him everything.

Professor Thiago didn't say anything immediately. He just stared at me for a while with a look I didn't quite understand.

Then finally, his jaw tightened. “He's a jerk.” He said and I swallowed.

Yes, Scott was a real jerk.

He remained silent for a moment. Then he leaned back slightly in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "If your alcohol tolerance is that low, then drinking until you lose control isn't a good idea."

I lowered my gaze.

He wasn't wrong.

"You're lucky nothing happened to you," he continued. "Not everyone you meet will have good intentions."

My fingers tightened around the fabric of my gown.

The thought alone made a chill run through me.

"If you're hurting, talk to your friends." His voice softened slightly. "That's what they're there for. Don't isolate yourself and drown everything in alcohol."

I thought of Maya immediately. If I had called her last night, she would have definitely come running after a few ‘I warned you’ talk.

A small wave of guilt washed over me.

"Okay," I murmured. "And... thank you." I added quietly.

One of his brows lifted slightly. "For what?"

Heat rushed into my cheeks. "For taking me home yesterday."

My face grew even hotter as memories flashed through my head.

I recalled climbing onto his lap, and begging him to touch me. I had practically thrown every ounce of dignity out the window.

Dear God.

I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

His jaw flexed slightly.

For a second, no one spoke.

Then he exhaled sharply and looked away. "Regardless," he began, his voice returning to that calm, professional tone. "What happened last night can't happen again. I'm your professor.”

My stomach twisted.

Oh.

Was that it?

Nothing more?

What happened between us ended last night?

My heart sank straight to my stomach.

It wasn't as though we'd had sex. He just helped a drunk girl who couldn't control herself.

So why did it feel like something important had ended? Why did it suddenly feel like we were shutting a door that had barely opened?

I forced myself to nod. "Okay."

An unreadable expression flashed across his face.

Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet as I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and turned toward the door.

My hand wrapped around the handle.

Just one more step and I would be out… away from him, away from those impossible blue eyes, and away from whatever this strange thing between us was.

I opened the door. "Have a good day, Professor."

His reply came a second later. "You too, Ms. Castillo." His tone sounded professional and distant like he wasn’t paying attention to me anymore.

Exactly the way it should be.

So why did my heart sink anyway?