I felt uncomfortable in my seat as he settled in his seat, putting on his seat belt. He seemed so uncomfortable and out of place on our economy flight. He had the money, he could’ve flown first class. I knew I would’ve. Fuck my students! I swallowed a huge slob of saliva as I shifted closer to the window. Anymore and I would be flying outside with the plane.It wasn’t unseemly for us to be on the same rows. It was an airplane, no one would think twice. Plus, we’d all been scattered across the seats which made me think I was quite hated by the universe. The probability of being seated with him was almost zero but there he was, almost skin to skin with me. “Do you hate me that much?” I turned to check if he’d actually spoken and I hadn’t misheard him. “What?” I spoke as softly as I could because I was shocked that he’d spoken to me. “If the window was open, you’ll be outside right now.” His shoulders slumped, a pained expression on his face and I wondered why. I hadn’t said or done
Kyle cleared his throat. “Studying for the presentation.” He raised my laptop up, but his eyes narrowed on his second arm dangerously close to my leg, leaving me confused. ‘What was his problem?’ I thought to myself, remaining in my position and not saying a word. “I see.” Kyle was completely oblivious to Jared’s change in demeanour because he was usually hard edged, but when you got to know him, you’d know that was a storm brewing behind his amber coloured eyes. “Well, carry on. Don’t stop on my account.” His voice, slightly edgy. That was it? I’d expected him to say something. ‘What? Something like that’s my woman, keep your hands off her? She’s mine? Oh, please. I can’t believe you’re still this delusional. He doesn’t want you.’ My mind could be so harsh sometimes, but it was somewhat a wake-up call. “Where were we?” I patted Kyle’s thigh and turned my back to Jared. It took a few seconds before I heard his retreating steps, but during that time, I felt naked. Like he saw mor
I'd been alone all night, Penelope hadn't returned. I picked up my phone and checked the time. It was 7:40 am and I hadn't received any new messages either.Even after bathing and dressing up in nice clothes, I still looked a mess.I dragged my exhausted ass out the door and bumped into Professor Alma.“Mother of...Why do you look like this?” She asked, concerned.She was the only one available, it seemed.“I couldn’t sleep last night.” It wasn’t a lie. I couldn’t, not when I could think about was if Penelope hadn’t returned because she was Jared.She pulled into her room and got out her makeup box. “Nerves?” I nodded. Now that was a lie. She sighed and her expression turned sad.She used a little concealer to cover up my dark circles and made sure I looked presentable enough to represent my entire school.She grabbed my jaw, a look of seriousness in her eyes.“You’re one of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever come across, all my years on earth. You’ll crush this.”Words of encourage
The whispers from the audience caused by unrest didn’t fail to be noticed by the judges. I looked up and regretted it almost immediately. Someone was running across the hall with something in hand and stopped at the feet of the judges’ table. There were people looking at me, and I just wanted to run out of the hall. Instead, I remained glued to my seat, my eyes on the floor. I wasn’t sure when another person mounted the podium, but the moment the person started speaking, my head snapped up. Jared and Professor Alma, who were furiously whispering to each other, also stopped to watch. It was a judge. The one who’d been the first to give a standing ovation. “For over 30 years that I have judged paper contests, I’ve never met someone worthy of the John Nemsen and Scholar award. We stopped making it ever since the contests became trivial.” The man pushed up his glasses and looked straight ahead, almost as if he was looking at me. “However, today, there is a school worthy of that award
“Jared, we can’t keep doing this.” Jared’s hands were dangerously low on my waist while one eye remained watchful on the door.“Jared?” I shook him when he didn’t reply. He was fast asleep.Fuck! What was I going to do? There was only one thing I could do. Leave the room and call someone. Someone like Dr Ramon and tell him that he’d mistaken our room for his since he was drunk and hoped to God that he wouldn’t put two and two together.I peeled his hands off me and he fell to the bed in a dull thump. I was the only thing keeping him upright. I quickly dressed up as fast as I could and tried to calm my nerves with no luck.With a racing heart, I made it to his room and rapped on the door.When there came no answer, I knocked again. Was no one around? I returned to the room having no idea what I could do. Anyone could walk in at any point in time. Penelope could.I remained in the lobby, just in case anyone I knew walked in and I could explain what happened.I wasn’t sure what time b
It felt like I was taking two steps at a time even though I’d initially wanted to not go. Even the darks clouds gathering couldn't stop me.Jared’s house loomed in front of me as I raised my hand to knock, but the door opened, like he’d been expecting me.I swallowed as I took one look at him. I could act tough all I wanted, but standing right in front of him, within touching distance, had shivers run down my spine.He opened the door wider to let me in. The house still felt familiar to me. Like I could almost walk around with my eyes closed. “Would you like to eat something?” He asked as I stood by the side and pulled the hood of my hoodie down. “Jared, I came here to talk, nothing more.” Lies, lies, lies but he didn’t need to know that. I saw him cringe but he said nothing as he found somewhere to seat. Somewhere with a little distance from me.“I...” Jared opened his mouth and closed it but no words came out. He was speechless? It was almost amusing to watch.“What?” His brows
I looked up at him and everything else fell away. I’d missed him so much and now that I was there, I didn’t know what to do with him. My eyes trailed over his every feature. His warm brown-almost golden eyes, his curly hair that he’d let over grow. I wanted to grab it and tangle my fingers in it. I bit my lower lip to restrain myself but Jared’s eyes snagged on them, his eyes darkening. WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT!“Can I kiss you?” His thumb released my bottom lip from the tight grip of my teeth and rubbed them, prying my lips open. I’d never heard a sexier sentence. I nodded. His hand trailed the back of my neck and gripped it, pulling me closer to his lips. I anticipated the feel of his lips and was not disappointed. I’d missed this. I grabbed his shirt by the side and opened my mouth to grant him entrance. I moaned into his mouth when I felt his hands roam the skin under my hoodie. I could bear the heat so I wrenched my lips free from his and pulled off my hoodie, leaving me in
Till the next day, I stayed naked under the sheets with Jared. He wouldn’t even let me go to pee, not until I threatened to leak all over him and even then, he just seemed nasty about it.“That’s very concerning.” I yelled at him after breaking free from his hold. His chuckle had me smiling though.Even I could tell I was glowing by the time I got back to my room.I was supposed to be at the Dean’s office by 10am sharp, looking well dressed too. I was suddenly curious about the last clause. What was going on?As I approached Alyssa’s office, she pulled me into a tight hug, making it difficult for me to breathe. I tapped her back continuously until she let me go.“I missed y... oh my! You’re glowing.” She whisper-yelled the last part out, briefly looking at her surroundings and then back at me. “What did you...” She trailed off and her eyes widened suddenly on realisation. She quickly pulled a chair closer and asked me to sit.“Tell me everything.”“Not right now, I need to see the De