9

Jennie's POV 

“Are you okay, babe?” Oliver asks and I blink twice.

My boyfriend’s arms are around me, but I’m still dazed, still throbbing for my professor, and still surprised at his appearance.

“Did that professor say something to you? Why are you so red? Are you feeling sick? Hold on, let me have a few words with him,” he says in an angry rush, and I grab his arm to make him stop.

He’s moving and talking too fast.

“Come on, Oliver. That's not necessary, he didn't do anything.” my voice cracks as I say those words.

My words are technically not the truth, but I can't tell Oliver that. Telling him the raw truth would break what we're building at the moment.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks softly and I nod. He still doesn’t believe me, so he looks over my head into the class, and I squeeze his biceps a little harder. This is already more awkward than it needs to be.

“Actually, I feel a little sick.” I lie to distract him, and he puts his arms around my waist protectively.

It hurts me to let this happen in front of the professor, but I don't fight it, I let Oliver hold me and lead me away.

As we walk down the student-filled hallway together, I look over my shoulder and catch a glimpse of the professor.

The older man is looking at me with hooded eyes. His head is slightly tipped backwards, and in those eyes, there’s something I can't read.

It’s clear that we want each other badly, but we dare not act on it. If we do, I could end up losing my future and he could end up losing his career.

“Stomach aches?” Oliver asks and I turn my head to him. “Huh?” I ask.

“Are you having stomach aches?” he asks again and I nod in agreement just to get him off my back.

“We'll get some food, but babe, you need to stop skipping meals. You’ll make me look like a bad boyfriend in public,” Oliver complains and I don't respond to him. 

What can I possibly say?

I'm sorry I haven't been able to stomach any sizable amount of food. And I’m sorry it’s because I did something wrong, so the guilt is taking up all the space in my stomach. Can I tell him that?

No.

The answer is a plain no.

“I’ll eat something” I murmur.

“How do you feel about hamburgers and milkshake?” he asks, and I smile at him before resting my head on his shoulder. Things will work out better for us if I keep playing the role of a faithful, supporting girlfriend.

“That sounds really good,” I say and he nods before leading us out of the building.

Oliver walks me to a car I'm unfamiliar with and I look up at him in confusion. 

“Huh…I thought we were going to have something in the campus cafe?” I ask and he lets out a laugh—it’s that breezy laugh that used to charm me—but instead of making me fawn like I used to do, I just frown at him.

“There's a better place nearby, and I wanted you to meet my friends. These are Rocky, Liam, and Josh.” Oliver points to the three guys sitting in the car and I'm suddenly ambushed in a hug.

What the hell?

I go stiff as Josh wraps his arms around me and lifts me off the ground.

“Hey! So you're the cool girlfriend he’s been yapping about all day, nice to meet you” the one named Liam says, and I stare at Oliver with disbelief.

He knows I'm introverted.

He knows how I feel about new people suddenly invading my space. And I'm sure as hell he knows I don't appreciate being hugged by a stranger I didn't permit.

“She's joining us at the cafe today, isn't that cool?” Oliver asks as he throws his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into his side for a hug.

I want to scream at him in rage, but I keep it inside. I'm so mad at him right now.

“Actually, I'm not hungry right now” I say, peeling myself away from his side.

“What? Come on, what about your bellyache?” he asks with a tender look on his face and I give him a tightlipped smile. “I’ll manage” I say and walk away.

I don’t want to talk to him for the rest of the day after this, but it really hurts that he isn’t coming after me.

I fold my arms across my chest and storm off.

Quietly, I attended class, met a few nice people and returned to the place he dropped me this morning. We had agreed to always go home together.

The sun sinks in the sky when Oliver finally shows up with the car. He pulls up in front of me and gives me a grin that I don’t return. I open the door by myself and get into the passenger’s seat without saying a word to him.

“Seriously?” he asks after a few seconds of silence.

“You’re fucking giving me a cold shoulder just because I asked you to hang with my friends?” he continues to ask and I look out the window.

“Jennie, I’m trying okay. I’m trying my best to win you. I’m trying to show you I’m trustworthy by showing you who I hang with,” he says and my heart starts to ache.

“I didn’t want you to be left out…I…are you still mad at me because of the mistake?” he asks and I snap my head in his direction.

“No,” I say too quickly and breathe out to compose myself, “no, it’s not because of that” I say and he sinks into the seat.

“I don’t want to lose you baby. I need you,” he says softly and I force myself to look at him.

“I know…” I say weakly, “…I need you too.” I add my painful truth.

I hope I never have a reason to fall into the professor again.