I’m still in dreamland with this girl as we unlock the door and head back down to the party. It’s still the madhouse it was before, but I’m barely aware of it as we move through the crowd.

If there was any weirdness before about me being here with her, even with the mask, considering our ages, people either don’t care, or are too drunk to give a shit anymore. Which is fine with me, because all I want to do is head back to my house and bury my tongue Ellie’s pussy.

And we get so damn close to making that happen. In fact, we get to the front lawn before the shit hits the fucking fan.

“So, what, this is the dude you decide to fuck instead of me?”

I can feel Ellie’s grip tighten on my arm. Yeah, I recognize that voice. I turn to see a very drunk looking Ted - that shitbag ex of hers - leering at us as he stumbles down the front steps of the frat house. Even though I know that this fuckwad never got to even touch her, just sight of him brings me to a red rage. Yeah, he might not have gotten a taste of this girl, but I know he tried, and I know he’s thought about it, and that right there is enough to bring out the damn caveman in me.

“Walk away,” I growl, narrowing my eyes through the mask at him. I turn, and start to lead Ellie away from this loser, when suddenly she’s gasping as she pulls right out of my arm.

I whirl, the red rage hot in my face as I see Ted with his fucking hand on Ellie’s arm, holding her tight and leering at her.

“You get your fucking hands off of her,” I growl as I pull Ellie gently away from him and then shove Ted a step back, my eyes flashing at him as my fists raise.

He flips me off. “Listen old man, fuck off. No one invited you here.”

I can feel the blood roaring in my veins, but I push the heat down, forcing myself to breathe. Yeah, I want to pound this little shit’s face in, right here in front of everyone. Yeah, I could wipe that smug little prick smile off his face right here and knock him on his punk ass in front of all his little friends.

But I force myself to breathe.

Don’t make a scene. Just walk away with her and leave this shitbag to his bullshit.

“I invited him,” Ellie says with an edge to her voice.

Ted snorts. “Yeah well that’s cause you’re a slut with daddy issues.”

I don’t think, I just do.

I don’t even really remember the first hit later, but I remember the satisfaction in seeing the blood come pouring out of Ted’s nose as he goes stumbling backwards. He jumps back faster than I’d have given him credit for, and suddenly he’s rushing right into me and knocking us both down.

And then the crowd goes fucking ape-shit, of course. People are cheering and yelling and pumping their fists in the air as we grapple on the ground, and I can hear Ellie screaming. Ted gets one lucky hit in, but then I’ve got him on his back, and I’m letting my fist crash across his smug face again and again.

And slowly, I’m aware that the cheering has stopped, and it’s dead quiet.

I look up, Ted’s toga still in my fist and realize everyone is staring at me.

“Professor Martin?” A guy to my right who I also recognize from a class of mine is staring at me with his jaw dropped, and it’s then that I look down and see my mask, lying on the ground.

Oh shit.

Suddenly, there are sirens, and four campus safety cars screeching to a halt in front of the frat house as students start to scatter. The scene is pure chaos, but somehow, it’s like I’m in this tunnel as I just drop Ted and stand, and lock eyes with Ellie.

And she looks as scared as I feel.

“Officer! Officer!” Ted’s up and screaming, holding his bloody nose, his eyes wild as he flails his arms in the air.

Fuck. Fuck-fuck-fuck. I’m a Goddamn teacher, with my knuckles bloody from the student I just hit, wearing a fucking toga on the lawn of a frat house.

Oh, right, and my barely legal student girlfriend’s pussy I can still taste on my tongue is standing three feet away from me.  Yeah, this is bad.

The campus cops are surrounding us, eyes flicking between Ted and I as they shine flashlights over the two of us.

“Officers!” Ted’s near hysterics, and part of me wants to grin at how much of a pussy he is after getting hit, but there’s no place for smiling right now.

“This man is harassing young students.”

The cop in charge raises his brow and looks at me, but Ellie is stepping between us and lacing her fingers through mine. “That’s not true-”

“He’s a professor here!” Ted says shrilly. “He works here and he’s been fucking her!” He spits the last words out, sneering at Ellie in a way that makes me want to knock him down all over again. “She’s a student here and this guy’s been fucking her.”

And there’s the hammer coming down.

The scene goes quiet, and the cops and the few older students who didn’t feel are all slowly turning to stare at Ellie and I. It’s literally everything I never wanted to happen; it’s the nightmare of being found out like this, and it’s happening right here in front of my face.

“Now, hang on,” I say gruffly, holding my hands up.

The cop shines his flashlight into my face, cutting me off as he turns to Ellie. “Miss, do you go to school here?”

Her face is white, but her lips are pressed together, not saying a damn thing.

“Miss?”

“She does!” Ted spits out. He sneers at me. “She’s a freshman.”

The cops turn back to me, looking even more somber, when one of the backup guys steps forward, and I groan as I realize I recognize him from late-night patrols around the English department.

“Yeah, chief, I know this guy. He’s that writer; the English professor.”

The guy in charge suddenly looks at me with recognition, and he narrows his eyes at me as he suddenly reaches for the taser on his belt. “Step away from the girl, Mr. Martin.”

But I’m not letting go, and neither is she. I can feel her pulse racing where our hands are clasped, and I can feel her fingers squeezing hard.

“Step away, sir,” the cop says again, and the group of them start to move towards us.

“Fuck off,” I growl.

Which is really the last thing you should say to a group of cops.

I can hear Ellie screaming as they yank her away when they tackle me, and it only fuels my fury as I try and shake them off and get back to her. But there are three of them holding me down, and all I can do is strain against them and roar as a female officer drags Ellie away to one of the cars.

And then she’s gone, and I’m still raging to get free, still roaring at them to fuck off and let me be when they slap the cuffs on and drag me away.

But the worse part is, I don’t get to say it. The worse part is, the words that’ve been bubbling to the surface for weeks now - the words I’ve never said to anyone - are right there.

Only now it’s too late.