Chapter Twenty-Five
Noah
I nursed a hot coffee while I made my way across campus to the English Department. Only a few students were out and about on the campus, but I had been up for hours already thinking about the recent exchanged I’d had with Iris.
We had both agreed to keep a low profile when it came to things between us, but there was still a high risk of getting caught. The only times Iris insisted that we could get intimate were away from campus, and I grudgingly let the idea of bending Iris over my desk again go. She was right about that part.
I crossed a dewy patch of grass before I heard my name being called repeatedly from somewhere behind me. Dread curled in my stomach when I recognized the owner of the voice. For a moment, I debated on hurrying up my stride while pretending I didn’t hear him, but footsteps approached me quickly from behind.
“Mr. Webber! Mr. Webber!”
I turned slowly to find Miles jogging across the pathway to catch up with me. His pale face was flushed when he finally reached my side.
“You move too fast for someone who has an ACL injury,” he panted out, placing a hand on his chest. “I’ve been calling your name out since the parking lot.”
“Sorry. I didn’t hear you,” I said, watching his expression with wariness. There were only two reasons why he would be calling after me, and I didn’t want to deal with either one of those reasons. “I have to get to class, Dean. It starts in ten minutes-”
“Of course,” he said, still panting. “I’ll make it fast, then.”
I gritted my teeth. “Right. What is it that I can help you with?”
“I’ve been talking with the boys on the rugby team.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes in exasperation. “They have a key game coming up soon. I told them that maybe if your schedule is open that you could-”
“With all due respect, Dean,” I cut in smoothly, “you hired me as a professor. I have focused all my attention into teaching students here. My freshman class is in desperate need of tutoring, so I have been focused on helping them anyway possible outside of class.”
I’d expected some sort of argument to follow, but Miles’s lips thinned into a tight line. His eyebrows knitted together, as well.
I swallowed down the bulge in my throat. I had no idea if Miles had any suspicions about what had happened. It was an unspoken agreement between Iris and myself to not talk about our situation with other people. The only person who knew about it didn’t even set foot anywhere near the PHU campus.
I didn’t regret my relationship with Iris. Now that I had her, I had no intentions of ever letting her go. I only worried about her reputation.
“I’ve heard you’ve become quite the popular teacher here,” Miles said, and it was hard to read the tone in his voice. Panic steadily rose in me. “Some of the other professors here have expressed concern that you might be becoming too popular.”
“Too popular?” I repeated, dubiously. “It’s a crime here to have students actually like you and enjoy your class?”
“No, it’s not a crime. However, I won’t tolerate rumors of relationships, if you catch my message, Mr. Webber. Remember the discussion we had before you arrived here.” He looked at me seriously for a moment. “Just keep yourself professional at all times. I’d hate to cut strings with someone like you.”
“You’d cut strings without knowing the entire story?”
“I have before,” he said, a bit too coldly for my liking. “Keep that in mind, Mr. Webber. We have a reputation here at PHU that I’d like to keep clean. Now, think about that rugby team will you? The boys would be heartbroken if you turned me down again.”
He clapped me on the shoulder before turning to go back in the direction he had come from. I turned to resume my path to the English Department and tried to shake off the conversation.
“Fuck,” I swore quietly. “I didn’t tell the persistent son-of-a-bitch that I wasn’t going to help out the team.”
I made a mental note to email Miles later in the afternoon. As I had hoped, Iris was already seated in her desk when I stepped into the classroom. The center of her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink when I met her gaze with a grin. She looked beautiful in her usual attire of skin-tight leggings and a simple shirt that said PHU on the front.
It took all my self-control to not dismiss class, take Iris up into my office, and have my way with her on my desk again. I still pictured that look on her face when she had finally gone off the edge…skin flushed and biting her lower lip to keep quiet.
I shook those images away before I could get entirely aroused. Class went smoothly as I let everyone break up into groups to discuss the reading assignment. It gave me time to grade the papers I had forgotten to grade Wednesday since Iris had come into my office.
“Professor Webber.”
I looked up to find one of my students, Melinda Grace, standing in front of my desk. She batted her eyelashes at me while leaning down on my desk with her palms. It gave me quite the impressive view of small breasts through the top of her blouse.
“I was wondering if I could get into the tutoring sessions with you,” she said. “These readings are a bit complicated for me to understand.”
I leant back in my chair at the sultry tones in her voice. Over Melinda’s shoulder, I caught sight of Iris’ amused eyes.
“I’m sure we can arrange that, Melinda,” I said. “I have a few other students who will be getting together for tutoring later this afternoon.”
Her eyes narrowed in disappointment. “I was hoping that you could tutor me personally, Professor Webber. You’re so smart.”
Iris burst into a fit of coughing that sounded suspiciously like veiled laughter. Too popular. Those two words echoed in the back of my head as I looked up at Melinda in exasperation.
“I will be at the tutoring sessions this afternoon,” I said. “Please stop by if you need the extra help.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but shut it after I arched an eyebrow at her. I looked to where Iris was gathering her own things while talking with a few other students. She paused briefly by my desk, a teasing glint in her eyes.
“See you for tutoring today, Professor Webber?” she asked, sweetly.
Not the type of tutoring I hoped for. I forced a smile on my face though well aware of other students lingering about the classroom.
“If you want a passing grade,” I commented.
“That I do. See you later this afternoon.”
I loathed the fact that there would be other students there, but I needed to keep professional now – especially after what Miles had said to me. I nodded goodbye to Iris while I gathered my own books. I stepped out into the hallway right as Kale emerged from the office with a thick stack of papers in hand.
“Your senior seems to have a better attitude these days,” he said. “I overheard her offering help to another student with your class assignment.”
I shrugged my shoulders as we walked up the stairs to our offices. I didn’t want to tell Kale what had happened with Miles this morning, even though that conversation burned in the back of my mind. I kept my mouth shut as we passed by a few other professors’ offices, their doors open as always.
“She’s been doing well in tutoring, too,” I said, casually as possible. “I hope she’ll keep up the good work. I don’t want to be the reason why she doesn’t graduate.”
“You won’t be,” he said. “It’s only a student’s fault if they don’t pass a class because they didn’t do any of the work.”
I looked away from Kale to hide the heaviness I felt settling on my shoulders. I will be the reason why she doesn’t graduate. I couldn’t shake that thought out of my head. It wouldn’t be because Iris didn’t fail a class; it’d be because we had let passion blind us, and now we were eager to let it burn us.
Only a few weeks though, as Iris had put it. In a few weeks, we could go crazy on one another without the fear of losing my job or getting expelled.
I just didn’t know if I could keep away from Iris for that long.
“Maybe,” I said. “I think there is a lot more to it than that.”
“Well, whatever you did, it worked,” he said. “You must’ve given her the grade she had been hoping for.”
I could feel my cheeks burning. I didn’t bother responding to Kale’s comment. I let out a relieved breath the second my office door closed. Images of Iris spread out on my desk from the previous day went through my head again. A few pens were still scattered on the floorboards. I could still hear Iris’ muffled whimpers echoing in the room.
“Fuck,” I breathed out, rubbing at sweat beading my forehead. “What did I get us both into?”