I didn’t necessarily want to leave Alex’s apartment, but if I didn’t leave now, I never would. I had finally managed to put my clothes back on, and if I stuck around for much longer, he would talk me out of them again.

“I’ve got to get back to my dorm and do some homework,” I said. “I guess I’ll see you in class. Is it going to be weird?”

“Are you going to make it weird?” he asked.

“No,” I said, but I didn’t really know to how act as though I hadn’t been sleeping with my professor. I wasn’t really aware of how I acted in class before we met, so I had no reference to go off of.

“Then it won’t be weird,” he said firmly. “Why are we talking about this now? I was going to drive you home.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” I said, slipping on my shoes. “I’ll take the train.”

“What? No,” he replied. “At the very least, take a cab. I’ll pay for it.”

I raised an eyebrow. “It’s the train. I take it all the time and I’ve survived this long. Aren’t you a little young to be my sugar daddy? I don’t have any experience with those things, but I always imagined those were middle aged men with much younger women.”

“Cab fare hardly qualifies me as such. Really, it’s nothing,” he said, pulling cash from his wallet.

I took it, only because he was so insistent. I hated taking his money, especially for something petty like cab fare, but my budget didn’t really allow for such luxurious transportation methods.

I wasn’t sure what to do as I prepared to leave his place. Did I give him a wave as I walked out of his apartment, or did I give him a passionate kiss? I wasn’t sure what we were, so I didn’t know how to behave. In his apartment, we were in our own little world. On the outside, we were pretend boyfriend and girlfriend, professor and student, friends and friends with benefits. I was just as confused as I had been the night of our ill-fated date, but with even more complications now.

Luckily, Alex answered the question for me. He strode forward and gave me a nice goodbye kiss. I loved the way his big hands wrapped around my waist when he got close to me. It was so tender and sweet.

“I’ll see you around,” he said with a wink.

I went to the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor, watching him disappear as the shiny doors closed in front of my face. I leaned against the wall, the same one where he pressed his body against mine not long ago. How could I ever return to normal after this weekend? This was by far the strangest week of my life. There had been tears, laughs, and cries of pleasure. I had learned insider secrets and learned more about the mysterious Alex Rye. I had done zero school work and lots of flirting. I left Alex’s apartment a changed woman.

Feeling pretty hot after a sensual weekend, I strutted out of the elevator like a model on the catwalk. I was wearing yesterday’s outfit from the secondhand store, but I might as well have been wearing Prada. I felt powerful and unstoppable. I did, until I heard a voice from the lobby.

“Rebecca?” a high pitched man’s voice asked. At first, I ignored it because there was no way anyone knew me there. It was likely someone else. But, when I heard my name again, I slowly turned around.

Standing behind me, slightly dumbfounded, was one on my classmates.

“Kevin?” I asked, trying to remember his name. I had talked to him on a few occasions, but I didn’t know him well.

“I didn’t know you lived here,” he said.

I wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or earnest. He furrowed his brow and pushed his dark rimmed glasses up his nose at the same time.

“I didn’t know you lived here,” I parroted, laughing nervously. I wasn’t sure how to play this off. He must have known that Alex lived in this building. I wasn’t sure if I was playing if off smoothly, or lying myself into a corner.

“I don’t live here,” he scoffed. “I was visiting my older sister and her husband. There’s no way I could even begin to afford a one bedroom in this place.”

“Oh, yeah, huh,” I muttered, working on an exit strategy. “Well, I’ve got to run. I’ll see you in class this week.”

I practically ran out of the building, my heart pounding in my ears. I grabbed the first cab I could get, nearly walking through traffic in the process. I muttered my address to the driver and slunk back into my seat. Back to reality.

Would Kevin make the connection between Alex and me? If he did, would he cause a scene? Ordinarily, it might not be a huge deal, especially if it would be hard to prove, but Alex was gearing up to give me a pretty big internship. If Kevin suspected anything, he could easily get the both of us into trouble.

I really didn’t want to text Alex so soon, but this was an emergency. With my fingers trembling, I typed out a quick message and prayed for a fast response.

I saw one of my classmates in your lobby. I think it’s pretty obvious I don’t live here. What do I do?

I took ten deep breaths as I waited for the response. I jumped as the phone buzzed in my hands.

Calm down. I’m sure it’s not a big deal. How would he know you were there to see me? What did you say?

I don’t know. I just kind of panicked and mumbled a bunch of stuff. There was a picture of you standing outside of your building on the cover of United Airlines’ magazine.

This time, it took a few more minutes to get a response. I was feeling queasy.

Chill out. I don’t even know any of those other students. It’s going to be fine. Don’t worry about it. Just think of me, and how much I rocked your world this weekend.

I wasn’t particularly reassured by this, but I had no other option but to wait until class this week and see what happened. There was no point in him telling me to chill out. That just wasn’t in my nature.

Back at my dorm, I was too worried to even remember that I promised Carol I would tell her everything. She grabbed me as I went to my room and basically sat on me until I spilled all of my secrets. I gave a linear retelling of my weekend, starting with some details about Friday’s dinner and ending with our soak in the hot tub earlier that morning.

“I can’t believe this,” Carol said in shock. “My little Rebecca is having an affair with her millionaire teacher!”

“Ugh, I don’t think it’s an ‘affair’, really,” I groaned. “He’s only a few years older than us. And, it’s not like he’s attached to anyone else.”

“It’s scandalous and I want to hear more,” she gushed. “I don’t know if I approve of your choice of mate, but it sure makes for interesting stories. Is he good to you?”

“Yeah, he’s been great, actually. I’ve had a good time with him. It’s too bad it’s over.”

“What?” Carol squawked. “But I need more stories! How am I going to get through the rest of the semester without some entertainment?”

I half-smiled. “Sorry. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea to keep seeing him like this. We could get caught.”

“Do you like him?” she sang.

I chewed my lip. My first instinct was yes—I did like him. But, I was afraid to admit it to anyone, even my close friends.

“You do, don’t you?” she squealed.

I sighed loudly. “I don’t know. I just don’t know what to think. I think I like him, but then I don’t think anything more will come of this. It can’t, right? Before long, I won’t be his student anymore. There won’t be any excuse to see him. Besides, he’ll move on from me eventually.”

Carol held up her hand to silence me. “I didn’t ask if you guys were going to get married at the end of the semester and move in together. I’m just asking if you like him.”

“Yeah, I think so,” I said shakily.

She grinned. “This is too rich. You’ve got to hang out with him again.”

“I’ve got to study,” I said, getting up from my seat. I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach again at the thought of being in class with Alex and Kevin. I had too many distractions already. I didn’t really need the threat of being expelled before graduation added on top of that.

“Sure,” Carol giggled. “I’m sure you’re just going to call your boyfriend.”

I rolled my eyes at her. I didn’t have the energy for anything else. I curled up on my bed and tried to push out all of the bad feelings with good memories. My mind went to how we cuddled on the couch together, watching TV and talking about nothing in particular. It had all been so nice while it lasted.