Chapter 4.
"What?!" I asked her incredulously.
She looked up at the ceiling and spoke slowly.
"Did you put ecstasy in the tea?"
"No!" I exclaimed. Gemma stared me down.
"Dahlia, I'm going to ask you one more time. Did you put ecstasy in the tea?!"
"Yes!" I blurted out, instantly regretting it after seeing Gemma's face turn red with anger.
"Why would you do that? What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She demanded. I bit my lip, trying to figure out what to say.
"I knew that you two would hit it off and I just wanted to give you a little push..." I said lamely.
"She's married!" Gemma screamed at me. "You made her cheat on her husband!" Woah, let's not give me too much credit.
"I didn't make her do anything. She wanted to do that. The ecstasy just made her less inhibited," I said. Gemma shook her head.
"I can't believe you," she said and turned around, stomping away.
"Do you want to get lunch with me in the dining hall?" I yelled at her back. Gemma answered by slamming her bedroom door and turning her music on with the volume all the way up.
"I guess not," I said to myself. I looked down at my phone at my last text from Richard and texted back:
‘Since I ate your food, do you want to meet me for lunch in the dining hall?’
He texted back:
‘Sure! :)’
I smiled and wrote back:
‘Ok, I'll see you soon!’
I got up and left the apartment without another word to Gemma. She'd get over it. She just needed some time to cool off. But when I got back to the apartment after having lunch with Richard, she still wasn't talking to me. It was a long weekend with Gemma giving me the silent treatment. I wondered how long she planned on holding this up. Since Gemma wouldn't talk to me, and I wasn't talking to Professor Moore, Richard and I had been texting all weekend. I really liked him. Not as much as I liked Professor Moore, but enough. When Monday came along, Gemma left for class before I woke up and I ended up walking to class alone. When I got there, on time this time, Richard had saved me a seat beside him. This definitely cheered me up. We flirted off and on throughout class which got us glares from Professor Moore. When we critiqued our sketches, Professor Moore ripped mine a new ass and told me that he needed to speak to me after class and to come to his office.
When class was over, Richard whispered to me, "that was harsh," in reference to Professor Moore's critique on my sketch. I waved it away to show that I couldn't care less.
"I haven't eaten, meet me for breakfast in the dining hall?" I asked him. He said yea and we parted ways. I headed down to Professor Moore's office. When I got there, he was already in there waiting for me with the door open.
"Please, close the door behind you," he instructed. I did as I was told and sat on the chair across from him. He had his hands teepee atop his desk looking at me with disapproval. I almost laughed.
"I feel as though your little boyfriend is distracting you," he began. I rolled my eyes long and hard.
"You have got to be kidding me," I said.
"No I'm very serious and I don't want to see your grades suffer as a result," he continued. Now I was getting annoyed.
"Yea right! I'm the best artist in that class. Including you!" I added with a smirk.
"It's not about talent, it's about effort and your grades will reflect your efforts in my class," he said sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest. I did the same.
"I know what this is about. You're just jealous and mad because I'm showing Richard more attention then you!" I snapped. Professor Moore raised his eyebrows.
"Are you trying to make me jealous?" He asked. I didn't answer, I just gave him an exasperated look. "Is it because I'm married?"
"That definitely has a little something to do with it," I said sarcastically, looking out the window.
"I'll get a divorce," he said. I looked at him incredulously.
"Yea right! After just one fuck you're trying to convince me that you'll leave your wife?! You must think I'm stupid!" I was genuinely offended.
"It has nothing to do with the sex," he said. I rolled my eyes. He leaned forward and put his hands on the desk, reaching for mine, but I kept my arms crossed. "Dahlia, we have a connection." He was really starting to piss me off.
"You're just saying that because you don't want me fucking Richard!" I spat the words out and he cringed.
"Are you having sex with Richard?" He asked me.
"That's none of your business," I said looking out of the window again.
"Dahlia, I've never felt this way about anyone before, not even my wife. My wife and I haven't been intimate in a very long time," he told me.
"Save it. I don't want to hear it. As long as you're still married, there will be nothing going on between you and I. I'm no one’s side chick!" I said, standing up abruptly. I grabbed my things and left, shutting his door behind me. I was so mad that I was shaking. I had to get out of there.
Professor Moore text me:
‘Divorces take time.’
Before I could stop myself, I text him back:
‘Well maybe this will help speed up the process’
and sent him the pictures of his wife and Gemma. Moments later, he started calling my phone nonstop, but I didn't answer. It started raining and I had to run home. I realized that I was crying. I had got myself in a mess! I let the rain wash away my tears.
By the time I walked in our apartment, I was all wet. Gemma was there making tea. She looked like she wanted to make a snarky remark, but when she saw how sad I looked, she decided against it.
"Want some tea? I won't drug yours," she offered. This was the first thing that Gemma had said to me in days. She was trying to make me smile but I wasn't in much of a smiling mood. I sat down at the table and she put a mug with a teabag and hot water before me. Then she went in the refrigerator to get the almond milk and brought over the sugar and spoons. We made our tea in silence. Meanwhile, my phone was vibrating like crazy in my pocket. I put it on silent. Gemma's phone vibrated on the table and she smiled at it, picking it up and texting someone back.
"Sharon and I have been talking all weekend," she said happily. At this, my ears perked up. "We're planning on meeting up again. For a real date this time." I genuinely smiled at Gemma. This was good news. Maybe I hadn't made a mess after all, maybe everything would work out for the best.
"That's great Gemma. I'm happy for you," I told her. Then I remembered something that made me jump up out of my seat. "I'm supposed to be meeting Richard for breakfast!" I exclaimed as I rushed into my room to change out of these wet clothes. Gemma followed me and stood in the doorway watching me.
"Who's Richard?" She asked me.
"This guy from my Figure Drawing class," I answered her as I got dressed. Gemma nodded thoughtfully. Once I was dressed, I rushed past her, then doubled back and hugged her. "Thank you!" I said and then let her go and preparing to leave.
"For what?" She called after me but I didn't answer. It had stopped raining but the ground was still wet as I hurried down the hill to campus, hoping that I hadn't kept Richard waiting too long. On my way to the dining hall, a deep voice called my name. It was Professor Moore. I ignored him and tried to keep walking but he caught up with me and grabbed me by the arm, steering me into one of the academic buildings. He didn't let me go until we were inside an empty classroom with the door closed.
"We need to talk," he told me.
"You need to be talking to your wife, not me," I said.
"How did you get those pictures?" He demanded.
"Does it matter?! Will it change the fact that she cheated on you?" I snapped. Professor Moore looked pained and I felt guilty for hurting him like this, but now that my guard was up, it was going to be hard for it to go back down.
"We've already talked about divorce. I'm going to see my lawyer this week," he said it like it was supposed to make me feel better. "Dahlia please, look at me." I looked him in the eyes and saw his sincerity. "I love you," he said. Those three words were like a wrecking ball to my defenses.
"Don't say it if you don't mean it," I told him.
"I do mean it," he said. "And to show you that I'm serious, I got you something." He pulled a little black box out of his jacket pocket. When he opened it, there was a ring inside. It was rose gold with a cluster of pink diamonds arranged into a flower. The ring was beautiful, but I didn't understand what it meant.
"If you're not going to propose to me, please do not get down on one knee," I told him. He smiled and removed the ring from the box.
"This is a promise ring," he told me. He took my hand in his and slid the ring onto my finger. I loved how it looked, although I didn't want him to know it.
"A promise of what?" I asked him.
"A promise of forever. A promise that you are the only one to ever make my heart feel like this and that you are the only one who ever will. A promise that one day soon, you will be my wife," he told me. I fought a smile. This was all very convincing but I wasn't sure if I could trust him. Lots of married men make empty promises of divorces that never happen. I just didn't want to be naive.
"I don't know," I said. He took my other hand, holding them both. The ring looked beautiful on my hand.
"You don't have to. Not until I prove it to you and I will prove it to you," he said. Professor Moore pulled me to him and wrapped me in his embrace. I allowed myself to be held and eventually held him back, feeling the tension melt from within me.
"Don't let me down," I whispered through tears.
"I won't," he assured me as he stroked my hair. I could feel his dick hardening against me and I suppressed a smile. I liked how much I turned him on. Professor Moore's hands slid down my body as he moaned into my hair. I nuzzled his neck and then licked it.
"Not here. Someone might see us," he said, but his hands were under my skirt and panties, caressing my ass.
"Then where?" I asked. I wanted so badly to resist him but I couldn't. He was still married, I kept trying to remind myself, but to no avail. I needed him too desperately. I slowly dropped down myself to my knees, looking up at him as I unbuckled his belt and pulled his hard dick out of his pants.
"What are you doing?" He asked in a daze. I didn't answer him. Instead, I licked the tip of his dick. He shuddered and moaned. "We shouldn't." I begged to differ, and clearly, so did his dick. I wrapped my lips around his head, tasting the pre-cum on my tongue. Slowly, I slid more and more of him into my wet mouth until my nose was pushed up against his pelvis. Professor Moore was holding handfuls of my hair as he guided me back and forth. I stuffed him into my mouth until I gagged and he begged me to stop. A trail of drool connected my wet mouth to his dick as I pulled it all the way out only to shove it all the way back in. Professor Moore could barely stand and had to hold onto a desk to keep his balance.
"Oh my God," he moaned. I grabbed hold of his shaft with both my hands, loving the way my new ring looked as I stroked. "Fuck!" He exclaimed, as he lost control. His body shook and he closed his hands, raising his head to heaven as he came in my mouth. I didn't release his dick until he was finished, making sure that I swallowed every drop. When he had regained control of his body, he pulled me up to him and kissed me passionately. His dick was still hard and sucking it had made me wet. "I need to fuck you," he told me. I wanted to bring him back to my place, but it was too risky. What if Gemma was there? What if he recognized it from the pictures? I bit my lip as I thought. There was nowhere else to go.
"Let's go to my place," I finally suggested.
"Ok, I'll meet you there. Text me the address," he told me.
"Ok," I agreed. I turned to go, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back into a kiss that made my heart beat quicken. All I could think about was him inside of me. "I love you," I told him before I could stop myself.
"I love you too," he told me.
I exited the classroom and then the building. What the fuck was I doing? This was crazy! I knew that this had the potential to backfire, but I didn't care. I took out my phone and text Professor Moore my address. After I pressed send, I heard someone call my name. It was Richard! He was leaving the dining hall and jogged over to catch up with me.
"Hey, what happened to us meeting up for lunch?" He asked me. I suddenly felt terrible for dragging him into my bullshit.
"Um sorry about that," I began trying to quickly think up an excuse. "I had to meet with my professor." Richard nodded understandingly.
"Well, what are you doing later?" He asked. I bit my lip uncertainly.
"Richard, I don't want to lead you on. I'm already seeing someone. I'm sorry," I told him. He looked crushed but simply nodded his head.
"It's cool. A pretty girl like you, I knew I couldn't have been your only admirer," he said. I smiled. Richard was really sweet. He deserved better.
"Well I'll see you in class," I said.
"See you."
I sighed as I started walking again. As I trekked up the hill home, I texted Gemma to find out where she was. When she texted me back saying that she was in the apartment I groaned. I was hoping she'd be gone. I entered the apartment building and then went up the steps to our floor. I tried to think of a way to get rid of Gemma as I unlocked the apartment door. When I walked in, she was putting on her jacket.
"Where are you going?" I asked her. She grinned at me.
"On a date," she said smugly. I looked dumbfounded.
"With who?" I demanded.
"With Sharon," she told me. My jaw dropped in disbelief. Gemma's eyes dropped down to my ring. Now it was her jaws turn to drop as she grabbed my hand to get a better look.
"Whoa! Who gave you this bad boy?" She asked.
"A friend," I answered vaguely. Gemma raised an eyebrow skeptically and put her hands on her hips.
"I'm your friend and I'm not buying you diamond rings," she pointed out. Before I could say anything else, her phone began ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the screen, smiling big when she saw who it was. She looked back up at me. "I've gotta go but we'll definitely talk about this later. Hello?" She said answering her phone and opening the door.
"Have fun on your date!" I called after her as she left. I pulled out my phone and called Professor Moore. "Where are you?" I demanded when he answered.
"I'm almost to your building," he answered. I breathed out a sigh of relief. That was a close one. Luckily Professor Moore hadn't run into Gemma because that could've been disastrous. "I'm parking around the corner now," he said, interrupting my thoughts.
"Ok, I'm coming downstairs now," I told him. I left the apartment and ran down the stairs. When I opened the front door of the building and looked out, I saw Professor Moore walking toward me. I smiled and he smiled back. I held the door open for him and he followed me inside and up the stairs to my apartment. As we walked inside the apartment, I hoped that he wouldn't recognize anything from those pictures I had sent him. I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him out of the living room as fast as I could but I couldn't stop him from looking around.
"Let's go to my room before my roommate gets back," I told him. He let me drag him into my bedroom and I shut the door behind us. When he started looking around my room, I blushed. "Sorry it's a mess in here, I wasn't expecting to have company," I told him. He smiled at me reassuringly and took off his jacket.