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„I was doing what’s best for you,” he insists. „Trust me, it wasn’t easy.”
„Oh, is that why you were so engaged with that woman?” I ask, as I cross my arms in front of my chest. „She’s good-looking, isn’t she?”
He glares at me, and I notice how his hands curl into fists. But he doesn’t say anything.
„Why are you here?” I want to know. „Why did you follow me? Is it because you were jealous?”
„It sounds like you are the one who was jealous,” he says, and the hint of a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.
I huff. „That’s not what I…no, you started it!”
I know I sound like a little kid right now, but I’m just lost with him, I really am.
The sound of a door opening and closing is coming from the right, and we both turn to look that way, while he takes a step back to put some distance between us. For a few seconds, we just stand there, both holding our breath, as we wait to see if someone is coming around the corner. But whoever just left the auditorium is not coming our way, but decided to take the exit that leads out into the cold.
„Here’s the thing,” Professor Jones says in such a low voice, that I find myself leaning in closer to understand him better. „I can’t focus when I’m around you,” he goes on. „I can’t think straight and I can’t do my job well, especially with the way you’ve been behaving in class.”
He pauses for a moment, and his face darkens when I smirk at him. I noticed the way he tried not to look at me, and the way his whole body tensed when he made the mistake of looking, as I crossed my legs for his benefit. But I had no idea that I was getting to him this much.
„You’re playing a dangerous game, Claire,” he whispers, and I feel a rush of heat flooding my entire body. „I can’t go on like this.”
Neither can I, and my heart flutters with excitement, when he gets closer to me.
„So, what do you propose we do?” I ask.
He clears his throat and checks the hallway one more time before looking back at me with sinister eyes.
„Here’s what’s going to happen,” he says. „You’re going to go back inside that auditorium and tell your little friend that you’re tired and want to go home. Then, you will grab your coat and leave.”
„What if he wants to bring me home?” I ask, my heart beating so wildly that I’m starting to feel dizzy.
„Then you tell him no,” he says. „If he won’t leave you alone, you threaten to report him. Harassment is not taken lightly at this institution.”
I nod. „Okay.”
„Then, you will walk out and leave toward the exit close to the science center on Oxford Street. There will be a cab waiting for you. If you get into that cab, you’re mine, and we will bring an end to this torture. It’s up to you. You’re free to go home, or to stay at that dance and do whatever you please. But if you get into that cab…”
„What about all the things you said before?” I want to know. „What has changed?”
„Those things are all still valid,” he says, closing his eyes for a moment before he fixes me with an intense stare. „You know what that means, right?”
„No one can know,” I say.
„Right,” he says. „Which means, you have to be able to trust me. And I have to be able to trust you.”
There’s a shadow cast over his expression when he looks at me now. A shadow of sadness and betrayal. Is this just fear, or is this not the first time for him to do something like this?
„Do you trust me?” he asks.
I bite my lower lip, as I fight to maintain eye contact with him. He is so hard to read, and there’s a voice inside my head that tries to warn me. But that voice is just plain and pure reason, and has little to do with what I desire. My heart and my gut sing a different tune—a much more appealing tune, if I’m honest.
„Yes, sir,” I say eventually. „I trust you. And you can trust me.”
„Can I?” he asks.
I narrow my eyes. „You can. I have too much to lose, just like you.”
There’s another noise coming from the hall that leads back to the auditorium, and he instantly distances himself from me.
