He kissed her, with every ounce of his being, hard and insistent as the truth pulsed through his blood:I love you, I love you, I love you.The thought should terrify him, but he had never been surer of anything – He was in love with Melynda Taylor. He was in love with his student.
But he couldn’t say it. Not yet. She was so young. She’d never had anyone commit to her before. And he couldn’t offer her the commitment she deserved. If he told her he loved her now, he was sure he’d scare her away.
So he hoped she could feel it with every movement of his lips, with the desperation in his fingertips as he pulled her closer. He hoped she could feel it with every stroke of his tongue on her most intimate place, with the way his body filled hers, with every growl and every moan and every bite he trailed across her skin. And when he collapsed on top of her, his cock still pulsing inside her, he imagined that every kiss she peppered along his collarbone was her own way of repeating back to him:I love you, I love you, I love you.
Chapter Twenty-four
Min looked up when the tater tot bounced off her chest. Bobby and Jeff sat on the opposite side of the booth from her in the café, Jeff’s hand still hanging in the air. “Bullseye,” he laughed.
“What’s so interesting?” Bobby asked, indicating her phone with a nod of his head.
“Nothing,” she lied, quickly darkening the screen and placing it face down on the table next to her.
Jeff snorted and nudged her foot under the table. Just then Maria swung into the booth beside her, handing her a corn muffin and digging into her own. “What’s so funny?”
“Mel thinks we don’t know she’s sexting,” Bobby said.
“Ooh, the mystery man?” Maria teased. She laughed at the shock that crossed Min’s face. “Oh, please. Who did you think you were fooling?” Min blushed but didn’t respond. Maria popped a piece of muffin in her mouth with a self-satisfied grin. “You’ve been out every night for the last two weeks. Jeff finally cracked.”
“Traitor!” she said, pointing an accusatory finger across the table.
Jeff shrugged. “Gotta keep my options open, doll,” he joked. “Maria’s down for sticking around next year for Dr. J’s new grad program, while you and Bobby have yet to commit.”
“Lay off it, man,” Bobby said. “Besides, we have more pressing things to talk about right now. Like who Min has been having dirty, dirty sex –”
“Can we drop it, please?” Min practically shouted, shooting daggers with her eyes at Bobby and Jeff as they laughed at her discomfort.
“Did you hear they’re thinking aboutBarber of Sevillefor the winter opera?” Maria asked, happy to change the subject.
“Don’t believe everything you hear.” Liam’s voice gave her goosebumps. She looked up and there he was, casually sipping his Starbucks like he hadn’t been fucking her senseless only a few hours before. He looked so damn good it actually hurt.
“Give us a hint at least,” Jeff said.
“You’ll find out after Thanksgiving with everyone else.” Bobby and Maria groaned, which only made Liam laugh. He winked at the group and started to leave, calling back over his shoulder as he exited the café, “Costume fittings in ten minutes!”
Min’s phone dinged.
“Why isn’t anyone sexting me before noon?” Jeff pouted as Min picked up her phone. “Bob-O, send me something wicked dirty. Oo! Send me a dick pic!”
Bobby clenched his jaw, his eyes trained on the half-eaten bagel in front of him. “Go ask Henry if you want a dick pic so bad.”
The playfulness slid off of Jeff’s face at Bobby’s surly response and Min made a mental note to ask him about it later as she opened the new text message on her phone.
Liam:You look beautiful.
She smiled to herself, shoving her phone into her bag. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be late for fittings.”
Just before they entered the music building, Jeff grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop. The others didn’t notice as they met up with Lucy and Phoebe on their way through the double doors, too busy speculating about what production they would mount that winter.
“Things seem to be getting pretty serious with Mystery Man,” he said.
Min shrugged, twisting her lips up to hide the smile that threatened to spread across her face. “I think maybe they are.”
“But you don’t know?”
“We haven’t put a label on anything.”
Jeff’s eyes practically bugged out of his head. “You haven’t slept in your own bed for two weeks and you don’t even know if he considers himself your boyfriend?”
