But the last time we spoke, Lucas had promised that we were both going to move forward and forget what happened in theboathouse. I had no idea why he’d sent that message last night, but I hadn’t answered. I couldn’t answer.
Still, him choosing to act as though I didn’t exist was low. Didn’t he want us to pretend that nothing happened? So much for treating me the same way as before.
When class ended, I left immediately, having packed my things as early as possible without making it super obvious that I wanted to get out of there. I was still stewing about it, moping around outside the building when someone pinched my side lightly.
“Hey!” I said reflexively, jerking away only to see Madison staring at me with her hands on her hips.
“Maybe pay more attention to your surroundings and you won’t get people sneaking up on you,” she said teasingly. “What has you so distracted today? That’s not a very June thing to be doing.” She paused, then cringed. “Unless of course, it’s about school. If this has anything to do with your academics or your future plans then please just forget I asked.”
“Well. It does in a way, but not quite,” I said cryptically.
Mads’s brows knit together. “Not quite? You can’t just leave the explanation on that note.”
I couldn’t handle dealing with all this mess on my own, not with my meeting with Ronan tonight and not with Lucas’s text the night before. It was getting to be way too much and I felt like I was going to burst if I didn’t get it off my chest.
“I need to tell you something. It’s about time I was honest with someone,” I said, feeling sulky about it but knowing I had no other option. If there was one person I knew I could trust, it was Mads. “But we can’t do this here.”
My friend seemed to snap into a different gear. She took my hand. “Free period?”
“Yeah.”
“To the dorms we go,” she said, immediately starting to drag me in the right direction.
I stayed silent the entire time, going through all the different ways I could try explaining myself to her but I couldn’t find a single justification for my actions. Everything sounded crazy, no matter how I tried to spin it. By the time we were in our shared dorm room, Mads perched on her bed and looked at me expectantly.
I figured I just had to spit it out.
“I had sex with Professor Blackwell.”
A small, explosive exhale escaped me, like I’d been holding in my breath and hadn’t even noticed. But to Mads, I’d just casually dropped a nuke.
“What?!” she exclaimed.
“I know, I know, just hear me out, okay?” I said. “I promise I can explain myself.”
“Well June Price, I certainly hope you can because from my position, it’s sounding pretty freaking inexplicable,” she replied, her voice almost hushed with disbelief.
I took a breath and slowly started at the beginning, from the very first lecture I had with Lucas. I told her about the way I felt instantly enthralled by him, the way I’d been attracted to him and how that was only amplified during the coffee date.
Then I told her about the kinds of conversations we’d had over the month I’d been in his class. The slow but steady way our chemistry had built until we almost kissed during my private tutoring session. How he’d rejected me at first but then sought me out later and then… the boathouse. Lord, the boathouse.
Madison’s eyes widened to the size of saucers when I finally got to that bit.
“Wait, wait, wait, back this whole thing up a little.” She held out a hand to stop me. She blinked once. “You mean to tell me that while the rest of us were sweating our asses off and being yelled at by Hardass Hayes—risking carpal tunnel and heat stroke, mind you—you were fucking one of the hottest professors in existence? In the delectable shade of the boathouse?”
I bit my lip. “Well… yeah, I guess. When you put it that way, it does sound a little ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous?” Mads repeated. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees and prayer-clasped hands over her face. “And to think I felt sorry for you when she sent you off. June. If I wasn’t as practical as I am, I would’ve suggested you start offering classes and sharing tips because what the fuck.”
“Urgh, Mads,” I groaned, slapping a hand over my forehead.
“Give me a second. I just need to recover from shock. I’ll be loading in some good advice in a few.”
“There’s more,” I said glumly.
“Oh God.”
I pulled my phone from my bag. “We bumped into each other the night of the house party. He clarified that it was a mistake and that nothing like that would ever happen again. He apologized and walked me home. But then last night, he sent me this.”
