Page 117 of Teach Me Your Ways

I shook my head, still in awe of her. “You didn’t have to do that, Cece. You didn’t have to risk your own future to save mine.”

“Yes, I did,” she said firmly. “Because you’re worth it. You’re worth fighting for.”

Her words knocked the air out of me. I stared at her, my mind racing, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst. “Did you know about Lina?”

“I didn’t know she was going to say anything.” Cece smiled. “I think all of those people wanted to say something on your behalf.”

“No, not about that. Lina told me the dean had her spying on me too. Not spying, but she was a trap. She said Carver promised her better grades if she got the proof. Apparently, she was supposed to seduce me or something.”

Cece’s eyes widened for a moment. Then she burst out laughing. The sound was so unexpected, so full of genuine amusement, that it caught me off guard. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle it, but it was no use. Her shoulders shook with laughter.

“Oh my God,” she managed between giggles. “I should’ve known. That explains so much.”

I raised an eyebrow, still trying to process her reaction. “Explains what?”

“The way she was always throwing herself at you,” Cece said, wiping tears from her eyes. “I mean, I thought she was just… you know, kind of loose. But this? This makes so much sense. Not that you’re not hot, because I would and have rocked your world, but she was laying it on thick.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle along with her. “I’m not sure if I should be offended.”

“You’re not offended and we both know it. The dean was desperate. She was willing to do anything to get you in trouble.”

“It’s insane. I knew she didn’t like me, but this? This is next-level crazy. She was out here actually scheming. It’s enough to make a man paranoid.”

We sat quietly for a few minutes, watching campus life.

He sighed. “I know there’s still a chance I’ll lose my job because of what we’ve both admitted to, but I want you to know I really appreciate what you did.”

“You’re not going to lose your job. Those people know they have no reason to get rid of you.”

“I like your confidence.”

“When you know you’re in the right, it’s easy to be confident,” she said.

There was a pause, then I cleared my throat. “Cece.”

“Yeah,” she said.

“I like you.”

She laughed softly. “Good, I like you too.”

“That didn’t come out right. I mean, I want to see you. I need to see you.”

“As in… dating?”

I shrugged. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

“I think it’s calling seeing someone.”

“Okay. Can we see each other?”

“What about your job?”

“Like you said, it’s not actually against the rules,” I said with a shrug. “Maybe we go easy at school. No need to poke the bear and keep stirring the pot.”

“No PDA. Agreed.”

“But when we’re alone, I want lots of PDA.”