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Me: How’s studying?
Almost immediately she responded, and my smile grew.
O: Good. How was your lunch?
Me: Good.
Especially since Reed had offered me a break and hadn’t brought her up again.
O: Does he know about me?
I considered lying, but I didn’t want to lie to her. My thumbs hovered over the screen as I considered my words. Trying to see the outcome that may have occurred for every response I thought of.
Me: He knows I’m attracted to you.
O: Does that worry you?
Me: No. Why?
O: You have a lot to lose, Callum.
Me: Reed wouldn’t say anything. He’s my best friend.
O: We should be more careful. I won’t be the cause of you losing your job.
I almost responded that she was worth it, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her with the desperate feelings that consumed me.
Me: Don’t worry about me.
O: But I do. Maybe we should keep the classroom kissing to a minimum.
Me: I guess
Me: Party pooper.
Me: So, where do you suggest we get our kisses in?
She didn’t respond. I almost set my phone aside she took so long to respond. My mind became lost in the possibilities of what I’d said that had made her stop talking. Maybe she had a phone call. Maybe I was over thinking it all.
I jumped when my phone vibrated in my hand. Seeing “O” on the screen, I immediately swiped to answer.
“Hey.”
“What are we doing here, Callum?”
I paused, processing her sudden question. “What do you mean?”
Her heavy sigh reached through the phone and upped my anxiety about what she could mean.
“I don’t want to be one of those people who asks where we’ll be later, but this situation is different. There’s a lot at risk. I like you. A lot. I know this isn’t a normal relationship with dates and a chance at a natural progression like any other couple. But what are we doing?”
“Oaklyn.” I swallowed and thought through my words, needing her to know how serious this was for me. “You know I would take you on dates if I could. I would sweep you off your feet. And I will. Later.”
“But what does that mean? Later?”
“You won’t always be my student, Oaklyn.”
Silence greeted that statement, and I bit my tongue to keep from speaking as she processed that I’d thought that far into the future. I could at least admit that I had, I just wouldn’t admit to her how far I’d actually thought.
“Okay. I like the sound of that,” she finally said, making my face split into a grin. “But . . . ”
My smile slipped a little at that simple word. Rarely anything good came after but.
“What if people see us on a date later?”
“They can assume but won’t know. The possibility of assumptions won’t keep me from something I want and care about so much.” My answer came out more passionate than I intended, but I wouldn’t take it back. Especially when I heard her soft response.
“I care about you too, Cal.”
A heavy silence filled the line and I thought about what I really wanted to say to her. What my words really meant. So much more than ‘want’ and ‘care’. Did she feel it? Did she want to say more, too?
She cleared her throat breaking the moment.
“Well, I should probably get going. This professor is making us slave away over a star project.”
“He sounds amazing,” I said, letting her escape the serious moment. Even though we were back to a lighter topic, again, her words reached me with more meaning than I think she intended for me to hear.
“He’s the best.”
27
Callum
“Come over this weekend,” I said against Oaklyn’s neck. I watched her walk into the conference room where the printer was. She had her back to me, and I snuck up behind her, loving the way she sucked in a breath when my fingers brushed her hair away from her neck. “Dress up. It will be a pseudo date. Please,” I whispered, quickly pressing my lips against her smooth skin before stepping back.
“Yes,” she’d agreed.
I’d rushed back to press one last string of kisses up her neck, loving the moan that vibrated against my lips. I wanted to stay, pinning her to the desk, but the door wasn’t locked, and we wouldn’t be able to explain that away.
So, I stepped back and said, “Tomorrow,” before walking back out the door.
I couldn’t stop thinking about our conversation the other night about dates. Imagining her all dressed up, a shy smile in place as I walked into a restaurant with the most beautiful woman on my arm. I needed to give as much of that to her as possible.
Saturday night, I’d pulled out all the stops. I had candles on the dining room table, in the kitchen, in the entryway, and lit the fireplace in the living room trying to set the mood. Trying to hide the fact that we were still at my house rather than the decadent restaurant I really wanted to take her to.
