“It was good to see you, Emma. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again,” he said with a smile.
“Have a good night,” I replied as I looked around the table with a small smile on my face before we headed toward the exit.
Melanie walked behind me until we exited the restaurant, and then she grabbed my arm. “Okay, what’s going on with you? You’ve been in a daze ever since you got a text. Is everything all right? Is it Victoria or Becky?”
I shook my head and began to walk once more. “No.” I glanced at her for a moment as she walked beside me then stared down at the sidewalk. “If I tell you, I don’t want you to freak out. I’m only saying something because you’re my sister and I don’t want any judgments.”
“Okay,” she drawled.
“It was Mason.”
I looked over to examine her expression, but she averted her eyes. I knew she had something to say, but she was holding it back.
“He wants me to meet him in Central Park,” I continued as I glanced around at the people walking the streets. It wasn’t busy for that time of night, but it was still more people than I thought would be out on a weekday.
“Are you going to go?”
I stared straight ahead for a moment before stopping to turn and look at her.
“I am,” I replied quickly. “I know you think it’s a horrible decision and I agree, but I have to go. Deep down, I know it’s stupid. He’s my professor, and it’s wrong in more ways than one, but I can’t help the way I feel. He apologized to me today,” I said as I looked down. “I was rude and basically said I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.”
“So, you’re going because you feel bad?” she concluded.
“No, I’m going because I want to see him. I can’t explain it to you, but it feels right. I don’t understand it,” I said as I shook my head.
I didn’t know how to explain to her how I felt. I knew I shouldn’t want to see him. I should run far way, but I couldn’t. It felt wrong.
Melanie started moving again, and I turned to walk beside her.
“I’m not going to judge you, Em. I just want you to be smart about this. This is your life, but you have dreams that you’ve been chasing for a long time. I don’t want you to mess that up for yourself.”
I leaned into her to wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close to me. “I know, and I love that you care so much. This will probably end badly with an ‘I told you so’ remark, but I want to explore what’s there. He might not even feel what I feel, but I’ll never know unless I go for it.”
We were both quiet as we walked to the end of the street and came to a stop, pulling away from each other.
“What time are you supposed to meet him?”
“Nine.”
She lifted her arm to look at her watch and gave me a frown. “Well, you’re already a half hour late. Are you still going to go?”
I nodded with a smile.
She reached out to me and embraced me in a hug.
“Just text me and let me know you’re safe, okay?”
She pulled away and gave me a short wave before heading toward the subway.
I let out a sigh and turned in the other direction toward the street to hail a cab.
“Where to, miss?” the cab driver asked.
“Central Park,” I stated as my heart started to beat faster in my chest.
I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t even know if he’d still be there, but I had to go. I could’ve been making the worst decision of my life going to see him, but if I didn’t? I’d always wonder what could have happened.
I needed to know what this was between us. And there was only one way to find out.
Six
Mason
I’d walked around the fountain twelve times and she still hadn’t shown up. I wasn’t upset. I was frustrated with myself.
I debated on whether or not I should have even texted her. After getting off the phone with Victor and scheduling an appointment to see him on Friday, I went upstairs to my gym and ran out all the thoughts that flowed through my mind.
A part of me wanted to get dressed and go on the prowl. Do what I normally did. It was who I was, all that I was used to. This new person working his way out was a stranger to me, and I didn’t fucking like it. But the thought of picking someone up and bringing them to my condo wasn’t appealing to me. I didn’t want just anyone. Tony’s words kept repeating in my head. That one’s something special. He was right, and without a second thought, I went into my student files and pulled out Emma’s number. I had stared at the phone for at least twenty minutes before I finally sent her the text to meet me at the fountain.
I knew there was a chance she wouldn’t show up, especially with the way things went after class. I didn’t expect her to be so assertive, but that was one of the things that attracted me to her. I loved her feistiness. She was honest and beautiful, and I was a scarred, fucked-up asshole. I should do what I’d vowed to do. I should stay away from her. But I couldn’t.