“No,” Lexi and Clarissa say in unison.
“Well, I have to have one more before the week is up and I intend to,” I say, and Clarissa just rolls her eyes, like she doesn’t believe me. She thinks I’m attached to Ken and won’t go through with it.
“I’ll weigh in at the end of the sixty days,” is all Kara says. I’m not sure about her and Jake.
Clarissa’s cell phone starts ringing and she answers it as she walks into our bedroom and closes the door.
FOURTEEN
CLARISSA
Grant calls me on my cell phone and I need privacy for this call so I go into my room and close the door.
“Clarissa, I don’t care what you do during the week, save Sundays for me. I still want to see you,” Grant says.
“Grant, please don’t tempt me,” I sigh out softly.
“Why, you tempt me every single day I see you in class?”
“I know it’s hard,” I reply.
“It’s killing me,” he says in a whisper.
“I need to go,” I say dejectedly.
“Think about it,” he says sadly.
I can’t believe Grant won’t let this go. I’m surprised actually. Then when Jason saw that text from him I panicked. Let’s say he puts two and two together when Grant’s name flashed across the screen? Thank God it didn’t say Montgomery or we would be in big trouble. I’m still not sure we’re safe from being discovered. Grant needs to end all contact with me.
Thankfully, Jason seems to have forgotten about that text he saw from Grant and hasn’t made the connection between Professor Grant Montgomery and me. Hopefully, he never will.
Seeing Grant every day in class has been awkward to say the least. It’s become a painful daily reminder of what could’ve been. Then to have Jason, my new lover, sitting next to me must make it hard for my Professor. I can see it in his eyes sometimes on the few occasions I’ve dared to make eye contact with him. But I remind myself that with his looks, he will have no trouble moving onto some other girl who’s ready and willing to fill my shoes.
FIFTEEN
GRANT
When Clarissa and Bancroft both didn’t show up for class the day after the concert, I knew it wasn’t a good sign. Then I see them all cozy, laughing and having a good time at lunch, I couldn’t stop myself from approaching them.
The voice inside my head told me I should cut it off with her, end it, but the irreparable damage to my heart has been done already. When I knew she was still going to come and see me on Friday, on impulse I wanted another special weekend in Montecito with her alone. I didn’t know how much longer I would have with her, to be with her, to touch her. So I decided to whisk her away from campus, hoping it would be enough for her to forget him and remember how good we are together. We had an amazing weekend. I could have stayed in bed all day and night making love to her. But once we got back to town something shifted in her, she became emotionally distant. Then when I asked her to come over on Monday night, she hesitated and wanted to meet for lunch the next day instead. We never meet for lunch, only that first time when I propositioned her.
Now, here we are again, and the moment she shows up and our eyes meet, I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. All the air drains from my lungs.
“Clarissa, don’t do this,” I plead and I don’t like the sound of my voice, the pleading quality to it. Get a hold of yourself man. I don’t want this to end, not yet. Clarissa is on the verge of tears, if it’s so hard for her then why is she doing this to us? I know why, but I refuse to acknowledge the truth.
“Come to my car,” I say. If I can get her home, maybe I can convince her not to do this. Then she tells me the painful truth, what I knew all along, she wants Bancroft. I already knew the kid wanted her. Somehow he has managed to woo her away from me, couldn’t be that hard when you’re a Bancroft. Money talks, bull shit walks, Montgomery, face it. Not many can compete with his money and the lifestyle he could give a girl.
Seeing her every day in class with him hasn’t been easy. It’s a painful reminder that I won’t have her in my bed again and it kills me. As much as I hate to admit it, I got attached to her, very attached and I wasn’t supposed to. I can tell she’s still torn by the way I catch her looking at me in class once in a while. This is why I took a chance last weekend, to see if I could catch her at a weak moment. I asked her to come over, but she refused. Probably best for her that she did and probably best for me that she did. I have to shake these feelings I still have for her. I need a distraction. A female distraction, someone else to warm my bed at night, but I will never make the mistake of sleeping with one of my students again.
Holding Clarissa in my arms was playing with fire, and I got burned.
SIXTEEN