Page 49 of It Happened Again

“Come in,” I said, and leaned forward, hugging my knees. I watched him undress, admiring the unveiling of his body with each garment that hit the floor, his steel rod especially.

Sex with him had become almost sacred, like a part of my soul that had been missing; I should have given my virginity to him a long time ago. I leaned back with a sigh after he slid in behind me, pulling me against his chest.

"I hate that Julian still gets to me," I murmured.

“Me too. Good thing you couldn’t track my stress levels when you told me about him standing so close to you.”

“Like London all over again?” I pulled his arms tighter around me.

“Yeah. Not sure you could have stopped my fist from connecting with his jaw this time, though.”

I remembered that night all too well. It was pretty much the beginning of the end for me and the professor. I started to see him in a new light after that.

The science vessel had docked for emergency repairs, requiring a rare departure from the southern hemisphere at the core of our research. The university we partnered with had arranged housing for the crew on the Cambridge campus.

Soaked and freezing from the rain, a group of us, including Julian, ducked into Cambridge’s Eagle Pub. To my surprise, I’d soon recognized a familiar silhouette at the bar. Brooks—He’d been teaching historical architecture there. I’d heard about it from Chelsea, but I never imagined we’d actually cross paths.

Our that our eyes would meet across the crowd, like our souls were reaching out, saying hello again.

I froze, beer halfway to my lips, and then—I smiled. And he smiled back. And before I knew it, we were side by side. That night unraveled like it was stitched into the stars. Drinks turned into stories. Stories into laughter. Laughter into confessions whispered just a little too close. But neither of us crossed the line.

Not physically. Emotionally? I don’t think we ever uncrossed it.

Little did I know, Julian had kept a keen eye on us the entire time with a possessive streak he didn’t deserve to claim. My group was leaving for the night and Julian stumbled up to me, obviously drunk, and grabbed my arm.

“We’re leaving now, sweetheart.” His hand formed too tight around me.

“Let go, Julian. You’re hurting me,” I spat, irritated at his demeanor.

Brooks stood up, about six inches taller, glaring down at him. “Let her go. Now.”

“Or what, big guy? You think you’re a threat to me?” Julian pointed almost jabbing his chest. I tried squirming out of his hold.

“You have one more warning, old man. Let her go.” Brooks pulled back his arm, ready to strike.

I stepped between them. “Stop. Both of you. Julian. Let. Me. Go. Now,” I shouted, my voice carrying throughout the bar. People all around us stopped talking. The hum of the bar lowered with all focus on us.

With an audience all of a sudden, Julian sneered around at it and left. The entire mood of the bar lightened after that. After a while, Brooks walked me back to the dorm we were staying at, insisting he do that to protect me just in case.

At the steps of the women’s dorm, we hesitated. I didn’t think either of us wanted the night to end. But my emotion were torn again. I would have spent the entire night with him if he’d asked. He didn’t. And maybe that was for the best. Because having him then leaving again, experiencing all that pain again, wasn’t something I wanted to relive. We could have stood there and prolonged the goodbye, but was the point?

“See you Brooks,” I breathed, and kissed his cheek. I ran up the steps and into the building. When I got to my assigned room, I fell across the bed against the window and peeked out. He stood there for a few minutes more, then hung his head, and left…

I swiped a tear from the corner of my eye.

“Julian told me once that I’d never make it outside of academia without him. That I didn’t have the edge to survive in the real world of science.”

“You need to wipe every word that asshole ever said to you from existence. You work at a mind institute. There has to be someone there developing the technology to do that.” He half joked, and pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “Baby, You’re redefining the real world. And that jerk is just scared of your brilliance."

I laughed softly, and let it rumble through my back in to his chest.

"You’re so good for me, Brooks,” I whispered. "I always feel like I’m on fire, and you’re the calm."

He held me tighter. "I’ll always be that for you. You don’t have to burn alone."

My fingers traced over his arm, slow and thoughtful. "I want this to last between us.”

"Then we’ll make it that way.”

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