Page 11 of Valentine's Kisses
“So, what exactly happened the other night at the art building? I looked all over but I
couldn’t find you.” Hanna’s eyebrow lifts. “I thought I saw the hot professor’s car out front as we were leaving though.” She sends me a knowing look over the menu. “Did you happen to run into him while you were there, or did you miss him?”
I blush and duck my head, pretending to be absorbed in the menu which consists of the same burgers and fries it’s served for the past twenty years. “Um, wonder what I’ll have? Let’s see…” I trail off, hoping and praying that she’ll change the subject. I’m a horrible liar.
Hanna promptly lowers the menu and looks at me. Her brown eyes are soft, but perceptive. “Be careful, Gabrielle. Professor Michaels is a hottie, no doubt about that, but he’s also a player. In fact, a former hockey player who screwed puck bunnies on the regular. I say this as your friend, girlie. Be a little leery. He is the type of man who could break a young girl’s heart and not even realize it.” She looks down at her hands and blows out a long breath. For a moment, she looks nothing likethe carefree Hanna I know. She appears completely vulnerable. “I fell in love once. In high school. The almighty quarterback deigned to give my lowly, artsy self some attention and I got carried away by it. Thought he was in love with me until I saw him kissing the head cheerleader underneath the stands.” She looks up and meets my sympathetic gaze. “Heartbreak sucks, Gabrielle. And when the love only comes from one person in the affair it can feel like you’re falling apart. Especially when you’re the secret.”
I lower my menu to the table and slide my hand across the table to cover hers. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Hanna.” I bite my lip. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”
A thousand thoughts flitter through my mind as Hanna takes a deep breath and gives me a cheerful smile. She rambles on about the menu while I think about her words. Flynn has said a lot of pretty words, but at the end of the day aren’t words just words? What if I fall for him fully and he tosses me to the side? What if I’m already irrevocably in love with a man who thinks I’m merely a passing flirtation?
I order and then toss a seemingly carefree smile to Hanna. I need a moment to myself. “I’ll be right back. Just going to the restroom.”
I need to sit in a stall and gather my thoughts. I need a moment to consider what I’m doing, what I’m risking. My parents already resent me for being the surviving daughter. What would they think about my affair with a professor? Would they lose what little love they have left for me?If they have any love left for me at all…
I only get to have a few thoughts to myself before loud voices echo through the bathroom.Sigh.This is not the time to have deep thoughts, I suppose. Everyone on campus comes here.
I exit the stall to find Monica and Bridget primping in front of the mirrors.Great. Exactly the last two people I want to see right now.
I send both a tense smile while I wash my hands. “Good to see you guys,” I say in a soft voice, while keeping my head down. I want this interaction to be short and painless.
“Hello, Gabrielle,” Bridget replies back in a sweet voice. Outside of her friendship with Monica, she actually seems like a nice girl.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t teacher’s pet?” Monica says in a snarky voice.
Shit. Well, there goes the chance for a painless interaction.
“Monica.” Bridget sighs and rolls her eyes at her friend. “Leave it alone.”
Monica folds her arms and tosses her brown hair over her shoulder. Her eyes meet mine in the mirror. “Bridget, leave. Leave right now.”
Bridget sucks in a shocked breath. “Monica, what the hell? I’ll do no such thing.”
Monica snaps her head around to give her friend a predatory look. “Do it, or I’ll make a phone call to your parents to tell them about what you were up to last summer. And who exactly took the Rolls for a joyride. And about the gardener…” She raises an eyebrow, “Shall I go on? Do I need to reveal anything else to them?”
Bridget pales and shakes her head. She lightly squeezes my arm, “I’m sorry, Gabrielle,” and then walks out.
I blanch when I hear the door swing close.Shit.
Monica’s gaze meets mine in the mirror again. “Gabrielle, what a pretty, pretty name that is. No wonder Professor Michaels is totally enamored with you.”
“N…no, he’s not,” I stutter and then close my eyes. Like I said, I’m a truly horrible liar.
“You and I both know that’s not true. It’s truly amazing what a person can see when they hang out in the hallways of buildings after dark, especially the art building.”
My eyes fly open, and she taps her lip. “Well, that got your attention, didn’t it?”
“W…what do you mean, Monica? What did you see?” I ask in a shaky voice.
She waves her hand in the air. “Relax, I couldn’t see much. I may have seen you in what could be considered a compromising position. But I suppose you were done with Professor Flynn at that point. I may have witnessed a kiss, but I’m smart enough to know a lot more than that went on.” She tilts her head as she studies me. She’s a beautiful girl, but right now the twisted look on her face makes her completely ugly to me. “I never would have thought it, you know? The wholesome, shy girl turning into a slut in the dark?” She laughs drily. “I guess, at least I’m a slut in the light of day.”
I swallow hard. I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of Monica watching us.
“Wh…what do you want?” I force myself to ask calmly. I straighten my shoulders back and try to appear completely unbothered. I know I fail miserably.
“I want you to never be with him again, dear, sweet Gabrielle,” she says in a vicious tone. “I want you to give him the cold shoulder and let him go. Otherwise, I’ll have to talk to the dean about what I saw. Perhaps his reputation could take it, and lord knows he has money, but he would surely never teach here again. And you…well, you would be sent back to whatever small town you’re from crying into your hankie. Imagine the scandal. You might even make your local paper.Local girl sleeps with professor for top gradeor some nonsense like that. Don’t small towns live for gossip?”
I grasp my forehead and lean forward over the sink. Yes, small towns live for gossip and God knows we’ve given Holly Oaks enough to talk about for a lifetime. I think of the disappointed looks on both my parents’ faces. My stomach roils and the taste of bile comes up in my throat.
