Page 24 of No Way Out
“I don’t know boss, sounds like a good way to clean this shit up, keep the town from panicking over a dead serial killer,” the female cop said, still knelt down to my level.
I bit back a smile.
Fucking Ohio.
“AreyousureIneed all three of these Monstera plants?” he asked, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lip, putting those dimples in full display.
“You’re fucking with me, I know it.” I shook my head, handing him another oversized plant pot.
We were decorating his office with some of the leftover plants we didn’t have space for at home, now that I was turning in the keys to my dorm. Naya was a lot of things, but I was thankful she was tolerant of the fact that I’d turned our dorm room into a jungle over the last four years at NPC. So, here we were, bringing a few extras to his office to brighten it up for next semester.
He faked being too weak, dropping to the ground on his back with my plant still in his arms.
“Be careful! That’s my Adansonii Albo. She paid for my bachelors,” I laughed, taking my prized possession from his arms and finding a spot for it in front of the window.
“Are you happy now? I’ll have your plants to keep me company every day.” He grinned, smelling the leaf like it was a fucking flower or something. “Let’s go unload that moving truck.” He nodded out the window, where the truck waited for us.
I wasn’t going very far. NPC was a big campus, and now that I’d graduated, I had to move out of the dorms. Thanks to Demetri, I’d be moving into faculty housing. Lucky for us, there were no rules about faculty dating, so when he got me the job in the botany department and we applied for the same house on campus, no one even batted an eye.
Either they thought we were sharing rent, or they simply didn’t give a fuck.
“Yes,” I admitted, finding that with him, it was easier to be happy. I draped my arms over his neck and he dropped his head down, pressing his forehead to mine.
“Something on your mind, gorgeous?” he asked, like he already had the power to see through my smiles when something was rotting in my brain.
“What if I’m not a good teacher?” I whispered, letting my insecurities show.
He barked out a loud laugh, lifting my chin so my gaze could meet his. “Then I’ll pay you to be my gardener.”
I pushed him off, playing like I was upset at the joke.
“You know I’m kidding, beautiful. The school is always looking for a groundskeeper.” He laughed again, too loud and infectious for me to keep up the farce.
I cracked a smile, giving him my middle finger as I slowly stepped back from him. He knew where my fears were rooted; just because you were good at something, like keeping plants alive, didn’t mean you were qualified to teach others.
I was hoping I was, but I knew what Demetri was getting at with his jokes.It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I wasn’t.
“Are you threatening a professor, Miss Machado?” he said in his sternest voice.
I couldn’t hold the laugh in. “With my middle finger,professor?” I played his game, knowing that if I pushed, I would get the result I wanted.
We’d kept our relationship secret until I finished my degree. I worked my ass off to make sure I met my early graduation deadline at the end of fall semester, so we only had a few weeks of hiding. A month or so of him sneaking into my dorm at night through the window, pretending to be a student dropping in for a hook-up, a few torturous weeks of me looking down at my desk for the entirety of his labs because I knew I’d give something away if I caught even a glimpse of his gorgeous face.
Still, the weeks did eventually pass, and despite Naya nearly dying from holding onto the secret as if it was a tampon threatening to give her toxic shock syndrome, we all made it through.
I was no longer a student.
I was an employee at our university.
We could be together.
This man, who knew me exactly for who I was, had seen my darkest parts as well as my light and thought both were equally beautiful. This man, who I never once thought would belong to me, because what would ever make me so lucky?
I guess the lucky part was being dumped by Noah.
I’d still be the quarterback’s girlfriend if it wasn’t for him, and what a boring Halloween that would have been.
He circled the desk after me, hands grazing the wood as he fought to keep me in his little trap. I couldn’t move a step in any direction but forward without him catching me.
