Page 61 of The Professor
“I love you too, Drake.”
* * *
We endup in his bed at some point. We’re both still naked and I’m wrapped around him, my chin resting on his chest. We’ve been talking for the last hour about our families. It’s been amazing and I’ve never felt closer to him. There’s only one thing that’s bothering me.
“Drake, can I ask you something?”
A small grin hits his lips and he tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “You can ask me anything.”
“You talk so fondly about your childhood. About your parents and I even know the loss you’ve suffered losing them. Thing is, you’ve told me countless stories about your brother, but nothing more. Did he pass away?”
His expression hardens and I want to take it all back...almost. The way he talks about his brother with such love and admiration, it makes no sense. Unless he’s gone, because he doesn’t talk about him in the present. It’s time for the professor to confess.
Chapter 26
Drake
My body burns with anger.Anger because I don’t want her to know, I want her to continue to think of me the way she does right now. If she knows, well just like everyone else, she’ll walk away. I’m not willing to risk it.
Getting out of bed, I grab my boxers and toss them on. She’s sitting up in bed holding the sheet around herself, her forehead creased with concern. Fuck.
“My brother is off limits,” I say, turning my back to her.
She moves quickly and grabs onto my arm. Turning my head, I raise an eyebrow.
“Nothing is off limits with us,” she gently says.
Yanking my arm away, I spin around facing her. Now I’m getting pissed. She needs to drop it, because the more she pushes the worse it’s going to get.
“This, is,” I say through clenched teeth.
Grabbing a shirt of mine off the floor, she pulls it on. On her knees she moves to the edge of the bed, closer to me.
“So let me get this straight. You can tell me you love me, but you can’t trust me enough to tell me what happened to your brother,” she says, lifting an eyebrow.
Scrubbing my face, I blow out a frustrated breath. “Emma, please just leave it alone.”
Jumping off the bed, she starts grabbing her clothes off the floor. “No problem, Professor Grayson. Why don’t you give me a call when you decide to actually let me in.” Pulling on her panties she mumbles, “I thought I was the child here.”
Like a switch is flipped, I see fucking red. Grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving, I roughly pull her to me. She doesn’t even flinch and I’ll admit I fucking like that, but it does nothing to calm my racing pulse.
“The shit I’ve been through I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but you can’t leave it be. You want me to rehash and relive the shit I’ve been through, you got it. Braylin isn’t dead, he lives in an assisted living facility because he’s a quadriplegic and he’s a fucking quadriplegic because of me,” I shout, letting go of her arm.
Turning away from her, I close my eyes. Fuck. The pain, the anger, the regret all wrap around me.
Emma kisses my back and wraps her arms around me. “I’m sorry Drake. What happened?”
She just doesn’t give up. Exhaling, I move nodding my head for her to sit back down. She does without question and I begin to pace the length of the bed.
“I came home for Braylin’s high school graduation. It was the night before and I wanted to go out and have some fun. Liam wasn’t around and all my other friends had either moved or I just lost touch with. So, I went into Braylin’s room…”
“Hey graduate,” I said smiling.
“Not until tomorrow,” he says, looking up at me from the valedictorian speech he’s working on.
“Close enough. I’m proud of you. Graduating valedictorian and heading off to Yale. I always knew you’d do big things,” I say, leaning against the door frame.
Looking up at me, he gives me the most sincere smile I’ve ever seen. “I’ve always strived to be like you, Drake. I wanted to walk in your shoes, be everything you are, get the hell out of here. So you might have known I’d do big things, but it’s thanks to you that I am.”
