Page 71 of Hello Kitten
“No. I don’t do one-night-stands,” he answers, surprising me. “I agreed to take her home with me because I wanted her, liked her sense of humor, her liveliness, everything I still like about her. I had no idea she was going to be my student. Ithoughtshe was at least twenty-one because she was being servedat a bar.”
I shoot him a look, but he shoots one right back to me until I sink back into my coke.
My sister keeps asking questions, getting us up to the wedding. She looks at me. “I noticed you disappeared after your speech. What happened?”
“I told him we were done when we got back to campus because I didn’t and still don’t want him fired. I told him that we had to be done, over, completely,” I whisper.
“It lasted for eight days,” he snorts. “Eight fucking days and that was all we could manage.”
My sister looks between us and sighs. “You’re willing to risk your job for her?”
“Yes,” there’s no hesitation in Adrian’s answer. “I’m not willing to risk her being expelled, which is why we work hard to keep this a secret ... for now.”
My sister falls quiet. I’ve already finished my coke. I clear my throat. “Should I make dinner tonight, Adrian?”
He lifts his chin. “I was planning to take you out, but if I have something you want, that’s fine, baby.”
I stand up and he catches my wrist. “It’s been multiple days.”
I smile. “And? You want me to kiss you in front of my sister?”
“It’s not a proper hello until you do,” he counters.
“Hi, Adrian,” I say in a breathy voice before kissing him softly. “I’ll get started on dinner.”
“No wine tonight,” he says calmly.
I huff, but head to the kitchen. I feel eyes on me and when the silence in the room drags on a little long, Adrian stands. “More beer?”
“No, thank you. Can I speak with my sister alone please?” Sarah asks without looking away from me.
I open the fridge, scan what he has and pull out two salmon filets. I can work with this. He has shrimp too—he loves it—caviar, salad mix, plenty of veggies and sauces. I smile victoriously at my idea and shut the fridge only to find my sister here.
“You’ve been knowingly screwing and dating your professor for months?” she asks. “You know this is wrong, Emily. He’s taking advantage. Just look at how he talks to you. He stoppedyou from walking in here until you kissed him. I don’t want to think about the other things he might beforcingyou to do.”
“He doesn’tforceme to do anything,” I say clearly. “We have a dynamic that works well and I like him. A lot. I wanted it to just be sex. I wanted it to stop before your wedding, to stop at a one night stand, but it didn’t. And now ...”
“Don’t say it,” she says, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I should be telling the dean of the school and ... what will Mom say!”
“She won’t say anything because you’re not going to tell her,” I say seriously.
“Emily, you can’t ask me to keep this a secret.”
“You wouldn’t even have known until youbargedin after I said no!” I raise my voice. “I was very clear in the group text that I wasn’t going home. I was clear when you showed up.Youkept pushing. You ignored the boundaries I set.”
“That’s not the problem here. It’s—”
“It is the problem, Sarah. You’re my sister and I love you, but you always do what our parents say even if it hurts me. Every time I stand up for myself, you try to help and they throw your perfect life in my face. My relationship with Adrian might not be perfect, but it’smine. I chose to be here. I choose every day to text him back. I choose every day towanthim. I can’t help the lust, but I chose to start things again with him, he didn’t. We’re a good couple and if you can’t see that, it’s not my job to convince you,” I get it all out and realize I’m panting and squishing the fish.
Adrian appears behind her, edged by Sarah, and gently touches my cheek. “Emily ...”
“You know how much I like you and care about you. You read to me, remember every detail I say, make me feel valued and strong and appreciated. The sex is great, but the reason I can’t walk away isn’t because of our fun, it’s because of you,” I say as tears prickle.
He gently kisses my forehead, then my temple. “We’re not having fish tonight.”
I chuckle. “I crushed it,” I grumble. “I got too excited.”
“We’re going to order in,” he promises.
