I sat on the bed, hands over my face, breathing slow and deliberate like that could undo the last twenty minutes.
Then I felt it, Ryan’s arms sliding around me from behind.
“Calm down,” he murmured.
I shoved him off. “Don’t touch me.” My voice came out low, sharp. I jabbed a finger toward him. “You ruined my life. Do you even realize that?”
He didn’t answer. Just stared back at me, eyes full of conviction, not remorse.
This was my fault. I’d seen the signs from day one, the flirting, the smiles, the office hour conversations that lingered too long. I’d told myself I could manage it, that I’d dealt with hypersexual students before. But Ryan wasn’t like the others. In months, he’d blown my life apart.
I should have drawn the line harder. Should have reported him. Should have thrown him out the first time I found him in my house. Instead, I’d let him in.
His gaze swept over me now, slow and unapologetic. No sympathy. Just want.
The lump in my throat burned like coal. I forced my breathing steady, but being this close to him: this oblivious, smug kid, was infuriating.
“Guess you’re single now,” Ryan said lightly, though there was a tremor in his voice.
I stared. “Oh, you guess? What the hell do you even get out of this?”
He didn’t hesitate. “You.”
“You don’t have me, Ryan. I’m your professor. That’s all.”
He rolled his eyes. “It was a dead marriage, Nathan, you—”
“Mr. Thorne to you.”
His eyes narrowed. “Nathan.”
I stepped closer. “Don’t call me—”
“Why not? Should I not call the man who was groping my ass by his real name?”
I scoffed, chuckling bitterly as I sat down, rubbing my temples. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Why do this?” I whispered, my voice cracking from all the yelling. “Why, Ryan?”
Silence stretched. Then: “You’re mine.”
I shook my head. “I’m not yours. You don’t get that, do you?”
He lifted his chin. “Really? Does you almost screwing me in your classroom not ring any bells? You left me a hickie, Nathan. You already lost your wife, want to lose your job too?”
That snapped something in me. I grabbed him and threw him onto the bed.
“Is that supposed to mean anything?” I growled.
He scoffed, bouncing on the bed, and sitting up a bit, “Yeah that you clearly wanted me, more than that wife of ours. I just made the choice for you, since you're too pathetic to make it yourself. Now we can be together, your welcome.”
He gave a smug smile at the end, it burned something in me.
“Yeah? I want to be with you? Is this what you think?” I dragged him toward me, my voice venomous. “You think I want to spend my life with you Ryan? I was fucking horny! That's it, never heard of a man just wanting to get his dick wet? That doesn't mean I want my marriage to be over!”
“Fuck you! That's not true,” he spat, squirming against my grip, “You wanted me! It was more than just lust, I could feel it.”
“It was a poor lapse in judgement.” My grip tightened, my breath harsh. “I would never in a million years want to be with someone like you in any real capacity.”
