Page 38 of Forbidden Professor

“It’s just… this isn’t easy.”

“No, it isn’t,” he agrees.

“So, I just wanted to offer, sincerely, to switch to a different class. If nobody sees us interact, then they won’t suspect a thing. And, if the university finds out, then they won’t fire you, if I’m not a direct student of yours.”

“Eve…”

“I know it’s a lot but I can handle it. I already looked into alternate classes. They’re all full, but I think if I email the professor, I can wrangle my way in. If I have to, I can wait a year.”

He looks across the table at me, pensive and stoic. I want to crack through his walls. I want him to see how I really feel about him.

“Carter, I truly am sorry. I was tempting you. I knew you were trying to stay professional. But I think that this way, we can be together. We can keep it quiet. I swear I won’t tell a soul. Our secret will be safe. I promise.”

He sighs, then he runs a hand through his short hair.

God, he’s so fucking handsome.

“Eve, this is never going to work. It’s not just one thing. It’s several. Work. School. Aiden. Your father. My mother. I don’t see how we can ever get past all of those obstacles.”

“I can talk to Aiden and my father.”

He gives me a long look. “They’ll never come around.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m a realist, Eve. As much as I would love to…”

His voice fades off and he shakes his head.

“Love to what?” I demand that he finishes his sentence, frustration threatening to overwhelm me.

He leans forward and grabs my hand across the table. His palm is warm from his coffee cup.

“Eve, I would love to peel that dress off of you. I would take the opportunity to engrave every inch of your skin onto my memory. I’d love to sink my cock into you and see what it feels like to be buried completely inside of you. You don’t know how much I want that, Eve.”

His words were like bullets to my heart.

“But I can’t. There’s too much. We have to stop. We can’t let this progress any further. Last time, we went way too far. That’s a mistake we can’t let happen again.”

“But Carter, I think you’re wrong!” I protest.

“I know you do. But I’m older than you. I’m wiser. So I’m making the call here. It’s best we don’t spend any more time alone. It’s obvious we can’t control ourselves under those circumstances.”

“Wow,” I whisper, my eyes filling with tears.

“Don’t cry, Eve. Please. Just go.”

I can feel the exact moment my heart breaks wide open. The fact that it happens in a fucking Starbucks at eight thirty in the fucking morning doesn’t help with the pain and humiliation of being so publicly and decidedly rejected.

For one brief moment, I search Carter’s eyes, seeking a twinge of regret I can hold onto. But there’s nothing but somber resignation and sadness that must surely reflect my own feelings.

Slowly, I nod, tears falling down my cheeks.

He reaches out a hand and brushes one away with his thumb, which only makes more tears fall at his tender gesture.

“Goodbye, Carter,” I finally whisper, pulling myself to my feet and forcing one foot in front of the other until I’m outside. As soon as I lock myself inside my car, I collapse into a puddle of tears and heartbreak. The feeling is laced with a healthy dose of anger at Carter for not being brave enough to give us the shot that we deserve.

ChapterSixteen

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