Page 12 of Lodged

“I’m sorry, Ruin. Did I say something wrong?” I need to know if her change in demeanor is because of me. Fuck, of course, it is. I’m her damn teacher, she must feel intimidated.

“No, not at all,” she hurries to say as she holds my hand, and I jerk in shock. Her touch is electric. She lets go as quickly as she grabbed it, but I can tell she’s as surprised by our connection as I am.

“You could never say something to make me uncomfortable. It’s just I’m still a little embarrassed about you lending me your car.” She lowers her gaze,and my mind drifts back to Monday, when I was chatting with Penny in my office,and Ruin walked in to return my key.

“Excuse me, is this a good time?” Ruin’s face peeks through the door, and I try to stifle my laugh about Penny’s weekend adventures. We try to get together on Mondays for coffee to catch up.

“Ruin, hi. Of course, come in.” She enters and closes the door before turning toward my desk.

“Hi, I’m sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to give you this back. Thank you so much.” She doesn’t even meet my gaze as she speaks rapidly. She offers a wobbly smile to Penny and is out the door before I can react.

“What was that? Fraternizing with a student?” Penny makes a tsk sound as she shakes her head.

“Come on, Pen. You know me better than that. She needed a favor, and I was happy to help, that’s all.” I get up from my chair and quickly catch up with Ruin.

“Hey, Ruin,” I say as I place my hand on her shoulder. She stops walking but doesn’t turn to face me.

“I’m sorry I interrupted, Gio. I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” I chuckle, but Ruin tenses. Fuck, can I be more stupid?

“Penny? No, she’s not my girlfriend. Come on, let me introduce you.” For a moment, I think she’s going to leave, but she turns around and gives me a curt smile. Is she jealous?

When we walk back into my office, Pen looks at me with those sharp, amber eyes of hers. I hold her gaze; I have nothing to hide. She then looks at Ruin and smiles big as she gets up from the chair.

“Ruin, this is Penny. My best friend,” I say as I introduce them. Penny is the first to extend her hand, and Ruin takes it. Why does this have to be so awkward?

“Nice to meet you, Ruin. Gio, I’ll see you later. I don’t want to be late for my next class,” Penny says as she makes her way to the door and waves before leaving. I scratch the back of my neck, not really knowing what to say next.

“Do you have time to chat?” I ask her as I sit back down. She smiles and takes the seat Penny just left.

“How did it go this weekend? Did you have a good time?” I ask her, pocketing the fob key she just returned to me.

“Yes, it was great. I was able to spend time with my siblings and my Mama. I did things around the orchard. It was a good break.” I smile at her. I didn’t realize her family owned an orchard.

“An orchard, huh? That must have been so cool growing up.” I ask, wanting to know every single detail about her life.

“Yeah, my family was one of the founding families in our little town, and my ancestors had a small patch of land, which, with time, kept growing and growing as the family was able to buy more parcels around it. Then my grandpa started an orchard, since the climate is perfect for apples to grow, and it was something he felt passionate about,” she says, clearly morerelaxed than when she came in. I don’t want to make a big deal about Penny or ask her if she is jealous—I’m enjoying getting to know more about Ruin and her family, so I do something I’ve never done with any other student before: I tell her about my grandpa.

“That’s awesome, I didn’t grow up in an orchard, but my grandpa had a lot of land in the Argentinian pampa. He bred horses.” Her eyes grow big with surprise.

“Horses? That’s amazing. It must be beautiful down there. We have a few horses, and I enjoy helping take care of them, but breeding horses sounds so cool.” I nod at her, and for the next thirty minutes, we continue to talk about our families and stories about when we were little. It is astonishing how many things two people from such different places have in common. Not only do we love the outdoors and the same music, but we also love our families deeply and have the best memories with our grandparents.

After that moment of awkwardness, I felt we had a great time chatting on Monday, so maybe we need to do that again? “Are you having dinner at the dining hall?” I ask as the elevator doors open on the ground floor. I hold the door open for her, and throws a grateful smile my way before exiting.

“I suppose I am. It’s the closest place to grab a quick bite.”

“Great, I’m going there, too.” Something like surprise transforms her face before she masks it.Why on Earth did I say that?I never go to the dining hall. I need to say goodbye and part ways before Alyssa or someone else sees us together.

“So which classes have you so busy these days? I know for a fact it’s not my lab.” I give her a playful smile,and she bites her lower lip. Fuck, my dick stirs in my pants. This has never happened before. I should be bidding her good night and running the opposite way, but the need to get to know her is greater than my moral compass, it seems.

“I’m trying to get a minor in parks and recreation, so needless to say I have way more on my plate than I can handle.”

“That’s impressive,” I praise her. Do I think she’s taken on too much for one semester? Yes. Do I think she can handle it? Absolutely.

“Do you think so?” she asks in a low voice, almost shy.

“Ruin, I’m definitely a fan.” A deep laugh bubbles out of her tiny frame and catches me by surprise. Seeing her so free and happy, her body finally looking less stressed, makes me want to join her. So I laugh, too.

We make it to the dining hall in no time, and after spraying hand sanitizer on our hands, we each grab a tray. I motion for her to get in line ahead of me. She curtsies, and I can’t help the way my lips turn up. She makes me feel incredible, like what I do or say matters.

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