Page 45 of Learn Your Limits
My hands find his waist as I move down the final step to his level. “I’ll get it together,” I promise him. “It’s just going to be harder than I realized.”
We’ve only been back for a day, and already I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin without the freedom to touch him or kiss him whenever I want.
Lifting my head, I glance quickly around the room to make sure we’re alone before I slide a hand to the back of his neck and pull him toward me, pressing my lips to his. I don’t mean for it to be a heated moment, and I know that it can’t lead to anything more, but I’m desperate to steal this piece of him for myself to get me through the rest of the day.
Milo kisses me back hungrily, his tongue swiping at my lips and brushing against mine for only a second before he’s backing away. I’m tempted to chase the taste of him, but I settle for his hand cupping my jaw. “Muñeco...” He rubs his thumb over my bottom lip, eyes focused on my mouth like he’s thinking about all the things that distracted me from class today.
The noise from the projector idling seems to snap him back to where we are. Clearing his throat, Milo steps back, and I do the same, even mirroring the small smile on his lips without meaning to.
He turns to walk back to his podium before I hear him say, “Chapters forty through forty-two will help with what you missed today.”
Chapter thirty-four
Emiliano
The weeks between my vacation with Reid and Thanksgiving have felt like a blur. One full of longing, stolen moments, and a lasting itch under my skin from being unable to spend quality time with him.
A silver lining from our return to normal is how Reid has improved his attention in my class. The incident from the first day back had me concerned this secrecy might be too much for him. In all honesty, it is too much for me, but I’ve had years of experience schooling my emotions and developing a mask of professionalism to not raise suspicion.
We need confidentiality, yet there's nothing I love more than seeing the blush bloom on his face whenever we make eye contact in class. It rivals the blush that runs along his body whenever I take his cock down my throat during office hours or the color that is left on his hips after quickly fucking him into my desk.
As thrilling as our sneaky sessions have been, I dread every time we have to separate, wishing what we experienced back at the cabin was our life every day.
Coming upon our next break, it was my hope to spend the holiday with Reid, but his family demanded his presence at a gathering. He’ll be attending with Avalon, so I am comforted knowing he’ll at least have a friend there. My secret boyfriend and his fake girlfriend get along fairly well, cut from the same cloth of a demanding upperclass family. Avalon is aware of our situation. Reid trusted her enough to reveal our relationship, and I trust Reid’s judgement.
It’smyjudgement that’s been called into question after a morning call with my family.
Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday we celebrate in its traditional American custom. It’s more of an excuse to come together in our family cabin located in northern Arizona. Dinner is whatever my father hunts instead of a turkey. And whatever we might be eating, my mother is an expert at bringing a Guatemalan flair to the meal. The rest of the night is spent around the fire drinkingatolilloand catching each other up after months of being apart.
My younger siblings, Javier and Sophia, were already with my parents when I called my mother. I figured I might as well ease the family into the news of my relationship instead of dropping the information on them and potentially ruining a nice dinner.
I knew they would take no issue with me being in a relationship with another man. The issue arose when I explained who that man was to me.
The battle of my conscience has not ceased since Reid and I started our secret relationship, only quieted, but with telling my family of the misconduct, it feels like the doubts—and guilt—have been given a megaphone.
I’m dating a current student in secret, and if the university were to find out, I’d lose my job.
My family was distressed at the situation I’d decided to pursue, and rightfully so. The risk is great, even when I’ve reassured them the relationship with Reid is not what it initiallyseems. More than anything, I try to reassure myself that I’m not using my position of power over Reid, but I know the mere fact that the imbalance is present is an issue of ethics.
Yet none of that quells the inexplicable pull I feel for him. He’s become everything to me over this semester. With each day that passes, the thought of losing him exponentially outweighs losing my career.
My family’s overlapping lines of questioning stopped only when I let them know I had every intention of inviting Reid to spend Thanksgiving with us. I’ve never brought a partner to a family gathering before, so the moment I mentioned wishing he could come, they understood the gravity of my affection. And thankfully, our phone call was left on a more positive note than I could have asked for.
At least now, I won’t be worrying myself over telling them as I drive.
All packed, I pace around the kitchen with anxious energy before finally picking up my phone and calling Reid. His family’s gathering isn’t until later in the afternoon, so he might have a chance to talk now.
Thankfully, it doesn’t take him long to pick up the phone. In my current mental state, I don’t know if I could have handled today without speaking to him. Not with the weight of the conversation with my family hanging over me.
“I told my family about you,” I blurt as I rub at my temple with my free hand. Inside, I’m chastising myself for not even greeting with a simple hello. For all we’ve been through, I’ve tried to be the composed voice of reason I should be with my age and experience, but right now, I feel like I’m unraveling. Reid and I have enough going against us as is, and my parents’ reaction isn’t a weight I need added to my shoulders.
“How did that go?” he asks, his voice quiet and unsteady through the phone.
“About as well as it could have,” I sigh, rubbing my hand through my stubble as I eye my coffee maker, considering whether or not a third cup would be a sound idea. “They had reservations, but not because of you,” I add in an attempt to comfort him, realizing how concerning this must sound to Reid.
“Okay...” He drags the word out before he falls silent for a moment. “Then reservations about what?”
“They are worried I may be manipulating you, purposely or inadvertently,” I confess, peeling myself away from the kitchen to stand in the foyer instead. Reid scoffs through the speaker, and I can almost picture him rolling his eyes at the suggestion. “It’s a concern that has always been in the back of my mind too,Muñeco.”
