Page 7 of Tempted
“As you can see on the maps I’m handing out, there are several places to seek out for initial outings toward the end of the year. As much as I’d love for this to be a hands-on experience for you all, you’re first years so there will be very few trips allocated to this class. However, I’ve circled a couple of safe sites for anyone who’d like to go out and explore on their own. You’ll notice there’s a big red X through the Northern tip of the island. This does not mean X marks the spot,” he smirks at his own joke, pausing to allow the low laughs to stop before continuing on. “This means that it’s not considered a safe place to go. I know there will be many of you who’d like to prove me wrong and go investigate on your own, but I know this island like the back of my hand, and when I say it’s a no-go zone, I mean it. If I find out anyone, and I do meananyone,” he emphasizes, staring directly at me, “goes there, it will be an automatic fail and suspension with the probability of expulsion.”
Gasps ring out around the room, and my back straightens as I find myself becoming more curious than before. Suspicion lingers in my veins as I listen to complaints and questions as to why such an intense punishment would be instituted. I feel like I’m missing something big so I try to search the deepest recesses of my brain and only serve to give myself a headache as I try to fight through the murkiness of what was said when I was last with him. I don’t know how I know, but I can feel it. This has something to do with whatever we talked about.
“Why?” The word slips from my mouth loud and clear before I know what’s happening and I can’t help but narrow my eyes in suspicion as my body tingles all over with distrust.
“It’s simple. Your safety is my top priority, followed up with fueling each of you with enough academic knowledge that one day, you may find yourself questioning the ins and outs of your archeological dreams, and realize everything you need to know is already there, locked away from the time you had a stubborn professor who cared more about the reading material than he did the exploration of the dangers that lurk in the ruins,” he addresses the concerns of the class.
What is this guy hiding?
“That’s it then? You don’t want us to get any hands-on learning?” I ask, practically squinting now at the man I suddenly dislike immensely.
The smirk on his face when I say “hands-on learning” tells me he wants to make a sarcastic quip and is holding back, thank the gods.
“I wouldn’t say that. In fact, I like to think about it as though I care more about your well-being than your desire to dig a hole in the ground,” he snarks, any facade of professionalism gone when he speaks to me. “Look, we’re still going out on pre-scheduled digs, and if you take a peek at the map, you’ll see that I emphasized plenty of great areas for those who are driven enough to go out on their own, but those ruins aren’t safe without proper equipment, and an experienced team. Crumbling foundations and wild animals are only minute examples of the dangers that one could run into, not to mention there’s the potential for sinkholes, poisonous plant matter, and a whole slew ofotherthings you likely couldn’t even imagine.”
“What kind of other things?”
“That’s not for you to worry about. It’s inconsequential because you’ll not be going there, right, Felix? God forbid you get expelled and Dr. Reichmann finds out.” His smile is practically venomous as he steals the last word, knowing I can’t argue that.
But now I know for sure that he’s hiding something, and I intend to find out what that is. All I have to do is make it happen without getting caught. Should be easy enough… right?
“Felix, I’d like you to stay after class,” Professor Douche Nugget announces as I’m packing my things up, making snickers go off around me.
Great, now I’ll be considered the troublemaker amongst my peers.
“Sure thing,” I concede with an edge to my tone. I’ll be lucky to survive this year without grinding my teeth to tiny nubs with how hard I’m clenching my jaw.
Taking my time, I allow the rest of the class to leave before I make my way down to Carmichael’s teaching podium. I’m feeling a little alarmed at how vastly different I feel around him from only a couple of weeks ago. Even this morning, I’d been hoping for another glimpse of him, convinced I’d had the time of my life and now I’m not so sure. I can’t even trust my own memories. It’s almost repulsive, how I’m feeling. And not simply because he’s my professor. I’ve just spent the entire ninety minute course ignoring most of the topic discussion, trying to sus out everything I’m feeling. It still makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, but I can’t shake the feeling that something bigger is at play. It seems only too coincidental that the one time in my life I hadn’t been wearing my protective crystals—as odd as that sounds—I’d mysteriously been brainwashed somehow by this guy.
And there’s no denying that I was. There’s literally no other explanation for what’s happening to me. Mental blocks don’t happen like that, usually reserved for people surviving traumatic events. Sex on the beach wasn’t traumatic, unless you consider the fact that my partner was a friend of my mother.
So gross.
Be it some hypnotherapy or something else, I don’t know. What I do know is that I’d wanted to walk away from him originally and that’s when that weird foggy feeling descended and everything else was a blur until I felt his cum drip down my legs, and then he disappeared without a trace, only for me to feel obsessively drawn to him. But now—when I’m wearing my long-time, freshly recharged crystals—I see him and I feel like his entire aura is… bad. That can’t be coincidental.
He stares at me for a long moment, his brow furrowing in concentration then frustration the longer he holds my gaze. Whatever he’s thinking isn’t a good thing.
“Did you know?”
“Did I know what, exactly?”
“Did you know that I was the daughter of one of your colleague’s—yourfriends.”
“I understand that you’re freaked out—”
“Freaked out? Ha, no.” I argue. “I’m not freaked out. I’m grossed out. Age gap aside, you’re a liar and it feels like you’ve manipulated me somehow. Everything about whatever happened with us before needs to be scrubbed from existence.”
He stares at me intently for a second before responding. “Whatever happened? Do you not remember?” he asks, a small smile playing on his lips, like he’s happy at the thought that my memory isn’t intact but doesn’t want me to know.
He’s got a terrible poker face.
It’s seemingly a good idea to let him think I remember little to nothing, which isn’t far off from the truth, so I give him next to nothing.
“I remember your dick inside me and then you taking off like an asshole. I must’ve gotten wasted or something because that’s about it.”
He’s full blown smiling now, and I know I made the right call. When I figure out what it was that he did to erase my memory, I’m going to destroy this guy.
“You did drink quite a bit. I tried to stop you, but you’d already done too much damage by the time I’d realized. Glad to know you remember coming on my cock though. At least you remember the best part,” he says.
