Page 75 of When love and Hate Collide

“Jeyla,” Paxton repeats as if assessing how my name would sound rolling off his tongue. Damn, it sounds good. Grinning, he continued. “I’m surprised to see your application to join my creative writing program next term? I wasn’t aware you had any interest in creative writing.”

“I didn’t either, but I love to read and it’s certainly something I’m eager to explore.” Paxton nods, wetting his lips as he rests his arms atop the desk and regarded me closely.

“It’s an intense eight-week program, are you certain you’ll be able to cope with the workload?” I nodded enthusiastically. “You’ll have assessments and more work from your other classes.”

“Yes, Professor Welling, I’m confident I can manage with the level of work involved otherwise I wouldn’t have signed up.”

Paxton smiled, satisfied with my answer and signs the application. “Very well then, consider your application approved. I’ll look forward to seeing you in another one of my classes.”

My cheeks grew hot under his gaze when he lifted his eyes to look at me, and I shifted in my seat.

“Thank you for the opportunity.”

“No, thank you. You’re an excellent student. As I’ve mentioned before, this is my first year teaching, and I’m elated to see that I’ve had somewhat of a positive effect on some of my pupils.” Paxton expressed looking me directly in the eyes.

I smiled and tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. “Well, I really enjoy your class. I think you’re doing a wonderful job. And I’m not just saying that to be polite. Your teaching technique is so diverse compared to other teachers. You don’t dictate; you encourage your students and I think they all appreciate that. Your lectures are never dull because you always keep the atmosphere light by making jokes or remarks or simply making fun of yourself. They’re all really fond of you.” I noticed his cheeks reddening and I bit back the urge to grin.

“And what about you?” He probes, cocking his head to the side, watching me intently. “Areyoufond of me?”

I swallowed thickly, briefly stunned and unsure of how one should respond to such a question, “I don’t think I would enjoy your class as much if I wasn’t.” I replied with a nervous laugh and Paxton’s blue eyes lit up. My cheeks were aflame, as I kept my eyes cast down, staring at my tightly clasped hands.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

I forced myself to look up at him and my body heated when I saw he was watching me intently.

“If that’s all, I should be going,” I offered with a half-smile and stood up with the intention of leaving after he nods, confirming there was nothing further to discuss. When I made it to the door, he stood to walk me out. As I reached for the door, I glanced back at him over my shoulder one last time.

“Thank you for accepting my application, Professor,” Paxton nods again, and as I went to turn the handle of the door, he reached out and caught my wrist.

I went stiff, every muscle in my body tensing while my heart started pounding erratically against my ribs. Slowly, I turned and met his waiting gaze. We stared wordlessly at one another until he tugged me forward, so I was standing directly in front of him with my face upturned. Paxton leant in a little, his blue eyes lowering from mine to my lips that were parted a little.

“Is this okay?” he whispers, his mouth ghosting over mine. Well, it’s not but it sure didn’t feel wrong. With my nod of affirmation, it was blatantly clear by the look on his face that he’d inwardly debated his next move, but whatever battle he was having within himself dwindled because he leant forward, closing the already too small gap between our mouths.

My eyes slid shut when he brushed his lips over mine tenderly before pulling back to gauge my reaction. My eyes opened and I peered up at him. Our eyes barely come together before we leant in again and this time going in for the kiss we were both yearning for. The last thing I recall is my bag slipping off my shoulder and hitting the floor with a dull thud. Pushing up on my toes, my arms circled his neck, and he gripped my waist, keeping my body against his.

God, the moment our tongues touched we lost all control, he backed me up against the wall beside his office door, and we made out zealously.

I mustered up the strength to stop him before things got too out of hand and we both did something we would regret later. It’s not like he’s a random boy at the school, he’s a teacher, a member of the faculty with his career on the line.

“This isn’t smart.” I whispered against his lips and felt him smile softly.

“No, it absolutely is not,” he agreed, pulling away to put some space between us. “Shall we talk for a minute?”

That talk lasted a total of ten minutes before I was straddling his lap and we were kissing heatedly again. We spoke for a while in between kisses, and then he asked me to meet him for drinks that evening at a bar away from campus.

I did, and from then on, we started seeing each other discreetly. Keeping our relationship off campus wasn’t easy, but we managed to keep it off the radar and no one was any the wiser.

Our relationship progressed quickly and a couple of weeks after I tell Ashlyn about us and she made her disapproval of our relationship very clear, but when she saw how much I liked him and how happy he made me, she conceded.

“I can tell you now that this isn’t going to end well Jey, but promise me you’ll be careful?” I gave her my word, and she smiled and urged me to tell her all the sordid details.

And then one by one the red flags started to pop up. Paxton and I spent most of our time together at mine and Ashlyn’s place. I did wonder why we never went to his place, but I never thought to question him about it. I figured when he was ready, he would invite me. Months go by, and we get so much closer, especially after I slept with him for the first time. I’d always said I wanted to wait for the right guy to have sex for the first time, but with Pax it felt right, and I was falling for him hard and fast and every time we spent together it became harder to resist him. It helped that he never pressured me, he was always a gentleman and stopped when he thought we were going too fast.

Our relationship went on for almost two years, minus the break ups and fights in between. I was so in love with him, and I believed he felt the same for me. How could I not when he whispered it to me in such intimate and heartfelt moments.

I was living the fairy-tale and he was my handsome prince charming; my forever.

One night he showed up at my door, dripping wet with a diamond engagement ring and asked me to marry him. I burst into tears, ecstatic and accepted his proposal, throwing myself into his arms. How lucky was I to find the right guy the first time? Not very it turned out, because there’s no such thing as a perfect man or a fairy-tale ending which I brutally found out three weeks into our engagement. We planned to announce our engagement during the summer break, I was going to bring him home, and finally introduce him to my parents.

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