Yes, Sirs (Book 1 of Desire's Den)

Chapter 143 - Mateo

She was my student.

Callan and Gideon knew she went to my school and didn't tell me.

I wasn't talking to my friends, and Emma wasn't talking to me.

It was a mess all around, and I was too much of a mess myself to do anything about it. I'd never been this angry with the guys before, and I couldn't help but feel betrayed by them.

Strange to think that only yesterday morning, I'd woken up with excitement humming underneath my skin and been so ready for the day to start. Teaching was my passion, and fuck if I hadn't missed it these past couple of months.

My first class teaching corporate finance had felt amazing. It was good being back. If this would be my last semester for a couple of years, I had plans to savor it. Of course, needless to say, it all went downhill from there.

The second I saw Emma, my heart practically stopped beating. Before I registered that she was actually there in my class, all I could think about what how beautiful she looked. My gorgeous girl. But then, the moment was up, and my heart started beating again, so fucking fast I almost thought I was having a heart attack.

Usually, I could sense Emma the second she was nearby—it was almost impossible not to when she outshined even the sun—but this time, I'd been too distracted to notice that she was sitting only a couple of feet away from me.

I had taken in her tense form, and willed her to look up at me, but she wouldn't move her gaze from the notebook in front of her.

A second turned into two, and then three until I had to force my focus to the girl behind her whose turn it was to introduce herself. I couldn't concentrate on what any of the students said; my mind too tuned in to our girl.

When it was finally Emma's turn to present herself to the class, I froze. Her eyes met mine as she rose from her seat, and I had to quickly shut down my emotions, or else the other people would see just how deeply I'd fallen for their fellow student.

It broke a piece of me that I had to pretend she meant nothing to me when in reality, she meant the whole fucking world. In a matter of weeks, she became my most important person. The absolute worst part about yesterday, though, was the heartbreak clearly written across her face. I could tell that her overactive mind was hard at work. She didn't even realize I'd already fallen, and there was no way for me to undo it now—not that I wanted to.

It was crazy how well I'd gotten to know Emma in such a short amount of time. She was just so easy to read, and I loved that about her. Most people, including me, hid behind fake smiles—or in Gideon's case, a very real scowl—because showing our true feelings left us feeling vulnerable. But Emma, she hid nothing. And in that class, I could read her every thought and emotion. I could read her heartbreak and her resignation, just like I'd read her love and adoration two days prior. She already thought we were over, and a part of me knew it was because she cared about me enough to let me go—I couldn't let that happen.

It hurt watching her like that when I couldn't do anything to put her at ease. It had taken everything in me to not haul her into my arms and wipe away her sad expression with kisses until her beautiful smile once again resurfaced.

Then, she'd spoken with a strong, steady voice so at odds with her broken gaze, it made my breath hitch. Fucking hell, I'd wanted to tell the class to get the hell out of there so I could be alone with our girl. I'd longed to hold her and tell her everything would be okay because we would find a way to make it work. I loved being a professor, but at the risk of losing her, I'd choose to risk my job in a heartbeat.

As the class went on, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I went on autopilot. My mind wasn't thinking about the other students or the material we would cover throughout the course. No, my mind was focused entirely on the girl I couldn't even look at because my gaze would surely soften if I did.