The Art of Forbidden Romance (Student x Teacher)

Chapter 14

"Hurry up, Win!" Mel shouted at me as she sprinted ahead. I groaned and picked up my pace to catch up with her. We were running to the library to print her paper for Chuck's class. I had printed mine the day before at the cafe, but Mel thought she'd have time before class. In typical Mel fashion, she left her student ID at home, so she couldn't use the printer without me coming to pay for it.

"I'm coming!" I shouted back, breathless. I was out of shape, I knew it, I just didn't like the reminder. A male student held open the door for the library as Mel and I both sprinted inside.

"WALK!!" Shouted one of the library employees. Mel skidded to a stop and I stumbled over my feet, crashing into her.

"Watch it!" She hissed. I shot her a dirty look, gasping for air.

"We - wouldn't - be - here - if - it - wasn't - for - you!" I whispered back between breaths. She rolled her eyes and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to the computers on the far side of the library. She opened her paper and sent it to print and then held her hand out to me. I looked at her blankly.

"Win! Your ID!" She whisper shouted.

"Oh, shit right," I said. I swung my backpack around and unzipped the front pocket for my wallet. I grabbed my ID and handed it to her. Mel stomped off to the printer and swiped my ID to pay. Once she had her paper in hand she came skipping back.

"Thank you!" She said. I rolled my eyes. My heart was still pounding.

"You owe me," I said. She shrugged and glanced at her watch as we walked out of the library.

"Coffee?"

"That works," I said. We got in line at the small coffee hut on campus before class.

We both thought the line would go faster, but they were short staffed, so yet again we ended up sprinting across campus to avoid being late to Chuck's class. My iced tea bounced in my hand, slightly spilling over and onto the lid. Mel was far ahead of me and I cursed under my breath. I would just have to be late. I slowed my pace to a fast walk and took a long sip of my tea, grimacing at the bitterness. They had burnt the leaves.

Mel turned around to check on me and waved her hand at me furiously when she noticed I was so far behind her.

"Go head!" I shouted. "I'll just be late!" She shrugged dramatically and took off running again.

A few minutes later I opened the door to the auditorium for Chuck's class. The room was dark as lecture had already started, but a movie was playing, so Chuck was standing off to the side. I ducked under the projection and made my way over to him. He had a stern expression on his face.

"Sorry I'm late," I whispered. Chuck flashed me a disappointed half smile.

"You'll have to turn in your paper after class," he said.

"It was Mel's fault if that helps," I whispered back, trying to make light of my tardiness. Chuck glared at me momentarily.

"Just go take your seat, I'll talk to you after class." His tone was cold. I was taken aback by his attitude towards me.

"Okay?" I stepped away and snuck my way to my seat next to Mel. She glanced at me with a sorry expression.

"Thanks a lot," I mumbled.

"Sorry," she whispered back. I rolled my eyes and fished a notebook from my backpack. The video ended and lecture continued, Chuck avoiding eye contact with me the whole time. I couldn't understand why he would be so mad about me being late one time. It's not like I was the first student ever to be late to a college class.

At the end of class the auditorium cleared out, Mel tried to hang back with me to explain to Chuck that it wasn't my fault I was late but I told her to go.

"It's fine," I said. "I'll talk to him."

"It's my fault though!"

"It's not a big deal," I said. I bit my lip knowing that it apparently was a very big deal to Chuck. "I'll just see you at home."

Mel reluctantly gathered her things and stepped out of the auditorium, leaving Chuck and I by ourselves. I anxiously slid my things into my backpack, and pulled my paper out of my folder before approaching him.

"Here's my paper," I said. I set it on the podium in front of him. Chuck glanced at me momentarily from his computer, took my paper and then turned back to his screen. I swallowed hard, my nervousness stuck like a ball in my throat.

"I'm sorry I was late," I mumbled. "I was trying to help Mel print her paper and we got stuck at the coffee hut and I was tired of running." I looked down at my paint stained jeans and picked at a hard piece of paint.

"I just figured you wouldn't care if I was late..."

"You can't take advantage of what's going on like that," he whispered sharply. I shot my head up, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't treat me different than you would any other teacher," he said.

"I-I wasn't! I just figured most college teachers wouldn't care if a student was a couple minutes late. None of my other teachers do," I said defensively. Chuck looked up at me from his computer. "I'm not taking advantage of this... maybe you are. Maybe you're taking advantage of this like it's some... some power trip for you."

"Winona," he said softly. "It's not like that."

"It's not like what?" I said angrily. My voice raised slightly and Chuck looked startled.

"Please lower your voice," he said. He rubbed his forehead like he had a brain freeze.  "I'm sorry. I got worried you said something to Mel. I would never take advantage of you and this isn't a power trip or anything like that."

"I wouldn't say anything that would get you or me in trouble."

"I know," he said. "I just psyched myself out a little. This is new to me too." I sighed, feeling the frustration leave my body.

"I know... I'm sorry too," I said. He smiled at me softly.

"Please try not to be late to my class though," he said with a grin. I chuckled.

"Okay, okay," I said. "No promises though."

Our eyes met and I bit my lip, thinking about the way his eyes darkened as they dilated before he kissed me on Friday. He tore away from me, and turned back to his computer.

"Don't you have class?" He asked me, his voice laced with humor. I gasped.

"Yeah! Shit, sorry!" I said. I turned on my heel and dashed out of the auditorium, Chuck's laughter fading behind me.