Professor Cumberbatch

Part 6

I knocked on the door to Benedict's flat, as we had decided to meet there instead of at a coffee shop – we needed a bit more privacy due to the nature of our conversation.

A few seconds later, the door opened and revealed a nervous-looking, but gorgeous man. "Come in, come in..."

"Thank you." I stepped inside and heard the door close behind me.

We walked into his living area and both sat down, my hands becoming fidgety. I was feeling a bit uneasy because I didn't know how any of this was going to go down.

"We should, um, start with your schoolwork. Then we can talk," Benedict suggested.

"Actually, I finished that entire essay last night after you left. I have it right here if you want to glance at it."

I handed him the essay and watched him read through it, showing approval by nodding his head. "This is very good, especially since you wrote it all last night?"

"I wanted to have it done so we could talk... I can't stop thinking about everything that happened yesterday."

"Neither can I. You said a lot more than I did, but there was still a lot that I wanted to say. I've thought about it now, and if you want to hear it–"

"Yes please," I interrupted him.

"Very well." He stood up and started pacing around the room as he prepared his words. "From the moment you walked in on the first day of class, I knew you were special. You were kind to me when the other students weren't, you were a hard worker from the start, and you had a sense of maturity that no one else seemed to have. As the year progressed, you showed me that you had a genuine interest in the subject matter, and you continued to impress me with your attitude and your work. I hardly thought of you as my student... You carried yourself in a way that made me see you as equal."

He sat down next to me and I listened as he continued talking.

"When your father died, I became worried. I was scared that you were going to lose yourself. I didn't want that to happen, so I decided to intervene. That brings us to the present. What you said yesterday, I feel the same way. But when you kissed me, I was in shock. I didn't know what to do or how to respond because I'm conflicted. I like you as more than a student, but I didn't want to act on it because it's illegal. I also didn't think you felt the same way."

"I don't know how neither of us could tell we had feelings for each other... I mean you were trying to play footsie with me last night!" I let out a slightly pathetic laugh, and he blushed. "But in all honesty, what are we going to do about this, Benedict?"

I could tell he was in deep thought, and I reached out and grabbed his hand as I waited for a response. He didn't pull away, which caused my heart to flutter.

"I can only think of two things, Amelia... We can suppress our feelings towards each other and try to act like there's nothing going on between us, or we can let this relationship grow privately."

"I can't hide my feelings anymore, not since I know we feel the same way. But I'm scared that if we were to be sneaky about it, we'd be caught and you would be arrested."

"I know," he sighed. "This makes it so much more difficult. It's something I would consider though. You only have six more months of school, and we could keep it a secret for that long. And even if people were to find out, you'll be eighteen sooner than that, right?"