The Professor

Chapter Thirty-Nine

"Oh... my... God," I say breathlessly. Collin speaks up from behind me, I can hear how proud he is in his voice.

"It's amazing, right?"

"Amazing is an understatement."

I marvel at the scene in front of me. The ocean, the moonlight glow on the calm water, the gentle sound of waves crashing on the shore... all from a little spot just to ourselves. We had to walk through more woods to get to here but it's a little nook off the coast of San Gregorio and it's another place I wonder how he found.

"Why do you keep leaving me speechless when it comes to locations?" I ask him, turning to face him.

Collin's hands are in his pockets and he smiles, taking the few steps to me. 

"I like to explore if you haven't noticed," he says.

We stand in silence for a few minutes as we watch the water. This place is so simple, yet the secludedness and secret of it makes it a thousand times better. I've never been to a spot like this, a spot that no one else can get to. It makes it intimate and special.

I look to Collin beside me. His head turns to me and he smiles. I feel his hand gently grab mine and the touch sends chills down my spine. His eyes hold mine ever so gently and I feel my heart starting to race. I look to his lips, wanting to taste them and have them taste me. This is the perfect moment for it to happen, it all feels like a dream.

Just when I feel like it's about to happen, Collin speaks up.

"This isn't all of the surprise," he says with a wink, releasing my hand.

"It's not?"

He shakes his head.

"Wait here."

Collin disappears into the trees we had to walk through and I anxiously wait his return. He's only gone about a minute before he pops up out of the trees with objects in his hands. I can't make out what they are until he gets closer to me. One is a blanket, the other a picnic basket.

I gasp.

"Oh my gosh, this is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me!" I say excitedly.

Collin chuckles.

"I told you I'm more of a hopeless romantic."

He spreads the blanket down on the sand and pats it for me to join once he's seated. I sit down on the blanket and watch as Collin opens the basket and digs in it. He pulls out a two candles and my eyes grow wide. This date keeps getting better and better.

"Before you get too excited about these," he says, flipping a switch on the bottom of the candles. "These are battery operated."

I laugh as he sets them down near the blanket. The light from the candles add extra light to the moon, and the combination of Collin lighting up under the moon and candlelight makes my stomach turn in a beautiful way. 

Next he pulls out a container with a colored lid and two champagne glasses. He hands one to me before reaching back in the basket for the champagne. The pop of the cork coming out makes me jump and Collin giggles as he pours some in my glass. He pours himself some champagne and then looks at me with his glass slightly raised, his lips curved slightly in a smile.

"Here's to a beautiful night with a beautiful girl," he says.

I smile at his words and we clink glasses before sipping on our drink. The champagne is lightly and bubbly and soothing as it works it's way down.

Collin takes a sip and then hands me his glass while he picks up the container.

"No night next to the ocean and under the moon wouldn't be complete without champagne," he opens the lid. "And homemade chocolate covered strawberries."

My mouth drops. I reach in to pull one out and bite into it, closing my eyes as I savor the taste.

"You made these?" I ask him when I'm done chewing.

He shrugs his shoulders. 

"I tried. I kept screwing up so I had to get Connor to help."

"How do you screw up chocolate covered strawberries?"

"You'd be surprised."

I eat another strawberry and go to wash it down with Champagne when all of a sudden...

I bolt up from the blanket and rush to the woods.

"Claire?" I hear Collin call behind me. 

I ignore it as I clench my stomach, and bend over, throwing up.

Oh my gosh, how embarrassing!

I don't have time to dwell in embarrassment as another wave hits me and I start to vomit. I feel my hair being pulled away from my face and I want nothing more than to dig a hole in this sand and burry myself in it. I can't believe this.

I stand slowly and keep facing the woods, making sure i'm not going to get sick again. I feel Collin's presence behind me, waiting to see the same thing, and I force back the tears I feel in my eyes from my embarrassment.

This is literally my worst nightmare.

I take a deep breath and start to turn around. I don't look at Collin.

"Are you okay? I think I have some water in the basket, let me go get you some."

My legs feel wobbly just like the rest of my body and I want to go home. I watch Collin dig through the basket and pull out a mini bottle of water and rush back over to me. I keep my head down as he rushes over and hands me the bottle.

"Here," he says. "It's not cold but it should help."

I take the bottle from his hands, feeling weak, and twist the cap off to drink from it. I feel slightly nauseated and my head is starting to spin.

"This is so embarrassing," I say.

Collin gently rubs my back.

"No, no, don't be embarrassed. It doesn't bother me, I just want to make sure you're okay," he says sweetly.

"I don't know what that was. It just hit me all of a sudden."

"It might've been the strawberries. They've been sitting out for over an hour."

I finally force my eyes to look at him and I can see the genuine concern in his eyes. I feel like sleeping and sitting down.

"Do you want to go home?" he asks me.

No, that's the last thing I want.

I nod my head. There's no way I can make it the rest of the night and no way it can go back to the way it was before that happened.

"Let me pack up really quick and then we'll go," he says.

It takes Collin less than a minute to pack everything up. He throws everything in the basket and wads up the blanket before walking back to me. He leads us to the BMW parked on the side of the road and opens the door for me. I climb in on wobbly legs and sink against the leather seats. The coolness of them feels truly satisfying and I rest my elbow on the windowsill while putting my face in my hand.

Collin starts the car and the journey back home. I'm cautious and scared that the movement of the car will make me sick again and despite the nauseous feeling I have the way home, I don't throw up.

The whole car ride is silent and once he parks back at the dorm, he looks at me with soft eyes that match his smile.

"I'm really sorry," I say. "You did so much for me tonight and I had to get sick and ruin it."

Collin shakes his head and gently holds my hand. 

"Don't be sorry, you couldn't help it. When you get to feeling better we'll go back out," he says with a smile. "I promise."

He kisses my hand before helping me out of the car and walking me to the door. He gives me a kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye and walking back to his car.

When I get upstairs to my room, I run a washrag under cold water and bring a trashcan by my bed. Jessica is gone and I lay on my back, pressing the rag to my head. 

I throw up two times during the night.