A Star Wars Reylo AU: The Taming of the Professor

Thirty-Eight

Rey sat on the floor of Master Luke's studio with a row of other students. Mercifully, Master Luke had invited her to join a beginner's group of adults. Ben had told her there were plenty of classes with five-year-olds at her level, and teased her that she was welcome to join one of those if she didn't like this one. 

They all wore the same uniforms in crisp white. Both Ben and Master Luke wore black. Rey wore a black tank top and a pair of yoga pants. If she didn't already feel out of place, she certainly did when she sat down beside mostly men who at least looked like they had a clue. This was the second session this group of students had been together, and they all knew each other. 

Ben moved through a kata, showing them the forms they would learn this session. Rey wondered why people used the word "drooling" when a person gaped at someone they found attractive. Her mouth was dry as sand, because she hadn't kept her lips together through the exercise. When he finished, the students all stood and spread out. 

Rey made her way to the back of the room and stood with another woman. She was short and curvy, with brown hair tugged back into a severe braid. Rey tried to follow the examples Master Luke provided, while Ben moved around the room and critiqued the students, adjusting their placement. He barely glanced at her, and passed right by to correct the woman she was standing with. 

When he walked away, the woman leaned over and whispered, "He's the only reason I keep coming to this class. He's nice to look at." 

Rey nodded, trying to keep her face placid. "I agree." 

After class, when the students were packing up and leaving, Ben returned to the back of the room. "Rey." He nodded to her as if they hadn't just spent the last few days . . . it struck her as very funny. "Would you mind staying after class for a minute? I'd like to speak with you about your first day." 

The brown haired woman shot her a look which Rey interpreted as "aren't you lucky" and left. When the room had emptied, Ben loomed over her. He pushed her back and she bumped into the wall. He followed, his hands grasping her hips. She lifted her chin, and held his gaze. 

"You did horribly today," he said. 

"Yeah. Sorry. That was a lot harder than self-defense." 

He leaned in and kissed her, not pulling back when the brown haired woman rushed into the studio. She yelped. "Sorry! I forgot my scarf!" She snatched it up, shot them a wide-eyed look, and disappeared back out of the room. 

Ben dropped his arms and laughed. "Thank you." 

"What just happened?" 

"That's Elizabeth. She keeps trying to corner me alone. She comes back in here after every class, having forgotten something. At first I thought she was just scatterbrained, but I suspect there's more too it than that."

"You're right about that. She finds you pleasing to look at." 

"Ogle is more like it." 

"I ogled you the entire class." 

"I know. It was distracting." 

"I'm not sorry. You barely spared me a passing glance." 

"Had I looked at you, I would have attacked you right here in the middle of all of these people. And you're not able to fend me off yet." 

She responded so predictably when he talked to her like this. He was honest to a fault, and she greatly enjoyed these kind of admissions. 

"What are you doing between now and your shift?"

"I should take a shower and read." 

"I would be more than happy to help you with both of those tasks." 

He offered her his arm and they headed out of the studio. Master Luke waved them out, his expression still tinged with a concern. 

"You'd think he was my mother," said Ben as they drove home. 

"Why is he so worried?" It puzzled her. 

"The last relationship I was in ended poorly." 

She turned in her seat in the truck and focused on him. He grimaced. 

"How so?"

"Well, she got tired of the life I had to lead to obtain the position I currently hold at the University. She wanted my undevoted attention. And when I couldn't give it, she gradually became more angry until she couldn't handle it anymore. And then she left." 

"I'm sorry. That sounds terrible." 

"I chose my career over her. I didn't realize it at the time, but I wasn't in love with her. I loved her, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't the kind of love I was willing to sacrifice to keep. That's not a good sign, but I missed it. Luke didn't. He warned me several times. I didn't listen. I was much younger then. I like to think I've grown up since."

"What happened to her?"

"Last I heard she was pursuing acting in New York. We don't keep in touch." 

Rey nodded. She had never been in a relationship like this. But he was older than her, so maybe if she had met him in her early thirties, she too would have had a tried and failed serious relationship. She tamped that thought down immediately. It was possible she was living that scenario right now. The idea made her queasy. 

Once they were inside of his townhouse, with coats and boots put away, he pulled her into a tight embrace. 

"Which first? Reading or shower?"

Reading. She needed to read, or she would fall behind in her study with Dr. Hux. And then Ben's teeth pressed into her earlobe, and the little bit of sense she had left stopped contributing to her decision making process. 

"Shower," she said instead, wondering when she had become so weak. 

Shower didn't just mean shower, and they both knew it. She felt him smile against her cheek.