Hard To Love (Professor / Student)

Talk To Me

A few hours later I throw on a black sweater and a pair of dark washed jeans before I take an Uber downtown to the bar. Evan's brother waves me in and I take a seat at the bar.

"Whiskey Neat, please" I say to the bartender as I take off my jacket.

A minute later a man takes the stool next to mine.

"Come here often?" He asks and I can't help but laugh a little before taking a sip of my drink.

"No." I lie. The last thing I want right now is to have a conversation with this kid.

"I would have recognized a beautiful woman like you if you had." He says, trying to flirt.

"I said no." I repeat and look at the guy. He's nothing special, sure he's young and pretty good looking but just not the type of guy I go for.

"Chill. I just wanted a conversation." He says with both of his hands in the air.

"No you didn't. You watched me walk in here alone and decided to have a go. But I'm good, so go away." I say and slam back my first drink. The guy storms away, defeated as the bartender pours me another drink.

"That was harsh." She says and I shrug my shoulders.

"Just not in the mood."

"You don't have to justify yourself to me. It was pretty cool" She says and I smile a little and take a sip of my new drink.

A few minutes later someone sits down on the stool next to me and I shake my head.

"Look, dude, I said no." I say before looking up. My eyes meet Mark's confused eyes.

"What?" He asks and I shake my head.

"Don't worry about it. I have it handled." My second and third drinks go down like water. When the bartender begins to pour a fourth Mark puts his hand up.

"She's good." He says and the bartender looks at me. My eyes bounce between Mark's and the bartender's before I signal for another drink. She pours it and heads to the opposite end of the bar. I wrap my fingers around the cold glass as my eyes meet Mark's, daring him to say something.

"Ness." He warns as I take a sip.

"Mark." I say and take another sip.

"Stop."

"Stop, what?"

"Why is it that whenever we have a disagreement you turn to alcohol?"

"Because alcohol doesn't fuck you over."

"Oh no? What about in the morning?" He asks and I shrug

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." Two more sips and the drink is gone. At this point if I were to stand up the alcohol would probably get the better of me. But instead, I pretend like I am fine.

"I came here to talk."

"How did you even know I was here?"

"There's only three places you would be and you weren't in your dorm or on the basketball court."

"Well I really don't feel like talking." I say as the bartender pours me another drink.

"Ness." Mark starts to say and I put up my hand.

"I can handle myself."

"Oh I am well aware." He says while running his hand over his face, no doubt tired.

We stay at the bar for another half hour. I pull out my phone to call an Uber but Mark takes it from my hand.

"I'll drive you home."

"I'm fine. You're tired, go home. I can make it back to school fine."

"I wasn't talking about you going back to school."

I stand up from the stool and use the bar to balance myself. "Mark, I'm fine. Go home." I say, trying to act as sober as possible.

"Just let me drive you home. Please?" He asks as I close my tab. I cave in and the two of us walk to the door. Just as we are about to walk outside the guy from before catches Mark's arm.

"Good score dude. She was feisty." He says as him and his buddy laugh.

"What did you just say?!" Mark asks, now royally pissed.

"Mark, it's fine. Let's go." I pull his other arm and he pulls back.

"Is this the guy who was bothering you before?" Mark asks.

"Mark, it doesn't matter. Let's go." Mark gives in and we walk outside. I lose my footing off the step of the bar and Mark catches my arm.

"Don't say anything" I mutter and straighten myself out. He laughs a little and shakes his head.

"I forgot how sexy you are when you're drunk"

"Ha Ha. You're not sexy when I'm drunk" I mutter and he laughs again

"And you thought I was the hot head." He says as we walk to his car. We pull up to his apartment a few minutes later.

"I thought I said I wanted to go back to school."

"Yeah, I changed my mind." He says before turning the car off. We get up to his apartment and I lie down on the couch.

"You can have the bed."

"The couch is fine."

"God, you are beyond frustrating"

"Good night, Mark"

"Night." He mutters and heads to the bedroom.

(I know a lot of you are probably thinking just get over it. Mark's a good guy and you're going to ruin what you have. You might not know this, but I am super independent and extremely stubborn. I tend to ruin a lot of things that go well for me.)

The next morning I wake up with a rested mind and a guilty conscience. I sit up with a slight hangover, waiting for Mark to wake up. About thirty minutes later Mark strolls out of the bedroom wearing nothing but a pair of basketball shorts. God I love that man. Our eyes meet and he nods his head in total understanding.

"Coffee?" He asks and we walk to the kitchen. I take a seat at the table as he makes both of us coffee.

"Mark, I'm sorry." I start to say and he shakes his head.

"No, I'm sorry Ness. I shouldn't have laughed at you when you told me about Frank. I was just caught a little off guard. Frank is a good guy but if he makes you uncomfortable I'll stop inviting him over."

"I'm not saying you can't be friends with the guy. I just wanted you to understand how he made me feel."

He nods in understanding as he pours the hot pot of coffee into two mugs. "I know. I'll talk to him, okay? Frank has always been this flirty guy. It's not an excuse but he's not used to women turning him down, especially when they are as beautiful as you."

I blush a bit. Mark places the mugs down on the table and kneels in front of my chair. "Ness, I am really sorry. You know I hate seeing you drunk. And I absolutely hate being the reason why you pick up that glass."

"Thanks. Mark, I want you to know that when I drink I don't do it out of spite. I do it because it makes all of the bad things go away for a little bit."

He nods and cups my hands in his. "Like the nightmares you've been having?" He asks and my eyes meet his.

"That's one of the things, yeah. I'm also in college and I'm going to drink." I make cit very clear to him.

Mark takes a seat in the chair next to mine and leans back. "I know. And I'm still trying to figure that part out. I only want what is best for you, but I know you have to learn those lessons on your own." He admits and I smile slightly.

"Thank you. I promise if I ever need help, I will call you. Okay?"

He nods his head "That's all I ask."

We finish our coffee and talk out some more things. Eventually we make our way to the couch and spend the day watching old Disney movies.