Too Bad... I Couldn't Resist: Too Bad Series Book 1

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TEASER

he is mine to be pleasured. She is mine to

be claimed. And she is mine to be taught.

Wanna join the special class with the

dashing Economics Professor Howard Jones and

ravishing Susan Fowler? Then stick around!

Susan is completely off limit because she is a

student from my freshman lectures.

But one look at her perfect hourglass figure and

that infectious warm smile, O-M-G! I know I am in

big trouble!!!

She is like a magnet that keeps attracting me.

The raw attraction that sizzles inside me is

driving me crazy whenever I find her in my close

proximity.

The more I want to resist, the deeper it goes

into my veins.

And the moment she kissed me, all the rational

thoughts, inhibitions and common sense left us

forever.

I know my successful career will be at stake but

I don’t give a damn.

I will break all the rules to make her mine

forever.

But will it be a smooth ride for both Susan &

Howard?

“Too Bad… I Couldn’t Resist” is the first

book in the Too Bad series of standalone

contemporary romance novellas with guaranteed

HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.

Hotness Alert!!!

If you want a super naughty session with a hot

as hell professor who knows exactly how to keep

your nights extra busy, then you know where to

find him…

So let’s begin…

CHAPTER 1

HOWARD

he Department of Economics building

appeared in front of me as I cleared the

walkway; the very same one that passed

through the cordoned area with light vegetation

which was both a park and outdoor sitting area for

economics students. The trees had initially blocked

the building from view, but now that I was in the

clear, I had an unhindered line of sight.

My pace quickened as I bore down on the

building, a sense of urgency spurring me on. I had a

class scheduled for 9 am and I was already running

late.

In fewer steps than normal, I arrived at the

department building and walked through its doors.

The first thing that caught my attention was the

clock that hung on the wall of the reception.

8:55 am.

“Darn it!” I swore under my breath.

I still had to get to my office and pick up the

notes that I had stayed back to work on late last

night. Even at my current pace, I couldn’t complete

that task and still get to class before 9 am.

“Those notes!” I swore again under my breath.

I had tried to convince myself that the notes I

had stayed back to work on were the reason I was

late this morning. But somewhere deep in the

recesses of my mind, I already knew the real reason

why I was late.

I had finished working on the notes by 8:30 pm

and still hadn’t got home before midnight, even

though my house was only about 20 minutes away

from campus.

My mind began reeling as the events after 8:30

pm last night flashed through.

I was already done with the notes and about to

leave when there was a light rasp on my office

door. At first I’d thought it was just the wind and

the emptiness of the department playing tricks on

me, so I returned to shutting down my computer

and preparing to leave.

The light rasp on the door had sounded again.

This time I was sure it was no trick and

someone was really at the door. I’d stood up and

headed for the door when I heard a light shuffling

as if the intruder was preparing to leave. My pace

had quickened as I hurried to reach the door and

open it, my mind already abuzz with images of

someone spying on me.

“Who’s there?” I’d called out, and immediately

I pulled the door open.

The intruder had stopped their retreat then and

turned around at my inquisition.

It was Prof. Bailey, the hot, unmarried

psychology professor who had joined the faculty

only two months ago.

“I figured you might still be around and decided

to take you up on your offer of sharing a glass of

red wine.” She’d finally responded; in her hands

were a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses.

I’d heard a slight tremor in her voice which she

had masked almost immediately. She was obviously

nervous and rethinking her actions, hence the light

rasps she had made on my office door. I’d also

remembered the offer of drinks she was referring

to.

About a month ago, there’d been a dinner for

the outgoing psychology head of department and

most senior faculty members from all the

departments had been invited. I’d met here then

and had flirted with her. She’d been on her own and

drinking a glass of water when everyone else was

already on their second or third glasses of

champagne. I’d eventually found out that she hated

champagne and preferred red wine instead. In usual

Howard Jones fashion, I’d offered to meet up later

and share a bottle of red wine while we trade

stories. I’d completely forgotten about that till

she’d reminded me.

“Sure. Please come in.” I’d offered.

She’d walked uncertainly back towards me as I

stepped aside and allowed her pass through into my

office. Her nervousness had remained even after

I’d shut the door and we’d had one or two sips of

wine from our glasses. Then everything had gotten

pretty intense, rather quickly.

A bulge began to form in my pant trousers as

the memories continued to flood my mind.

I arrived at the door to my office and pulled my

keys out of my pocket as the memories continued

to assault me.

“Good morning Professor Jones.” The sultry

voice of one of my female students, who was in her

sophomore year, snapped me out of my reverie.

Lost in a flashback, I hadn’t noticed her arrival or

presence.

“Shouldn’t you be in class by now, Vivian?” I

queried, struggling to keep my voice straight and

pausing to look at my wristwatch.

It was 9 o’clock.

“Yes, sir,” she said, a seductive smile slowly

spreading across her lips as her eyes travelled from

my chest down to my crotch and back up to my

eyes. “I just thought I could come by and ask you a

few questions before class. Was having trouble

understanding some of the points discussed in our

last class.” She finished, biting her lip seductively. It

was a subtle act, expertly masked with the look of

confusion the girl had plastered on her face.

“Well we are already late for class. Any

explanation would have to come after class,” I

responded curtly, feigning ignorance of her quirks.

“Ok professor. Maybe I could come by your

office after class?” she asked suggestively.

“Perfect,” I responded, still sounding stern. “Oh

and by the way, I need to pick up some of my notes

from the office. Could you help by taking my bag

on to class?” I requested.

“Anything for you, professor,” she said as she

stretched her hand to receive my bag.

I handed my bag over to her and maintained a

straight expression when she let her fingers brush

slightly against mine. She slung the bag across her

shoulder, allowing the strap nudge her breasts

slightly. My straight expression was still in place

when I uttered the words “thank you” and watched

her smile as she turned and headed for class.

I wasn’t a stranger to the flirting and attention I

received from women. I knew already that I was a

really handsome and dashing young man with well-

sculpted and defined features. The fact that I was

also seemingly successful at such a young age

added to the ‘Howard Jones’ frenzy; at 27, I was

the youngest Professor of Economics at the

University of Florida and, in fact, the youngest

professor ever in the history of the university. I was

definitely not ignorant of my sex appeal to the

ladies on campus.

In just the 8 months that I’d been made a

professor and given a teaching role on the campus,

I had several brief but highly satisfying affairs with

female students and members of staff. Nothing

serious though as the relationships were all

unethical; at least that was the reason I gave every

time I pulled the curtain on yet another affair. The

truth however was I wasn’t ready to commit just

yet. Plus there was never a shortage of admirers

and women ready to cross the unethical line and

have a sexual relationship with me.

My last sexual tryst only last night with Dr.

Bailey was testament to this fact.

I chuckled as I finally proceeded to open my

office door and walk in. The sophomore Vivian had

landed in my lap of her own accord. She wasn’t a

bad looking belle either.

‘I’ll have test how far she is willing to take her

crush later today, when she comes by after class

for the supposed explanation.’

With students, I had to be extra careful because

of the laws prohibiting teacher-student relations. I

most definitely didn’t need a broken-hearted

female running to the dean and implicating me in a

sexual scandal that would dent my very promising

career which was already off to a flying start. Time

had to be spent in accessing these female students’

mindsets before going any further; only when I was

absolutely sure that they were the types to keep a

secret could I proceed.

I reached my table and gathered the notes that

had made me late in the first place.

‘Yes they were the reason for my lateness. If I

hadn’t stayed back to work on them, Dr. Bailey

wouldn’t have met me in this office. Not like I’m

complaining anyways.’

Ten seconds later, I was locking my office door

and on my way to class.

The day seemed to roll by as quickly as it had

started. To make matters worse, the tardiness that

had started in the morning continued throughout

the rest of the day.

After the class at 9, I had gone straight into

another class at 11. Then there was the

departmental meeting at 1 that I was almost 15

minutes late for. Other events had taken up the

remaining little time I could spare and now I was

back behind my desk in my office, sifting through

my emails.

One was from the mortgage company. I really

needed to come up with a solution to my mortgage

issues.

I finished reading the email and closed it,

navigating to a search engine ready to continue

with my research. The email hadn’t given me any

hope of an easier payment plan. My request had

been denied.

As I navigated through the new webpage, a

pop-up advert suddenly flashed across my screen. I

made to close the advert when some of its details

caught my attention. It was a flyer advertising

accommodation offers. The location wasn’t

anywhere near but my mind started trying to work

out and fine tune some details.

‘My house is big. A mansion by some

standards.’

‘Can’t I do something similar and offer up

some rooms for rent, most especially the rooms

downstairs?’

‘No one is staying in them at the moment, so

why can’t I use them to generate income?’

‘Is this a good idea?’

‘It would only be till the end of the mortgage

payments.’

‘I have just about a year left, don’t I?’

‘This could work.’

A knock sounded on the door, pulling me away

from my thoughts. By the time I’d answered, I’d

made my decision.

‘It’s going to work. I’m going to go ahead with

it.’

“Come in,” I responded to the knock on the

door.

A second later Vivian walked in and shut the

door behind her. There was a smile on her lips as

she leaned back into the door and locked it with her

hands behind her back.

She arched her chest, pushing her breasts

forward and causing them to strain against her

already tight blouse.

“Hello professor,” she said in mock shyness,

her sexual undertone not hidden in any way.

I smiled as I closed my laptop.

‘She really is a siren, isn’t she?’

“Come here,” I commanded, desire already

building up in my crotch.

CHAPTER 2

SUSAN

s soon as I’d walked out of the

Jacksonville International Airport, the

Florida sunshine hit me square in the

face. It wasn’t harsh, but a pleasant light and

warmth that seeped through my skin, spreading

within me and causing me to bubble with

happiness.

I was tugging one big black suitcase behind me

and I could bet I had ‘freshman’ written all over

me; not like I cared though. It had been one hell of

a week preceding my arrival in Florida and I was

only here on schedule thanks to my mom.

‘God bless you mother.’

I paused at the curb outside the airport and

closed my eyes, breathing in the air and letting the

sun warm my face.

“Need a taxi?”

The question from the cabbie brought me back

to the present. He had parked in front of me

sometime during the period while my eyes had been

closed to the world.

“Yes I do,” I responded, recognizing the

excitement and enthusiasm in my own voice. The

cab driver smiled back at my response. I had

guessed he was Caribbean from his looks and his

accent.

“Where you headed?” he asked.

“Gainesville?” I answered inquiringly, trying to

figure out whether the man knew where I was

headed. I didn’t even know where I was headed

with only the address I’d scribbled down to go by.

“You know where that is?”

“Ah! Student I see. I know where that is. Come

on in,” the cabbie responded, stepping down from

the vehicle and turning around to get my luggage

from me and into the trunk of his cab.

“Thank you,” I said as I surrendered my

luggage to the cabbie and opened the back door to

the cab. I was seated in the back seat and spying

my hair and makeup in the rear-view mirror before

the cabbie shut the trunk and walked back to the

driver’s seat.

‘First time in Florida?” he asked as he pulled

away from the curb.

I responded and continued a little chit-chat with

the cab driver as he cruised away from the airport

towards Gainesville. My mind went back to the

address I had told the cabbie as we progressed. I

had secured accommodation not so far from the

university campus and excitement built in me as the

cab continued to gulp the distance between me and

the college. He knew exactly where I was going

and so I decided to relax and enjoy the sights and

sounds of the city as it flew past my window.

Containing my excitement at going to college in

a new city was proving to be an even more difficult

task than I had anticipated. From the day I’d read

the acceptance letter, it had been a blur of partying

and farewell activities lined up back to back. With

my entire partying schedule, mother had still

managed to get me ready for college just in time,

not without hassle though.

In fact, I’d barely found a flight heading to

JAX, which was just over an hour and a half from

Gainesville, the area where my new university and

accommodation where located. Mom had pressured

me into looking for accommodation while still in

Chicago instead of waiting till I’d landed. She’d

been of the opinion that I needed to settle down

quickly since university was already in session and

didn’t want me living out of a hotel and having to

run around looking for accommodation instead of

going to class. Her foresight was spot on as always.

I’d sat at my computer at home and begun

surfing the web for accommodation offers when I

stumbled on one, not so far from the university

campus. I could tell I had stumbled on a really good

deal and immediately snapped up the phone to call

the contact number that was displayed on the flyer.

A weak and frail male voice picked up on the

other end of the call, stunning be for a bit before I

proceeded to introduce myself and state the

business of my call, somewhat relieved that my

landlord was an old man and not a young serial

killer. I’d chuckled at the thought, before realizing

that the weak and frail voice wasn’t in the mood to

have a conversation and was rather in a hurry to

end the call. With a renewed sense of urgency, I’d

quickly proceeded to make a commitment so as to

secure the offer of accommodation before I lost out

on such a good deal.

When the deal was sealed, I’d gone downstairs

to tell mother who’d responded by asking me

whether I’d made a plan to send via cargo my

excess luggage as I obviously couldn’t fly from

Chicago with all my bags.

In the end, I’d flown with just one bag with the

rest of my luggage already on its way. Till it arrived

by cargo, however, I was going to have to make do

with the one big luggage currently sitting in the

trunk of this cab.

Time flew by as the cab bore down on its

destination. After almost two hours, the cab arrived

in front of my accommodation.

“This is it ma’am,” the cab driver announced,

causing me to look around.

“Where?” I asked, looking around and not

seeing anything that looked remotely like what I’d

expected my lodging to look like.

On a second appraisal, I was certain the cab

driver had taken me to a wrong address as it

seemed we’d driven into a highbrow neighborhood.

“That’s where you are going ma’am,” The cab

driver iterated, pointing to a white Victorian-style

mansion.

I was about to protest again when I saw the

number and address of the mansion I was looking at

on the gatepost.

“Wow!” I exclaimed in shock, not believing my

luck and the kind of deal I’d stumbled upon.

‘This house is really beautiful.’

The cab driver stepped out of the cab to get my

luggage out of the trunk. I followed him out of the

cab in a daze and stepped onto the sidewalk, my

eyes remaining transfixed on the house in front of

me.

The cab driver returned with my luggage and

placed it beside me on the sidewalk. He told me the

cost of my fare and I pulled my purse out of my

bag, counted the exact fare and handed it over to

the driver while mumbling my appreciation.

“Anytime ma’am,” the driver said as he turned

and walked back to his vehicle. Seconds later, he

had driven off, leaving me standing on the sidewalk

admiring the house.

After what seemed like an eternity, I gathered

myself and approached the wrought iron gate of the

house. I expected to see a bell that I could ring but

there was none. On closer inspection, I found the

gate was unlocked, so I pushed it open and walked

in.

Slowly, I approached the front steps of the

house and walked up them till I was standing in

front of the door. Here, I found a doorbell on the

doorpost. I let go of my suitcase and pressed it.

The sound of the ringing doorbell echoed

through the house without a response.

‘I hope I haven’t come at a wrong time,’ I

thought, hoping that someone was at home to

answer the door.

‘But he’s an old man. Where could he possibly

have gone to?’

After waiting a brief moment, I rang the

doorbell once more.

‘He’s an old man. It would definitely take him

some time to get to the door,’ I concluded.

With that thought, I turned away from the

house to face the route I had just come, admiring

the grounds of the house. Moments passed and then

I heard some shuffling from within the house, like

someone coming to the door. I turned just as the

door opened.

My breath caught in my chest as I was graced

with the most handsome man I’d ever laid my eyes

on. His face and build seemed liked it had been

sculpted by an artist. His eyes were a beautiful

hazel shade and his teeth were a perfect white. He

was holding a box of tissue in one hand, a mug of

tea in the other, and dressed in bathrobes, with his

nose having a shade of pink.

My breath released slowly, but I was still

slightly disoriented and dazzled by how good

looking the man was.

‘Who is this?’

‘Is he a relative of old man Jones or is he old

man Jones’ caretaker?’

Finally I found my voice and made to speak.

“Hi! I’m Susan,” I said, hearing how my voice

stuttered slightly. “I’m the new tenant. Is Mr. Jones

around?” I continued, my voice steadying a bit.

“I’m Mr. Jones,” the strange man replied,

shocking me even more.

Finally I understood. The box of tissues, the

pink nose, the bathrobe - my landlord wasn’t an old

man as I had erroneously concluded. My landlord

was this handsome and dashing young man after all,

who apparently was down with a flu.

My heart skipped a bit.

CHAPTER 3

SUSAN

pulled my suitcase behind me and walked into

the apartment on the invitation of Mr. Jones.

He’d stepped aside to allow me entry into his

home and was currently securing the locks on the

door. I was still dumbfounded at my discovery of

who my landlord was.

My mind journeyed back to the first time I’d

heard his voice; so weak and frail. No wonder he’d

been in a hurry to get off the phone. That must

have been at the onset of the flu when it had hit

him the hardest.

From the look of things, he was still sick; but

still he looked dashing. Time had seemed to stand

still when he’d first opened the door and stunned

me into silence with how handsome he was. After a

brief introduction, I’d remained silent, not knowing

what to say, till he’d invited me in.

He finished locking the door and turned to face

me. The color of his eyes and the intensity of his

stare made me swallow involuntarily. His eyes

darted to my neck briefly as he noticed the

swallowing action, and back to my eyes in the

space of milliseconds; my knees began to grow

weak under his scrutiny.

‘Those eyes. They don’t miss a thing, do they?’

‘And his lips…’ They were the color of peaches

and supple in appearance.

‘What would it be like to kiss them?’

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Mr. Jones’

face contort in the manner of someone who was

about to say something. My eyes immediately

returned to his as I perceived he had grown weary

of the uncomfortable and awkward silence that had

settled between us. I waited for his words and

suddenly, his face relaxed. Almost as if he’d

changed his mind on saying what it was he’d

wanted to say.

A subtle feeling of disappointment coursed

through me as I was anticipating watching his lips

part as words flowed out of his mouth. Then he

slowly brought his mug to his lips and sipped from

it, causing my lips to part slightly in unison with his.

I saw his brows arch slightly in response to my lip

movement, causing me to regain my composure. I

was acting like a naïve school kid standing in front

of a crush and I needed to get a handle on things.

I licked my lips that had suddenly gone dry and

cleared my throat in order to restore some of my

lost control.

“Mr. Jones, you’ve got a beautiful house,” I

said, turning to look around.

“Thank you.” His response was brief.

“And where would I be staying?”

“Oh, your room is the one down this hallway,

on the left. I left the key in the keyhole. Sorry I’m a

mess at the moment and can’t welcome you

properly nor take you on a tour of the house.”

“It’s okay Mr. Jones. I’m sure I’ll be able to

handle myself from here. By the way, have you

taken any meds? Because your flu seems to have

lasted longer than normal.”

“I hate meds.”

I chuckled at his response. He couldn’t have

sounded any cuter with his response admitting his

disgust for pills and medications.

“Well how are you planning on getting better,

Mr. Jones?”

“Plenty of rest, I guess. And please call me

Howard.”

“Ok Howard. I think you should get back to

resting. I’d find my room and settle in. It would be

cruel for me to keep you on your feet,” I

responded, my voice laden with genuine concern.

Howard smiled and excused himself with

another apology, turning and heading for the stairs.

I accepted his excuse and stood there watching

him climb the stairs till he got to the top, turned a

corner and disappeared from sight, not pausing to

look back once.

I heaved a sigh, grabbed my suitcase and then

proceeded to find my room, following Howard’s

description.

CHAPTER 4

HOWARD

rritated by the ringing bell, I dragged myself

to the door and undid the locks. Pulling it

open, I was stunned to find the most beautiful

lady I’d ever laid eyes on: her face, her body, her

skin, and the way her hair bounced around her

shoulder as she swung to meet my gaze.

I couldn’t describe the beauty of her face, only

that I was rooted to the spot in amazement. Her

body was voluptuous and curvy in all the right

areas. She was busty, possessing firm, big and round

breasts. Her hips were so curvy, they gave her an

hourglass figure. Her golden brown hair had me

mesmerized with its texture, color and girth. It

flowed all the way down to her back and didn’t

scatter loosely with the wind.

Then she opened her mouth and spoke.

It was the most angelic voice I’d heard, its

quality leaving me speechless. She had called me

Mr. instead of professor and I didn’t mind. On

second thought, she didn’t even know I was the one

she was inquiring about. I’d just wanted her to keep

talking, before remembering I hadn’t answered her

question.

Then my mind had started reeling.

‘She’s the new tenant?’ I thought as I invited

her in, stepping aside so she could pull her suitcase

through the door.

‘But she sounded so mature on the phone,

almost like a colleague or a working class lady.’

Seeing her now in her jeans and pink T-shirt,

which was engraved with some juvenile inscription,

I immediately knew she was a student.

‘Most likely a freshman,’ I concluded, seeing as

she had called me Mr. Jones. Going by that and by

her obvious stunned reaction at meeting me in

person, she didn’t know who I was; a near

impossibility for someone who’d been a student of

the university for over a year. Therein lay another

problem.

‘I can’t accommodate a student in my house.

Not just a student, but a female student. My career

will go down the drain if the dean and any other

colleagues get a wind of it.’

Yet when I faced her again and tried to open my

mouth, I found myself staying silent. In resignation,

I brought my mug to my lips and took a sip,

resolving to inform her of my decision later.

‘At least let her rest from her journey.’

‘Give her time to sort out new accommodation

for herself. Even if news got out of this, I can

explain it away as a mere oversight. Two to three

days should be enough.’

I resolved to tell her tomorrow morning as I

described how to locate her room and excused

myself to get back into bed.

I couldn’t very well let her get stranded. With

that, I convinced myself that was my reason for

letting her stay while I walked up the stairs.

However, when I got to the top of the stairs, my lie

was glaringly obvious to me.

I’d been dazed by her beauty and curviness

which was what had rendered me silent. It had

taken all of my remaining self-control to keep from

turning back at the top of the stairs and looking at

her. A sense of foreboding swept through me as I

realized this girl could get me in deep trouble if I

didn’t control my lust.

Some hours later and I was still awake thinking

about her. Night had come and still she had stayed

in my mind. I was about to get up from bed and go

knock on her room door when I heard the stairs

creak. Someone…she was coming up the stairs.

I shut my eyes immediately and pretended to be

asleep.

CHAPTER 5

SUSAN

ight fell quickly and I was in bed staring

at the ceiling, wondering about the

beautiful stranger that had welcomed me

in. I had gotten into bed after my initial attempt to

clean and arrange the room had failed. The room

was spotless, however, so there wasn’t much I

needed to do other than arrange my personal

effects in the wardrobe and put my suitcase away.

I’d gotten into bed after that in a bid to take a

nap, however, I found it difficult to get my mind off

of Howard. My eyes drifted to the bedside clock

I’d placed there and the digital display blinked 8:45

pm. It had been over six hours since I’d arrived; six

hours since I’d first set my eyes on Howard and six

hours since I’d last seen him. Suddenly I found

myself getting out of bed and going to look for him.

‘What are you doing Susan?’

‘Where are you going?’

The barrage of questions hit me as soon as I’d

got out of bed.

“Oh come on. I’m just going to check on him.

He’s sick after all. It’s nothing wrong with checking

how he’s feeling.” I whispered in response to my

thoughts. “It’s just a checkup. Nothing more.

Nothing less.” I concluded as I put on my slippers

and slipped into a robe.

Yet as I made my way towards the bedroom

door, I recognized the lie, causing me to chuckle

slightly.

I opened my bedroom door and was

immediately struck by the darkness in the hallway.

I’d lain in bed with the light on and as such was

disoriented by the darkness beyond my bedroom

door.

I paused at the door, giving my eyes some time

to adjust before stepping into the hallway, closing

the door and shutting out the light spilling from the

bedroom.

“What the hell are you doing, Susan?” I

chuckled to myself as my heart began to race.

My pupils had dilated enough to allow me see

all the way to the end of the hallway. I looked at

the bedroom door once more, contemplating for a

moment opening it and walking back in.

‘I’m just going to check on him and make sure

he’s okay. Nothing more, nothing less.’

With that last thought, I released the door knob

and turned back to face the hallway. I trudged

down its length till I cleared it and was standing at

the bottom of the stairs.

‘How do I even find his room?’ I thought to

myself.

When he had cleared the stairs in the afternoon,

he’d turned left and disappeared from sight; left at

the top of the stairs was the direction of his room, I

guessed.

‘But in this big house, there is bound to be a

number of rooms up there. How do I know which

one is his?’

I turned and looked longingly down the hallway

I’d just walked through, confused as to whether to

retreat or proceed. After a brief moment, I sighed

and began heading up the stairs.

My first step caused a loud creak to reverberate

round the house, freezing me in place.

‘The stairs creak?’

‘Where did that come from? That hadn’t

happened in the afternoon.’

I was sure even the neighbors had heard the

creak of the stairs from down the street. After what

seemed like an eternity, I took another deep breath

and continued my ascent up the stairs.

The creaking sounds reduced in intensity as I

climbed.

‘Relax Susan. He’s asleep. There’s no way he

can hear this,’ I thought.

‘Even if he is and he comes out to investigate,

I’d simply tell him I was bored of being in my room

all day and came out to explore the house.’

I made it to the top of the stairs and paused to

hold my breath, listening for any sounds.

Nothing.

There were only two ways to go at this point.

To the right or to the left.

Howard had turned left in the afternoon, and so

would I. I walked to the left and immediately

noticed an arch leading to a hallway, similar to the

one downstairs. I walked through the arch and, in

the faint light, immediately noticed this hallway had

three others branching off from it.

I paused and closed my eyes in the dark.

‘How do I find his room?’

When I opened my eyes, my pupils had

readjusted to whatever available light was coming

through to the hallway. I immediately noticed

something I hadn’t seen before. One of the rooms

in the first tributary had light streaming from

beneath the door. All the other rooms where dark.

‘That must be it.’

I made my way stealthily towards the door,

trying not to make any more noise than necessary.

I arrived at the door and slowly placed my ears

on the cold wood to listen.

Nothing.

This had to be his room. Even though I could

hear nothing, there was no other reason why the

light would be on in this room when the rest were

dark, no other reason than that I’d arrived at his

room.

I gave a little rasp on the door and waited.

When there was no response, I placed my hand

on the door knob, turned it slowly and gave the

door a little nudge. The door swung open

effortlessly, flooding the hallway with light from the

room and stunning me for a brief moment.

After my nerves had settled, I looked in and

saw Howard wrapped up in his bed. My body

tingled as I made the final decision to cross the

threshold and step into his room.

“Howard? It’s Susan,” I said lightly with the

intention of announcing my presence.

Howard remained silent. Apart from a steady

rise and fall of his chest, he remained motionless.

‘He is asleep’.

I closed the door behind me and walked lightly

on my feet to his bedside. The blanket was pulled

up to his chest, covering the rest of his body. His

chest up, however, was exposed.

‘He’s probably naked under the covers.’ I

suppressed the thought as quickly as it had risen.

I stood there for a while, watching him breathe

softly. His features mesmerized me even more than

they had in the afternoon. My eyes traced every

inch of his exposed body; from his hair, to his

forehead, to his closed eyes and eyelashes, to his

nose, to his lips and finally to his chest.

I was drawn to him and suddenly found myself

sitting gently on the bed. I continued staring at him

until my eyes fell on his lips once more. In the

afternoon, I’d admired them. Now, however, I was

even more drawn to them, wanting to bend down

and kiss them.

‘What would it be like to kiss those lips?’ I

wondered as the lips continued to hypnotize me.

Then in a moment of blind madness, where all

my inhibitions and common sense had ceased to

function, I bent forward and kissed him.

Time stood still as my lips settled lightly on his.

I’d intended it to be a light kiss but my lips

lingered. And then the absurd happened.

He kissed back.

My breath caught in my throat from the shock

of finding out that he was awake. He kissed me

again, his lips demanding and, slowly, my lips began

to part in response. The kiss deepened, both of us

surrendering to the passion that threatened to

consume us, feeding off and being fed in return. My

hands came up involuntarily to cup his face as I

continued to kiss him.

“Christ, what am I doing?” I exclaimed as I

snapped away from the kiss.

“I’m so sorry,” I said as our eyes met. “I’m

so…” I tried continuing with my apology but my

voice trailed off. My braveness or foolhardiness –

depending on who was asked – had eventually

waned.

His eyes opened wide and his mouth contorted

as if he was about to say something. But he stayed

silent.

The embarrassment was more than I could

handle. I had to flee the scene as soon as I could as

I felt the floor was about to open and swallow me

whole.

I shielded my face with my hands and rose

abruptly. From the gaps in my hands, I saw his

hands fly out from under the covers and reach for

me. He tried to pull me back but I escaped his grasp

and continued apologizing as I fled the room.

He laid back in bed and made no attempt to

move as I fled.

CHAPTER 6

HOWARD

had stayed up all night thinking after Susan

had fled my room.

First I’d replayed every memory in my

head; from meeting her to her abandoning the kiss

and escaping to her room. I’d wanted to go after

her so bad but common sense had finally prevailed.

I’d remembered just in time that she couldn’t

stay in my house. A male professor accommodating

a female student was never going to sit well with

anyone who heard about it. My career was on the

line.

I’d always been so careful and it was amazing

how I’d almost abandoned common sense with the

beautiful lady lodged downstairs. On the occasions

when I had sexual trysts with students, I’d gone

through a rigorous process of making sure they’d

been conditioned enough to know not to jeopardize

my career by spilling the details of our relationship

even after it had ended.

With Susan, I’d almost made the mistake of

getting involved without first ensuring to protect

myself.

‘Good thing I wasn’t the one who went

downstairs to her room.’

‘This can still be remedied.’

I’d stayed awake, trying to devise ways to

manage the situation that was already blowing out

of control. I wasn’t going to deny that the attraction

to Susan was stronger than anything I’d ever felt.

She definitely possessed what it took to bring about

my ruin. Whenever a man was willing to abandon

reason because a woman was involved, his ruin was

just around the corner. Susan had to leave, no

doubt.

‘But how do I get her to leave without having

her becoming vindictive?’

I stood up from my bed then and walked to the

small reading table in my room. For some reason,

I’d been feeling a whole lot better after the

encounter. I pulled an A4 notepad and pen from the

side and began writing.

Twenty minutes later and after going through

over ten drafts, I’d written the perfect letter. I went

over it one more time, looking for errors and

judging if the letter would have the desired effect

on Susan.

‘It would have to suffice.’

I tore the paper from the notepad and placed it

directly on the table, using the pen to hold it in

place. I’d wake up early and tack the letter to her

door before leaving for the office. I’d have to be

quiet so as not to wake her up.

‘I need to avoid a run in with her so that the

message of the letter could sink in.’

I stood up and walked back to bed.

‘Susan! What a lady.’

CHAPTER 7

SUSAN

woke up with a start.

After fleeing Howard’s room last night,

I’d found sanctuary in my room. A part of me

had wanted to turn back and run into Howard’s

arms and lips. Another part had hoped Howard

would follow me out of his room and to my

bedroom. I’d seen him reach out and try to stop me

from fleeing, but I’d fled all the same.

By the time I’d gotten to my room, I was a mass

of confused and conflicting emotions.

‘What were you thinking?’

‘The kiss felt nice though. Forget nice, it was

magical.’

‘Oh Susan what have you done?’

‘You’ve messed things up and now everything is

going to be awkward.’

‘But he kissed me back, didn’t he? I didn’t

imagine that, did I?’

The barrage of thoughts assaulted my mind,

whipping me into a frenzy. I was still in that state

when I’d fallen asleep.

After a restless night, I was now awake and

staring at the door. The courage that had possessed

me last night was absent. I willed myself to get up

from the bed but my body refused to cooperate.

Only one thought possessed me now.

‘Howard is out there. How do I face him?’

I turned and spied the bedside clock. The time

was 8 am. I needed to get ready and get down to

the campus to begin registration and orientation. I

couldn’t sit in bed all morning because I was

avoiding my landlord.

‘Get up and get ready Susan.’

‘Dash out of the house when you’re leaving.’

‘If you run into him, just say good morning.’

With that, I stood up from the bed and jumped

into the shower. I was out in five minutes and

dressed in ten. I applied light makeup and

straightened my hair before picking up my

backpack. I spied myself in the mirror and was

content with my look. Now all I had to do was jet

out of the house without having a chance to run

into Howard.

I stopped at the door and listened for any

movement within the house. When I heard nothing,

I opened the door slightly to listen and steal a peek.

The coast was clear.

I stepped out and shut the door.

Something immediately caught my attention.

There was a note tacked to the door on the outside.

I retrieved the note and opened it. It was from

Howard.

Hello Susan,

I hope you rested well. I’d start this by

welcoming you to Florida. With your adventurous

nature and boldness, you’d settle in fairly well.

Looking forward to hearing many stories of your

experiences in this beautiful city.

However, it is unfortunate that our housing

agreement has to come to an end. New details have

come to light that prevents me from being able to

sub-let living space to you, as agreed. I know this

is highly inconvenient and disrupts your already

planned schedule, but know that I am looking out

for your well-being.

To ease the burden of finding a new place and

relocating, I’m offering to lodge you for a whole

week, which would afford you enough time to find

another accommodation. Since I’m also reneging

on our deal, your rent money would be refunded to

you.

Once again I’m sorry for any inconvenience

this will cause you.

Warmest regards,

Professor Howard Jones.

Shock rippled through my veins as I stared at

the note.

‘He’s kicking me out because of what happened

last night?’

My mind began reeling. I needed to get to the

university and get settled in. Now I also needed to

begin finding another place to stay that would be as

convenient and close to the campus.

‘I should have left my ass in bed,’ I

reprimanded myself.

I heaved and turned to walk out of the house.

There was no need to dash out again as Howard

had most likely left for work. And then something

I’d missed in the letter jumped out at me at the

CHAPTER 8

SUSAN

got on campus in a state of disarray, wearing

a blue dress with white flower patterns

printed all over it. My hair was combed

straight into a ponytail and my face was clean. I

hadn’t bothered to take the time to do my makeup.

I was running late for my appointment with the

dean. The appointment came about from my

wanting to take on extra coursework from the

psychology department.

As a result, the dean had asked to meet me by 8

am this morning to discuss the possibilities and

whether she was going to give her approval to

proceed with registering me on the extra courses.

It had been a week since I’d moved out of the

professor’s mansion and secured accommodation in

a building closer to the campus. I’d stumbled on the

new

place

luck

after

narrating

accommodation problems to a course mate,

conveniently emitting the part of the story where I

was staying in the hot economics professor’s house.

My course mate had offered that we move in

together with me reimbursing her with half of what

was paid as rent. I was sold on the idea of being

roommates with her because I was increasingly

getting closer to her. We could study together, go to

lectures together, do assignments together and

basically spur ourselves on to academic success.

I’d moved in a week ago, two days after my

faux pas in the professor’s bedroom. I couldn’t bare

the embarrassment of staying one more day in the

house and having to run into him. Thankfully I

hadn’t. I’d simply left a note for him in the same

manner that he’d notified me of my eviction; a

letter tacked to his door.

Dear Professor Howard Jones,

Thank you for your hospitality throughout my

brief stay in your home. I’ve been able to secure

other accommodation so I’ll be moving out today.

Please courier the cheque refund to the

address appended at the back of this letter.

I’ll leave your keys under the flower pot at the

door.

Regards,

Susan Fowler.

The letter had been brief on purpose. I’d tried

to save face in the eyes of the professor and I felt

keeping the letter as brief as possible helped me

retain some dignity.

I’d pinned the letter to his bedroom door and

left his keys under the flower pot as I’d indicated,

before walking out the gate and never looking back.

I’d hoped I’d never have to run into him again.

I hadn’t seen him since that day but had gotten

myself into a mix up in a bid to avoid him. When

looking through one of my course outlines, I saw

his name boldly displayed as the lecturer in charge

of handling that course. I’d immediately gone into

panic mode wondering how I was going to sit in the

same class looking at Howard for one year.

‘Why in the world did he have to be a professor

in my department? Of all things.’

It didn’t help matters that I was still stuck on

him and apparently so was the whole female

population of the university - staff and students

included.

I heard his name being mentioned everywhere I

went as females all around campus nattered about

him with dreamy eyes and longing smiles. I had

about enough of it as the jealousy mixed with my

embarrassment was going to drive me off the edge.

Finally I stumbled on a solution that was going

to save me from running into him. The solution had

originated with my roommate who’d taken on some

courses in the psychology department. As a result,

of the workload, my roommate was permitted to

miss Howard’s lectures. Another lecturer was put in

charge of tutoring her and the others who’d done

the same thing, as Professor Howard wouldn’t be

available on the only time slot that they had

available to take their lectures.

If I followed my roommate’s example, I’d be

able to escape Howard for another year. By my

sophomore year, if I did have any course with him,

he probably wouldn’t even remember me.

It was this decision that had me on the way to

the dean’s office this morning. Since my high

school grades were lower than all the others who’d

taken extra course work, the dean had insisted on

meeting me to make sure I could handle the extra

load.

I stumbled into the departmental reception and

spied the clock that hung on the wall. I was five

minutes late. I made my way to the dean’s office

and knocked on the door before proceeding to open

it.

“Good morning. I’m here to see Professor

Betty,” I said to the dean’s secretary.

To get to the dean’s office, one had to come in

through the office of her secretary.

“Do you have an appointment?” the secretary

queried without lifting her head from the stack of

papers in front of her.

“Yes. Susan Fowler.”

“Ok. Go in. She’s been expecting you,” the

secretary responded, pointing to the door that led to

the dean’s office without lifting her head.

I made my way to the door, knocked twice and

pushed it open. I stepped in and closed the door

behind me. Turning to face the dean, I froze.

Professor Howard Jones was sitting in front of

the dean with his back to me. For a brief moment, I

considered escaping. He hadn’t seen me yet.

“Oh welcome Susan. I’ve been expecting you,”

Professor Betty said, causing Howard to turn and

look at me.

My heart skipped in my chest. His face

betrayed no emotion yet I recognized the glint that

briefly appeared in his eyes. He turned to face the

dean and excused himself so she could have her

meeting with me.

He stood and walked past me to the door, the

familiarity of his scent almost causing me to faint,

and then he was gone. This was the first time I’d

seen him since our encounter and I couldn’t have

wished for a better time for the ground to open up

and swallow me whole.

“Come sit, Susan,” the dean said, dragging my

focus back to the present.

I made my way slowly to the seat Howard had

just vacated, and lowered myself into it.

The dean began talking about my choice but I

wasn’t hearing a word. My mind was absent as it

had left the room with Howard, travelling back to

the night in the professor’s bedroom.

‘How could you have been so foolish?’ I

scolded myself for the umpteenth time.

“Susan? Susan! Did you hear me?” the dean

was asking.

“Sorry?” I responded, completely disoriented as

her inquiry brought my mind back into the room.

“I was asking why you wanted the extra

coursework,” the Dean said, her brows arching in

concern. “Are you alright dear? You’ve turned pale

all of a sudden,” the dean noted.

“I’m sorry, professor. I just feel sick all of a

sudden,” I responded.

“Oh dear. Alright get to the clinic then and find

out what the matter is. We can have this meeting

when you’re feeling better,” the Dean remarked.

“Thank you, professor.” I expressed my

gratitude as I stood up lightheaded.

“Take it easy.” I heard the Dean caution me as I

made my way out of her office.

“Thank you,” I said to the dean’s secretary as I

exited her office.

I’d barely shut the door when a hand wrapped

around my arm and pulled me into the opposite

office. I would have let out a scream if it were not

for the way I was feeling. The door to the office

slammed shut before I even had a chance to

reorient myself to the lightning speed with which

I’d been kidnapped. As I turned to face the door

and my captor, I saw Howard staring at me. The

look in his eyes had me shivering in fear.

He stepped towards me and I began backing

away from him. He continued his advance,

matching my retreat step for step. Finally

something stopped me from retreating any further. I

turned back to see that I’d backed into the table in

the office. With nowhere to go, I turned back to

face Howard only to turn into his kiss.

The kiss had come out of the blue, sending my

mind into confusion.

I had no idea what was happening. One second,

I was backing away from Howard in fear, the next

second he was kissing me smack on the lips. My

eyes were open and I saw clearly the passion that

was etched onto his face, forcing his eyes closed.

He’d cupped my face with his hands and his lips

had begun to probe. I remained unresponsive, not

out of irritation, but out of confusion.

His lips probed again, seeking entry into my

mouth and I finally surrendered to the passion that

had been building within and was at this moment on

the verge of consuming me whole. My eyes closed

shut as my lips parted, leaving his tongue free to

find its way into my mouth, drinking from a

fountain that seemed incapable of quenching its

thirst. As I kissed him back, his hands left my face

and cupped my breasts.

Desire welled up within me as his thumbs

stroked my nipples through the fabric of my dress

and bra. The kiss deepened as my nipples strained

against my bra, completely erect and wanting to be

free. His thumbs brushed over them again causing a

throbbing sensation to originate between my legs.

My hands went up involuntarily and circled his

neck, while his mouth continued to demand from

me.

He lifted me and placed me on the table, his

strength not coming as a surprise to me. His hands

began rolling my dress up as I adjusted to allow the

lower parts of my dress ride up to my waist. My

hands came off his neck and planted themselves on

the table to support my frame as his hands now

found a new mission and began stroking my thighs,

slowly making their way to the wetness that lay

between my legs. Finally one of his hands shifted

my panties to the side while the other touched me

lightly. Sparks flew in my head.

The kiss had continued uninterrupted until this

moment when he touched me; my lips freed his as

my head rocked backwards in a moan.

“Fuck me,” I heard myself whisper with my

eyes closed and my head tilted backwards, driving

him mad with desire. “Fuck me now,” I said, not

believing the words that were coming out of my

own lips.

He’d continued to touch me until I felt

something else toying with my labia and clit. My

eyes opened and I saw him holding his erect penis

in one hand while the other held my panties to the

side.

The desire I saw etched onto his face drove me

closer to the edge as he sought permission to take

me. A simple nod from me was enough approval as

he slowly slid into me, causing another moan to

escape my lips. My eyes watered both from a

combination of the size of his manhood and the

passion that was spinning out of control within me.

He began moving back and forth, slowly at first

until he had settled into a rhythm. His thrusts began

to increase in intensity and speed as I struggled to

steady my body with my hands.

The molten fire that had begun spreading within

me was making it impossible for me to maintain

focus.

“I’m cumming,” I whispered, completely lost in

the throes of passion.

“I’m cumming as well,” he grunted as he

continued to thrust furiously.

Suddenly my eyes went white as the walls of

my vagina clenched and my body rocked from the

orgasm that took a hold of me. A scream escaped

my lips and was muffled by Howard’s hands. I bit

his hand, sending him over the edge as well as I felt

him tense and begin to spurt warm liquid into me.

Both of us had climaxed together and our bodies

convulsed in unison from the ecstasy that

enveloped us, as our juices mixed together.

Finally we collapsed on the table, completely

spent.

CHAPTER 9

SUSAN

was the first to recover.

My eyes opened slowly as the objects

around me began to take shape. I was lying

on my back and something was leaning on top of

me with my legs wrapped around it.

Howard!

Howard’s head was on my stomach as he

bunched over me on the table. We had just engaged

in a mind blowing sex session that I wouldn’t have

envisaged happening in a million years. My eyes

looked the length and breadth of the office; from

the books on the shelf to the plaques on the wall.

This was Howard’s office, a fact that had been lost

on me when I’d first been dragged in here.

We’d just had sex in his office.

My body tingled with excitement and residual

sexual energy. I wanted to wake him up but loved

the feel of him clamped between my legs, as well as

the sight of his hair when I looked down. I smiled

and laid my head back down on the desk. No need

to let the moment end just yet.

‘Who would have thought?’

My eyes closed as I drifted back to moments

ago when he’d driven me to the crest and pushed

me over.

Suddenly a knock sounded on the door. Both

our heads came up instantly. There was a brief

pause before the scramble began to get ourselves

dressed.

“Professor Jones?” a female voice said from

beyond the door.

Howard’s head came up at the voice. He turned

to look at me before putting a finger over his mouth

to signal for me to be silent.

The knock sounded again and this time it was

followed by a gentle twisting of the door knob. I

almost fainted as I saw the door knob rotate in its

place. I was already done adjusting my gear, but

Howard was still in the process of belting his

trouser and straightening his shirt.

The knob rotated back to position as the door

failed to open.

I turned to look at Howard and saw him holding

up a key for me to see. He had sensed my fear of

being discovered and pulled the key from his

pocket to show me there was nothing to worry

about as long as we stayed silent. His forefinger

moved to his lips again as he signaled that silence

was very important at this point.

“Professor Jones?” The voice sounded again.

After what seemed like an eternity, we heard

the footsteps of the interloper walking away from

the door to Howard’s office. We both stayed in

place moments after waiting to be completely in the

clear.

Finally, Howard exhaled, causing me to look at

him once more. He returned to the task of belting

his trousers and making sure his shirt was tucked in

properly.

The silence began to weigh heavy on me. We

had just had sex, and minutes ago had escaped

discovery. Yet he’d remained silent and hadn’t said

a word.

“So, what now, Howard?” I finally said.

He remained silent as he finished dressing and

turned around to face me. After I had adjusted my

pants, I sat back on the table so he was in front of

me. He stared at me but remained silent.

“Say something, professor,” I said, stressing the

professor title at my frustration with his silence.

“I don’t know,” he finally responded.

“What do you mean you don’t know? You have

a plan don’t you?” I asked.

“Well the plan is to get out of this office

without being seen. After that is accomplished, I

can think of what next to do,” Howard answered.

My mouth dropped open at his response.

“What?” he asked when he noticed the

expression on my face.

“That’s it? What next to do? I’m just a booty

call to you?” I could hear my voice beginning to

rise.

“I didn’t say that,” Howard responded, rubbing

at his temples.

“So what are you saying then? Because all I’m

hearing is you trying to get rid of me, like this

didn’t just happen.” I said ‘this’, referring to the sex

and gesturing over the table I was sitting on.

“Susan.”

“No, tell me Howard. What are you saying?” I

continued, my voice too high for comfort.

“Susan.”

“I want to know Mr. Professor. What happens

now?”

“Susan!”

“Don’t Susan me,” I shrieked. “Is that it? I’m a

booty call to you now? You trying to get rid of me?

Why the fuck, Howard, are you trying to do that?”

I finished.

“Because this would be the end me!” Howard

snapped finally, sending ripples of shock down my

spine.

His words hung in the air, boring a hole in my

chest.

‘This would be the end me?’ I replayed his

words in my head.

He exhaled and rubbed his temple with his

hands again.

“Susan,” he said softly. “I’m not trying to get

rid of you. I’m just trying to be careful.”

He paused his explanation and came to sit

beside me on the table and I almost leaned against

him, wanting so desperately for him to hold me.

“Susan I’m attracted to you, more than I have

ever been attracted to anyone else before. I can’t

explain it for the life of me, but ever since I saw

you, I’ve not been able to get my mind off you.

When you walked into my room that night, I almost

risked it all by following you back to yours.”

He paused again, this time turning to cup my

face in his hands. His words softened my heart and

made my eyes tear up.

“You drive me crazy, Susan. The sparks I feel

whenever we are in the same space is electrifying. I

can’t deny it. But I’m a professor and you are a

student. The university laws do not allow for a

relationship to exist between us. Hell, if news got

out of what had just happened between us, I’d lose

my job and be disgraced in academic circles.”

A tear slipped down my cheek as the

implication of what he was saying dawned on me.

“I want you Susan. With every fiber in my

being. But I can’t have you. I’m sorry Susan but we

simply can’t be together. Not now.”

I removed my face from his hands and shut my

eyes. He was right and yet the pain that was searing

through me forced more tears through my shut eyes

and down my cheeks. After much struggle I

regained my composure and turned to face him,

while wiping my tears.

“Fuck you, Howard,” I said as I stood up from

his table and walked towards the door.

“Susan.”

“Come open this door for me or I’ll scream and

let the whole world know what just happened in

here,” I threatened.

Of course I couldn’t make good on my threat.

Howard had simply said the truth and there was no

way I could bring myself to hurt him. I just wanted

him to feel some of the pain and fear I felt at being

rejected and abandoned by him.

At my threat, he sprung from the table and was

immediately at my side.

‘Susan,” he said softly, his eyes betraying his

fear for the first time.

The tears threatened to begin flowing again as I

realized he was truly vulnerable and scared of being

discovered.

“Just open the door for me. Howard. I need to

go.”

“Susan,” he said as he tried to reach for me.

I stepped beyond his reach and folded my arms.

I had struggled to regain my composure and

couldn’t afford to break down again.

“Howard please open the door. Please!” I said

with as much strength as I could muster to keep

from crying.

He studied me for a bit and then proceeded to

do as I had asked.

I pulled the door knob and stole a glance into

the hallway to see if there was anyone hanging

around. The hallway was empty.

I turned back to look at him one more time, a

part of me willing him to pull me back into the

office and hold me in his warm embrace.

His lips began to form a word but I didn’t wait

to hear it.

I turned and fled.

CHAPTER 10

SUSAN

sat alone in class, waiting for Professor

Howard Jones to walk in and begin his

lecture. This was the first time I was going to

attend his class and I wasn’t looking forward to it.

My bid to avoid his class had failed as the dean had

decided any extra course work I took on wouldn’t

be beneficial to me.

As a result, I was forced into taking this class.

My roommate who had been my support since I got

on campus was absent. I was going to have to face

this storm alone.

I’d already missed the first class Howard had

taught. I’d sat in the class waiting, just as I was

doing now. Suddenly I’d gotten into a panic and

fled before Howard had arrived. That class had

been a day after our office encounter. I hadn’t been

ready.

Now a week after, I’d given myself enough of a

pep talk to encourage myself to sit in class and

listen to the lecture, in spite of the fact that he was

the one teaching. I’d spied on him all week so that

his appearance in class wouldn’t hit me by surprise,

and now I considered myself ready.

‘The class is noisier today than last week,’ I

wondered absentmindedly.

There was definitely a lot more noise than the

last time I’d sat in the class. I paid no mind as I

brought my wrist up to check the time. As if on

cue, Professor Howard Jones walked into the

lecture hall and headed straight for the podium.

He pulled the board into view, picked up a

marker, and wrote something on the board.

Turning to face the class, he greeted the

students. “Morning.”

There was a chorus of responses for which he

acknowledged with a nod and began his lecture.

I had kept my head down, struggling to focus on

what he was saying and not on the sound of his

voice. I’d kept my face down so as to avoid

accidently making eye contact with him.

Then I heard the whispers. They were in front

and all around me; barely audible whispers but

clearly perceptible to my ears as a result of my

proximity to their source.

“Oh my god! Just look at him.”

“He’s so gorgeous.”

“Look at his muscles. Sweet baby Jesus.”

“What wouldn’t I give to have those arms

wrapped around me?”

“Lord knows I’d fuck his brains out if I get a

chance.”

My female course mates were ogling the

professor, and it seemed to be every female that

was present in class.

A wave of jealousy passed through me as the

whispers continued. It quickly turned into a quiet

rage causing me to lift my head up and stare

straight at Howard.

He’d continued lecturing until he froze on

noticing me. He bent his head as if consulting his

notes for a brief moment before continuing with the

lecture. I continued to stare intensely at him.

I noticed it then.

His eyes tried to avoid me as much as possible

and in the instances that our eyes met, he struggled

to maintain a straight expression.

He was struggling to maintain his train of

thought and this softened my heart and quieted my

rage. He truly was uncomfortable in my presence.

The ogling continued but without a resulting

effect on me. He was a fine man after all; toast of

the females and heartthrob of many. I exhaled and

sat through the lecture, mentally blocking out the

whispers of admiration. I’d been right. Any

relationship between us was illegal by university

rules and there was nothing I could do about it at

the moment.

Time flew by and suddenly the lecture was

over.

After the lecture, Howard couldn’t get out of

the office fast enough. A number of girls had gone

in pursuit of him, all pretending to have something

they needed him to explain further.

I’d stayed back for a bit, allowing the crowd of

my course mates to empty out of the lecture hall. I

wasn’t in the mood to be part of the crowd or the

throng of girls currently in pursuit of the handsome

professor.

“Hi!”

The greeting startled me out of my thoughts as I

turned in shock. A fairly handsome young man,

who was definitely one of my course mates, was

staring at me and had a hand outstretched.

“My name’s David.”

“Hi David,” I said, returning his handshake.

“Well, what’s your name?” he asked, still

holding my hand.

“Susan,” I responded curtly.

“Don’t be frightened, Susan,” he responded

with a nervous chuckle, finally releasing my hand.

“I was sitting behind you during the lecture and

noticed you weren’t taking down notes. I also

noticed you weren’t around during the last lecture,

so I figured you probably hadn’t caught up and was

at a loss for what the professor was saying.”

“Yes,” I lied. “That’s exactly what happened,” I

concluded, forcing a smile.

“Well I could relay to you what was taught at

the last lecture if you want? I’m heading to the

library now,” David offered.

A quick calculation and I decided to accept his

offer. I was supposed to study with Carol, my

roommate, later on tonight, but I could as well let

David bring me up to speed.

“That would be really nice, David. Thank you

very much,” I responded, officially accepting his

offer.

I packed my notes and made my way with my

new tutor out of the lecture hall. On our way, we

passed some female members of faculty, including

the dean. The caucus were all engaged in hushed

conversations and stifled laughter.

David and I walked by briskly, but not before I

had caught a whiff of their conversation. They too

must have seen the entourage of girls following

Professor

Howard,

which

had

sparked

conversation amongst them. When I paid closer

attention as we passed, I was forced to smile. Their

comments weren’t dissimilar from what I’d heard

the girls in my class saying earlier.

I continued my journey towards the library,

striking up a random conversation with David.

CHAPTER 11

HOWARD

made my way back to my office after

standing a while in the library and making

sure my erection had gone down. I’d watched

Susan walk away and wondered how I’d let myself

get entangled in such a mess.

Yes, the attraction to her had been purely

sexual in the beginning, but now, it was blossoming

into something else, something that was growing

beyond my control.

I wasn’t expecting to see in her in class today

and froze when our eyes met. With the look in her

eyes, I could swear that she was moments away

from blowing up and walking towards the podium,

before snatching the stage from me and revealing

our secret to everyone.

When she’d left my office over a week ago, I’d

known she was going to keep the secret in spite of

her threat. The way she’d opened my office door

and scanned the hallway carefully had told me her

threat had just been that of a lady in pain. She was

never going to see it through.

But seeing her in the hall today, and with the

rage that she’d directed at me, I wasn’t so sure

anymore. I’d lost my train of thought briefly, having

to do some quick thinking to mask my blunder

before proceeding with the lecture.

Gradually, as the lecture proceeded, her face

softened and the rage disappeared. She had

reverted to the sweet soft lady who’d captured my

attention in the beginning.

I needed to still be sure that she wouldn’t have

a meltdown and blow the secret wide open. So I’d

discharged

the

throng

girls

that

had

inconvenienced me with their following and headed

back to class.

Just as I turned the corner, I’d seen her exit the

class with another student, deep in conversation.

The sound of her laughter had brought a sting to my

heart.

‘Am I jealous?’ I’d asked myself.

I’d decided I wasn’t before going ahead to

follow them. Every time she laughed, however, the

sting returned to my chest. I finally had to admit

that I was truly jealous that someone was making

her laugh and that someone wasn’t me.

I followed them out of the department,

pretending to be engrossed in the book I was

holding in my hands, when I passed the dean and

some of my female colleagues. They tried to signal

my attention to join them but I’d pretended not to

see them.

I had sexual encounters with some of them who

were standing in that circle in the past and the last

thing I wanted was for all of them to be together

with me in the middle.

I’d finally escaped the department building and

continued trailing Susan. She and the other student

had ended up in the library and walked to the study

section where they’d proceeded to sit and start a

tutoring session that lasted the better part of twenty

minutes.

I’d sat within earshot of their conversation all

through, both impressed at the young man’s grasp

of the lecture and Susan’s assimilation of what she

was being taught. They’d continued on as I’d tried

to remain inconspicuous, the textbook in front of

me opened at a random page.

Suddenly the tutor had run into a snag in his

explanations, causing him to suggest Susan retrieve

a text from the bookshelves to aid in her

understanding. Coincidentally, it was the same text

I had used to deliver my lecture; the same text I

had used to escape my female colleagues; the same

text that was currently open in front of me.

Susan had stood up and was headed to the book

section of the library. I’d recognized this as my

chance to accost her and find the answer to my

question of whether she was capable of holding

down our secret.

Knowing the library better than she did, I knew

exactly where she was going to find the text on the

shelves. I’d jetted off from my seat and went to

wait for her at the end of the shelf were she’d get

the text she was looking for. I saw her walk into the

aisle, her concentration fully on the books in front

of her.

My head remained lowered as I began to

approach her slowly. Finally, I reached her just as I

noticed a smile spreading across her lips. I’d

intended to walk in behind her and engage her

subtly, but in a moment of blind jealousy, I’d

reached out and spun her around. I was certain the

smile was as a result of the boy she’d been sitting

with and I couldn’t hold myself back.

When I’d spun her, however, the look in her

eyes had me melting.

“What the hell,” she whispered, completely

alarmed.

“You’ve been avoiding me haven’t you?” I

queried.

“Are you nuts?” she blasted back, her voice

barely above a whisper. “Of course I’ve been

avoiding you. Isn’t that what you wanted?” she

finished.

“So I take it you are going to keep what

happened between us to yourself?” I probed on

while staring into her eyes.

“Of course I’m not going to tell anyone,

Howard. I cannot do that to you. I was simply

angry when I threatened you the other day,” she

finally said.

I’d managed to engage her civilly up until I’d

asked her who the boy was to her. I’d anticipated

her reaction in the moment of silence before I’d

asked the question. I’d also calculated that moment

as the perfect time to plant a kiss on her lips. If the

answer she’d given me happened to be a lie, the

kiss would both reveal the truth and keep her in

check.

What I hadn’t calculated on was getting drawn

into the kiss as well, so much so that I was ready to

have her again right there in between the library

shelves, not minding the consequences of someone

catching us.

Only her hand reaching for the bulge in my

trousers brought me back to my senses. I’d come

here to clear up my mess and almost stumbled into

something worse than what I was trying to clean

up. More importantly, I realized I was in deep

trouble with Susan. As I watched her walk away, I

knew she was in love with me. Worse still, I

understood that this was no longer just a physical

attraction on my part, I’d fallen head over heels for

her as well.

I was in love with Susan.

The realization caused me to pause at my office

door, my key inserted into the keyhole with my

other hand holding the door knob.

I had no idea how long I’d remained that way

until the voice of the dean behind me stunned me

back to reality.

“Professor Jones?”

I spun on my heels to face her.

“Dean Betty!”

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Oh yes, I’m fine.”

“Ok!” she exclaimed, stretching the word as a

result of her confusion at finding me standing

absentmindedly in front of my door. “Well the

departmental meeting is at 1 pm. I’m on my way

there. You coming?” she inquired.

“I’m right behind you ma’am,” I responded,

forcing a smile. In the whole Susan conundrum, I

had totally forgotten about the departmental

meeting.

“Ok then,” the dean said as she made to walk

away. She turned back after taking a step and faced

me again.

“Are you busy tonight by any chance,

Howard?”

I noticed the shiver in her voice. More

importantly, I noticed that she had switched from

referring to me as ‘Professor Jones’ to simply

‘Howard’. Whatever reason she was asking about

my plans tonight wasn’t official.

“Actually, I’m not doing anything tonight,” I

responded, already anticipating where this was

going.

“Well my ex came to town and decided to take

my daughter out to dinner,” the dean said before

pausing briefly. “We were supposed to go to see the

new Spiderman movie tonight. Now I’ve got two

tickets and no one to go with.” She paused again

trying to form the words in her mouth before

proceeding.

I saw the stress she was going through and

decided to put her out of her misery.

“Yes, Dean Betty. I won’t mind accompanying

you to the cinema.”

“Really? You sure it’s not a bother?”

“Not at all dean. I could do with the

entertainment.”

“Ok then. The movie is at 10 pm. So, we could

meet out front at say 9:30?”

“Perfect!” I exclaimed briefly.

“Alright then. It’s a date.” The dean chuckled

nervously. “Oh and please call me Betty,” she

concluded.

“Alright, Betty. See you at 9:30,” I said as I

flashed my most charming smile.

I watched her turn and walk away in the

direction of the meeting. I’d agreed to the date

tonight for two reasons. One was because the dean

was a beautiful divorcee who had been trying to

make her move on me for a while now, after a long

hiatus from the dating scene. I’d be damned if I

messed with her confidence. Two was to get my

mind off of Susan. Coming to the realization that I

loved her was no small pill to swallow. I needed the

time off and the distraction of tonight before I

decided what I was going to do about her, seeing as

I couldn’t very well continue to ignore her or push

her away.

I turned and opened my door. I had a

departmental meeting to get to and I needed to get

my iPad from my desk.

I’d think about Susan and the dilemma I was in

later.

CHAPTER 12

SUSAN

avid picked me up and took me to the

cinema. It was almost 9:45 pm and we

were there to watch a movie.

After the tutoring session earlier in the day,

David had asked me what my plans were tonight.

I’d confessed to not having any and he suggested

we go watch a late movie at the cinema.

I’d agreed for two reasons. One: I hadn’t been

about town since I got to Florida. Settling into

school and moving accommodation had taken up

almost every minute of spare time I had until now.

Two: I needed to distract myself from my encounter

with Howard at the library.

He’d waylaid me at the shelves, hadn’t given

me a chance to escape and forced me to come to

terms with a new realization that I hadn’t

considered yet. And when he’d kissed me, my fate

had been sealed.

I was in love with Howard.

I wasn’t sure how it had happened but it had

happened somehow. The kiss had been unexpected.

Even more unexpected had been my immediate

response, clawing at Howard and ready for him to

take me right there between the shelves, regardless

of the consequences of being found out.

He’d eventually snapped out of the trance and

stopped us both before we did something that

couldn’t be undone. But as I walked away from

him, I knew I was hooked forever.

Another realization had made an appearance as

well.

Howard was crazy about me.

I hadn’t believed him when he’d said so in his

office, but having him follow me around and

eavesdrop on my study session with David, I knew

his confession was for real.

‘So he’s been watching me?’ The thought had

continued to plague me even after I returned to

David. It had been a struggle to stay focused on

what David was trying to teach me for the

remainder of the session. Eventually, he’d

conceded defeat, citing the fact that I had most

likely reached my saturation point. We’d closed the

book and started having a light conversation, where

he’d finally arrived at the subject of what I was

doing tonight.

Now we were here and I was still finding it

difficult to get Howard off my mind. Now, more

than ever, I knew I didn’t want anyone finding out

about what had happened between us. I couldn’t

bare being the one responsible for putting Howard

in trouble with the university board.

Now that I also couldn’t ignore the fact

anymore that I loved him, I was certain I didn’t

want anything to hurt him. If that meant having

nothing to do with him, I was ready to stay out of

his way.

‘Oh Howard!’

“Howard?” I whispered as I thought my eyes

were playing tricks on me.

Right there at the popcorn stand in front of us,

was Howard. He was in the middle of a hearty

laugh with another woman. The woman turned and

I recognized her as none other than the dean,

Professor Betty.

‘What are they doing here?’ I wondered.

David was beside me, in the middle of

explaining his take on the prequel Spider movie.

According to him, it was important to understand

how the plot merged with the one we were about to

watch. So he was doing his best to refresh my

memory. Apparently, he hadn’t met our professor

or dean just yet.

I halted our advance towards the popcorn stand

abruptly.

“David could we just sit here for a bit? My legs

are getting tired.”

“What about our popcorn?” David protested

lightly.

“We can get it just before the movie starts. I

just need to rest my leg for a bit.”

“Ok. Would you like to sit and let me go get our

popcorn?”

“And leave me all by myself? Such a

gentleman, you are David,” I said mockingly, trying

to blackmail him into sitting.

I succeeded as he removed his eyes from the

popcorn stand and chose a seat for us. When we sat

down, David continued to regale me with the plot

of the movie. I continued to feign interest, while

keeping an eye on our professors at the popcorn

stand.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally

procured their popcorn and left the stand, heading

straight for the door to the theatre. My eyes caught

Howard’s as he steered the Dean into the movie

theatre.

My breath caught in my chest for a moment

before recognizing something else from his look

and demeanor.

Howard didn’t have any hint of surprise on his

face. He’d already seen me and David.

CHAPTER 13

HOWARD

had seen Susan walk into the food court with

the fellow she’d been with at the library

earlier in the day, just as I’d gotten to the

popcorn stand with Betty. I’d almost stumbled in

shock but expertly masked my reaction. I continued

to laugh and regale Betty with my brand of humor,

causing her to erupt in laughter at intervals.

Susan hadn’t seen me yet so I decided to enter

the food court and get the popcorn deal as soon as

possible. The next time I stole a glance behind me,

Susan and the fellow were seated somewhere in the

food court. It had been the perfect time to steal

Betty away and straight into the theatre. I’d hoped

that they weren’t all here to watch the same movie;

but even as I thought it, some part of me already

knew they were also here to watch the same movie.

When I and Betty had got to the door of the

theatre, I handed our tickets to the usher at the

door. Turning back to look at the food court one

last time, I saw Susan staring directly at me. There

was no hint of surprise on her face. Too late. She’d

definitely spotted me already.

I disappeared with Betty behind the door and

into the darkness of the theatre beyond. Betty had

made us sit in the first row of seats before I could

stop her

“You can’t possibly want to sit at the lowest

level. That’s the worst set of seats in the theatre,” I

exclaimed.

“But I always sit there. So I can get out of the

theatre before the crowd gets to the door,” Betty

had protested.

“Forget the crowd and follow me. I’d show you

the best seats,” I responded as I began to climb the

steps.

In truth, the first rows of seats were the worst

seats in the theatre but that wasn’t why I’d rejected

them. I didn’t want to take the chance of Susan

walking in with her escort and seeing me, then

climbing beyond where I couldn’t steal glances at

her without it being obvious. So, I’d climbed to

almost the top before choosing a seat for Betty and

“Are these the best seats?” Betty asked wide

eyed.

“No Betty. The best seats are in the middle of

the theatre, but people have already occupied them.

These are the next best seats in the theatre,” I

exclaimed truthfully.

I settled in and waited. This way, if Susan

walked in, I would be able to see her and watch as

she went to her seat. I’d also be able to spy on her

throughout the movie from this vantage point.

I saw her the moment she walked in with her

escort holding her hand. The familiar sting I’d

gotten in my chest when I’d heard her laughing in

the department earlier today returned. I tensed out

of jealousy but relaxed soon after when I saw her

head darting all over the place, obviously looking

for me.

My heart warmed at the thought that she

wanted to find me in the dark theatre.

Then she and her escort sat down and another

round of torture began.

She had coiled up to her escort as I watched. I

didn’t even notice when Betty had slid her arm into

mine as well. I was so engrossed in her shenanigans

that I was missing out on the movie and missing out

on Betty’s attempt at a snuggle. This wasn’t what

I’d envisioned when I’d accepted Betty’s offer to

the movies this afternoon. I’d hoped for a getaway,

and now I was faced with even more torture.

Finally when I had enough, I asked Betty to

excuse me as I needed to use the rest room. Betty

had offered to follow me but I’d impressed on her

the need to stay so she could tell me what I’d

missed when I got back.

I’d made my way past where Susan was sitting

and I out of the theatre before I paused to inhale

deeply, all in a bid to get my composure back. I

glanced at the food court, which was virtually

empty. At this time, the only people left in the

cinema where those who’d come to watch the late

night movie and a handful of workers. I turned then

and headed for the rest room.

I arrived at the entrance of the rest rooms and

followed the sign that indicated the direction to the

male toilets. I walked towards the sink and placed

both hands on the ceramic surround in order to

CHAPTER 14

SUSAN

had followed Howard out of the theatre.

When I stepped through the doors, I’d

paused briefly for my eyes to adjust to the

light outside. I glanced all over the food court and

beyond trying to find what direction Howard had

headed in when he’d exited the theatre.

After a while, I spotted him at the end of the

food court, heading for the restrooms. I

immediately set off after him, doubling my pace so

I’d catch him in time before he walked into the

men’s toilet. By the time I cleared the food court

and got to the entrance of the restrooms, I saw

Howard walking into the men’s toilet.

“Darn it!” I swore under my breath.

‘To wait for him or to follow him in?’ I thought

briefly.

After glancing about to see if anyone was

around, I made my decision. Asides the late night

movie watchers and a handful of staff, the cinema

was otherwise empty. Most of the movie watchers

were at this moment confined within the theatres

for the movies they’d come to see.

“Fuck it!” I exclaimed softly as I barged into

the men’s toilet.

The first sight that greeted me was Howard with

his head bowed over the sink. My heart melted.

He’d obviously witnessed the show I’d put up for

him and had been affected in more ways than I’d

bargained for.

“Hey!” I barked at him, causing him to jump in

fright.

“What the fuck, Susan. You scared the shit out

of me,” Howard said, as he turned to face me.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” he

exclaimed, suddenly aware that I’d actually

followed him into the men’s toilet.

“I came for you,” I responded as I began my

advance forward, closing the gap between us.

“Came for me?” Howard asked, confused.

“Yes, professor. I came for you,” I reiterated, a

seductive smile spreading across my lips.

Suddenly I closed the gap between us and was

standing directly in front of him, causing him to

back up against the sink. I loved the fact that he

was the one retreating now, the same way he had

made me retreat back at his office when we’d had

sex for the first time.

“What are you doing, Susan?” Howard asked

and, for the first time, I heard a slight tremor in his

voice.

The great Howard Jones was no longer as

powerful as he’d once been in front of me. Here, in

the men’s room, I wielded the power and he was

vulnerable.

“This is the men’s room for heaven’s sake

Susan. What do you think you are…”

I cut him off mid-sentence, planting a kiss on

his lips and silencing him. He responded as I’d

expected as my lips began probing his. I could still

hear some muffled protests so I kissed him deeper.

Finally, all forms of protest stopped as he took over

the reins of command, forcing his tongue deep into

my throat and causing me to go weak at the knees.

I leaned against him in a bid to steady myself

and he grabbed me by the waist, righting me

properly. He continued to kiss me till my head spun

and I forgot how else to proceed. Before I could get

a grip of myself, he lifted me and placed me on the

sink counter.

As at the first time in his office, I was wearing a

dress once more. For someone who wore more

jeans, how I had managed to be wearing a dress on

both occasions when I found myself alone with

Howard was a mystery to me. He continued to kiss

me on the counter until all I wanted was for him to

roll my dress up, push my panties to the side and

slide in like he’d done before.

After waiting for a while, I reached out and

touched the bulge in his trousers I knew was there,

in a bid to encourage him to take it a step further;

after all, I was his for the taking. As soon as my

hands began massaging his bulge, he let out a deep

grunt from his throat into my mouth. The sound he

made spurred me on and I began kneading the

bulge as best as I could.

Suddenly he pulled his head back and pulled me

down from the counter. He spun me around till my

back faced him and then bent me over. I knew

exactly what he had in mind and proceeded

hurriedly to remove my panties by myself, as my

insides

did

cartwheels

excitement

and

anticipation. By the time I’d assumed the position

he’d left me in previously, he had rid his waist of

his trousers and boxer shorts.

I placed my hand on the counter as he stepped

closer from behind and steadied my waist. I felt his

manhood probing for the entrance between my

legs, so I lowered myself even more to grant him

easy access. As soon as he found it, he slammed

straight in, causing me to gasp. Even though I was

already wet and needy, I hadn’t been expecting the

speed with which he used to enter me from behind;

in a weird kind of way, I liked it. I licked my lips

and moaned as he began to thrust into me from

behind.

There was nothing gentle and soft about the

way he was fucking me today. I stared at him in the

mirror and saw him staring back at me. The glint in

his eye and grunt in his throat was all I needed to

know that he intended to fuck me like a crazed

animal.

The intensity and ferocity of his thrust

continued to increase, heightening my pleasure and

causing my eyes to close shut from ecstasy. I could

hear my moans increasing as he continued

thrusting, his pelvic muscles and thighs slamming

into my ass and causing it to jiggle.

“Fuck me. Fuck me harder.” I heard myself say

and swore something had possessed me and was

saying those things.

He suddenly spanked my ass without warning,

sending ripples all over my body. I gasped at the

sensation and asked him to do it again.

“Spank me papi. Spank my ass all over this

counter,” I moaned out loud.

He heeded my request and slapped my ass

harder. I couldn’t see it but I knew my ass had

turned red. Worst of all, I loved it.

Something began to spread from between my

thighs at the point where his thrust ended and

retreated. I could feel the fire welling up from

within me as the sensation of him going back and

forth threatened to throw me over the edge.

My moaned intensified as he continued. “Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes, papi. Yes…” I heard myself

screaming.

Howard didn’t slow down. If anything, my

moans spurred him on, making him go wild with

desire. He continued to thrust as my screams

increased.

Suddenly I felt the urge to pee. I made to run

away from his thrust so I could find the toilet but he

held me in place. The pleasure rippling through my

body also contributed in holding me captive as I

forgot how to express my need to pee.

His strong arms restrained me by the waist as he

continued to pound me from behind. I knew I was

going to go mad if I didn’t pee at that moment.

“Fuck!” I screamed as I finally rode the

sensation to pee and let myself go.

The orgasm took even me by surprise. I began

squirting all over his penis as he paused and

allowed the orgasm to rock my body. I convulsed as

spurt after spurt came out of me causing my eyes to

roll back in my head.

“Oh yes! Ahhhh! Yesss!” I kept on repeating.

I gripped his hands at my waist for support as

my own hands failed me. My strength waned as I

crested wave after wave of orgasm. This was the

first time I’d squirted during sex and the feeling

was out of this world. My eyes closed as little

spasms rocked my body, slowly dissipating till they

were completely gone.

When I opened my eyes, I felt Howard’s penis

spurting and pulsating within me. Somewhere

during my own climax, he had climaxed as well and

was currently crashing down from the wave of

ecstasy. The fact that he’d held onto me in spite of

my earth-shattering orgasm as well as his, was

testament to his strength. If he’d let himself go,

both of us would have ended up on the floor by

now. He slowly slid out of me and the coolness that

rushed in to replace his penis was welcomed.

Slowly I found my strength and stood erect,

turning to face Howard.

He was staring at me and the look in his eyes

caused me to melt.

“I love you, papi,” I said as I stepped forward

to kiss him.

I didn’t care anymore whether I couldn’t have

him or whether I was only his booty call. All I knew

was that I loved him and wanted him to know.

I continued to kiss him passionately as tears

flowed down my cheeks and, while our lips were

still locked in passion, he separated his lips from

mine briefly and whispered:

“I love you too, baby.”

CHAPTER 15

SUSAN

is admission that he loved me as well

sent joy rippling through my body. I

kissed him even deeper, intent on letting

him feel the depth of my love for him through the

kiss.

In that exact moment, nothing else mattered

other than the love we now both knew we shared.

He tightened his hold on me in a manner that

suggested he had claimed me, causing me to

chuckle.

‘You don’t need to claim me, Howard. You

already had me at hello,’ I thought as I leaned

deeper into him and the kiss. My arms went up

involuntarily around his neck as well in my own

version of staking a claim on him. Whether he liked

it or not, he was my man and I was his woman

henceforth. I wasn’t going to pressure him or make

the mistake of asking him the same question I had

asked him in his office.

‘So, what now, Howard?’

What now was that he was mine and I was his.

If he needed time to come to that realization, then I

would give him all the time in the world.

‘Hurry up Dumbo. Don’t keep me waiting too

long.’

I continued to kiss him until my ears picked up

the sound of voices and approaching footsteps. At

first it felt like I was imagining things, until the

voices grew louder as they approached. I opened

my eyes and broke the kiss between me and

Howard in order to listen more closely.

“What?” he asked disoriented, oblivious to the

approaching intruders.

Maybe he had heard them but his brain hadn’t

registered it just yet.

“Someone is coming,” I whispered as I trained

my ears to continue listening.

“So?” he asked confused, causing me to

chuckle.

“So we are in the men’s room, Howard.

Remember? I’m not supposed to be here.”

Suddenly he realized where we were and what I

was referring to as if his mind had just caught up to

reality.

“Oh!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, ‘oh,’” I mocked in response. “They are

coming, what do we do?” I asked

He immediately sprang into action, pulling me

gently towards one of the bathroom stalls.

“Get in here,” he said as he opened the door

and gently nudged me in. Something about the way

he had taken charge and sprang into action caused

me to tingle with excitement. I truly was in love

with this man.

“Yes daddy,” I said in a mocking tone that made

it clear that we weren’t done with the fucking and I

still wanted him.

He noticed the glint in my eyes and the

naughtiness in my voice which caused him to smile.

“Just lock the door,” he said with a half chuckle

as he pushed the door closed.

I immediately proceeded to do as instructed,

engaging the lock on the door so that it would show

any interloper that the stall was occupied. I stood

there in silence as I heard Howard shuffling

outside, pretending to be busy with his manly

business.

Moments later, I heard the toilet door swing

open. From what I could tell, two men had walked

in. I immediately recognized one of the voices of

the new visitor.

‘David? What was he doing here?’

“Professor Jones?” I heard David say, sounding

surprised to see his professor in the men’s toilet at

the cinema.

“Yes?” I heard Howard respond, feigning

ignorance of the identity of the fellow that had just

called his name.

I had to restrain myself from bursting out into

laughter. Of course Howard knew who David was.

He had stalked both of us to the library only this

afternoon. Now he was feigning ignorance and

putting up a show. It was a damn good show

though, I had to admit.

“My name is David, sir. I’m a student of

yours.” David’s voice was animated, almost as if

he’d run into his childhood hero.

“Oh, hello David. Came to watch a movie?”

“Yes, sir.”

“So why are you with a mall guard and not in

the theatre? I hope there is no trouble whatsoever?”

I heard Howard ask with a hint of concern.

So there were two men out there with Howard.

One was David and the other, a guard at the mall.

‘Why is David walking into the restroom with a

guard? I hope he hasn’t gotten himself into

trouble.’

“No trouble, sir. Or at least I hope not. I’m

actually here on a date with another student of

yours. She left the theatre to go to the rest room

over 30 minutes ago. I came out here to look for

her and enlisted the help of this gentleman to help

me find her and make sure she’s alright.”

I gasped and immediately used my hand to

cover my mouth.

‘David was in the men’s room with a mall

guard because he was looking for me.’

“She? Don’t you think you should have gone

the other way into the female toilets to look for

her?” I heard Howard ask, with a slight chuckle.

“We already did, sir. She isn’t in there. So the

young man insisted we check the men’s room as

well citing that she could have gotten lost or

mistakenly found her way in here.” This time, it

was the guard who had responded to Howard’s

question.

‘Gotten lost or mistakenly found my way into

the men’s room?’ The irony of the situation had me

rolling my eyes.

“Oh. Pretty smart then David. However, it’s

just me in here,” Howard responded

There was a brief pause before I heard Howard

continue. “Oh, just me and the guy who walked

into that stall moments ago.”

David or the security guard must have noticed

the stall I was in was occupied, prompting Howard

to continue on with creating an excuse.

There was another brief silence before I heard

David respond.

“Ok, professor.”

Something in his voice had changed. It was a

subtle change but I had heard it.

“Thank you, sir.” The mall guard said as I heard

both he and David turn round and begin walking

out of the toilet.

“One more thing, David. Have you tried calling

her phone?” Howard asked.

“She left her bag with me in the theatre. Her

phone’s inside the bag,” David responded.

“Then I’m sure she’ll be back. Nothing to

worry about.”

One of the men muttered his thanks as I heard

the door being shut.

‘It has really been 30 minutes?’ I wondered.

After what seemed like an eternity, I heard the

tap at the sink come on. It was reassuring to find

out that Howard was still with me, not like I’d

expected him to leave. He turned off the tap and I

heard the dryer come on.

‘He really is going through the motions.’ I

rolled my eyes.

“The coast is clear. You can come out now.”

I unlocked the door of the stall with more speed

than I’d locked it with initially. I was eager to get

out of that confinement.

I walked out and jetted straight into Howard’s

arms. He opened his arms to grant me access,

slowly closing his arms again and wrapping me in

an embrace.

“We need to leave now. Before your date calls

the cops,” he said softly, causing me to smile.

We really did need to leave but I didn’t want to

end the embrace just yet. I liked where I was and,

for all I cared, David and the rest of the world

could wait. I lifted my head from his chest and

brought my lips to his. He kissed me back briefly.

“Susan let’s go. We really need to leave before

the dean also comes looking for me.”

“Fine, fine. Let’s leave,” I said grudgingly.

He turned me around to face the door and

tapped my ass lightly.

“Giddy up ma’am. Be on your way,” he said

playfully.

I laughed as I proceeded to walk out of the

men’s room. Just as I got to the door, he stopped

me in my tracks with a question, causing me to turn

and face him.

“So, what now, Susan?” he asked, his face lined

with worry.

I recognized the question which made me smile.

It was the same question I had asked him in his

office, the first time we’d had sex.

“What now?” I asked mockingly.

“Yes, Susan. What now? What happens to us?”

“What happens to us silly is that we finally

begin our relationship,” I responded.

A smile slowly spread across his face showing

that he was in agreement with me, causing my

insides to melt.

“Go find your date, professor. Don’t let her

come looking for you,” I said amidst laughter as I

walked out of the men’s room.

The door shut behind me as I held back the urge

to scream for joy. I finally had what I’d dreamed

off since my first night in Florida.

I had Howard.

CHAPTER 16

SUSAN

walked out of the rest rooms and headed for

the food court. There was no need for me to

go back into the movies seeing as David was

already out looking for me. Not like I was even

interested in the movie anyway after my

rendezvous with the charming professor in the rest

room.

That had to be the craziest thing I’d done, ever.

‘You are such a bad bad girl,’ I teased myself,

chuckling at the memory.

I arrived at the food court and began scanning

the entire expanse of space, looking for David. The

time gap between when he’d left the rest room and

when I did shouldn’t have exceeded 3 minutes. Yet

I’d covered every corner with my sweeping gaze

and he was nowhere to be found.

“Hello!”

I jumped in fright at being startled. David had

come from nowhere, which was somewhere behind

me. I hadn’t noticed his approach and, in turning to

face him, found he was standing pretty close to me.

“Jesus! You startled me,” I shrieked.

He just stood there without responding, his eyes

assessing me from head to toe.

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking all

over for you?” I finally said, trying to break the

awkward silence.

“Let’s go,” he responded simply, more as a

command than a statement.

“Go?” I asked, completely stunned. “What

about the movie?”

“What about the movie? The movie is almost

done. What else is left to watch?” he responded,

obviously cross with me.

With the way he had talked about the movie

before we got here, I knew it had pained him to

miss any scene, let alone the time he had obviously

spent away from it looking for me.

“I’m sorry David,” I said sincerely. “Can I

make it up to you? We could come back and watch

the movie tomorrow. My treat,” I offered,

desperate to make amends with him.

My apology wasn’t because I regretted my

actions. Even if I had the opportunity to redo the

night, I wouldn’t have done it any differently. But I

still needed to appease him. He after all didn’t

deserve to have his night ruined even though it was

at the expense of the best day of my life.

“Oh, you have no idea. You will make it up to

me. You just wait,” he said in a threatening tone.

All my senses immediately became alert.

“What exactly are you trying to say?” I

retorted, getting a bit heated myself.

The way he had spoken to me had gotten on my

nerves. Was he threatening me simply because I’d

wandered off and made him miss parts of his

beloved movie? And if he was, didn’t he hear when

I’d offered to bring him back tomorrow to watch

the movie all over?

“You better get a hold of yourself David. I do

not appreciate being addressed in such a tone. I’ve

apologized and made an offer for another movie

date tomorrow and yet you go ahead to talk to me

in such a manner?”

He didn’t respond. He simply pulled up my bag

and held it in front of me. My hand came up slowly

to collect my bag from him. As soon as he was free

of my bag, he turned and began exiting the cinema.

He paused after taking a few steps and turned back

to look at me.

“Like I said Susan, you have no idea. You will

make it up to me. You just wait. Goodnight!”

With that, he turned and walked out on me.

My head began spinning as a million thoughts

began their assault on my mind.

‘Did David just abandon me at the cinema?’

‘Did he just threaten me twice?’

‘What the hell is wrong with him?’

‘Why is he acting all weird over missing a

movie?’

‘More importantly, what does he mean by what

he said?’

My mind continued to reel till I felt a hand

touch me. I jumped in fright for the second time in

what I imagined was a minute, but in reality was

about 10 minutes.

“Oh my goodness, I didn’t mean to startle you

love. Are you ok?”

I was staring directly into the face of my

economics dean, Professor Betty. Standing behind

her was Howard. Both of them had concern etched

all over their faces, Howard’s even more than

Professor Betty’s.

“Good evening. I’m alright,” I responded, my

voice sounding surprisingly steady.

“Good evening, Professor Jones,” I also said,

trying to keep in line with what I would have done

if I’d run into them at a cinema and didn’t have any

personal relationship with Howard.

I glanced briefly at him and could see the

question in his eyes. ‘What is going on? Where is

David?’

“You sure? Because I kept calling out to you

and you didn’t hear me, not until I touched you,”

the dean continued, bringing my attention back to

her.

“Really?” I asked, stunned. “I’m sorry I was

lost in thought.”

“In the middle of the food court? At almost

midnight?”

I suddenly realized how late it was. It was

almost midnight after all and I must have looked a

sight, standing in the middle of the now empty food

court and lost in thought.

“I’m fine really. Almost midnight eh? Wow! I

really need to be getting home. Thank you,

Professor Betty,” I responded, making to end the

conversation and begin my journey home.

I immediately noticed Howard’s brows arched

in response to my statement. Now he was really

worried hearing that I was alone and about to head

home by myself. He knew something had happened

with David and he wanted to know what.

Unfortunately I couldn’t tell him because even I

didn’t know what had just happened.

“Where do you stay and how are you getting

home at this time of the night? Did you drive?” the

dean asked, clearly concerned about me. I must

have really scared her.

“I’ll be fine ma, I’d take a taxi home.”

“Nonsense! I’m going to drop you at home.”

I tried to protest but she had turned her back on

me and was telling Howard goodnight.

“Thank you for the company tonight, Professor

Jones. I really had a good time. I have to take her

home now. I hope you feel better soon. I’ll see you

in the office tomorrow.”

Howard responded, also thanking her for having

him. He bent forward and pecked her cheek while

staring at me, standing right behind her. His eyes

said it all.

‘Call me as soon as you can.’

I nodded to him as Professor Betty turned back

to face me and took my hand in hers. She hadn’t

seen Howard’s gesture or my response to it.

“Alright angel, let’s get you home,” she said.

CHAPTER 17

HOWARD

got into my car and sat quietly as I watched

Betty and Susan pull out from the lot in

Betty’s car.

It had been an exhilarating and daring

experience in the bathroom with Susan, one that

had ended up with me not only professing my love

for her, but also ending up in a relationship with

her.

The rush of it all had left my heart and blood

pumping really fast. I’d felt like a child on his first

day of kindergarten or a graduate at his first job

interview. It had been a while and I had been so

incautious and yet I’d loved the accompanying

thrill that had come with it.

After she’d left me in the men’s room, I had

spent about a minute looking into the mirror and

smiling at my reflection. Suddenly I’d remembered

my date and had jetted out of the toilet to go find

her, not before I’d punched my fist in the air out of

excitement.

I’d found Betty exiting the hall and I walked

straight towards her. The movie was over and she

had apparently waited for the crowd to exit the hall

before she did so herself, judging by the fact that

she was the only one walking out of the doors.

“What happened? The movie is over already.

Where have you been? I was just about to call

you.” Betty had bombarded me with all those

inquiries and statements all at once.

“I’m sorry Betty. I’ve been bawling my guts out

in the rest room. I must have eaten something that

didn’t agree with me,” I’d lied.

“Oh, you poor thing. Do you feel better?” she

had asked, while touching the back of her hand to

my forehead.

I’d responded that I was better and she had

taken my hand as we made to exit the cinema.

Then she had seen Susan.

“Susan Fowler? Isn’t that Susan Fowler?” she’d

asked.

“Who?” I’d responded, feigning ignorance.

“Susan Fowler, a first year student in our

department. She was the one who walked into my

office the other day when you came by to talk

about your class schedules.”

“Oh the freshman you said wanted to take on

more course load?”

“Exactly.”

“How did that go?”

“I denied her request.”

Betty had proceeded to calling Susan’s name.

After the second call came back without a

response, Betty began heading towards Susan, still

calling her name. Susan remained unresponsive, as

if in a trance.

The first set of alarm bells had begun ringing in

my head then. Susan looked completely lost.

We reached her and Betty stretched her hand

out to touch Susan. I instinctively started looking

around for David. Susan was supposed to have

come out of the toilet and reunited with him.

Something must have happened, which had left her

standing there in the middle of the food court all

alone.

‘If that weasel so much as laid his hands on

her, god help me, I’d crush him.’ I found myself

thinking.

The second set of alarm bells went off when

Susan had said that she was going to be on her way

home.

‘Alone? So David left her. They obviously met

out here seeing as she’s holding her bag.’

I’d used my eyes to probe her, wondering what

was going on. I knew she couldn’t tell me anything

in the presence of the dean but that didn’t stop me

from worrying. The dean had finally offered to drop

her at home and I’d leaned in to signal to her to call

me under the cover of giving Betty a peck on her

cheeks.

They’d walked out and towards Betty’s car,

while I’d headed for mine.

Now I sat in mine and watched them leave, still

wondering what had happened to my girlfriend

after she’d left me in the toilet.

I started my engine and decided to head home.

Susan had definitely gotten my message and was

going to call me as soon as she could. She had my

number after all from when she’d called all the way

from Chicago to negotiate her accommodation in

my house. I was going to go home and wait for her

call.

If she didn’t call, I was going to call Betty

under the pretext of finding out whether she had

dropped Susan and gotten back home safe. Then

I’d call Susan myself.

I pulled the gear into drive and let the car crawl

out of the parking lot and towards the exit. It was

past midnight and there were only about two other

cars left in the whole of the parking lot. I got to the

exit, and the bar lifted upwards.

I drove under it and out towards the main

street. Home was left. I turned right impulsively.

Now I was trailing Betty’s car.

CHAPTER 18

SUSAN

sat in the passenger seat of Professor Betty’s

car, giving her directions to my house and

listening to the songs playing from the CD

player.

I couldn’t deny the fact that I felt better and

more at ease inside the Dean’s car than I probably

would have felt in a taxi. Her music preference had

also helped to calm me down.

Other than the sparse conversation happening

at intervals, a comfortable silence had settled

between us as she drove. I didn’t feel the need to

sustain a conversation and neither did she; neither

of us were uncomfortable as a result.

My phone beeped and I pulled it from my bag

to view the incoming message. It was from my

roommate who was asking me whether I was still

coming back tonight or going home with our

handsome course mate. She had giggled and teased

me when David had come to pick me up.

‘And then he had left me.’

I quickly scrambled a response to her.

I’m already on my way back. Please wait up

for me.

I waited as the message delivered and saw that

she had read it and was in fact typing another

message.

Sure thing. Are you ok?

I exhaled as I typed another response.

Yes I am. Long story though. Just wait up for

me please.

With the last message sent, I returned my phone

into my bag and relaxed into the chair. I was so

tired and burned out that I barely had any energy

left. All I wanted was to get into my room and

sleep. Tonight had been a night of highs and lows. I

was still thrilled about my relationship with

Howard, and then David had gotten the effrontery

to threaten me.

I still hadn’t figured what his words meant and I

couldn’t have cared less at that point to be frank.

I’d after all tried making peace with someone

whom I thought would have become a good friend.

We had all the makings of the start of a good

friendship and he had gone and ruined it.

‘All because he couldn’t control his anger.’

‘Or was his anger because he was into me?’

I felt my phone vibrate in my bag again. Carol

was probably itching for the gist of what had

happened and couldn’t wait for me to get home.

Some part of me wanted to ignore her, but I was

almost home. No harm in starting the conversation

before I’d walked into the room to a reception of

her ‘uhs’ and ‘ahs’. I wasn’t going to tell her about

Howard though. That was going to remain my little

secret. When I got to the part of me going to the

toilet, I’d most likely use the same excuse Howard

had used with Professor Betty.

My mind flashed back to when Professor Betty

had wished him a ‘get well soon’ as part of her

goodnight greeting. In hindsight, how I hadn’t

chuckled when she’d said that was beyond me. I

had definitely been absorbed with the aftermath of

David’s exit to be in a humorous mood but I smiled

now that I’d remembered.

I reached for my bag and my phone and pulled

it out. The screen lit up with its facial recognition

function going active. I immediately saw the

message notification on my lock screen before

having to type in my password, seeing as there was

little light in the cabin for the facial recognition to

work properly.

Howard and not Carol had sent me a message.

He couldn’t wait for me to get home before

trying to find out if I was ok. My heart melted at

the gesture. The lows of some hours ago were all

but erased at this point. I had to shield my phone

from Professor Betty’s line of sight before

responding, even though she wasn’t looking my

way and his name wasn’t saved as Professor Jones

but simply ‘Howard Florida’. One couldn’t be over

cautious though in this scenario.

‘Howard Florida. I really need to change that

crappy name,’ I thought, referring to what I’d

saved his name as back in Chicago.

His message simply read:

Babe, are you ok?

He’d even called me babe, making me even

mushier on the inside. My boyfriend had already

gone into relationship mode, causing me to giggle

lightly.

Yes darling, I am. Still in Professor Betty’s car.

Almost home though. You?

His response as almost immediate:

I know.

‘Huh?’ I thought.

What do you mean by ‘I know’? You following

me? (giggles)

I paused to direct Professor Betty once more.

By the time my attention had returned to my

phone, my breath caught in my chest from shock,

albeit briefly.

As a matter of fact, I am.

I immediately began glancing in the side mirror

trying to figure out whether he was joking or not.

At that time of the night, there were few cars on the

road. Still I noticed about three cars driving behind

ours at varying distances. I didn’t know which one

was Howard’s, but if he was serious about

following us, I figured he’d either be the second or

third car behind us.

Are you the one in the silver Toyota Prius, two

cars behind?

Nope. The silver jaguar behind you guys.

His new message almost had me shrieking out

loud. I didn’t just know about cars, I knew the

vintage jaguar he was driving like the back of my

hand. The car was distinct and Howard was driving

directly behind us. All Professor Betty had to do

was look in her rearview mirror to see his car.

Hadn’t he watched Hollywood movies as a child?

Didn’t he know how to trail a car without alerting

the occupants to his presence? What was wrong

with him? If Professor Betty noticed him in her

rearview, I wondered what the outcome of that

realization would be.

I began typing animatedly, trying to prevent

such an occurrence.

What is wrong with you? You are too close.

What if Professor Betty recognizes you are driving

behind her?

Relax. She doesn’t know me with this particular

vehicle. It belonged to my granddad and I rarely

drive it.

I paused and began accessing the threat level,

even though it had dropped considerably with his

last message.

Fine. Please drop back though. She could still

get suspicious of the silver Jaguar following her.

There was a brief delay before his response

came back. Almost as if he was deliberating on it.

Ok.

Why are you following us though?

Because I was worried about you and wanted

to make sure you were alright.

Awwww.

My eyes almost teared up at his confession.

Howard had gone from pushing me away to caring

insanely about me. I loved the man so much.

Plus I don’t know what happened between you

& David that made you so upset, or even why he

left you all by yourself at that time of the night.

Don’t worry love. I’d tell you what happened

when I get home.

You sure?

I promise. Now please go home.

Why?

Come on, babe. Please! I promise I’d let you

know once I get in.

Hmmm…ok.

Love you babe.

Love you too.

I exhaled as I watched him drive straight up the

highway after I’d told Professor Betty to turn right.

He had listened to me and was on his way home. I

smiled to myself in the darkness of the cabin.

‘This man really does love me. How did I get so

lucky?’ I found myself thinking over and over again

with so much glee.

Professor Betty finally pulled up in front of my

building.

“Thank you so much professor. I really

appreciate it.”

“Oh it was nothing. And don’t let whatever was

upsetting you weigh you down ok?” she advised.

“Ok ma’am.”

After a brief pause, she added, “You still

interested in taking up the extra course load?”

I smiled as I responded, “No ma’am. I totally

agree with your initial decision to deny my request.

It would have been too much for me.”

‘Take me away from my Howard now? Not in a

million years.’ A light chuckle escaped my lips at

the thought.

“Alright then. Goodnight, Susan.”

“Goodnight, Professor Betty,” I responded as I

stepped down from the vehicle.

I waved to her as she drove off. I turned and

began walking towards my building, holding my

phone in one hand and my bag in the other. I didn’t

need to get my keys out of the bag seeing as I’d

already told Carol to wait up for me.

My phone beeped again with an incoming

message. I chuckled at the thought that Howard

was sending me another message again.

I walked into my building and paused just in

front of the door to my room, pulling up my phone

to respond to Howard.

The message wasn’t from Howard.

I opened it and immediately a video started

playing. At first I didn’t understand what I was

watching, but seconds into the video it began

making a whole lot of sense.

‘Oh my goodness!’ I gasped.

CHAPTER 19

HOWARD

walked into the department building eager to

get to my office, drop my bags and get to

class so I could see Susan. It had been a week

since the movies and everything had changed.

I didn’t even understand the whole change

myself, but I was an emotional wreck at the

moment. I quickened my pace as I walked past the

reception in the direction of my office, barely

answering any greeting for fear that it would slow

me down.

Since Susan had completely morphed into a

different person, I relished the chance to see her

and find out what had gone wrong, even if I had to

ask her from the podium, in front of the whole

class.

It had been a whole week of torture after I’d

made the decision to listen to her and drive on

home.

I’d gotten home and not heard anything from

her as to whether she had gotten in safely herself.

I’d sent messages and called, to which there was no

response. Finally I had to make the awkward call to

Betty to find out if she’d gotten in safe and dropped

the distressed student off at home.

‘So Susan has gotten home. Why didn’t she

message me as promised?’

Eventually I had settled on the fact that she

most likely had gone to bed. We had all gotten back

pretty late though so it was a definite possibility. I’d

settled for sending her a message before choosing

to retire to bed myself.

Hey babe. Hope you got in safe? Didn’t hear

from you again. Please call me when you see this.

Sleep tight and sweet dreams. Love you.

I’d woken up in the morning and made a quick

dash for my phone in anticipation of a response

from her. I still remember the feeling of

disappointment I’d felt. There had been no

message.

‘Maybe she was still sleeping?’ I’d thought.

It was a late night after all for everyone.

On closer inspection, however, I found out that

my message had been read.

‘And she didn’t respond?’

I’d gone back and forth on the matter before

finally deciding that she probably had woken up in

the middle of the night to read the message and was

too sleepy to respond. I’d done it so many times

myself, waking up in the middle of the night and

going through my phone in a trance-like state.

There was no need to crucify her as that was

obviously what had happened.

I’d scrambled another message then just in

case, and to serve as a reminder before hitting the

shower.

Morning baby. Trust you slept well. Still

waiting for your call. Call me when you get this.

Have a great day.

I’d spent almost every minute of that day

looking at my phone and waiting for a response. In

between, I’d also placed calls to her number that

had gone unanswered. I’d eventually started

panicking when I noticed that my last message had

been read as well and there was still no response

from her.

‘What in heaven’s name is going on?’

‘Is she ok?’

‘Why is she reading my messages and not

responding?’

‘Why isn’t she returning my calls?’

‘Something is definitely wrong.’

This had gone on for three whole days before

there was finally a response.

Good morning Professor Howard Jones.

I’m sorry but my affair and relationship with

you can no longer continue. It was never my

intention to hurt you but I believe that I have to

sever all forms of relationship with you other than

the student-teacher relationship, for the greater

good. Please do not try to contact me in a bid to

change my mind. My decision is final. I wish you

the best in all your endeavors.

Take good care of yourself.

Susan.

My heart sank.

I remember sitting and staring at the phone for

over 10 minutes, analyzing every single word in her

message. I’d proceeded to spend the next 30

minutes trying to draft a response, which was a

series of typing and erasing. Finally I’d settled on

typing, ‘Susan, please call me. I’m terribly

confused.’

Another four days passed with further

confusion adding to the torture I had already

endured so far. If the three days preceding these

four had been an abyss, the four days themselves

had been actual hell.

She had refused to answer any other message or

phone call, and to worsen matters, I had not laid

eyes on her since the movies.

This was why I was rushing. Her class had one

lecture with me per week. Lecture day had arrived

and I was going to finally get to see her. Whatever

happened, I was intent on settling this conundrum

today. If it spilled over into another day, it would

probably drive me mad.

I arrived at my office, dropped my bags and

was out in a matter of seconds. In a matter of

minutes, I’d arrived at the class and walked straight

to the podium. I looked at the time and realized I

was about 10 minutes early. The room wasn’t even

full yet and students were still trooping in.

Susan wasn’t there yet. I kept glancing at the

door at every new entrant into the class, and still

she hadn’t appeared. At 9 am, David walked in. I

noticed he didn’t look at me but went straight to his

seat.

There was still no sign of Susan.

I began the lecture albeit reluctantly, hoping

that she might walk in late. My mind however told

me that I was hoping for too much. Whatever the

case was, Susan had deliberately stayed away from

my class this morning. This issue didn’t look like it

was getting resolved today after all.

I willed myself to continue with the lecture, but

anyone who was familiar with my methods of

teaching would have noticed I was struggling right

away. For this freshman class, however, my

struggles were lost on them.

Sometime during the lecture, it occurred to me

that David hadn’t looked at me or the board once.

Not like I had noticed him in previous lectures or

his mannerisms, but hearing him tutor Susan in the

library, I knew he was the type who paid attention.

‘And today he isn’t paying attention, more like

avoiding eye contact with me.’

‘Come to think of it, I never got to find out

what he did to Susan last week.’

‘Could his avoiding eye contact with me and

Susan’s sudden change of attitude towards me be in

anyway related?’

I had been accused of extreme paranoia in the

past and even I admitted I could get paranoid in

some cases. But this didn’t feel like one of those

cases.

‘David is somehow involved in Susan’s change

of attitude, that’s if he is not even directly

responsible. I just need to figure out his

involvement,’ I concluded.

It might have been a reach, but even my

intuition was locked on to this new fact. Figuring

out David’s involvement would most likely bring

the case to an end.

With renewed purpose, I finished the lecture

and walked out of the class when the time was up.

First things first, I needed to have a conversation

with the last person I know had seen her.

Betty.

I made my way to her office and knocked on

the door. The receptionist answered.

Her face lit up immediately when she realized I

was the one who’d come knocking.

“Professor Jones. How may I be of service?”

The receptionist beamed.

“Is the dean in? I just need to see her briefly.”

“She’s around. Please go right in,” the

receptionist responded.

I knew of her crush on me as well, but today I

wasn’t in the mood to hang around and stoke the

embers of her admiration any further. I walked

straight to the dean’s door and knocked.

I had to readjust my gait and appear

unassuming so I could get the information I wanted

without giving myself away. It was after all still

illegal by university rules for a professor to be

involved in a relationship with a student.

I walked in at the dean’s invitation and sat in

one of the chairs facing her; the same chair I

always sat in when I came into this office.

“Anything I can help you with Howard?”

The dean and I had remained on first name

basis since after the movie date. In fact in the week

after the date, she had made even more advances

and invitations. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind

to accept any of her offers so I had declined, but

not without valid excuses though.

“Oh nothing. I just remembered the distressed

student you took home the other day. You said she

was in my class. I looked out for her today and

didn’t see her. You sure she’s ok?”

“Who? Susan?”

“Yes, Susan. I can’t remember her full name

though even though I distinctly remembered you

saying it that day.”

Betty laughed before continuing with a

response.

“Well she’s ok, I guess. Saw her 3 days ago.”

“Ok. Because I didn’t see her in class, and

knowing the state she was in that day, I was just a

bit worried that’s all.”

“That’s actually sweet of you, Howard. Well

after I dropped her off the other day, I asked her

whether she was still interested in taking the extra

course load. I felt whatever she was going through,

the extra course load she’d requested would

distract her. She’d declined then but came in 3 days

later to tell me that she was still interested if the

offer was available. I approved her request.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

I was right after all. Susan had deliberately

missed my class. Taking the extra course load

meant I wouldn’t be her lecturer anymore. She was

really intent on avoiding me.

“Oh well, just came by to make sure she was

alright,” I finally responded. “Let me get back to

my office now. I’ve got another class I need to

prepare for,” I finished.

I was already eager to get back to my office.

After my goodbyes, I stood up and walked away.

Whatever was going on, I was determined to

get to the bottom of it.

‘I’ll find you, Susan. You just wait. I’ll find

you.’

CHAPTER 20

SUSAN

t had been an uphill task trying to avoid

Howard for over a week. The first 3 days had

been a mess. His constant messages and calls

had broken me. I had spent the days in bed bawling

my eyes out.

‘How was it that when I’d finally gotten what

I’d wanted, I was being forced to make the tough

decision to let it go?’

Hell I wasn’t even making the decision; the

decision had already been made for me. There was

no way I could sit and let anything happen to

Howard’s reputation. I’d cried and cried, but I

already knew what I had to do. The course of

action had never been clearer.

On the third day, I’d finally had to send him a

message to call things off before worry drove him

into dropping the ball and letting our secret out of

the bag by himself, all in a bid to find me. That was

probably the most difficult thing I’d ever done in

my life - telling the one I loved that I didn’t want

anything more to do with him. It felt like half of my

soul had been torn away. I literally felt like I was

having a stroke.

I’d

begun

hyperventilating

when

he’d

responded. It was all too much and yet I knew I had

to go through with it. My resolve had to be stronger

than ever.

After severing contact with him, I knew I had to

find a way to get out of his class. I had to go and

see Professor Betty. If she was still happy to

approve my request for the extra course load, it

would have made everything easier. If she wasn’t, I

was just going to have to stop going to his class.

Hopefully getting to study with Carol would be

enough for me to pass the exams at the end of the

semester, that’s if I was even allowed to write the

exams based on my lack of attendance.

Whatever the case was, I just knew I had to get

myself out of that class. My sweet dream had been

turned into a horrifying nightmare. I’d gotten out of

bed and gotten ready to go and see the dean. Three

days of crying and I knew I had to see her with my

shades on. I didn’t need her questioning me or else

I was going to break down. Keeping the truth away

from Carol had been tasking enough with me

simply lying to her that I’d lost a dear friend from

high school in an accident. Of course I’d invented

the friend’s name and stories surrounding this

friend, but it had been enough to keep Carol from

getting too close to the truth. She’d pampered me

those 3 days but hadn’t asked too many questions.

Eventually I was probably going to tell her the

truth, but that was when I’d finally gotten a handle

on things.

I’d prepared and gone to see the dean. My

makeup and shades had done enough to hide the

signs of my hysteria in the preceding three days. As

luck would have it, she had conceded to approving

my request after asking just one question.

“So why did you change your mind?”

I’d mumbled an incoherent response of how I

felt it would be a good opportunity for me to

broaden my horizon and what not. After my useless

speech, she’d still approved. It seemed like her

mind had already been made up in my favor.

Thankfully her approval was going to help me to

keep away from Howard.

In the days that followed, I’d almost run into

him on numerous occasions as I’d waltzed

absentmindedly

through

the

department,

performing my routines on autopilot mode. A

ducking into an alleyway here or a stepping behind

someone else there was enough to keep him from

seeing me. I’d finally decided to stop going to the

department all together except when absolutely

necessary; still his calls and messages hadn’t

stopped.

The morning of the day I would have been in

his class, I woke up earlier than normal. I was both

nervous and sad. I had been robbed of the

opportunity of seeing my lover teach from the

podium while the girls around ogled him. I’d been

looking forward to that feeling of hearing them

crush on him and knowing that he belonged to me.

That was a feeling I was never going to experience.

I’d dragged myself to the psychology

department instead and sat beside Carol in one of

the most boring lectures I’d ever had since I’d

come on campus.

It had been two days since then and I’d been

subjected to looking at my phone almost every

minute. Howard’s calls and messages had suddenly

stopped, adding to my hysteria. In two days, I’d

been back and forth on the matter.

‘Why has he suddenly stopped calling?’

‘Is he angry at me for not responding to his

calls and messages?’

‘Did he finally snap when he didn’t see me in

class?’

‘Is he over me so soon?’

‘Did he truly ever love me?’

My mind was as muddled as it had been two

days ago, when his constant calls and messaging

had ended. I was no close to figuring out what had

happened now than I was then. By this morning, I

had it and decided to find out if he was ok. Worry

was draining me to death.

I’d gotten ready early and headed for campus.

At the moment, I was sitting in the park with my

shades on, shielded by one of the trees and

watching the path trodden by many on their way to

the economics department.

I was looking out for Howard.

At 8:30, he finally emerged, looking dapper

than ever in his tailor-made navy blue suit, with a

pink shirt and red tie. He strolled leisurely down the

path obviously on his way to his office. He was on

the phone and he was laughing.

Anger began welling up within me. I was over

here suffering and he was out there having the time

of his life.

‘How dares he?’ I fumed.

He’d obviously gotten over me so easily, after

just a week. He’d probably moved on to another

love interest and had archived me in his past.

“How dares he?” I grunted.

I was abruptly heading straight for him. I was

going to smack that laugh from his lips. He couldn’t

be having a ball while I wallowed in sorrow.

I hadn’t taken more than 5 steps when

somebody suddenly blocked me.

It was David. He’d come out from nowhere and

stepped into my way. He’d probably been watching

me.

“Don’t you dare!” the asshole said to me.

“Fuck you!” I snapped at him, causing a few

people around to look in our direction. Howard was

out of earshot though so he continued his stroll,

oblivious to what was going on.

David simply smirked, that wicked smirk he’d

gotten on his face since he’d discovered my secret

and knew he had me cornered.

“Do I need to jog your memory again with the

video?” he said with a wicked glint in his eye.

My eyes left his and went back to Howard.

He’d ended the call he was on and had pocketed

his phone. From where we stood, I could see his

features clearly. He wasn’t laughing. If anything, he

looked sad. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt the man,

whether he was over me or not.

I turned back and looked at David, my decision

already made. “I don’t need a reminder. You win,”

I said.

“I always do,” he boasted.

I turned from him and walked away. I knew the

video he was talking about. I’d watched it a million

times in the past week alone, trying to figure out a

way to be free from his blackmail. The video

getting

released

would

lead

damning

consequences, not for me, but to Howard. It was a

video of us leaving the restroom back at the

cinema.

According to David, he’d seen my shoes from

under the door of the bathroom stall when he had

walked in and started conversing with Howard. He

had noticed them because my shoes were the first

thing he had seen when he’d picked me up. And

when Howard had lied that another man was in the

stall after noticing the direction of his gaze, he’d

known then that something was up. He’d walked

out with the mall guard, discharged him and then

hid in a corner to wait.

While waiting, the thought had occurred to him

to make a video just in case his suspicions turned

out to be true.

Moments later, I’d walked out of the men’s

room and even made a show of adjusting my dress

in front of the door. Not up to a minute later,

Howard had followed, coming out of the same

men’s room and punching his fist into the air.

Anyone who saw that video could deduce what

had happened. We had just finished having sex. If

the video got out, there was going to be no doubt

about what had happened in the men’s room. It was

damning enough and would definitely bring an end

to Howard’s promising career in academia.

And so the blackmail had begun.

David had known he’d wanted to be with me.

Then he had discovered I was with Howard. It had

taken him sometime, but he’d eventually decided

that if he couldn’t have me, then neither could

Howard. The best way to ensure that was to use the

video to hold me to ransom. If I ever went near

Howard again, or continued my relationship with

the professor, he was going to release the video and

bring an end to Howard’s career. On the other

hand, he’d also warned that I couldn’t tell Howard

about the true reason I was breaking up with him

because he didn’t want Howard to antagonize him

in class or know that he was the reason for our

separation. That way he remained a model student

in class without Howard having to focus on him.

‘The coward!’

My mind was already churning with ideas. He

had threatened me for too long. I was going to

make him pay dearly for this. I couldn’t very well

continue to be his prisoner and watch the love of

my life walk away from me. I was definitely going

to have to force his hand to let me go free. First off,

I needed a smart ally as well, one that I could trust.

‘Carol!’

The ideas were slowly forming into a plan.

‘Oh David. You have no idea how I’m going to

make you regret this.’

CHAPTER 21

SUSAN

headed for my room, uninterested in

continuing with the rest of my educational

activities for the day. I had a plan to hash out

and that was of utmost priority at the moment.

Even if I had lost Howard, I was not going to sit

back and allow David get away with blackmailing

me. I was going to teach the swine a lesson.

I sat at my table and continued my

brainstorming session. One thing was certain

though: I needed an ally who I could trust. Only

Carol fit the bill.

Getting Carol to go along with my plan meant I

needed to come clean to her about the lie of losing

my friend and about Howard. I didn’t know how

she would react so I had to plan it carefully. If I got

it wrong and she reacted in any manner other than

what I was hoping for, I’d have brought one more

person into my secret who could end up being a

wild card. Telling her was a serious gamble that

could either pay off or not.

I continued going through the plan over and

over again till Carol walked into the room and

startled me.

“What are you doing home so early?” I said,

stunned.

“What do you mean? It’s Thursday. I’m always

home at noon,” she responded.

I looked at the clock and realized I’d been

hashing out a plan for over 3 hours. I knew what I

wanted to do to David. I was going to also have to

blackmail him. But I had no idea on how I was

going to tell Carol what was going on. My eyes

darted back to her as she walked about the room

getting undressed. I decided to just tell her as there

was no other way. If it turned out in my favor, all

well and good; if it didn’t, however, I was going to

cross that bridge when I got to it.

“Carol I need to talk to you,” I said simply.

Immediately, she sat on her bed and stared at

me. “What’s up? You okay?”

“Yes. I mean no. I don’t know to be honest,” I

responded with sincerity.

“Ok? So what do you want to talk to me about

then?” she asked.

“I don’t know how else to say this but…I kinda

lied to you about losing a high school friend.”

I paused, closed my eyes and waited for the

rebuke that never came. When I opened my eyes,

she was looking at me with a smirk on her face.

“I know that already silly,” she chuckled.

“What!” I sounded dazed. “How did you

know?”

“Cause your stories were so disjointed. I figured

you’d probably broken up with David after the

movies and it didn’t go so well. Don’t worry I’ve

done something similar before.” She finished with a

laugh.

‘Broken up with David? Carol thought I was

dating the enemy?’

“Oh no. I wasn’t dating David,” I protested.

“You weren’t?” Now it was her turn to sound

dazed.

“Hell no,” I affirmed.

“So why did you lie then?”

I paused and inhaled deeply.

“It’s complicated,” I said as I couldn’t find the

words to say.

“Well un-complicate it already and get it off

your chest, honey. You’ve been carrying it around

with you for over a week. When you gonna let it

out?”

‘So she had noticed after all. Well…here goes

nothing.’

“Erm…I was dating someone else and David

found out. Now he’s blackmailing me to stay away

from the person cos he’s decided since he can’t

have me, neither can the other person,” I reeled out

in one breath.

“And who is this mystery person?” Carol

leaned in.

I paused again trying to gather enough

confidence to blurt out Howard’s name.

“Professor Jones. Professor Howard Jones.”

“Whoooooaaaaaahhhhhh! You slut,” Carol

exclaimed while erupting into laughter.

“Erm… this conversation isn’t going as I

envisioned. Now am I confused,” I said.

“Confused? What did you think I was going to

do? Drag you by the hair for dating such a fine man

who is the toast of the whole university? Damn girl.

You really are the MVP,” Carol continued, still

laughing.

“So you aren’t judging me? You know it’s a

taboo relationship right?”

“Girl please! Judge you for what? Hell if I

wasn’t in a relationship myself, I’d have gone for

the man myself.” She laughed again. “Girl that man

is fiiiiiiiiine! Damn! Oh and by the way, I’m sort of

in a taboo relationship myself so I kinda understand

what you’re going through.” She finished with a

smirk.

“No way,” I exclaimed. “Tell me,” I shrieked.

“Not before you tell me about Professor

Howard.” She responded with arched brows.

I laughed then, the first time in over a week and

it felt good. How I had worried about Carol not

being my ally after my confession was beyond me.

The girl had been nothing but awesome since we

arrived on campus. She was a genius of African-

American descent and was as beautiful and easy

going as they come. We had become fast friends

and then roommates. There was no way she wasn’t

going to be in my corner as she’d been there from

the beginning.

“Well…” I began before proceeding to reel out

every last detail of what had transpired between

Howard and me.

“Dang girl! You even freakier than I thought. In

the men’s room?” she had mocked, causing us to

burst into laughter once more.

When I finally got to the part that involved

David, I pulled out my phone and showed her the

video. A low whistle escaped her lips when she was

done watching.

“You right girl. This asshole’s got you

cornered,” she exclaimed. “Don’t tell me you

gonna let David get away with it and allow Howard

to slip through your fingers though. Men like that

only come our way once every century.”

“I was, because I didn’t know any better. I

thought it was the best thing to do to protect

Howard. But then David confronted me this

morning when I was about to approach Howard and

now I’m mad. I’m gonna make him pay,” I

responded, getting a little bit heated at the memory.

“I got you girl. And I’ve got just the perfect

plan. You interested?”

I was shocked. I had spent 3 hours thinking of

what to do and Carol already had one within

minutes of hearing about my dilemma.

“I’m listening,” I responded animatedly.

“Well, David’s not going to let you go just like

that. He’s intoxicated with the control he now has

over you. You are going to need to get something

on him as incriminating as what he has on you.

That’s the only way to break his hold on you

without affecting Howard.”

“Go ahead,” I said, my entire focus was now on

what she was saying.

“I knew this girl back in high school…”

I listened as Carol reeled out a plan that I had

settled on before she’d walked in. The only

difference was I had made a plan and she had not

only made a similar plan, but already knew how it

was going to be executed. David had no idea what

was about to hit him.

Carol finished with the details of her plan and

asked me, “So what do you think?”

“I love it,” I responded simply.

“Girl I knew you would,” she responded,

causing us to laugh once more.

“So tell me about your taboo relationship. Or

did you think I have forgotten?” I queried.

She laughed again.

CHAPTER 22

SUSAN

arol had taken the reins from me. She had

become so invested in sticking up to

David that one would have thought it was

she and not I that had been blackmailed.

“I hate guys that think and act that way,” she’d

said over and over again.

“Don’t worry girl. I got you. No one messes

with my girl and gets away scot-free,” she’d also

said repeatedly.

She’d called the girl in question and put

everything in place in order to ensnare David. He

was going to fall hard and wouldn’t know what had

happened till he was in too deep and couldn’t get

himself out. Everything had gone according to plan

and whenever I showed signs of getting antsy, Carol

had calmed me down.

“Relax girl. I seen your man moping around

campus like a lost puppy. That man is smitten with

you. He ain’t going anywhere. All this will be over

soon and y’all could be in each other’s arms once

more, tearing up them sheets if you wanted.”

I always laughed before asking whether she was

sure about that being the outcome.

“Trust me girl. I’m sure. Y’all just better be

careful after this. No more freakiness in no men’s

room no more.”

I always laughed but, in the end, she’d always

succeeded in calming me down.

I really had no idea what I would have done or

how I would have proceeded without Carol. And

she was right about Howard. The few times I had

seen him around, he was completely sullen and

morose. I should never have doubted his love for

me. He was suffering as much as I was.

‘Soon my love all this will be over.’

David had finally taken the bait a week after

we’d left it hanging. He’d seen Carol’s friend and

gone after her like a dog in heat. And so began a

carefully planned out game of drawing him in. He’d

kept on holding on to the bait as Carol and her

friend reeled the line in.

He’d gone practically everywhere with Carol’s

friend - dinner dates, the movies, the beach. Once,

while the plot was in play, Carol had asked me to

test his resolve and whether he was still interested

in blackmailing me.

I had asked him to meet me so we could talk.

He’d done so and everything was fine until I

suggested I would do anything to get that video

deleted. The bastard had said the only way that was

going to happen was if I slept with him. It had taken

all of my self-control to stay cool. When I had

declined his offer, he had stood up and mocked me

saying the video was going to remain in his

possession.

I had sat there fuming long after he had gone,

until Carol had come to meet me. When I’d told her

what had transpired, she’d simply laughed.

“What’s funny?” I had sounded irritated.

“Don’t worry girl. I had a reason for asking you

to meet him and request a resolution. Wanted to

show you the kind of animal we are dealing with so

you don’t have second thoughts when the time

comes,” she responded.

“Second thoughts? That asshole has made me a

prisoner and kept me away from Howard. There is

never going to be a hesitation with me when the

time comes.”

“Good. Keep that anger, cause we are about to

set the ball rolling.”

“Phase 2 of the plan?” I asked expectantly.

“Yes darling. Phase 2 begins now.”

Phase 1 was to bait David and reel him in.

Phase 2 was where the main execution of the plan

lay. If all went according to plan, I’d have

something incriminating on David as well, thus

forcing his hand to set me free.

Carol had picked up her phone and called her

friend. They’d spoken briefly, after which she’d

hung up and we’d left the diner.

That night, Carol and her friend were to meet

David at the club. The plan was simple: get David

cozy with Kimberly and have him drunk high

enough at the club so as to easily make him

extremely seduced and sexually attracted towards

Kimberly. She’d gone on to explain what would

happen thereafter.

“He’s going to get so seduced he won’t be able

to control himself. By the time he begins to grope at

Kimberly, she will subtly suggest they go back to

her place so they can continue in the privacy of her

bedroom. When they get there, she’s going to tell

him that she’s no longer interested in having sex

and that she wants to just go to bed. I predict he

will want to have his way forcefully with her going

by how much attracted he will be by Kimberly’s

sexy figure and exposing attire and also for the fact

that how much drunk he will be.”

“And if he doesn’t try to forcefully have his

way with her? What happens then?” I’d queried.

“Have a little faith darling. He will try going by

the kind of man he is. If he doesn’t try this time, we

keep repeating the processes till he does and then

we have it on tape seeing as there will be a camera

in Kimberly’s bedroom, recording the whole act.”

“And how do we stop him from doing that with

Kimberly? Or is she going to allow herself to do so

by him all so I can get video evidence against him?”

I asked, because that part didn’t sit well with me.

“Kimberly is a big girl. She can handle herself.

Trust me.”

“Trust you?”

“Yes dear. Trust me.”

They’d gone on to the club and left me at home

biting my nails. As a result of the excitement, I

remained awake long after my usual bedtime. I was

still awake by the time Carol got back.

“How did it go?” I immediately pounced on her.

She had chuckled lightly, her tiredness glaring.

“Went smoothly, darling. We’ll have what we

need by the dawning of the day,” she had

responded weakly, already heading for her bed.

As promised, the video had emerged sometime

around 9 am in the morning. Kimberly had sent it to

Carol’s phone. She’d woken me up elated.

“Did you ever doubt me girl?” she shrieked.

As I watched the video she was showing me,

the answer to her question continued to roll around

in my mind.

‘Wow! I should never have questioned you

Carol.’

Forget destroying David’s reputation, what I

was watching would definitely get him jail time if it

went public. And as promised, Kimberly had

handled herself pretty well. I looked at Carol when

the video got to the part where she whopped

David’s ass.

“She’s knows karate.” Carol chuckled.

“Wow!” I said as we both burst out laughing.

I picked up my phone and sent David a message

stating that we needed to see each other. In order to

make sure that he appeared, the message said I had

rethought his offer and I wanted us to discuss it.

His response came through almost immediately.

‘The idiot. You just had your ass handed to you

barely 24 hours ago and you still want to get in the

sack immediately. You’re in for a rude awakening.’

Carol had insisted on coming with me so as to

make sure there was no shifty business on David’s

part. One hour later and we walked into the same

diner where I had met David the last time. He was

already seated and wearing shades to hide the

bruises around his eye that Kimberly had inflicted

on him.

When he saw Carol, he immediately stood up

from his seat in confusion.

“Sit your ass down, fool,” Carol barked even

before we had arrived properly at the table.

He sat back down more out of shock than fear.

He obviously couldn’t understand how Carol, who

was friends with Kimberly, was with me.

“You both know each other?” he stuttered as

we sat down.

“Hello David,” I said simply, mimicking the

smirk he had given me in the park. “I’m going to

ask you one last time to delete that video of me and

Professor Jones,” I finished.

“Or else what?” he asked nervously, his voice

lacking the annoying arrogance it had possessed in

the past.

“Or else you’ll find what we’ve got to show

you pretty interesting,” Carol interjected.

She pulled out her laptop and turned it to face

David.

“You can press play anytime you wish to,” I

said in jest.

He hesitated.

“Anytime meaning now David. We ain’t got all

day,” Carol snapped.

He hit the play button and the video of his

attempted endeavor on Kimberly began playing.

The volume had been set loud enough for us to be

able to hear even though the laptop screen was

turned away from us, but not loud enough for

anyone else to know what he was watching.

He winced repeatedly as the video played,

glancing up at me at intervals and meeting the same

smirk on my face. When the video had finished, he

continued staring at the laptop screen, completely

dazed.

Carol reached out then and retrieved the laptop.

I, on the other hand, pulled out my phone and

sent him a copy of the video from my phone.

“You’ve got mail,” Carol mocked when she

heard David’s phone beep. He obviously knew I’d

just sent him the video as he didn’t bother to open

it.

“What do you want?” he queried, the anger in

his voice clear.

“Well for starters, now that you’ve watched the

video, you can tell even with your layman

knowledge of the law that if it goes public, forget

your reputation; your ass is going to jail,” Carol

snapped.

He turned and looked at me, his eyes pleading.

“Please,” he said. “Please don’t do this. I’ll do

anything you want.”

The irony of the whole situation had me roaring

with laughter. I finally settled down and my face

went stern in the blink of an eye.

“I don’t care what you do David. Just know

that if I ever see that video you took of me and the

professor, anywhere other than my phone, I’m

going to be mailing Miami PD with this video,” I

bellowed.

“I swear you won’t. I promise. The video is

buried already. Please don’t do this to me,” he

begged.

“One more thing asshole, if you ever come near

Susan or Professor Howard again, I will be the one

mailing Gainesville PD with the video. Test me at

your peril,” Carol threatened.

He turned from her to look at me and was about

to continue his plea.

“Have a nice life David,” I snapped, cutting

him short.

We stood then, Carol and me, and walked out

of the diner.

“Now that’s done, what do you think we should

do today?” Carol asked as we got outside and

paused at the curb.

“We? Girl I’m going to get my man,” I

responded in my best mimicry of her voice.

“You go girl!”

We both burst into laughter.

CHAPTER 23

SUSAN

knocked on the front door of Howard’s

mansion before the bell had even stopped

ringing.

After leaving Carol at the diner, I had headed

straight for Howard’s office. All the way there, I

had tried his number over and over without getting

a response. Either he was ignoring my calls, or he

wasn’t around his phone. Whatever the case was, I

needed to see him immediately, fall into his arms

and tell him how much I loved him and would

never let him go.

I’d gotten to his office and found out that he

hadn’t come in today. The only place left to go was

his house.

I’d jetted off the campus and now I was there,

ringing, calling, knocking, waiting; waiting for the

only man I’d ever truly loved to come and open the

door to me.

I rang the bell again and this time pounded on

the door even louder, till my hands began to hurt. I

hadn’t battled David this hard only to still end up

losing Howard. Despair was beginning to set in,

further fueling my anxiousness.

‘What if he’s seeing my calls and choosing not

to pick?’

‘What if he knows I’m the one at the door and

choosing not to answer?’

‘What if the damage has already been done?’

‘What if I’ve lost him forever?’

I pounded furiously at that last thought and

suddenly the door swung open with so much force

that I stumbled forward to replace the vacant space

that had been left by the now open door.

“Howard!” I said simply as I stood there,

transfixed on him and at a loss for what else to say

or do.

My mind had gone completely blank, as it had

the first time I saw him.

And just as fast as my mind had gone blank, my

resolve returned. I was here for one reason only: to

get back my man.

His mouth began to form words as he made to

speak. Suddenly I rushed forward and kissed him.

He tried to release his lips from mine which

only made me kiss him harder, grabbing on to him

for dear life. Eventually he stopped resisting and

kissed me back. This caused my tear ducts to burst

open.

“I’m sorry,” I began whispering in between

kisses. “I’m so sorry,” I continued apologizing as

my tears flowed freely.

Without warning, he lifted me up and headed

for the stairs. I didn’t care where he was taking me,

as long as we went together. After he cleared the

stairs, he turned left and headed for his room as I

continued to kiss him.

I was still sobbing by the time we arrived at his

room door. He kicked it open and headed straight

for the bed, with me in his arms.

“It’s ok,” he finally said as we arrived at the

bed and he began to lay me down gently.

“It’s ok, Susan. You are here now and that’s all

that matters.” He bent over and kissed the streak of

tears that had stained my cheeks.

Oh how I loved this man. I reached out and

pulled him downwards. He obliged as he continued

to kiss me all over my face; from my cheeks to my

forehead to my nose and finally back to my lips.

His hands moved and cupped my breasts as he

kissed me deeper. My response was immediate and

demanding as well. I had missed him so much.

His hand found its way beneath my blouse and

stroked my already erect nipples. I gasped as the

resulting sensation ricocheted all over my body and

ended up in a pool that was quickly forming

between my legs.

His hands came up from under and began to

pull my jeans away from my waist. I lifted my waist

from the bed slightly to enable him easily peel my

jeans from my legs. In a moment, I’d been freed

from my jeans as his hand found its way beneath

my panties. My eyes closed and a moan escaped

my lips as his forefinger found my clit and began to

stroke it gently. His finger worked slowly but

determinedly as I began to squirm and moan

repeatedly.

Suddenly his fingers freed my clit and he pulled

my panties down in one lightning quick motion. My

eyes were still closed but, as he parted my legs, my

body tensed in anticipation, waiting to receive him

into me. Instead of his penis, I felt his warm breath

tickling my vagina. My eyes opened immediately

and I looked downward to see what he was up to. I

saw his head nestled in between my propped up

legs and before I could protest, his tongue made

contact with my clit causing my eyes to roll back in

pleasure.

As his tongue lapped and licked at my clit, I felt

the tension building between my legs, the same

tension I knew was about to result in an explosion

that would consume my whole body. My hands

found their way downwards and held onto his head

as my waist involuntarily lifted towards his

assaulting tongue. I couldn’t understand the moans

that were coming from my lips as pleasure

threatened to ravage my body and mind.

“Yes…please…I’m

sorry…huuuuuhhhhh…

yessss…forgive me…yes daddy.”

Suddenly I screamed as my body clenched in

orgasm. My fingers dug into his hair as my body

convulsed in spasms of ecstasy. He pulled back and

allowed my orgasm to steer me over the moon and

back down to earth.

After pausing to catch my breath, I decided to

return the favor. With some show of athleticism and

flexibility that impressed even me, I flipped him

over till I was hovering above his legs. The bulge in

his pants threatened to rip the fabric and break free.

I decided to oblige the yearnings of his penis as I

reached down and went through the motions of

pulling his trousers and boxers down in one sweep.

His penis sprang out, startling me albeit briefly.

By the time I had freed him of his trousers, his

erection was hard and throbbing. I reached out and

held his erection, squeezing lightly causing him to

catch his breath. Slowly, I bent over and kissed it

while still holding it. I then proceeded to lick the

entire shaft as I would a lollipop while squeezing

lightly. Without warning, I closed my mouth around

the cap causing him to grunt his approval. “Argh!”

“Oh fuck!” I heard him say again as I

proceeded to take even more of his erection into

my mouth.

I resisted the urge to gag as I paused to allow

my throat muscles to relax and expand to allow

more of him into my mouth. Finally, I had him all

the way in my mouth down to the hilt. My eyes

began watering and I quickly had to release his

penis. I took in some air and went back down.

I began to suck and slobber on his dick as his

moans and grunts increased in intensity.

“Oh shit! Fuck! Yea mama, that’s it! Fuck!”

His words of encouragement spurred me on

until he pulled my head upwards.

“Fuck, I can’t wait any longer. Come here,” he

said as he pulled me upwards and planted a kiss on

my lips, settling my hips directly above his

glistening penis.

I used one hand to hold his penis and slowly sat

on it as a gasp escaped my lips. He grunted again in

approval and continued to kiss me. Finally I pushed

him back onto the bed so as to create more space,

and then I began to ride him slowly.

My waist and hips rotated above his pelvis as I

took him in and out of me. The tension I had

experienced earlier began to build again and I

began to ride him faster in response.

“Baby,” I gasped as his hands came up and

began fondling my breasts.

I knew I was close and I began to move even

faster.

I felt his penis stiffen almost at the same time as

the walls of my vagina clenched around it. Our

moans and grunts of ecstasy mixed together in an

orchestra of orgasm as ripples of pleasure

ricocheted through us. My hands that had been

propped up on his chest for support suddenly grew

weak, causing me to collapse on top of him.

We remained that way, clinging on to each

other as our bodies rode the wave of ecstasy that

consumed us. Finally after what seemed like an

eternity, I felt him begin to stroke my hair.

“What happened, Susan? Why did you

disappear?”

His question came out of nowhere causing my

breath to catch in my chest. The truth was even

though I was in his arms, I hadn’t given him an

explanation of everything that had happened

between me and David.

‘He deserves to know,’ I thought as I rolled off

him to his side where he immediately gathered me

up in his arms.

I inhaled and began talking.

EPILOGUE

SUSAN

4 years later…

woke up in Howard’s arms as the first rays of

the morning sun hit my face. We had gone out

yesterday night with a few friends; Carol and

her husband as well as Kimberly and her fiancé. It

was the night before Carol and I graduated from

college. As a result, our men had taken us out for

celebratory drinks.

Carol and her husband had gotten married at

the beginning of our final year in college. Kimberly,

who had first been Carol’s friend, had become my

friend and our bond had tightened over the years.

She had gotten engaged about a month ago.

As for me and Howard, we had continued to

fall deeper in love over the past four years.

“What happened?” he’d asked me four years

ago in his bedroom and I had proceeded to tell him

all that had happened, showing him both videos -

the one David had taken and the one Kimberly had

taken.

He’d gone mad with rage and wanted to

confront David. A part of me wanted him to but I

knew better. I’d succeeded in calming him down

before proceeding to make love to him once more,

and for the second time on his bed.

Over the years, we’d come close to discovery,

but we managed to keep our relationship a secret,

save for the few who already knew. One extra

person discovered our secret though in my third

year - Dean Betty.

It had been purely coincidental and we’d

expected her to blow the whistle on us. She,

however, surprised all of us by staying silent. We

had all become best friends.

David, on the other hand, had disappeared from

the university at the beginning of our second year.

Rumor had it that he’d changed schools and was

down in Texas. He obviously couldn’t cope with

the guilt and seeing me every day, it was not like I

cared anyway.

As my mind returned from its journey down

memory lane, I lifted my eyes to look at the face of

the man I’d fallen in love with.

“Howard,” I whispered softly.

He grunted.

“Baby, we’ve got to get up. My graduation

ceremony is today.”

“Can’t we miss that and stay in bed?” he asked

sleepily.

“No silly.” I laughed. “Get up now.”

“Fine!” he grumbled. “But next time you want

to seduce me, I’m saying a big no.”

“Like you could resist me,” I fired back,

chuckling.

He turned then and kissed me square on the

lips. He broke the kiss and looked me in the eyes.

“Marry me!” he said simply.

“What!!!” I answered, my mind going into

shock.

He jumped out of the bed then and went to the

wardrobe while I sat up in bed. He came back with

a box and knelt by the bedside before opening it.

My eyes blinked as the ring gleamed in the early

morning rays of the sun.

“I’ve been carrying this around looking for the

perfect time to propose. Baby I just realized I don’t

need the perfect time. All I need is the perfect

woman for me. You’ve made me so happy these

past 4 years and I’ll be damned if I let you walk out

of this bedroom without me asking you to be my

wife and spend the rest of our lives together. So

Susan Fowler, I love you with all my heart. Will

you marry me?”

The first streak of tears blurred my vision and

streamed down my cheeks. I couldn’t respond as

my emotions began choking me. I simply nodded

and continued crying as he proceeded to put the

ring on my finger.

Finally I found my voice and screamed yes as

he stood up from his kneeling position and jumped

into bed, hugging me.

“Yes,” I said repeatedly. “Yes, I’ll marry you

Howard. Yes, I’ll be your wife.”

He hugged me tighter and I knew I was the

luckiest girl on earth to have ended up with such a

man.

“I love you, Howard Jones,” I whispered into

his ear. “I’ll love you till time stands still.”

CHAPTER 1

ARTHUR

woke up with a start.

My body still trembled in fear, a remnant

of the nightmare I’d just had. I willed myself

to relax, repeatedly doing breathing exercises the

way that my old therapist had taught me. It took my

body a while until it stopped trembling and until my

mind was back into calmer thoughts.

It was just a dream. I was in my apartment. I

was safe.

I kept repeating those words in my head, until

the fear dissipated from every part of my body. But

I knew that despite the fact that I could manipulate

my brain into calming down, I couldn’t demand my

body to go back to sleep. I didn’t need to look at

the alarm clock to read the harsh red numbers that

indicated it was two hours after midnight. I always

woke up at this hour and always for the same

reason.

I had been having the same nightmare since

Julian died two years ago. In the beginning, I was

too shaken up that I couldn’t calm myself and I

couldn’t forget every gory detail. I had to distract

myself then. I frequented bars and found girls to

screw with, until I couldn’t remember the reason

why I woke up so early. But doing that meant that I

became too tired during work, so I had to find

myself an alternative.

With a sigh, I got out of bed and changed out of

my sleeping clothes and then grabbed the book on

my nightstand. It was a good thing I lived in an

apartment located in such a busy street where there

was a 24-hour coffee shop just around the block.

When I arrived at the café, I noticed that there

was someone already there which was unusual. At

this time, I was almost always the only customer in

the café to the point that I had become friendly

with the baristas. Kevin was the one manning the

counter today and he began to whip me up my

usual order while I casually glanced at the woman

who had taken my usual spot.

“I was going to tell her that spot was already

taken but decided against it, because you didn’t

really have your name written on the seat,” Kevin

told me and then slid to me my tall cup of hot

Americano. “Looks like you aren’t the only

insomniac tonight, Art.”

“How long has she been here?”

Kevin shrugged. “Probably thirty minutes.

She’s also not much of a talker. All she told me was

that she was adjusting to the time zone difference

since she just arrived in America two days ago.”

“Where is she from?” I asked, glancing at the

woman buried in her book. My eyes caught sight of

her long, tan legs and I couldn’t stop myself from

admiring them.

“Australia,” Kevin responded in a hushed

voice. “We should probably stop talking about her

when she’s in the same room as us.”

I chuckled and handed Kevin the money for the

coffee and then took a seat near the woman who

had taken my spot. I had not seen her around, so

she must have been someone new because if I’d

seen her before, I would’ve noticed her and already

have flirted with her or something, because she was

actually pretty damn attractive.

Her blue eyes were hidden behind thick,

transparent-framed glasses. Her black hair was tied

in a messy ponytail and her lips – fuck-her lips -

looked so full and plump. The fact that she was

chewing on her bottom lip, pushing it into her

mouth and letting her teeth graze on it, made her

look all the more alluring. When I’d rolled out of

bed earlier, I didn’t expect that this would be what I

would end up seeing at the café, but I wasn’t

complaining.

My eyes traveled down her body, marveling at

the petite frame and the long legs that her shorts

showed off. She must’ve lived in the same unit as

mine or the one across from it because of how

casual her clothes were. But damn, those legs were

inviting. I allowed my eyes to travel back to her

pretty face to find her eyebrows scrunched together

as she read through her book. There wasn’t usually

any customer at that hour in the café but me,

however today there was a gorgeous woman sitting

in my usual spot.

It didn’t take me long until I stood up and

carried my drink to where she sat.

“Mind if I join you?”

She looked up from her book but I couldn’t see

any surprise in her blue eyes. “I was wondering

when you would.”

I pulled the seat across from hers and sat down.

“Were you expecting me to?”

She closed her book and tilted her head to get a

better look at me. “With the intensity of your stare,

it was either I tell you to mind your own business,

or you get the courage to come up and talk to me.

It’s a good thing the latter one happened.”

I smiled. “So, what brings you here at this time

of the day?”

She took her own cup and opened the lid, the

scent of the tea wafting over to where I sat.

“Insomnia. Time zone difference. Adjusting. You

probably have an idea of how hard it is to adjust

your sleeping pattern when you come from a

different place.”

“So, Australia, huh?” I said, sipping my own

coffee. I was never good at small talk and I knew

how bad I was sucking at it right now. I’d rather

have her suck me instead.

She smiled coyly and then pulled her bottom lip

back into her mouth before she said, “Why did you

come over to my table?”

I reached out and then placed my hand just in

front of her face, leveling it to where her mouth

was. I extended my thumb and index finger so that

I could pull her bottom lip out of her mouth, slowly,

watching as her teeth grazed at it. “Because I

wanted to do that. It was driving me insane. It made

me think of what I could do to you -– punishments

- and there are so many things that I want to do.”

Her eyebrows raised and I waited for her

reaction. She could either slap me and tell me that I

was an ass, or play the game with me. “I’m not a

submissive.”

I pursed my lips and contained the playful smile

forming on my face. I liked her answer and I liked

the confidence she put in her words, like she wasn’t

someone to be messed with and thought bad of. I

didn’t comment on anything related to that topic

and instead looked at the book she was reading.

Surprisingly, it was one I had read before.

“Who said anything about BDSM?” I raised an

eyebrow and then motioned to the book on the

table between us. “I’ve read another book by the

same author. I could lend it to you if you want?”

A lazy smirk made its way across her lips as she

cocked her head to the side, staring at me with

beautiful blue eyes. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

“It depends on your perspective.”

She chuckled and then stood up, slowly, and I

couldn’t stop myself from staring at her long legs.

“Well, I do love this author. Might as well check

out the copy you have of him.”

I grinned and then finished my coffee quickly,

before following her out of the café, but not before

winking at Kevin and flashing him a winning smile.

The conversation to my apartment was casual and

not as filled with sexual innuendos as the last one.

We were in the elevator, heading to the tenth floor.

“Did you purposely take the tenth floor just so

you could do this to most girls?”

I turned to her and smirked. “I don’t usually

bring girls to my apartment.”

“I should be flattered then,” was her only reply.

The elevator doors opened and we made our way to

my unit. I opened the door and she followed me

inside, closing the door behind her. I fetched the

book that was just settled on the coffee table in the

living room and when I came back to her, she was

still by the door. I lifted the book up for her to see

and she scoffed, shaking her head at me. “We both

know you didn’t bring me here for the book.”

She took a step towards me, her strides slow

and measured. She stopped right in front of me, and

only one more step and our lips would crash against

each other. But it was the playfulness in her blue

eyes that made me pause, the mischievous glint that

made me reconsider my intentions.

She placed a hand on my cheek that slowly

lowered until it rested on my neck, her fingers

curling against the nape of my neck. She leaned in

closer, her lips brushing against mine, and she

whispered into my ear: “The night is young, what

do you say we enjoy it?”

That was all it took for me to snap. I grabbed

the back of her head and crashed my lips against

hers, backing her against my front door. She

moaned into my lips, her nails dug into my back. I

fiddled with her top and she pulled away long

enough to take it off and for me to do the same

thing with mine. Her hands subtly caressed my

stomach; the ghost of a touch gave me

goosebumps.

Before I could crash my lips against hers again,

she knelt down in front of me and then pulled down

my jeans. I was already hard and waiting for her.

The sight of my erect cock didn’t seem to faze her

and I could see her smirking. She looked up at me

and winked. “Already ready for me, I see.”

I chuckled and then placed a hand on her

cheek, guiding her face to swallow my hard dick. I

closed my eyes in satisfaction as I relished the

feeling of her hot mouth on my thick cock. She

sucked on my balls too, eliciting a groan in

response from me. But by the time that I was about

to burst my release, she suddenly stopped and

slowly stood up.

Her lips were on mine and I could taste the pre-

cum that glistened on her lips. I wanted to push her

against the wall and shove my pulsating dick inside

her pussy, ram myself against her until the sun

came up. But she pulled away from me and I saw

the satisfactory smirk on her lips.

She placed a thumb against my lips, wiping

whatever fluid was on them. “I think that’s all for

tonight, love. It’ll take a lot more effort to get

inside my pussy.”

She pulled away from me with a sly smile on

her face and the book in her hand. I didn’t even

know how she had gotten hold of it. She waved the

book in the air and then began to back away. “I’ll

bring it back to you once I’m done. Thank you for

this, stranger.”

I stared at her in surprise but she just continued

to back away slowly, tantalizingly, and I knew that

she was teasing. I wanted to grab her arm and spin

her around because she just played me. She didn’t

even let me cum and left me to finish what she

started. But I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself

when she was finally out of the door, my book in

her hands. I shook my head and then began to walk

back to my room, knowing that I had to jerk myself

off at the thought of her. I wasn’t sure if I would

see her again but she sure as hell would be in for a

bigger game if I did.

It was later in the morning, when I was done

with my morning shower, that my personal phone

began ringing. The caller wasn’t registered and the

number wasn’t familiar, which was surprising

because I normally didn’t just give out my number

to anyone. Even the girls I played with were

registered on my work phone.

I answered on the fourth ring. “Hello?”

“Your voice hasn’t changed that much, Artie.”

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Who the

hell is this?”

“My, my, I don’t think that’s the way you

should be answering calls, Artie. Haven’t we taught

you manners at all?”

“You must have the wrong number. I don’t

know you.”

He chuckled on the other line. “Ah, ignorance

can be bliss, am I right? But don’t worry, Artie.

You’ll remember me soon enough. And I’m excited

for that day to arrive, Artie. You’re going to be

pleasantly surprised.”

And the line went dead. I stared at my phone

long and hard. There were people I knew who used

to call me Artie, but it was impossible for the caller

to be one of them. Whoever this caller was, he was

simply just messing with me. And for someone like

me to get a random, seemingly threatening call,

wasn’t unusual. I was the CEO of the fast-growing

gaming company. I had also been managing Julian’s

company. His enemies had become mine.

It was probably just one of them.

I finished getting ready and headed over to

Interzone. My morning went on the way it usually

did. There was nothing out of the blue other than

that call I had earlier, but it wasn’t something I

should worry about. I had enemies, which was one

of the things included in my job description.

I was at my office when the head of the

creative staff came in. Gian was carrying a

portfolio and I vaguely remembered him asking me

about a month ago if he could add someone new to

his team. “Ah, Mr. Waters, I hope I didn’t catch

you at a bad time but I was wondering if you could

check out this resume of the newest member of my

team?”

He sat on the chair across from my desk and

then placed the documents neatly in front of me. I

opened the file and was surprised to see the picture.

A slow smile made its way across my face. “Is she

here?”

Gian beamed and nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes! I’ll ask her to come in right now if you want

to meet her.”

He rushed outside and opened the door. She

walked in behind Gian, the confidence that I saw in

her earlier this morning replaced with a quiet and

tamed one. She couldn’t see me, because Gian was

blocking her view. I stood up from my seat,

straightening my jacket as Gian made the

introductions.

“Miss Stone, I would like you to meet the

president of our company, Mr. Art Waters.”

When Gian stepped aside, that was when she

saw me. Her mouth hung open when she realized

who I was and she stared at me with wide, shocked

eyes. I smirked and nodded at her. “Hello, Miss

Stone. Welcome to my company.”

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A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Thank you for taking the time to read my book. I

sincerely hope you enjoyed the story.

Can I ask for your honest feedback on the book? It

would mean a lot to me if you could leave me a

review on Amazon.

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And I am no exception.

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Cheers!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emma Vikes is a passionate contemporary romance

author, who thrives by 3 aims - to entertain her

readers, to entertain them massively, and then to

entertain them amazingly!

She used to work in the corporate world, but didn't

like it. So, she found her escape from this world

through her writing.

Emma became obsessed with the world of

contemporary romance once one of her friends

introduced her to this genre few years back. She got

instantly hooked and turned into a voracious

contemporary romance reader, until she became so

fascinated that she couldn't resist writing her own

romance stories to sooth her own fantasies.

But apart from penning down her naughty thoughts

in papers, she loves to spend quality time with her

2-year-old boy and plan date nights with her

husband. She is a hopeless romantic.

Being a strong-minded woman, she loves her

female leads as sassy, independent and strong. And

her heroes are alpha male who are hot and super

rich with a dash of sensitivity.

So, if you’re looking for sizzling hot romances with

generous amount of twists and suspense, you will

love her creations.

and get a brand new

hot contemporary romance story for FREE and be

the first to be informed of all her upcoming new

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