Absolute Lovers (Absolute #2) (9 page)

"How do you always know what to say?" she asked.
"If I didn't know any better, I’d think you had been in a lot of
relationships."

"I don't know," I said with a shrug, cupping her
breast. "I just say what it feels like for me when I'm with you, or when
I'm thinking about you. You're all that I could ever want."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked, sounding a
little anxious. "You haven't been with a lot of women. Guys want to…fuck,
I don't know. Spread it around."

What on earth is she talking about? Not all guys are like
that.

"I don't want that," I said immediately.

She didn't look convinced.

Is she worried I'll stray?

"Julia, listen to me," I said and made her look
into my eyes. "I only want you. I would never betray you and cheat on you.
I can't ever hurt you like that. The thought is completely foreign to me."
I kissed her again.

"I finally found you," I whispered. "Why
would I ever want to do something so stupid and risk losing you?"

Julia looked away and drew a shaky breath.

"You wouldn't be the first," she whispered.

I wouldn't be the first? What does she mean? The first to
do what? We're talking about guys who cheat… Oh my God. Of course!

It made perfect sense. Julia's ex had been unfaithful and as
a result she avoided relationships like the plague.

"Your ex?" I asked gently. "The, uh,
asshole?"

She nodded and sniffed a little. I removed my hand from her
breast and draped my arm around her instead, drawing her close to me.

"Sweetheart," I said, stroking her hair. "I
will never do that to you. I swear to God, I will never hurt you."

She looked up at me.

"I believe you," she said softly. "I know you
wouldn't do that to me."

"I wouldn't," I assured her. "Not in a
million years. Not if Rita Hayworth or Vivien Leigh showed up on my doorstep
naked."

"They're dead, Stephen," she chuckled. "It's
a pretty unlikely scenario."

"Maybe they got hold of a time machine," I said,
being completely ridiculous.

"And why are they naked?" she asked with a grin.

"Sadly, their clothes didn't make it here in the time
travel because they were so outdated that it would have messed up the
time-space continuum.”

Julia threw her head back and laughed. It made my heart soar
to know that I had caused it and that I could draw her out of her sad thoughts.

"You are such a geek," she laughed, climbing up to
lie on top of me. "My sexy, geeky boyfriend."

"If I'm a geek, when what are you?" I asked with a
smile.

"I don't know," she asked coyly. "What am
I?"

I kissed her lips.

"You are smart." Kiss. "Beautiful."
Kiss. "Incredibly sexy." Kiss. "Funny and adventurous." I
lay my head back down, gazing at her.

"And I'll never know how I got this lucky."

“Me neither,” she sighed, snuggling against me.

I wrapped my arms around her again and closed my eyes. This
was perfection right here: lying in bed with the woman I loved, who,
miraculously, loved me in return. What were the odds?

* * *

We emerged from the bedroom half an hour later, both
completely starved after a morning of revelations and lovemaking. I went to the
kitchen, while Julia went back into the shower to fix her partially dried and now
extremely tangled hair.

"Are you coming to class today?" I asked over
breakfast.

She shook her head slowly but didn't elaborate.

"Um, why not?"

"I just…I can't pretend, you know?" she said.

"Pretend?"

"That I'm just your student," she clarified.
"When we were just fucking it wasn't a problem, but we're more now,
right?"

I nodded immediately. We were so much more.

"I'm just scared that everyone will know if they see us
talking or something like that," she said. "We shouldn't risk
it." She hesitated for a moment. “I, uh, was actually thinking of not taking
the final exam for your class. And taking Professor Barrie’s class instead,
maybe next year.”

Brian had suggested the same thing, and while I agreed it
was a good idea, it still made me regret impeding Julia’s academic progress.

“I’m sorry,” I lamented. “That will put you behind, won’t
it?”

“Not really. I’ve taken a full course load until now, so one
light semester won’t change anything.”

“Even so…”

“It’s better, I think. I don’t want to risk what we have,
you know? Risk anyone finding out before it’s safe. And if someone starts asking
questions later on, there won’t be anything to indicate that you may have given
me a better grade or something like that.”

I couldn't help but nod and agree with her. And yet part of
me wanted nothing more than to shout it from the rooftops, damn the consequences.

Look, men of the world: This amazing woman is my
girlfriend. She is all mine and you can't have her! Na-na-na-na-na! She even
said she loves me! I made love with her this morning plus mind-blowing oral sex
in the shower! Who's jealous of me? Just as I thought. Everyone!

I couldn't stop myself from smiling a little at my own
strange thoughts. I sounded like a Neanderthal referring to Julia as mine in
such a way. And yet even the modern man in me liked the sound of that, although
I had always been something of a feminist, supporting women's rights.

It was a strange predicament. On one hand, I loved Julia's
independence and free spirit because they were so different from anyone else’s
I had ever met, but I also relished the fact that she needed me to take care of
her. I rested my chin in my hand and gazed at her while she ate, my own food
forgotten. She was so lovely and I couldn't believe that she was my girlfriend.
She glanced up at me and snorted with laughter.

"What is it?”

"You!" she exclaimed. "There is no way that
you looking at me like that would go by unnoticed in class. I think it's a wise
decision for me to stay here today."

"How was I looking at you?"

I wasn’t thinking about anything sexual.

"Oh, um, you…err, just forget it.”

I was stumped. I rarely saw Julia shy and hesitant. I looked
at her more closely, grinning at my discovery.

"Are you
blushing
?"

"No!" She lowered her head, focusing on her plate.
"Just leave it alone," she growled across from me.

I couldn't help myself. Laughter bubbled up inside me and I
didn't know how to hold it back. Julia raised her head and her eyes shot
daggers at me.

"I'm sorry," I gasped.

She scowled at me, gave me the finger, and stood up to clear
her plate away. I followed her into the kitchen and wrapped my arms around her
from behind.

"I'm sorry," I said again, leaning down to kiss
her neck. "I didn't mean to laugh at you. I just never thought I would see
you blush."

As far as I knew, Julia wasn't shy about anything, and
blushing seemed so out of character for her.

"Yeah, neither did I," she mumbled. "I
haven't done that in years. What the hell are you doing to me, Stephen?"

"I don't know," I murmured. "But I think you
do it to me, too. I'm different now than when we met, aren't I?"

"Only in some ways," she said softly. "Mostly
when it comes to sex."

I rested my chin on her shoulder and held her a little
tighter.

"Other than that, you're still a huge nerd," she
added, poking my ribs with her elbow.

I smiled. "I'll always be like that."

"Good," she whispered and wrapped her arms around
mine.

"In what way was I looking at you before?" I
asked, hoping that she would tell me now that I couldn't see her face.

I felt her take a deep breath. "You looked at me like
you…uh, like you…"

Like I love you.

She didn’t finish the sentence and I didn't push her. There
had been far too many tears this morning and I didn't want this whole day to be
about crying. It was the day of my final class as Julia's teacher even though
she wouldn’t be there, and after today, nothing would stop me from showing the
world how I felt about her.

Julia cleared her throat. "You looked at me like you…"
she started again.

"I do," I simply whispered in her ear. "With
all my heart, Julia."

She turned to face me. I didn't need her to say the actual
words. Her eyes spoke volumes as she gazed up at me. I caressed her cheek and
smiled before I leaned down to kiss her. When I pulled back her eyes were
welling up again.

"No more tears, sweetheart," I whispered. "I
want you to be happy."

"I’m ridiculously happy," she sniffed.
"That's why I'm acting like a fucking crybaby all of a sudden." She
wiped her eyes and I couldn't stop myself from laughing a little.

"So you're saying that I should get used to you
crying?"

"Crying, blushing, the whole shebang," she
mumbled. "Apparently, I'm a girly-girl now and you only have yourself to
blame, Stephen."

I laughed again and hugged her to me.

"But if I start wearing pink frilly stuff you need to
pick a fight with me. No one should be that happy.”

"Got it. No pink." I nodded with a grin. "Although,"
I added, "I do love your pink parts."

Her mouth fell open. Then she laughed.

"Dirty old man,” she teased, standing up on her toes to
kiss me. "What happened to the insecure, nervous professor I
seduced?"

"He's happy and not scared of sex anymore," I
answered promptly. "And he wants to please his beautiful girlfriend more
than anything."

“You do please me,” she said, gasping as my hands crept
underneath her skirt to pull down her underwear.

Sitting her up on the kitchen counter, I dropped to my
knees, grinning like a loon. Now, I finally understood what she had said the
very first night we’d been together: sex
was
fun.

* * *

An hour later I left for the
university. My heart was light and I was so happy that I had to resist the urge
to skip to my car. I turned, looked up at my kitchen window, and smiled when I
saw Julia. She waved and blew me a kiss. I wanted nothing more than to run
back, take her in my arms, and forget about the outside world. But somehow I
managed to do the responsible thing and drove to work.

Today was the last day of my old life in which Julia and I
had to sneak around, and soon I would be able to show everyone that I was the
luckiest man on the face of the planet. The thought that she would be there
when I came home sent a thrill through me. I’d cook us a nice dinner, we’d
spend the night together, and I’d get to fall asleep with her in my arms. It
was everything I had ever wanted.

Strolling through the crowded campus, I reached the Literature
and Languages building, feeling excited about the last class of the semester.
After today, I only had exams and papers to grade, which left me with lots of
free time to be with Julia. As I passed a familiar figure, I did something
unusual for me—I initiated contact.

“Dean Michaels,” I said, giving him a friendly nod.

“Oh, hello,” he answered.

There wasn’t a trace of recognition on his face, which
wasn’t surprising. Brian hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said I didn’t
socialize much.

“Worthington,” I supplied. “I teach American lit.”

“Right, of course.”

I wasn’t entirely sure he remembered who I was, but I didn’t
mind. Mostly, I had said hello to him because I was curious about him—and
his wife, who Brian had revealed had been a student of his when they got
together.

“I just wanted to say hello before we all clear out of here
for the summer,” I said.

He smiled. “Well, I’m certainly looking forward to that!”

“Big plans then?”

“My wife and I are headed to New York,” he explained. “Our
last big city holiday for a good while, I’d wager.”

“Oh?”

“We’re expecting,” he said proudly.

“Congratulations. That’s wonderful.”

“Thank you. I never thought it would happen. I’m probably
too old, but here goes nothing,” he joked.

“And your wife is happy, too, I presume?” I asked.

His smile widened. “Thrilled. We couldn’t be happier.”

“Well, be sure to offer her my congratulations,” I said,
glancing at my watch.

“Back to the salt mines, eh?”

“Afraid so. Have a good summer, sir.”

“You, too.”

I walked on with an even bigger smile on my face, hoping I
had caught a glimpse of my future.

* * *

As I approached my classroom, I
noticed Brian lingering in the hallway outside. The moment he saw me, he broke
into a grin.

“Professor Worthington,” he greeted me, side-eyeing a few of
my students who were passing on their way to my class.

“Professor Barrie.”

The moment we were alone, he dropped the formalities.

“You look a lot better than the last time I saw you! Did
everything work out? I never heard what happened with the paper.”

“I’m really sorry,” I said, although I had a difficult time
not smiling. “Things happened so fast all of a sudden. She’s now my…my
girlfriend.”

“That’s great!”

Brian took half a step toward me before pulling back and
patting me on the back, instead of giving me a hug, which was what he probably
would have done had we not been at work.

“Thank you.” I smiled. “I can’t thank you enough for all
your help and advice.”

“What about…” Brian motioned toward my students inside.

“Oh.” I chuckled. “She’s not completing my course.”

“So that means…?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“You’re going to have an interesting class next year.” I
laughed. “I guarantee it!”

Brian laughed as well, shaking his head.

“I should get started,” I told him, glancing at my watch.
“I’m running even later than some of my students.”

“You dress like them now, too,” Brian said, nodding in my
direction.