“I’ve noticed that, too.” Lauren slowed. “Well, I better finish up with some grading. My office is that way,” she said, pointing off to one of the smaller buildings to their right.
“On a Friday evening?”
Lauren sighed. “I’m afraid so, but then I’ll have nothing else to worry about all weekend.”
“Except me. I’m coming after you tonight. I know your strategy now,” Riley said, barely believing the words that were flying out of her mouth. What was wrong with her?
Lauren laughed, and Riley couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She loved the sound of her laugh.
“You talk a big game,” Lauren said with a smirk, “But I hope you won’t be offended when I say that I’m not convinced. Do you want to meet me downstairs at around seven?”
“Sure. That’d be great.”
“Alright. See you in a few hours.”
Riley stood there with a stupid grin on her face, her gaze lowering to Lauren’s ass. Her walk was so confident, the copper highlights catching in the afternoon sun as she pulled open the door and disappeared. Riley blew out a breath and headed for the bus stop on the other side of the campus.
What the hell was she going to wear tonight?
8
Lauren glanced over at Riley as she drove them back to their apartment building. Lauren had switched on the radio a few minutes ago when she got the impression that Riley wasn’t in the mood to talk. Tonight had been interesting. Riley had known her strategy, and she still couldn’t beat her. Riley finished in eighth place, taking home some money, and Lauren had been knocked out in fourth place.
They should both be happy, really. They’d done well, but Lauren couldn’t bring herself to be happy or to make conversation with Riley. She tried to focus on the music, but she kept replaying what happened with Taylor.
Lauren never met up with her during the week. Taylor hadn’t text her, and Lauren had completely forgotten about it. It was only when she walked in that she caught Taylor’s eye and remembered what she’d said last week, that she wanted to talk.
“Hey,” Lauren had said when they walked in. Riley went straight for the bar, offering to bring back Lauren a whiskey. “I’m sorry about this week. You okay?” Lauren asked her.
“I’m fine,” Taylor said, pushing a lock of her blond hair behind her ear.
“Really? You look... I don’t know. Nervous or something. Is everything okay?”
Taylor sighed. “Look. I’m probably blowing this way out of proportion, but... Have you ever gotten involved with a student?”
“What...? Wait, what have you heard?”
“What?”
“Where did you hear that?” Lauren asked, her heart pounding in her chest. She was under the impression that no one else knew. Just her, the student, and Brian.
“I’m just asking you a simple question. I mean, I see you and Riley, and I’m just wondering... It’s easy to blur the lines is all I’m saying.”
“What do you mean? I just gave Riley a ride here. Nothing’s going on between us. We’re not sleeping together if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“No. No. That’s not where I was going with this. I was asking for me.”
“You’re into Riley?” The questions were flying out of Lauren’s mouth without her putting any real thought into them.
“No. Wait, are you?” Taylor asked. “You got pretty defensive there.”
“Taylor, I know we don’t know each other that well, so you might not believe me, but I’m telling you, nothing is going on between me and Riley. So please, don’t start any rumors to that effect. I take my job as a lecturer very seriously. I’m not sleeping with Riley.”
Taylor put up her hands. “Sorry. I obviously touched a nerve.”
Riley was standing beside them. “Here’s your whiskey.” She was gone again before Lauren could even say thanks. How much of that conversation had she heard?
This wasn’t the time or place to continue this conversation with Taylor, although there wasn’t much else to say. She’d been enjoying spending time with Taylor these last few weeks, but they’d hardly shared anything about their personal lives, and here she was asking her about dating students.
“We better find our seats,” Taylor said, the room filling up around them. “I’m sorry if I overstepped, but I think you misunderstood me. I wasn’t... Nevermind.”
They went their separate ways, and Lauren had ended up at a table on the other side of the room from both Taylor and Riley. She hadn’t seen Riley again until they’d both made the final table a few hours later. Then Riley had been knocked out. When Lauren got up after being eliminated, she half expected Riley to have jumped in a taxi, but she was sitting on one of the black sofas in the lobby.
They’d made small talk about their results while they walked out to the parking lot, and now here they were. Lauren didn’t know what Riley had heard, if it was something they needed to talk about. What must Riley have thought when she came back from the bar and heard Lauren?
I’m not sleeping with Riley.
That was one of the last things Lauren had said, and Riley more than likely heard it. Lauren sighed, trying to focus on the road. Thankfully, it was a short ride back, and they wouldn’t have to endure this silence for much longer, but Lauren didn’t know if she could go back to being her lecturer next week with Riley thinking God only knew what about her.
Riley had no idea how she’d done so well tonight. She’d been distracted from the first hand, Lauren’s words on a loop in her head. I’m not sleeping with Riley.
How had the rest of that conversation gone? Riley already had a sneaking suspicion that there was something going on with those two. Were they dating? Was it serious? She’d probably interrupted an argument between them. Ms. Lloyd must have thought they were having an affair.
Riley felt her lips tugging into a smile. She should have felt bad about causing a problem between Lauren and Ms. Lloyd, but her imagination was running wild instead, thinking about it would be like to be with Lauren.
Lauren pulled into an empty space. It was almost midnight, but Riley wasn’t the slightest bit tired. She was almost on a high, and it nothing to do with making the final table tonight and winning some money.
“Riley?”
She turned to see Lauren unbuckling her seat belt and angling her body towards Riley. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem. Um... I feel like I should explain what you might have heard earlier.”
“It’s fine. Really. I don’t want to get involved, and you don’t need to give me rides to the casino anymore. I don’t want to cause any trouble between you two.”
Lauren’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. “What?”
“You and Ms. Lloyd. I assume she thinks we’re having an affair? I can talk to her if you want. Tell her that we’re not,” Riley said, motioning between them, “you know... That we’re not sleeping together.”
“Wait. What? What are you talking about? You think we’re dating?”
Riley hesitated. “Yes.”
Lauren smiled and looked away. “We’re not. We’re friends. Although my brother wanted to set us up. I think the fact that we’re both single lesbians who lecture at the same college is about all we have in common. And poker, obviously. But we’re just friends.”
Riley nodded. “Okay.” So Lauren was gay? Maybe Riley did have accurate gaydar.
“I don’t really know what’s going on with her. That she thought there was something going on.” Lauren sighed. “I’m sorry if hearing something like that upset you.”
“No. It’s fine,” Riley said, running a hand through her hair as she looked away, suppressing a smile. She was the opposite of upset. She was thrilled, even though she knew she had no reason to be. Just because Lauren was gay didn’t change anything. She was still a lot older than Riley, and she was her professor.
Lauren opened her door. “Do you want to come upstairs? I feel like I need to apologize and explain myself, proper
ly. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea,” she said in a rush as they got out of the car. “Plus, I could use a drink after a night like that.”
“We should be celebrating, really. We both made the final table.”
“We should. I just can’t get over Taylor.” They entered their building and got into the elevator. “I mean, that’s how rumors start. We were in the middle of the casino with other students around.”
“So, what did she say to you exactly?” Riley asked as they got out on the top floor, and Lauren turned the key to her apartment. She had to keep reminding herself to play it cool. The last thing she needed was to be caught drooling over Lauren, but even just being in Lauren’s apartment had her feeling a little giddy.
“Uh... Well, she was acting weird, and she’d said last Friday that she wanted to talk.” Lauren tossed her keys on the black granite counter in the kitchen.
Riley’s eyes swept across the room. It was so much fancier than her apartment downstairs. The living room and kitchen made up this massive open space with floor to ceiling windows covering the entire wall. The design was modern with a black L-shaped sofa taking up most of the living area. The kitchen carried the same black and white theme.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Lauren asked, pulling the refrigerator open. “There’s beer, wine... Whiskey, rum.”
“Wine is fine. Whatever you have.”
“White or red?”
“White, please,” Riley said, coming over to the other side of the breakfast bar and resting her arms on the counter.
Lauren poured her a glass and then fixed herself a whiskey. “Let’s go into the living room.”
Riley followed her in, sitting in the middle of the sofa and angling her body towards Lauren who’d gotten comfortable on the end, tucking her feet underneath her.
“So, Ms. Lloyd,” Riley started. “Taylor, I mean.”
“Yeah, so she was acting a little strange, and she just blurted it out. Have you ever been involved with a student?”
“And what did you say?” Riley took a sip of wine.
Lauren hesitated. “I don’t remember. I was kind of shocked.”
“But you thought she was talking about you, right?”
Lauren nodded.
“Why?” Riley asked, doing her best to keep her eyes focused on Lauren and not let them drift lower. Lauren’s white button up blouse revealed her defined collarbone and just a hint of cleavage.
“Because she...” Lauren’s voice trailed off. “I uh. I don’t know. It was just the way she said it.” Lauren gulped her whiskey, and Riley knew something was off. Lauren’s confidence had disappeared, that unwavering eye contact gone. “Look, I don’t want you to feel threatened or anything like that. I’m going to talk to Taylor.”
“Alright,” Riley said, still not entirely sure what was going on with Lauren. “But you have nothing to worry about. I’m not offended or intimidated or whatever else you’re worried about. I won’t be filing any complaints or anything.” Riley shrugged. “So... I’m not really sure what the big deal is.”
“It’s a big deal, because it’s my reputation.”
“Yeah, but nothing is going on, so why are you so worried? If there was some sort of investigation or if Taylor brought anything up with your superiors, no one did anything wrong. Nothing is going on.”
Lauren knocked back the rest of her whiskey and pushed herself off the sofa. “Do you want a top up?”
“Sure,” Riley said, her eyes following Lauren as she handed her the glass, and she padded into the kitchen. Riley took a deep breath. She should be enjoying this more, but she just couldn’t understand why Lauren was so on edge. Riley had only caught the tail end of the conversation, so she couldn’t judge, and Lauren was reluctant to say much. Riley had definitely missed something.
Lauren came back with their drinks. “Thanks,” Riley said, watching her sit down again. She didn’t get as comfortable this time, sitting up straighter, crossing one leg over the other.
“Can I trust you to keep this between us? What happened tonight. I don’t want a rumor starting.”
Riley’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah. Of course. If that’s what you want. I just don’t understand what the big deal is.” Riley took a drink. What if Lauren could see how much of a crush Riley had on her? Maybe that was what this was about. Maybe that’s why Lauren was being so paranoid, because she thought that Riley might do or say something.
Lauren audibly exhaled, taking Riley away from her thoughts. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this... Maybe, so you’ll understand where I’m coming from with this. I don’t even know if I’ll tell Taylor. I don’t know her that well. I know you even less though so...”
Riley turned to face her fully, trying to act casual while her heart hammered in her chest and her mind raced. What was Lauren about to tell her? What could have her so conflicted?
“I got quite defensive, earlier. With Taylor,” Lauren said, tracing her finger along the rim of her tumbler. “And it was because... I had an affair with a student. Years ago. And when Taylor said, ‘Have you ever gotten involved with a student?’” Lauren shook her head. “I immediately jumped to the conclusion that she’d heard about what had happened before. That it had somehow gotten out. I mean, there’s no rule that says that I couldn’t date a student, but it wasn’t even like that. It was an affair. She was nineteen. It shouldn’t have happened.”
Riley bit her lip, her mind firing off dozens of questions. How did happen? Who started it? Did they caught? Holy shit, Lauren dated a student.
“You seem shocked,” Lauren said, and she realized that Lauren was staring at her.
“No. No. I’m not shocked. Well, maybe a little surprised. If it makes you feel any better, this is my last year here, and I never heard anything about you being involved with a student. I actually didn’t even know you were gay. Well, maybe I thought about it, but I never...” Riley tousled her hair. What was she doing? She nearly said that she’d wondered if Lauren was gay. As in, because Riley had a ridiculous crush on her. She had to slow down with the wine.
“Yes. That does actually make me feel a bit better,” Lauren said with a lopsided grin. “I’m out, but I don’t advertize it. Every college is different and while it’s not explicitly written anywhere that I couldn’t date a student... I was so worried about it coming out,” Lauren said before she took a drink. “It was only my first year working here. Brian, my brother, vouched for me. He’s been working here for the last… Fifteen years. Yeah. I didn’t want to get him involved with my mess.”
“Brian Harper’s your brother?” Riley asked. She remembered being a bit star-struck in her first year when she walked into his math lecture. It was so strange having a professor who you’d watched play poker on TV as a kid.
“Yeah. Oh right. You knew him from the poker tournaments.”
“And I had him for a few math classes.”
A silence fell between them, and Riley could have kicked herself. Why had she changed the subject? Lauren had an affair with a female student. It was unbelievable. That’s what Riley wanted to talk about.
“So,” Lauren said with a sigh. “You’re sure you’re okay? I haven’t offended you or anything? Because that is the last thing I want. With Deirdre... She came to me. She started it. I was the one who should have said no. I’m not making excuses. I’m just saying it wasn’t me using my influence or authority to seduce a student. That’s not what happened. Not that it makes much difference now. It still happened.”
Riley took another sip of wine. How daring was she going to be tonight? Lauren obviously needed to talk to someone about this. She’d kept it bottled up for years, but if Riley asked the wrong question, she could offend Lauren, get thrown out even.
“I know I said that I hadn’t heard anything about you and a student, but I have heard of...” Riley went through the names in her head. “At least six professors being involved with students. One, no two, of them were just stories I heard from years ago
, but I’ve definitely seen and heard things in the last three years about four professors dating students. They were all men though, now that I think about it.”
“What are you saying? That I’m being a bit dramatic?”
Riley couldn’t miss the way Lauren’s eyes darkened. Wow, this was a sensitive subject for her. “No. No, I’m just saying that there are other lecturers out there, dating students, and they still have their jobs. There’s no way that they could fire you and not them, you know, if you were actually dating a student.”
“You seem awfully confident. Are you one of those students?”
“Me?” Riley pointed to her chest. “No. I’m not dating any of my professors. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I wouldn’t rule it out, is what I’m trying to say.” She took another drink. She was making such a mess of this. Tonight could have gone so differently.
“But wouldn’t you be creeped out if one of your lecturers asked you out? Your first instinct wouldn’t be to report them?”
Riley smiled. “It would completely depend on the professor.”
“Obviously. But I’m just trying to get the student’s perspective here.”
“Okay. Well, if it was a guy? I’d politely decline, and if he was in any way intimidating or aggressive, I’d seriously think about reporting him. If it was a woman? And if I was attracted to her?” Riley shrugged. “I wouldn’t think anything of it. I’d go for it.”
“So, you’re...?”
“I’m gay.” Riley said, somehow keeping her voice even. She was sitting in Lauren Harper’s apartment, drinking wine, and telling her crush that she’s gay. She couldn’t have made it up.
“You are?”
Riley nodded, but that momentary boost of confidence she’d been feeling slipped away as she watched Lauren’s body language change. She took another drink of whiskey and sat forward, her arms on her thighs. Riley finished her drink. She should leave while she was still ahead. It was like she was playing cash poker tonight, not a tournament, and she knew when to walk away. This was that moment.
Sweet Temptation Page 4
