Before she knew her palm hit his face with a loud smack. “There, now we are equal.”
She placed his phone back into his hand and walked out of the room.
There. Something broke. Oh yes, her heart.
*****
Raphael’s cheek still stung from that slap Sofia had given him. It was well-deserved, he agreed. He was being a jackass to her and he knew it. But what else was there that he could do? He was afraid of where his feelings were heading. The most natural thing to do was make the catalyst of those feelings disappear. That was what he had done. Taking Sofia as a date to the engagement party was a bad idea. He knew he was in trouble when he first spotted her in that black dress on the corner of the street with her hair flowing around in loose curls. And by the end of night, the whole idea had become terrible, because he was just a fraction of a centimeter close to dragging her into the closest stairwell and lose himself inside her.
That night had been enlightening and the lesson learnt was to stay the hell away from Sofia. His lewd desires would only throw her out of the college and his own career would be put to an end. He couldn’t care less about his career because teaching was what he did out of passion. A seat was already at his disposal at Giovanni Enterprise if he wanted to take over. But he had never given his family business much thought. As for Sofia, there was no other option for her if he couldn’t contain his horny urges to himself. So, in front of her, he pretended like he didn’t acknowledge her presence. And what happened today was exactly what he wanted all along. But, damn, he didn’t expect to hate it so much.
More weeks passed and he had no more encounters with Sofia. She attended his classes, of course, but never attempted to show her presence. Like he wouldn’t know she was there. He was aware of every bit of her. It was like his body was attuned to her, jumping to attention every time she passed him. He had expected his desire for her to die with time but only the opposite had happened. Instead of dying, it has enhanced to the level of breakage.
It was the last lecture of the semester when he bid luck to his students. “I hope I don’t have to see any of your faces in the same class again.” He joked and entire class snickered. His eyes fell on Sofia who wasn’t amused. The expression on her face was disturbing.
As the students started to leave, he called, “Ms. Hawthorn, please stay back for a minute. I have to talk to you.” Talk to her about what?
It was just him and Sofia left in the room. “Are you alright?” he asked her. She just gave him a brisk nod. “Sofia…”
“Am I excused now, Mr. Giovanni?” She didn’t look him in eye. He wanted to shake her and ask her what was wrong with her. All these days he had seen her, never once was she like this. And it unsettled him.
“Is something wrong? Tell me, Sofia,” he insisted.
“It’s none of your business, Mr. Giovanni. You are my Professor, not lover.” She walked away. He stared back at her and a million voices inside him called to go after her. He stood struggling with his thoughts.
*****
Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as Sofia rushed to the library. Her whole life was a mess. She had stopped fighting her feelings for Raphael. She was in too deep to get out so she didn’t even bother to struggle. And Michael had been one hell of a pain in the ass for her. He was traumatizing her with continuous phone calls and texts, telling her that he couldn’t get over her and wanted her back. She declined him politely at every turn but then in one conversation, she said that she was interested in someone else. That had brought some reaction out of Michael and he had threatened to kill whoever tried to lay a finger on her.
Since then she had avoided his every call and message. But this morning, he appeared out of nowhere when she was on her way to her class. “You are mine, Sofia. Never forget that.” He caught her by shoulders. His eyes scared her and she was afraid he would snap her neck right then. But she was saved by a couple of girls whom she had become friends with through Luke.
Michael had left but the fear had stayed. And then sitting in Raphael’s class had brought back the earlier threat. What worried her was the thought of Raphael getting hurt. Even though he had no feelings for her, she did and she couldn’t bear if he got hurt because of her. She had almost broken down when Raphael had asked her. But then she had brought her guard up and masked her feelings.
Now that she was alone, she let all her emotions take over her. She was around the corner to walk straight towards the library, when someone grabbed her shoulder. She stiffened. “Sofia,” it was Michael. He turned her around.
“Michael, I told you that I cannot be with you. Why are you harassing me? And why are you here?”
“I also told you, Sofia that I will win you back.”
“Just go back to Ontario, please.”
“I am not leaving without you. Either you come back, or I’ll stay here with you until you decide otherwise.”
“Please don’t make a scene here.” She looked around as other students passed by. Michael dragged her to the storeroom’s area which was deserted.
Shit. She was more comfortable in the corridor, knowing Michael won’t do anything in public, but this place was a bit deserted.
“Now we are alone. Let’s talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“You love me, sweetheart. You are just angry with me.” He held her by shoulders.
“No, Michael. I don’t love you anymore. Please go.” She tried to walk away but he pulled her back and then pinned her against the wall. “Stop, Michael, you are hurting me.” She struggled in his arms.
“You need to be reminded what it was between us, love.” He was crushing his lips against her and all she felt was disgust. She fought hard but Michael was well built. His hand roamed on her body. “Don’t do this, Michael, please.” Tears fell from her eyes as he found the button of her jeans. “I love someone else.”
That only infuriated Michael. “You cheated on me? Bitch!” he caught her again by the neck and Sofia closed her eyes. All too soon Michael’s hands were gone and there was a sharp yelp of pain. She opened her eyes to see him down on his knees and Raphael was showering punches on his face.
“You fucking touch her again and I’ll rip you down to pieces, asshole! She is mine, and only mine!”
He was here; Raphael was here to save her. And did he just called her his? Her knees weakened and she slipped down to the ground.
Raphael grabbed Michael by the collar and pulled him up. “If I see you anywhere near Sofia that would be your last day walking on your legs.” His voice was lethal and his face was intimidating enough to dry blood. Michael didn’t wait for any further words and was already moving away. Only then Raphael turned to her. Their eyes met and he too dropped down to her level.
“I won’t hurt you, Sofia. I just want to see if you are alright.” Still distancing himself. She wanted to smack something hard on his head.
“You said she is mine and only mine,” she repeated his words. “Who were you talking about?”
He didn’t answer so she stood up to leave. He caught her by waist. “If I was talking about you, then what?”
“Ask when you are sure.” She glared at him and tried to fight out of his grip. He didn’t let go of her and next moment he was kissing her – like a man starving for months. She didn’t fight; she gave in. “I have never been this sure in my entire life, Sofia. You are mine, only mine. I want to know if I am yours too?” he murmured after the long, dazzling kiss.
“You are my Professor.” She didn’t want to get her heart broken any more than it already was so she had to clear this beforehand.
“Not anymore. I just handed my resignation.” What? “Why?” “I want you without fearing that my desire for you will harm your future.” She fell deeper for him.
“You are fifteen years older than me.”
That had him stiffened. “That bothers you?” he asked. His expression was so stunned that she couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her mouth. His
face softened and he kissed her again. This time slowly. She melted in his arms. “It doesn’t bother me.”
“I want to explore every possibility with you, Sofia.” He looked into her eyes. Those emerald-onyxes were flooded with the intense emotions. “Is it too soon to say that I think I have fallen for you?”
His confession stunned her – in the best possible way. “Raphael…” No words were enough to describe her feelings so she let her actions speak and kissed him with whatever feeling she had inside her for him. She too wanted to explore every possibility with him and they had all the time in the world for that.
The Exchange Student
Amber’s world revolves around her academics. For the past two years she has done nothing more than studying, researching, reading and in general - just impressing her teachers at Princeton University. All work and no play of course mean that there will be a point when Amber will crack. And that happened on a drunken night of revelry in London, while she was on a six month Erasmus program at King’s College. One night of passion with a complete stranger was something that Amber could deal with. But would the blue eyed, blonde Englishman now change her life? How could he? She didn’t even know his name.
If you think getting into Princeton is hard. You might want to think, “harder”. I did more than just study hard to get into the Undergraduate degree for Geography, I stayed up days and nights preparing for the essay, I read books and attended conferences just so that I could learn everything there is to learn about Geography. Heck, I even attended Art classes so that I could brush up on my basics of drawing. Yes it was worth it; I got accepted. Three years of living my dream awaited me. What I didn’t know was that I would reach my burning point very soon.
By the end of my second year, I had not slept for more than five hours over a period of ten days. I barely had a proper meal. I lost connection with all my friends. The only person I had to talk to was my roommate, but pretty soon she was annoyed with my long hours and my insane habits as well. I failed to see the danger; my eyes were focused on my goals. So when my Professor recommended me for an Erasmus program in London for six months, at the beginning of my third year I jumped at the opportunity.
I arrived in London - alone and for the first time. I managed to find my way into a cab from the airport which drove me straight to the campus of King’s College. My bags were still hanging from my arm when I walked into the Geography Faculty building and I didn’t leave the premises of the University for two months straight. I lived on campus, I ate on campus, I managed to make a few friends on campus but that’s about it. The weeks turned into months, I was doing exceedingly well. That is till one fateful Friday morning, on a bleak cloudy day in London when my life took a turn I hadn’t expected.
“You haven’t seen London at all have you?” Elizabeth said to me, while cutting through the runny yolk of her fried egg with a blunt knife. Elizabeth was probably my only friend, the only person with whom I spoke on a regular basis who was also not a part of the Geography faculty.
I shook my head subconsciously, while I remained bent over writing the final paragraph of a report I was going to submit.
“You have to get out there love. You’re leaving in a few weeks,” she said and I looked up to find a string of yellow yolk running down her pale chin. I smiled and said, “Well, I’m leaving in one week and you’re right but I don’t have the time.” I took a bite of my cold toast on which Elizabeth had spread a generous coating of Marmalade.
“You’re in London! It’s a Friday! We must go and have some fun” Elizabeth said cheerily and looked at me, almost pleadingly.
“I’m not much of a party person,” I said and pointed at my oversized denim shirt and the faded black jeans I had managed to throw on.
“You’re telling me you don’t have one gorgeous outfit for a night out?” Elizabeth said and raised her eyebrows at me. Well, I did pack one, but I had forgotten about it and besides going out on a Friday night when I still had so much work to do just seemed like a terrible idea.
“We’re going and that’s that. Even if we have to go buy a new outfit for you,” Elizabeth said with a flourish and sank back in her chair.
*****
It was 8pm when we left the King’s College campus, Elizabeth and I hand-in-hand as we made our way to the Tube stop which would connect us to the London City center. I had found my little black shift dress with a sparkly sequin design at the edges. Elizabeth had lent me her high black heels which clicked against the gravel road that we were walking on. All the time that I spent indoors, and the fact that London in September means practically no sun, had made me appear to be at least a few shades paler than I looked at home. For a change, my copper curls were manageable and I let them hang behind my shoulders in waves.
This was my first time out in London. This was the first time I saw the double decker red buses which somehow never topple over, the first time we walked through dark and dingy stone archways and old buildings in pristine condition. I hated to admit it, but our little adventure out was fun!
When we reached the City, Elizabeth immediately dragged me into a pub she claimed was famous for all the authors and writers who used to visit it regularly, a hundred years ago. To say that I felt out of place was an understatement. I hadn’t been out drinking at a bar in ages, let alone in a foreign country! As expected, Elizabeth immediately made friends while I stood awkwardly at the edge of the circle of people around her, taking small sips of a pint of strong Cider.
That is untill I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find a man standing behind me, a huge grin on his face and a pint of a dark beer in his hands.
“Bored?” he asked, a thick English accent hit my ears and all I could do was smile and avert my gaze nervously. He was tall. At least a foot taller than me. Broad shoulders and big hands was what I noticed first about him. His pale blonde hair was swept back from his forehead, while his crystalline blue eyes were studying my face. He looked much more casual than I did. Just jeans and a light sweater, so calm, so suave.
“You’re clearly not from around here,” he said to me and took a sip of beer from his glass.
*****
“What gave that away? Before I even spoke?” I asked him, while leaning against a rounded wooden table. I was glad that I at least had somebody to talk to, instead of just awkwardly standing in the corner watching Elizabeth flirting with strangers.
“You just look…different,” he said after a while and smiled knowingly at me. He had apple-red lips I noticed and I could see the green veins on his jaw under his pale almost flawlessly translucent skin. His voice was masculine and made him sound at least a decade older than he looked.
“Do you like London?” he asked suddenly and I nodded in response, I didn’t have much to talk about London with him, I barely knew the city.
“Well, it rains a lot,” I said eventually and we both laughed. His laugh was boisterous, his whole body shook when he laughed and his eyes gave the impression that he was enjoying himself. We both took big gulps from our glasses and he said, “Bottom’s up?” and without waiting for a response, drained the glass and I had no choice but to do the same.
“I’m getting us refills,” I heard him say as I was finishing up the last bit of Cider from my glass. He returned within minutes and he had two pints of Cider for me and two pints of what he indicated to be Guinness, for himself.
“Wanna race?” I asked him, surprising myself and he had just about placed the four glasses on the table when we both picked up a glass each and chugged it down in record speed. The next one took us a bit more time, especially me, but we managed it nonetheless and by the time we were done, I was as good as swaying on my feet.
“I need to sit,” I said, and hoped that I hadn’t begun to slur my words. He laughed shortly and I felt his hands grip my shoulders as he pulled me down towards a tall wooden chair that had been placed in the corner of the room. He stood in front of me after that, shielding my view from Elizabeth and her group
. His arms were crossed across his chest and his blue eyes were studying my face.
“You all right?” he asked and I nodded enthusiastically.
“Haven’t done that in a while. I’m all right” I said and giggled like a school girl. He laughed too and continued looking at me.
“You know what you need? Some fresh air,” he said suddenly and before I knew it, he was pulling me up by my hands. I wanted to protest and looked back towards Elizabeth. She was kissing a man who I didn’t recognize and I shook my head. So she’s clearly not going back to campus tonight, I said to myself and allowed my hand to be pulled forward by this strange and handsome man who led me out into the streets of London.
The chill in the air was like a slap across my face and he was right, the freshness of it made me feel a lot better. He had let my hand go when we stepped outside and now he was standing a few feet away from me, allowing me to steady myself on my feet.
I took in a deep breath and exhaled.
“You were right. This feels great,” I said and squeezed my eyelids shut against a strong cool breeze that swept across my face and which I knew, would have also completely messed up my hair.
“It’s the English cure,” he said and laughed. “Nothing like a harsh cold wind to wake you up,” he added and we both laughed. When our laughter faded, we were both looking at each other. He still had a smile on his face, while I couldn’t help but bite down on my lower lip. He was so damn attractive, and that laugh of his was making me weak in my knees. I had a sudden incredible urge to trace my fingers along the faded green veins on his jaw, and I had to really struggle to stop myself from doing it.
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