“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks.
“Nothing.”
“You got tense suddenly. Don’t tell me it’s nothing, Goldi.”
I sigh loudly. “Fine. I started to think about the practical side of things.”
“I don’t want to give you up. But I can’t resign in the middle of the semester. That wouldn’t be fair to my students or the school.”
“I don’t want you to resign on my account. You’re a good teacher, Alistair.”
“On the other hand, I can’t not have you, Chiara. I tried to stay away from you, and it almost drove me insane.”
I pull back, leaning on my elbows so I can look at his face. “We could keep seeing each other in secret.”
He furrows his eyebrows. “I hate to put you in that position. You’re not a dirty affair I should have to hide.”
“I know, but unfortunately, while you’re my teacher, I am a dirty secret.” I grin slyly. “We’ll be like Romeo and Juliet.”
“Goldi, their love story ended tragically.”
I kiss his nose. “But ours won’t. Now, I’m hungry. Do you want to eat something?”
Alistair looks at his watch. “I should get going. It’s already six. The longer I stay, the harder it will be to leave your apartment without anyone seeing me.”
It’s hard to keep the disappointment from showing on my face. With a tight smile, I say, “Okay. I guess I’ll see you in class, Mr. Walsh.”
His eyes narrow, turning smoldering in a second. “You have no idea how hard it will be to see you in school and pretend you’re nothing but a student.”
His admission turns the butterflies in my stomach wilder than they were already.
“But I thought you were an actor.”
“Sure, but I never claimed to be a good one.”
28
Chiara
My heart is hammering inside my chest as I wait for Alistair to walk into film history class. I feel much better than I did last night. The fever I had must have been triggered by emotional distress. Or maybe Alistair’s dick has healing powers.
I kept my seat at the back of the room to make it easier for both of us. Valerie, the only student in this class I know, hasn’t shown up yet.
My phone pings, announcing a text message. I glance down and fight to keep the goofy smile off my face. It’s from Alistair.
ALISTAIR: I’m about to walk in. I hope you have your game face on.
ME: It depends. What are you wearing?
ALISTAIR: The usual.
ME: Cazzo. That’s going to be a problem.
ALISTAIR: Goldilocks…
ME: It’s okay, I’m all the way in the back. Just don’t look in my direction.
Robbie drops into the chair next to mine while I’m distracted, scaring the crap out of me.
“Shit.”
I fumble my phone and end up dropping it to the floor. Robbie makes a motion to reach for it, but I push him off with a jerky movement.
“I got it.”
“Gee. What’s gotten into you?”
“Too many espressos. What are you doing here?”
“When I heard Mr. Walsh was the substitute teacher for Mrs. Weiland, I had to sign up. Luckily, there was still room.”
Shit. This is not good at all. Hiding my relationship with Alistair will be much harder with Robbie around. He already noticed my interest in him; he’ll be able to put things together in no time if I’m not careful.
“I can’t believe they let you change your schedule after the semester started.”
He gives me a devious smile. “Both my mothers are on the school board. They have sway. Oh, by the way, it’s my mom’s birthday this Saturday—the Brazilian one—and you’re invited to the party. Both are über excited to meet you. I’ll text you the details later.”
I open my mouth to reply, but Alistair’s booming voice announces the beginning of class. A shiver runs down my spine, and heat pools between my legs. Squirming in my seat, I try and fail miserably to control my reaction to his voice. The vivid image of him naked in my room comes to the forefront of my mind, and a little moan escapes my lips.
