I turned my head to look at Eva. She was already eyeing the guy up. He was good-looking, but not my type. I looked back at Aaron. He was already approaching me, and so was the guy. I got really nervous; this man was my professor, what could possibly happen?
“That’s it, Samantha, nothing will happen.” The moment I thought that, he already had his mouth on my cheek and his hand on my neck.
“Hello, you look very beautiful,” he slowly moved his hand down from my neck, brushing against my arm until it landed by his side.
It didn’t make me feel anything. Absolutely nothing. The simple touch of his skin against mine didn’t make me shudder, it didn’t give me goosebumps, nothing.
Now that I think about it, Martin didn’t do it either. With whom it always affected me was with…
“Samantha!” Eva shouted at me. Everyone was looking at me weirdly.
“What?”
“We’re going to watch the same movie, I was talking to you, and you weren’t responding. Where were you?” I looked at her apologetically, and she understood where I had been.
“Well, let’s go,” Aaron said as he walked beside me.
“Yes…”
Eva made sure I sat next to Aaron. And she next to that guy who didn’t even say a word.
We were halfway through the movie. It was a total disaster; I wanted to go home, but it turns out I don’t have one right now!
“Do you want to get out of here?” Aaron whispered in my ear. I looked at him with pleading eyes and nodded several times.
He took my hand, and we left the theatre. I knew Eva’s address, I figured I could get back on my own.
As we left the cinema, I looked at our still interlaced hands, hoping to feel nervous, embarrassed, anything!
“I needed to get out of there,” Aaron broke the silence. I looked at him, and he was smiling at me.
I couldn’t return the smile, what does this mean? Did Nick break my heart and also take away the possibility of loving someone else? That guy completely ruined me.
“Where do you want to go? There’s a park nearby, I parked my car there. Do you want to go?”
“Yes,” I gave him a forced smile. “Let’s go.”
We walked two blocks. We arrived at the park, and I couldn’t hide my surprise. It’s full of trees and grassy areas to lie down; it’s the cleanest park I’ve ever seen. From a distance, you could see a fountain, and around it, there were many benches.
“Let’s sit there,” Aaron pointed to one of the benches, and I gladly followed him.
When we sat down, his hand was still in mine, and I remained indifferent to whether it was there or not.
“Does all of this seem weird to you?” He was deeply blushing.
“A bit… I mean, a professor and a student chatting in a park, it’s very strange.”
“Yes, I know. But what can you say, we’re only eight years apart.”
I looked at him in astonishment. “You’re twenty-six years old?” I asked, the surprise evident in my voice.
“That’s right, do I look it?” He straightened up and looked ahead.
“I thought you were older, I mean, to be a university professor, you’re quite young. Physically, you look your age.”
He nodded, and neither of us knew what to say. What could we talk about? How they could fire him and expel me for this? I don’t even know why I keep putting myself in these damn situations over and over again. “Did you finish the homework I assigned you?”
“Seriously? Are you going to ask me that?”
“I have to know, after all, I am your professor,” he winked at me and started moving his thumb on my hand.
“Yes, I finished them the same day you assigned them,” I replied, trying to express surprise on his face, but it looked too forced.
“Most of them finish it on the last day.”
“Well, I don’t,” I winked at him to get that expression off his face. It was beginning to scare me, but he remained the same.
“I see…”
I looked behind me to see the fountain, but my eyes encountered something I shouldn’t have seen.
Someone I was almost sure was Nick was sitting on the bench across from the fountain. He was pulling at his hair, and his elbows were on his knees. Although his back was turned, I was sure it was him; I’d recognize him anywhere.
His knuckles were red, wounded. He was moving up and down as if he were insane, the people passing by his side were looking at him with fear that at any moment he could harm someone.
As if he knew he was here or felt that someone was watching him – besides the unknown people who were doing it – he turned around. Our eyes met. His were red, and his face was like mine this morning. Pale and disheveled. The bags under his eyes were bigger than mine.
His gaze went from me to my side. I knew he was looking at Aaron. He stood up and seemed ready to come over to us and hit him.
Knowing full well that he would, I looked back at Aaron.
“Where is your car?” I asked him, almost desperate. He looked at me as if I were crazy, and right now, I’m doubting my own sanity.
“What?”
“Tell me where your damn car is.”
“It’s right in front of us, why?”
“Let’s go,” I took his hand and practically dragged him with me.
I turned around, and Nick was walking fast. He saw our interlaced hands, and his face turned from pale to completely red; his hands were clenched into fists.
We reached the car, and Aaron didn’t notice that Nick was following us.
“I’m sorry, you have to leave. I’ll see you tomorrow and explain everything.”
“But what…?”
“Go now!” I yelled at him. He opened the door, and I could tell he was furious by the way he slammed it. He drove off at a breakneck speed.
I turned around to see where Nick was. But I bumped into his chest. My body finally reacted, the electricity was back.
“What the hell were you doing with him?”