His eyes flickered as he stared at me as if trying to figure something out. Whatever he searched for, he didn’t see it. At least, not before we got interrupted.
“Ah! There he is. I thought you wouldn’t make it,” the vice chancellor, Mr Tobi Akindele, said, coming in from behind and offering him his hand for a shake.
Aaron’s attention shifted from me to the middle-aged man, and a smile came onto his face. “Good morning, Mr Akindele.” They shook hands.
“Good morning, Mr Hart.” Tobi turned his attention to me. “This is Aaron Hart,” he told me. “Mr. Aaron Hart, this is…”
“Zera Adams.” Aaron beat him to the introduction, which made him raise his eyebrows of interest. “You two know each other?”
I moved to say, “We met at the fundraiser.”
Aaron said, “We have a bit of history,” at the same time.
Well, I didn’t think this would go well, and so far, it has yet to.
“Okay, that’s good then,” Tobi said, lightly brushing off Aaron’s words.
It could have been better, but it would have been less complicated if he had thought so.
“He met with everyone after the fundraiser on Friday. You left earlier, so he didn’t get to meet you. As you already know, Mr Hart will visit the university from time to time in the coming months. We also expect every staff member at the university to give their total effort towards achieving this year’s goal,” he explained.
“Yes, sir, I will do my best,” I answered, and he smiled warmly at me.
Tobi took Aaron into his office to continue their discussions, and I hurried over to my first class. I taught the students and made my way through the lecture as best I could.
The last person I wanted to find at my door as I ended my first lecture was Daniel. I wished I had magical powers to make him go away, but alas, I didn’t.
I opened the door to my office, and I stepped in without uttering a word. I set my bag on the desk and heard the door close from behind, telling me he was also inside.
My mind wandered to where I could start. I needed a cover story-one that he would believe without a doubt.
All those thoughts disappeared when I heard him ask. “Aaron Hart is Zion’s father, isn’t he?” His voice already sounded certain of the answer.
I raised a brow as I spun around to meet him. “What makes you say that?”
He walked past me, picked up the small framed picture on my desk, and showed it to me.
It was a picture of Zion and me, taken three months ago at the museum. He had the biggest smile visiting there for the first time, and I wanted to have the memory. When the photographer approached us and asked if we wanted our pictures taken, I couldn’t say no to him. Zion had a grin that brought his dimples out and made his hazel eyes flicker adorably. I wrapped my arms around him while staring at him in the picture.
My eyes dropped as the picture answered my question, and I knew lying and pretending would get me nowhere.
“He doesn’t know, does he?”
I bit my lip and shook my head. “He doesn’t,” I replied in a small voice. “I didn’t think we’d ever meet again, and I didn’t want him back in my life. So I kept him out of Zion’s. I’m a horrible person, but I was scared.”
“Do you still love him?”
The word “love” echoed in my ears. I don’t love him. I didn’t even love him to begin with. What we had were fleeting emotions and infatuated reactions. It wasn’t real, and I have told myself that every time I think back to those times,
“I never loved him, Daniel. We spent a weekend together, and that was it.”
He flashed me a smile. “I think you have told yourself that for so long that you believe that’s the truth. I don’t know what happened between you two, but it shows in your voice that it was more than mere fleeting feelings.”
I don’t need a shrink! I groaned.
“Fine, I might have given my heart to him, but I wasn’t what he wanted. So, I snapped out of the madness and decided to put myself first.”
“So you no longer love him.”
“I don’t, and I’d appreciate it if you kept what you know about Zion to yourself. Can you do that for me, at least until I’m ready to tell him?”
He nodded, adding, “It’s not my secret to spill.”
I smiled, feeling at ease but knowing safety was now very far away.
“Besides, now I know why I’d never measure up.”
His words made me stare at him, confused. “Why?”
“Aaron Hart set the standards of men you should be with, and that’s above what I can reach.”
I stepped towards him. “Never sell yourself short. You’re as good as Aaron Hart. The heart is the most important thing at the end of the day.”
His smile was small, and a happy flicker appeared in his brown eyes. “Thank you.” He leaned in, closing the space between us, and kissed my lips, taking me by surprise.
I kissed back before I could stop myself. My arms wrapped around his neck, and I deepened the kiss and pulled him closer. I moaned when he wrapped his arms around my waist, moving it up to my back and squeezing the flesh there.
After a while, he let go and pulled away, placing his forehead against mine while we both caught our breath.
“I am sorry if I took you by surprise. I just couldn’t help it after you said those nice words.”
I licked my bottom lips and smiled, still dragging deep breaths. “Don’t be sorry. I liked it, and I like you. I think you’re a nice guy. I’m just not sure I can give you what you want. My life is at the point where nothing is certain, and I don’t think it would be fair to add a relationship to the mix. So yes, I like you, but I don’t know if that’s enough.”
He grinned and stroked the side of my face, making me shiver at his touch. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Again, he leaned in and took my lips between his for another round of heated kisses, making me smile.
Maybe giving love another try wouldn’t be such a bad idea.