even brighter. “Do you think so?”
I put down my coffee and grabbed his face in a punishing grip. “No, I don’t think so. That was a test and you failed it. You’re not supposed to develop feelings for clients. It’s the fastest way to go nuts in the escort biz.”
“You developed feelings for one of your clients,” he lisped through his crunched cheeks. “And you know he felt something for you.”
“And where are we now?” I asked, releasing him. “I’m a lonely, neurotic mess of a woman, and he fucked off to God knows where.”
“You’re not a lonely, neurotic mess.” He rubbed his skin where I’d gripped it. “Sort of cranky sometimes, when you haven’t had enough coffee. You need to get laid.”
I turned away from him, not willing to discuss that topic. The close encounter with Cantor was still on my mind.
I’m experienced and safe
, he’d said. And he was obviously willing to fuck me. I was one hundred percent sure of that, based on the way he’d looked at me in class ever since. Hot glances, small, speculative smiles, and far too many trips past my workstation for no reason. It amazed me that no one noticed.
“I don’t need to get laid,” I said, turning back to him. “And you don’t need to be falling in love with your clients. It’s wonderful that he’s taking you to Vail. You’ll get to ski and make bank, as long as you keep Hairy Taint happy. But it’s work, not romance. Don’t forget that, or you’ll be heading into your last semester with a broken heart.”
He promised me soberly that he would not fall in love with Mr. Recaro the opera singer, and I gave him one last menacing look. I hoped it was warning enough. I never, ever wanted Andrew to suffer the heartbreak I had.
I drifted through my last classes feeling morose. I wasn’t exactly jealous of Andrew heading off on vacation for the holidays. Well, yes, maybe I was jealous. Andrew’s family lived all the way over on the West Coast, and I didn’t have any family, so I figured we’d hang out together, at least on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Instead, I’d be hanging out in my apartment alone, watching James Bond movies and eating takeout from the cheap Indian place on the corner.
No one else seemed very chipper today either. These were our last real classes at Norton, aside from senior seminar, which was basically just a time to get together and assure our teachers that our internships were going well. I wouldn’t see a lot of these kids again, wouldn’t sit in a classroom and talk about theory and marketing and technical design stuff. I wouldn’t see Cantor every day anymore, wouldn’t get to experience his predatory hovering and extra attention.
Maybe that’s why I was so slow packing up my work space after he delivered our final critiques. Just about everyone was gone by the time I headed down the center aisle.
“Chere,” he said as I passed his desk.
I turned to look at him. He gazed at me with that slow smile, the one halfway between seduction and mockery. “Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?”
His smile reminded me too much of Studio Valiant, and the way he’d spanked his sub’s pussy.
No, don’t think about that now.
“Goodbye,” I said. “Thanks for everything. Although I’m pretty sure I’ll see you again.”
I meant I’d see him here, at Norton, but I blushed, wondering if he’d misunderstood my meaning.
“That is... I still have one more semester to go,” I clarified.
He nodded, and now I knew he was thinking about Studio Valiant, even if he hadn’t been before.
“Do you have any plans for the break?” he asked.
“Not really.”
“No family in the city?”
“No family anywhere,” I said with a shrug.
“A holiday with friends, then?”
I was so, so tired of being dissected by him, scrutinized, questioned, stared at. I glared down at the floor and refused to answer.
“Well,” he said, “we’re officially not professor and student anymore.
I put down my coffee and grabbed his face in a punishing grip. “No, I don’t think so. That was a test and you failed it. You’re not supposed to develop feelings for clients. It’s the fastest way to go nuts in the escort biz.”
“You developed feelings for one of your clients,” he lisped through his crunched cheeks. “And you know he felt something for you.”
“And where are we now?” I asked, releasing him. “I’m a lonely, neurotic mess of a woman, and he fucked off to God knows where.”
“You’re not a lonely, neurotic mess.” He rubbed his skin where I’d gripped it. “Sort of cranky sometimes, when you haven’t had enough coffee. You need to get laid.”
I turned away from him, not willing to discuss that topic. The close encounter with Cantor was still on my mind.
I’m experienced and safe
, he’d said. And he was obviously willing to fuck me. I was one hundred percent sure of that, based on the way he’d looked at me in class ever since. Hot glances, small, speculative smiles, and far too many trips past my workstation for no reason. It amazed me that no one noticed.
“I don’t need to get laid,” I said, turning back to him. “And you don’t need to be falling in love with your clients. It’s wonderful that he’s taking you to Vail. You’ll get to ski and make bank, as long as you keep Hairy Taint happy. But it’s work, not romance. Don’t forget that, or you’ll be heading into your last semester with a broken heart.”
He promised me soberly that he would not fall in love with Mr. Recaro the opera singer, and I gave him one last menacing look. I hoped it was warning enough. I never, ever wanted Andrew to suffer the heartbreak I had.
I drifted through my last classes feeling morose. I wasn’t exactly jealous of Andrew heading off on vacation for the holidays. Well, yes, maybe I was jealous. Andrew’s family lived all the way over on the West Coast, and I didn’t have any family, so I figured we’d hang out together, at least on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Instead, I’d be hanging out in my apartment alone, watching James Bond movies and eating takeout from the cheap Indian place on the corner.
No one else seemed very chipper today either. These were our last real classes at Norton, aside from senior seminar, which was basically just a time to get together and assure our teachers that our internships were going well. I wouldn’t see a lot of these kids again, wouldn’t sit in a classroom and talk about theory and marketing and technical design stuff. I wouldn’t see Cantor every day anymore, wouldn’t get to experience his predatory hovering and extra attention.
Maybe that’s why I was so slow packing up my work space after he delivered our final critiques. Just about everyone was gone by the time I headed down the center aisle.
“Chere,” he said as I passed his desk.
I turned to look at him. He gazed at me with that slow smile, the one halfway between seduction and mockery. “Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?”
His smile reminded me too much of Studio Valiant, and the way he’d spanked his sub’s pussy.
No, don’t think about that now.
“Goodbye,” I said. “Thanks for everything. Although I’m pretty sure I’ll see you again.”
I meant I’d see him here, at Norton, but I blushed, wondering if he’d misunderstood my meaning.
“That is... I still have one more semester to go,” I clarified.
He nodded, and now I knew he was thinking about Studio Valiant, even if he hadn’t been before.
“Do you have any plans for the break?” he asked.
“Not really.”
“No family in the city?”
“No family anywhere,” I said with a shrug.
“A holiday with friends, then?”
I was so, so tired of being dissected by him, scrutinized, questioned, stared at. I glared down at the floor and refused to answer.
“Well,” he said, “we’re officially not professor and student anymore.
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