Lunch commences with a familiar knock at my door. [insert]
Sure enough, it is Aria's face that appears in the doorway as it swings open. "Hey. Do you mind if I do some homework in here? It's just easier to concentrate." Her shirt plunges low, showcasing a swell, but not without tastefulness. Just enough to command attention, but not enough to be inappropriate.
I wave the teenager in, signing my name to another transfer student's paperwork. "Thanks." The door shuts behind her gently, and she sets herself up on the couch where she had been sitting the day I kissed her. A tingle passes between my legs and an extra beat thuds against my chest. Her left leg stretches out, the other lazing over the front of the couch. A textbook is cracked open, a pencil in hand. Her perfectly arched brows slowly begin to push together as she concentrates on her studies.
Dragging my eyes back to the paperwork, I pretend to immerse myself in my work rather than be affected by her presence. The way her legs leave a gap large enough to stick my face between leaves me unfocused. Seemingly unaffected, Aria brings up her left knee, resting the school book against her thigh, widening that gap. Taking a deep breath in, I find a pen between my teeth as I unconsciously bite the cap.
She reaches down for her notebook, glancing into her bag. Her eyes catch on mine as she pulls the notebook into her lap, and a perfectly manicured brow rises slightly. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were staring."
Clearing my throat, I try to hide the husk in my voice. "Staring off and thinking."
She nods, her natural smirk taking its place as she returns her gaze to her work. "About what? Did you find another student to mess around with?"
"Excuse me?" A brow rises, questioning her with authority.
"Well, I'm apparently not your type, and Aarya doesn't seem to make a great chemistry partner. Seems like more of the Here-I-Brought-You-A-Sandwich-So-I-Can-Go-Play type."
With a snort, I put my pen down, "And you would know chemistry? With your grades and desperate attempts at swaying Cassis to visit your bed rather than permanently bed Natalia, I'd say you don't have the knowledge or expertise to evaluate another's chemistry."
"I've given up on Cassis." Her voice is quiet, uncharacteristically calm. She considers me, her brown eyes thoughtful and observant. Carefully, eyes on my face, she shuts her books. "As for chemistry..." Her books are placed on the couch as she rises, and she saunters around the desk. Approaching me, she turns my chair by the arm, slipping her knee sensually between my legs as she leans in. "You tell me."
Her lips capture mine in a sensual, captivating kiss, her lips tasting dark and sexual, faintly of the coffee she loves. Inhaling sharply, I stay still for a moment, in shock. Finding a grip on reality, the reality that a teenager, a student, had initiated a kiss, I push her away. "Aria," I say sternly, warning her not to do it again.
With an obvious sigh, Aria closes her eyes before fixing them on mine. "Why not? What gives you the right to tell me not to do exactly what you do?" Her voice is challenging, if a little vulnerable. She leans in, her lips nearly brushing mine as she says, her voice airy and sexual, "Why shouldn't I return the favor?"
"Aria," I say quietly, looking off to the side, avoiding her luscious lips. "It was a mistake. I acted on impulse, on emotions due to the pregnancy." Bringing my gaze onto her own, I become rigid in my posture, commanding my eyes to stay leveled rather than flitting downward to her blouse. "It will not happen again."
She, however, glances between my eyes and lips. They narrow slightly, just for a moment, as she studies my eyes. Her fingers stroke my hair behind my right ear, softer than one would expect from her. "But I have emotions, too." And her lips caress mine, her tongue running gently along my lip.
