Literature, lust and love - Professor Romanoff

TWELVE

"Hey the dorm door got stuck so I had to climb through the window to get here and - oh I am so sorry for interrupting." I walked into Natasha's office for our ninth Russian lesson and started speaking before I saw that there was another woman in there with her. The brunette woman who had been talking animatedly at Natasha was now staring at me angrily as I stood in the doorway. My eyes glanced over at Natasha who was looking rather stressed, her fingers playing with the necklace hung around her tensed neck. "I can come back in a bit when you're done, if you'd like?" I offer, willingly to anything to rid the room of the obvious tension.

"Yes, thank you," the stranger answered before Natasha shot her an angry look.

"No, Maria, we're done here. You can leave, now!" I watched as my girlfriend stared down at Maria before she reluctantly sulked out of the room.

Natasha sunk into her chair, rubbing her temples whilst I shut and locked the door. I rushed over and wrapped my arms around her, only to discover that she was shaking. I was about to lean back and sit down but I felt her arms snake around my waist and pull me closer to her. Her breathing regulated eventually and she allowed me to fall back into my own seat, composing myself before I asked her what that was all about.

"Maria is the one who cheated on me." Natasha's soft voice was like a knife to my heart, but I pushed through, needing to make her feel better.

"I'm sorry, honey. No one, especially someone like you, should deserve that treatment." I bent over and grabbed her hand, rubbing my thumb over her knuckles. She smiled gratefully at me as she continued.

"Luckily, I guess, it happened pretty early on in our relationship. We were both freshmans, and she was the only person to really pay attention to me. When she asked me out, I said yes because I didn't want to be alone again. To this day I don't know if I actually liked her like that or if I just forced myself to like her in self preservation."

I looked at the strong, independent woman in front of me, and couldn't believe that she used to feel so lowly about herself. A piece of hair fell in her face and I reached up and tucked it behind her ear, letting my hand rest on her cheek, my thumb tracing over the cheekbones. "One night, she texted me to cancel our date because she wasn't feeling well, so I decided to bring her some soup, and I walked into her room and found her in bed with some junior. The worst part about it was that she had explicitly told me that she wanted to wait until we loved each other to have sex, and here she was with some random. But it was for the best because I finally put myself first and found good friends, and really pursued my dreams, and now I'm here with you."

"Tasha, that is such a majorly suckish thing that she did, and I'm sorry you had to tell me, you shouldn't have had to relive that. But can I ask why she was here?"

"She just turned up, maybe five minutes before you did. She's stopping through Providence before she moves back to New York, and she found out that I teach here. She said she just wanted to say hi to me and asked me how I was, and I said I was good, and that I was in a happy relationship amongst other things. Then all of a sudden it was like she was a different person, she was rude, angry, jealous. She started insulting you, even though she doesn't know who you are, and that's when I lost it. I couldn't have her saying that stuff about you, not when she's not even half the person you are, Desi. You walked in just as she was telling me that you weren't the one for me, that she was. I was furious, and had you not been there, I might have hit her."

I chuckled, "I would have liked to see that."

"I would have like to do it." My hand was still, somehow, stroking her cheek, so she turned her head to kiss it.

We settled down and Natasha taught me some more Russian grammar for the next hour. I thanked her profusely like I always did, and checked that she was okay to be alone. She nodded, and I set off to my dorm in the rain, wondering if the door had sorted itself out by now. As I was walking around the corner to my road, I was stopped by someone stepping in front of me. I moved out of the way, starting to apologise until I saw who it was, Maria.

"Hello there, Natasha's girlfriend," she sneered at me, her eyes glinting with jealousy.

I stammered, "How did, what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, bitch, I saw the way she looked at you. You're the girl who stole her from me."

"I didn't steal her from you, she's not an object! She's a wonderful person who you failed to treat right!" I was now angry, the images of Natasha's sad faces flitting through my mind. No one was going to talk smack about my girlfriend.

"And what are you, her itsy bitsy student? Sleeping with their teacher for a good grade?" Maria was now talking to me in a humiliating baby voice, and it took all of me to hold myself back.

"I'm not sleeping with her for a good grade, I really like her! She's a beautiful person inside and out, and I'm lucky to know her! She's the best thing to ever happen to me."

"How will you like her when she's out of a job?" My stomach dropped.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll make it simple for your small little teenage brain. You break up with Natasha, or else I'll go the dean and tell him about your little relationship."

"But it's not illegal! We not in the wrong, so you have no hold over me." I retaliated, feeling the stress rise in my chest, never experiencing anything like this in my life.

"Not in the law's eyes, but in the university's? Big no no. And because you care so much about her feelings," Maria pouted, "you wouldn't want to see Natasha lose her nice job and house, would you pet?"

"You can't do this!" I exclaimed, frustrated. The rain was now pelting down, clouding my thoughts. My brain was telling me to comply, knowing that I couldn't risk Natasha's job, but my heart was telling me to not listen to Maria's threats.

"Oh, but I can. If that's not enough for you, I'm sure I can find some evidence that Natasha forced you to sleep with her, and then she's going to jail. You wouldn't to see your little love behind bars, would you?"

I stepped back and looked at her, shocked at the words coming out of her mouth. I didn't know this woman but I could tell she could make up some evidence that suited her needs. I couldn't risk putting Natasha under that much scrutiny. "Fine."

"Fine what, hunny?"

"I'll break up with her."

A sick smile came onto her face, "Pleasure doing business with you, hunny." Suddenly, a blur moved past me and I heard a slap.

"Fuck you, Maria. Get away from her, I don't want to see you ever again!" Natasha was now beside me, screaming at the woman whose mouth was permanently shaped into shock. "You're an awful person, and I was blind to not notice it straight away. Go!"

Maria stumbled backwards before walking briskly away. I stood in shock as I watched the retreating woman before Natasha moved and stood in my eye line.

"Natasha -"

"Desi, don't. How could you?" She had heard the conversation, I could tell by the look in her eyes.

"I didn't want you to lose your job! Or go to jail, I couldn't do that to you! It could've destroyed you!" I cry, desperate to make her understand.

"Do you really think that's what matters most to me here, Desi?" Her words stung, but before I could reply, she started to walk away. Looking around I saw that it was quite dark, and the rain was soaking through my t-shirt, so I knew I needed to get inside quickly, with or without her. I called out after her, begging her to stay.

"Natasha, please! Tash, don't do this!"