The Art of Forbidden Romance (Student x Teacher)

Chapter 42

I parked my car in the art department parking structure. There was a decent turn out for the show - my exhibition - already just based on the number of cars in the lot. I got out of the car and smoothed my black cocktail dress before making my way towards the gallery. I could hear instrumental music and the drone of voices through the quad as I walked towards the gallery.

As I turned the corner of the building, I ran into Andy who was looking at his phone.

"Sorry about that!" He said, catching me as i stumbled backwards.

"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention," I apologized. I readjusted my dress then turned to Andy with an excited smile. "How does everything look?" Andy shrugged.

"Chuck opened the show for me," he said. My stomach immediately fell through the floor. "I'm sure everything looks fantastic, it did when we left."

"You let Chuck open?" I asked, my smile fading. The anxiety I had been trying to calm all day bubbled over inside me and my right hand began to tremble. I immediately started walking to the gallery again. I didn't realize how fast I was going until Andy was jogging next to me to catch up.

"Yeah he offered to open for me since I had an appointment," Andy said, but I barely heard him. My heart pounded in my ears as I approached the gallery, uncertain of what was in store for me.

As I stepped around the corner of the foyer of the gallery and into my exhibition my heart stopped, as well as the world around me. My chest tightened as the room closed in around me and each painting I had gut wrenchingly covered over the past 10 weeks stared me in the face through patches of paint that had dried from when I painted over them. Scenes of hope, lust, and scenes of love bombarded me. The paint that was still wet laid in splatters on the floor under each painting.

The room began to spin and I felt an arm at the small of my back.

"Wow, this is incredible. You've really outdone yourself." Andy said softly. I looked up at him and he gave me a smile. My head reeled.

"What?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. My ears felt clogged and Andy's voice seemed to be miles away.

"You could've told me this was your plan," Andy said. "You didn't have to lie to me and say you threw away the paintings. I'm just not sure how you managed to do this."

"I-I," I stammered. "I didn't-"

"Winona, Andy," Chuck said, interrupting me and appearing through the crowd in the gallery, glasses of champagne in hand. I almost did a double take at how he was dressed. He had changed from his flannel from earlier and into a deep navy suit with a white dress shirt. The collar was undone slightly and I could catch the slightest glimpse of his chest hair peeking out.

"Nice to see you both again," Chuck said. My eyes narrowed at Chuck. He handed each of us a glass.

"I was just telling Winnie how incredible this turned out," Andy said to Chuck. Chuck and I locked eyes. His blue eyes were radiant but behind them I could see his mind working.

"I didn't-" I started before Chuck interrupted me.

"I agree," Chuck said. "I had no idea that her original portfolio was underneath." Andy nodded in agreement but I could hear the underlying message in Chuck's voice.

"To Winnie," Andy said, holding up his glass to us. We clinked glasses, but Andy was the only one who took a sip. Chuck and I stared at each other, anger boiling inside me.

"Please excuse me while I go talk to the panel," Andy said, as more people arrived. I glanced over at the entrance behind us to see a number of people arriving, each holding a clip board.

"Winona," he said, his voice low. I furrowed my brow.

"There is nothing you can say," I told him quietly before turning on my heel and walking away from him.

I found Mel, Joan, and Jackson in the back corner of the room next to painting 6. Mel and I exchanged confused glances.

"Why didn't you tell me this was your plan?!" Joan asked me excitedly. "This is incredible!"

"I.... Thanks," I said, deciding not to explain what was going on.

"There's no way the panel isn't going to love this," Jackson chimed in. I sighed and looked over at the panelists who were beginning to circle the room. Mel came up next to me and awkwardly nodded in agreement.

"I hope so," I said.

"Did he do this?" Mel whispered as Jackson and Joan walked away to talk to some other classmates. I ignored her question and took a long sip of my champagne, quickly draining my glass. Mel shot me a surprised look, and I held my empty glass out to her. She took it hesitantly and I grabbed her full glass from her hand.

"Winnie," Mel started, her tone disapproving.

"Nerves," I said to excuse my behavior before quickly draining her glass as well. Mel's eyes told me she knew Chuck had done this and she nodded before disappearing into the crowd.

I mingled awkwardly with everyone at the gallery as people talked and looked at my work. Anytime I had a moment I refilled my champagne glass, trying not to let it go empty for as long as possible.

By nine o'clock, the gallery had started to empty from the initial crowd. Joan, Jackson and Mel mingled with a few other students that had decided to stay for the whole event. My eyes lazily scanned the gallery until I found Chuck standing in the corner with Andy talking. I took a deep breath before walking over to them.

"I need to talk to you, Professor Hill," I said disdainfully, my sentence punctuated by a small hiccup. Chuck and Andy both stared at me with slightly amused but concerned expressions before Andy quickly stepped away.

"Yes, Winona?" Chuck asked me once Andy was gone.

"I know you did this," I told him, my voice a little loud. Chuck shushed me.

"Don't shush me," I told him. "Why did you do ruin my paintings?" I asked, another hiccup ending my sentence. Chuck shook his head.

"Do you want to take a walk?" He asked me. Chuck waited for a response from me, but I stared at him, waiting for him to answer my question. When no response came from me, Chuck headed out of the gallery. I scoffed and quickly followed after him.