❝LIPS.❞
"So do you remember anything I taught you?" He asked, eyes glued to the road as he drove.
"Um," I paused as I tried thinking. The only thought in my mind now was the entire exchange that took place minutes before. It kept replaying in my head like a scene from a movie. Other than that, it was completely blank.
He laughed, "It's alright if you don't. Just stick with me."
"I still don't get this event."
"Basically," he started off, "many poets and artists come here to display their works also whilst appreciating the classics." He stopped the moment he noticed me look confused.
"There were such events? I thought there were only art galleries." I said and he nods.
"You'd be surprised. Anyway, since the people there know me, it's important I'm aware of them and their respective works. And since you're my date, you should know it too." He let out simply, and I freeze.
Date? He just said date.
What. The. Heck.
"Date?" I asked, I had to know.
"Sorry, I mean—" He stuttered for a bit, "since you're coming with me. People would naturally want to speak to you too." He finally strung a sentence together.
I nod as I look out the window, the atmosphere between us tensing up as each second went by.
"Oh, make sure to jot down notes on your phone too. This trip should help you in the later classes." He said as he pulled up behind a building.
I nod in response as I got out of the car. We walked towards the front of the building and entered. The cold air brushes by me and chills run up my body. I should've brought a jacket. I put that off, for now, the new environment taking up the majority of my thoughts.
I looked around and every doubt in my head leaves me as I smell the sweet scent of chocolate filling my nose. "There's a buffet?" I felt my eyes light up as I looked at the table filled with dessert.
"You can't have those," Archer chuckled, his tense demeanour relaxing slightly.
"Why not?" My bottom lip perks out in a slight pout.
He stared at me for a second, "I don't know, you come off as a messy eater." His lips curled into a cheeky grin.
"Excuse me? I am a lady. I know how to eat in public." I clicked my tongue out of annoyance.
"If you say so." He shrugged but his eyes still held that teasing glint, "the desserts have to wait though. We just got here and I need to introduce you to some people. Get that wisdom from the old, you know?" I think he's joking but when I look up at him, his face is back to being serious as he looked around the huge ballroom.
"Now remember, if anyone asks you anything just tell them you're a student and you're here for educational purposes only. That way, they won't be too harsh with their questions or topic of conversation." Archer added as we walked further into the ballroom.
A chandelier hung over us, casting hues of white along the walls. Some shards of light ricocheting off the sequin of a woman's dress who's being introduced to me. After a few introductions and a little small talk, I begin to wander off on my own.
I start to take in the art pieces that hung on the walls and readings bits and pieces of familiar prose that was displayed. And then I end up in front of the dessert table like a moth being lured by light.
I helped myself to the cake, serving myself a generous number of slices A part of my worried that the zip on Lina's dress would snap right off but those worries vanish the moment I laid eyes on the red velvet cake.
I was about two slices in when I felt a hand rest on the small of my back. My first instinct was to jump away from the touch but then I'm overcome by the familiar scent of him.
"You know how to eat in public, huh?" Archer whispers so close to my ear, I feel his breath fan against my neck.
"Hm," I hum, not being able to verbalise my thoughts as I had my cheeks full of cake. I turn to look at him and he had his eyes fastened to my lips. He was crouched over, shielding me from the rest of the ballroom with his body.
I gulp, swallowing down whatever's in my mouth to speak but not a single sound comes out when he presses his thumb to my lip.
My eyes widened as I watched him focus solely on my mouth. He runs his thumb along my bottom lip in a slow motion. Such sweet torture. I suck in a sharp breath when he brings his thumb to his mouth, sucking lightly before standing to his full height.
"You had cake," he taps the corner of his own lips whilst staring at mine and then walks away as though he had not just floored me with that little gesture.
"I had cake," I parrot him in a much softer voice, completely stupefied.
The woman with the sequin dress, whose name I learned was Jennifer, walks over to me, snapping me out of my daze. She pulls me to a young man she said she wanted me to meet. We stop in front of a blonde and before we even get to introductions, she begins speaking about his words. Apparently, he was the youngest poet at the gallery to have his poems showcased.
I think his name was Shaun. Or Shayne. I couldn't be too sure since my attention kept drifting to Archer who was watching me from across the ballroom, his eyes the darkest shade I've ever seen it. He was sitting at the bar with an empty glass in his hand, speaking to an older man who had to be in his sixties. The way the corners of the older man's eyes were crinkled with lines gave away his age, along with his black hair that was peppered with grey and white strands.
Archer says something to the man who simply nods and points towards the bar as Archer walks away. And right towards me.
As he inches closer, I realise his eyes aren't on me but on the younger male in front of me.
"Good evening," Archer greets, eyes not leaving the blonde and that's when I realise that Shaun/Shayne's eyes had been trained on my chest almost the entire time.
I would've been hella uncomfortable had I been paying attention. A glance I could excuse but full-on staring was just rude. He has to be a few years older than me, though I could tell he was younger than Archer.
Jennifer looks at Archer and then at me and her eyes go wide when Archer places his hand on my back. Hell, even my eyes go wide.
"Oh, I didn't know she was your date for the night," Jennifer stated with a hand over her mouth like she was telling a secret.
Archer had informed everyone we spoke to that I was just his student which explains the look of shock registered on her face.
I turn to look at Archer, expecting him to correct her but he doesn't. Instead, he smiles at her right before looking down at me. "Elreda, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
The blonde's eyes finally waver from my breasts and he looks at Archer with what I can only distinguish as agitation.
With his hand still sealed to my back, he steers me away from them and towards the bar. "Mr Kane," I start, wanting an explanation for the abrupt interruption because something about this didn't feel like just student-teacher anymore.
We reach the bar and he places the glass down on the bar counter. "I'm sick of everyone staring you at like that," he spat under his breath as the bartender fills his glass. Then his tips it to his lips, emptying its contents instantly.
The bartender doesn't hesitate as he refills his glass with whiskey.
His words take me aback and cause the warmth in my chest to come alive. But then I catch how his eyes have redden and the slight flush to his skin.
He's drunk.
The older man from just now sits himself next to Archer and glances at my direction. "And who is this?" He asks with a smile. His pale skin almost as red as my dress. I can tell he's had way too many glasses of whatever's in his cup. "Your date?"
I chuckle nervously, waiting for a correction once again, but it doesn't come. Instead, Archer reaches for my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. The warmth of his hand feels good against my cold skin. The moment our skin comes into contact, Archer's eyes snap to mine and he frowns slightly, bringing his other hand to envelope mine in his.
"This is Elreda Adair," I hate that he uses my full name but there had to be a point when I stopped being paranoid. "Red, this is Mr Caldwell. He's an old family friend." He said whilst rubbing his palms against my arm, probably in an attempt to warm me up, though it seemed futile. The heat within me only seemed to be building but my skin was still ice cold to the touch.
"Well, I wouldn't say old." The old man chortled, rubbing a hand over his slightly bloated belly. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you Elreda. I hope the both of you accept my invitation to my gallery in August."
My brain took a detour from Archer's touch to trying to catch Mr Caldwell's words. "Oh—"
"We'll be there," Archer squeezes my hand lightly and I couldn't help but feel like his response was alcohol-driven.
Just as I was about to ask about the event, Mr Caldwell looks to an elderly woman who's beckoning him towards her with her hand. The ends of a beige shawl were twirled around her hand and the rest hung over her shoulders, keeping her warm. Warmth. That was what I needed, but there were more pressing issues to handle, like my drunk professor.
"If you'll excuse me." Mr Caldwell excuses himself for our conversation and walks over to the elderly lady.
The moment he's out of earshot, I look at Archer as he downs his drink. "Mr Kane," I try to get his attention but his eyes land on our hands. He frowns at our fingers that are intertwined together. I try pulling my hand away to get his attention whilst calling for him again but he doesn't budge.
He didn't even hear me. How drunk was he? "God, how much did you drink?"
His eyes finally dart up to look at me. They seem to have taken on a more unfocused quality as he stared at me from his hooded eyes. He squints at me and a smirk tugs at his lips. "How much did you drink?" He asks and then begins laughing to himself like he was in on a private joke.
I looked around us and no one has seemed to catch on to the fact that he's drunk and I was hoping it stayed that way. The last thing I needed was for him to make a scene here. "We need to go." I tug onto his arm. He gets up and wobbled unsteadily for a moment and my hands immediately go to his arms.
"It's okay, I got it." He raised his hands as he gestured for me to stop helping. He straightens himself, lifts his chin up and strides before me.
I simply shadow him as we exited the building, thinking it was a good idea to put space between us because the heavy beating of my heart was sending confusing signals to my head. However, that plan of having some distance fails when he trips. Instinctively, I rush to him and he presses his entire body weight onto me. I teeter on the edge of the steps, almost losing my balance. With one hand, I gripped the railing next to us, steadying us whilst the other clung onto him for dear life.
He coils an arm around my waist, leaning most of his weight against me and I felt like I was about to drop to the ground.
"Gosh, you're huge." I said as his body towered over my petite form.
"I know," he chuckled and I looked at him confused.
"What?" I asked and he shook his head.
We finally make it down the steps and I try to pull away from him, but his grip on my waist tightened. "You're cold." He whispers like it's a secret.
"It's fine, we should—" and before I could finish, he takes off his suit jacket messily. He wraps it around my form and his scent engulfs me. My eyes drift shut as I allow myself to revel in his warmth for just a second.
A gentle tug gets my eyes to fly open and my body hits his softly, a gasp escaping my lips. "You look really good." He says even though I was almost buried in his large suit jacket.
His eyes darken as his stare pierces through me. My heart flutters but I choose to ignore it. "You're so drunk." He's the one who said it. He doesn't date students so I try to move away but he had a firm hold on me.
I feel him lean in and we're now breathing the same air. His eyes remained fixated onto mine and I wet my lips on instinct. It gets his attention and his gaze drifts to my lips as he mirrors my action, running a tongue over his bottom lip.
"Why do you have to be my student."