After my final class, I meet Sarah in the quad and we walk over to Elvis' office together. While I didn't plan on having her come in with me, she just wanted to be close by his office in case anything happened.
"Are you nervous?" She asks as we step through the front doors of the faculty building.
I nod, "Of course I am! I have no idea how he's going to act or anything. He could try to..." I stop talking as another professor passes by us. I smile politely at him before looking back at Sarah, "Well you know... Do what he did in the stairwell."
She nods and opens the door to the stairs, "Yeah that's understandable. I wouldn't know how I'd feel about that either."
I shrug, "I know for a fact that part of me doesn't mind, but the other part of me is terrified of getting hurt again."
"I know how you feel. I'm not sure what advice to give you. Maybe just see how he is, 'Ris. See how he reacts towards you. If he acts weird at all, just text me and I'll be right here, okay? I'm going down to visit Professor Mann's replacement. I have a paper I need to speak to her about."
I laugh softly, "Oh you mean Mrs. Professor Mann. I was confused for a moment."
We stop outside of Elvis' office and I sigh. Sarah rubs my back, "Just be brave." She gives me a quick hug before leaving me.
I stand outside of his office for what seems like an eternity, contemplating whether I actually want to go in. I sigh, shake my head, and knock on his door. "Come on in!" I hear him call.
I open the door and step into his office, shutting the door behind me. I turn to look at him and stop in my tracks. He sat at his desk, dressed in a suit and tie, his hair washed and slicked back. I furrow my brow, wondering when he actually had time to change. "You look different than you did this morning," I say, approaching his desk.
Elvis flicks his eyes up from the massive stack of papers and nods, "I wasn't feelin' well, so I cancelled the rest of my classes for the day, went back to my place, and made myself a little more presentable." He shrugs half-heartedly, his eyes lingering on my outfit, "You look different also."
I sit down in a chair on the opposite side of his desk and nod, "I went home to change between classes because I was uncomfortable in my heels."
He nods once, curtly and slides a stack of papers to me, "You can get started on these ones. I'm lookin' over the other half. Just check off the names of anyone that turned in a paper on this sheet here," he slides an attendance sheet between us, "and let me know if you have any questions."
I set my binder from my last class in the chair beside me and pick up a pen. Silently, I make my way through the stack only checking off the names that I see. After I've finished that I look up at him, "Has anyone scheduled an appointment with you yet?"
Elvis shakes his head, "Not yet. I'm not sure if anyone will."
I nod, quietly beginning to read through each person's paper, making grammatical corrections as I go through my first time. The second time I read through a paper, I leave comments on things they could add or take out. This process takes me awhile and before I know it, my stomach is growling. I curse myself silently for only eating a small sandwich earlier.
I hear Elvis laugh, forcing me to look up at him. My eyes lock with his and I see him smiling coyly. "What's so funny?" I ask, shifting a little in my seat.
He shakes his head, "Nothin'. We could order somethin' and have it brought to my office if you're real hungry."
I shrug, "That's fine by me. Whatever you want."
He nods and picks up his office phone. He dials out, "Hi, I need an order for delivery..." He speaks to someone about the location, then orders my favorite Chinese meal without any hesitation. He orders something for himself and a platter of sushi. "About how long will it be?" I glance at him as he nods and pulls his wallet out of his pocket, paying over the phone with his card.
Once he hangs up, I pull a twenty dollar bill out of my wallet and attempt to hand it to him, he refuses it. "Wait, no, I should pay for my meal."
Elvis shakes his head, "That's not happenin'. I've got it."
I sigh, feeling defeated, and go back to my work. We work diligently in total silence until Elvis' phone rings. He quickly picks it up, "Hello? Yes, it's locked. I'll be right down." He hangs up the phone and looks up at me, "The food is here. I'll be right back."
I nod as he leaves the room. I pull out my phone and quickly text Sarah.
You(5:36 PM): Elvis looks really good right now... He went home to change. And he bought dinner! He's making it hard to stay mad at him...
I send the message and set my phone down, returning to the paper in front of me. A moment later my phone dings.
Sarah(5:38 PM): Go for it if you really want to, but stay guarded. I'll be waiting, ready to kick butt if I need to 😉
I set my phone down after rolling my eyes and smiling. She always knew just what to say. My phone goes off again a moment later.
Professor Hottie(5:40 PM): Hey um... Can you come and open the door for me? I don't have enough hands...
I furrow my brow at his message. How can he text me, but not have enough hands to open the door? I get up and open the office door, stepping out into the hallway. "Okay, he must be out front then," I say to myself quietly as I make my way towards the stairwell. I open the door and step in, the door just barely closing when I'm pinned against the wall. Lips strike my neck, making me gasp. I try to fight whoever this is off, but they pin my wrists above my head. Piercing blue eyes lock with mine, "Stay quiet." I let out a half sigh of relief when I realize that it's just Elvis.
As soon as I feel relief, I fight him off more. "We can't do this out here," I whisper to him. "And what makes you think I want to do this at all?"
Just as the question is past my lips, his lock onto mine, pressing me harder into the wall. His free hand skates down my front, cupping just between my thighs. I hear a slight laugh as he pulls his lips back. "If you don't wanna do this, then why are you so wet?" His eyes stare darkly into mine.
I shrug, unsure of how to respond. "Can we at least go back to your office? Please... I don't want to get caught in these stairs." I slowly pull my wrists from his grip and push him back, "I don't want you to get fired."
He nods in agreement, leaning down to pick up the take-out he'd set on the floor before his assault on me. Just as he straightens up, another professor enters the hallway. "Presley," he says with a curt nod. Elvis nods back, "Barnett."
I roll my eyes as I turn away from both of them and hold open the door for Elvis. Men have such weird interactions I swear. We walk back to his office in silence, the tension so thick anyone else could practically see it. He sets the food on his desk as I shut the door. As I'm turning around, I see him approaching me. I put my hand up to stop him, "No. I want to talk first."
Elvis backs away with his hands in the air, "Understandable. Have a seat and we can talk." He sits down in his chair and motions to the chair I had sat in earlier. I sit and mindlessly smooth my jeans with my palms. When I look up, his blue eyes are piercing into me. "I suppose you'd like to know what happened."
I nearly choke as I stifle laughter. "I know what happened." He cocks his head slightly to the side, indicating that I should go on. "You promised not to break my heart and then promptly found the next slut to bed, is what happened."
He drops his face to his lap and I could see him nervously bouncing his leg. "You're partially correct. I promised I wouldn't hurt you. And then I was fooling around with someone else." He clears his throat and lifts his head back up to me, "But I assure you I haven't bedded anyone. We made out, with some heavy over the clothing touching. That's all."
I arch a brow, "That's all? You say that so casually as if I should just be fine with it." I run my fingers through my ponytail, "You really hurt me, Elvis." I lean forward and lower my voice so that no one could hear if they happened to be passing by, "I allowed you full access to my body. Something I had never done before. I'd never even kissed someone, and you ate it up. Told me how sexy I was and how you couldn't believe that no one else had ever gotten anywhere with me." I lean back against the chair, feeling hot tears start to prick at my eyes, "And then you turned around, the very next day, and made a move on someone else. What makes you think I should forgive you for that."
Elvis' face was wracked with guilt, but I watch as he attempts to pull a coy grin, "Because your body clearly wants more." I scoff and stand up, smacking my hands on my legs for emphasis as I do so. I bend down to grab my bag, "My god you're disgusting." I shake my head, "You think that just because I'm still physically aroused by you, that I should just instantly forget everything you've done? How callous can you actually be?"
I motion towards the Chinese food steaming on his desk, "You can eat all of this yourself, or offer it to Anna if you really want. I don't want it anymore." I sigh heavily and start to turn from him, "I don't even want to be your secretary anymore. Find someone else to grade papers and make lesson plans with, because it won't be me."
I hear him get up as I start to march towards the door. Tears starting to spill from my eyes. How could he have revealed his true colors so quickly? I place my hand on the door knob. Just as I'm about to twist it, his voice breaks the silence, "Wait." I freeze, but don't turn back to him. His voice sounded different just then. Was he crying too? Maybe I should turn...
I shake the thought off and sigh, "What is it?" My body felt as if it were pulsating from the anger.
"Please don't go," his voice is softer now, pleading almost. "I'll do anything you want. Whatever it takes for you to forgive me, please Marissa."
I allow my hand to slip off of the doorknob and slowly turn towards him, "My trust is broken with you. It's going to take a lot for that to be rebuilt." I lift my head and allow myself to lock eyes with him. Just as I'd thought, tears were staining his cheeks. He stands behind his desk, his palms pressing flat into the surface as if to restrain himself from moving.
Elvis shakes his head lightly, "Whatever it takes. Whatever you want or need me to do, I'll do it. Just name it and I'll do it."
Just as I'm about to ask why he wants me so bad, my stomach growls loud enough for the whole building to hear. I sigh and take a cautious step forward. "Let's eat first, and then we'll discuss terms." He nods and sits back down at his desk. He begins pulling open the bag of food and arranging the containers on his desk. I sit back down in my chair, grab my container of food, and slowly begin to eat.
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Hi everyone! I know it's been about... 4 years? 😅 But here I am! I honestly got busy with life and neglected my stories. I recently got a spark of inspiration and have been rereading my stories and deciding how I want to move forward with them. Thank you for your patience and continued support. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to update with a new one as soon as I can! If you read Loving You keep your eyes peeled, there may be an update in the near future; I'm just currently rereading each chapter and trying to jog my memory of all the events that have taken place.
-Katelyn