The next ten minutes went in a blur. After bidding Garry goodbye, Blake and I headed to his car. I knew this was my golden chance to talk to him about the kiss and get it all behind us. I'd even rehearsed my speech in front of the mirror several times. Now that the very person was right next to me, the lines I'd carefully arranged suddenly turned into jumbled words in my head. I wished I had done this last night when alcohol still lingered in my system.

None of us tried to start a conversation until we left the residence gate. My head was busy cooking plans on how I was going to start when Blake said, "I didn't know you were the quiet type."

"I've never been the quiet type."

"Is it about Brad then? Are you worried about him?"

"No." Brad was the last thing on my mind; if he'd only known.

"Okay." Blake glanced at me. "So. Finally. I've got you alone now, and we can start talking."

I opened my mouth before closing it again when my brain took in his words. Did it mean he was the one who made this arrangement? How did he know that I needed a ride in the first place? Did he plan this with Garry? Did Lea know about this?

"Before I start, maybe you have something to say first?" he asked.

"Yes." I took a deep breath. It was better to just let it out, or my courage would have shrunken every second. "I'm sorry about what I did that night. You're my professor and what I did was completely inappropriate. I hope it won't taint our academic relations in the future. That night, I was wasted and so out of character. That is, uh, what basically I wanted to say, that I'm sorry I've crossed the line."

Blake didn't respond right away, but I knew he listened to my explanation. My anxiousness grew every second, and he took his goddamn time with it.

"If anyone needs to apologize here, it would be me," he finally said. "Firstly, I shouldn't have kissed an intoxicated woman. Secondly, not my student. I'm not the drunk one, I should've been able to make a better judgment. I apologize for that."

"It's okay," I mumbled.

That was it. We finally did it. I regretted it. He regretted it. It meant we agreed it should have never happened and would never happen again. But would I be able to control myself if I was drunk? That was something I needed yet to find out.

"I wanted to talk to you that night," he said, yanking my mind out of my train of thought. "But I decided to wait until you're in a better state to talk. Also, it gave you time to process in case you wanted to take some follow-up action..."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

Blake glanced at me. "Well, some students file complaints about their teacher for harassing them."

"What? Why would I do that? You didn't harass me, and it was only a drunk kiss. I've started it." Well, it wasn't only a kiss, it was a make-out session with a lot of tongue activity and grinding against each other. But maybe it wasn't relevant to the current conversation.

"I know filing a complaint sounds rather extreme. But I wouldn't know for sure. It might've popped up in your head." He shrugged, his eyes staying on the road. "I'd never been involved with students. So, I wouldn't know."

"It's not like you forced yourself on me. It wasn't all on you. I just ambushed you like that, and I wasn't even that drunk. I was aware it was wrong, yet I didn't stop."

"Well, you did eventually. Which was for the best, I think, because I don't know if I was going to stop or if I wanted to," he said, still with his stoic expression, but it caused my stomach to somersault.

"Oh." I gulped, imagining what could've happened if I didn't stop him. Maybe we would have kept sucking each other's faces and grinding our bodies until lust took over completely. Probably, the next thing I would've done was ride him in the backseat of his car. I squeezed my thighs together as my head visualized the thoughts.

It was when the car stopped at the traffic light, and Blake turned his head to me. Warmth crept up on my face, as though I got caught red-handed for having naughty thoughts.

"I'm aware of what's been going on, Jennifer. This sexual tension between us is just too obvious. If one of us makes a wrong move, you know what can happen." He paused before continuing, tapping his finger on the steering wheel. "And it can get us into trouble. It's not against the law because we both are consenting adults, but it is considered a violation of professional ethics, specifically when I'm holding power over your grade this semester. There would be consequences for this if they found out. I might lose my job.

"On the other hand, your reputation is on the line because people would easily assume you get your grades by seducing your professor. If you decide to stay in this field for your future career, I assure you that you'll bump into familiar faces in your professional circle. They talk and words go around faster than you can handle. The label 'the professor whore' might affect people's judgment of your professional qualities. I've seen this myself and it's not pretty. I just don't want you to be in a similar situation."

My mind jumped back to that evening behind the bar's rear door. We were lucky no one saw us. "Well, we didn't get caught."

Blake cocked his head. "Are you suggesting we fool around secretly as long as we don't get caught?"

I bit my inner cheek, realizing I may have sounded as if I initiated something naughty. "Ugh. My comment came of the wrong way."

He laughed at my panic state. "I know what you meant. I was just pulling your leg." The light turned green, and he started driving again. "On the sight note. I don't fool around secretly like a teenager. If we went for it, I would want to go all the way. I would want to touch you or kiss you wherever and whenever I wish," he said nonchalantly, completely unaware that his words caused the butterflies in my belly to do a tap dance.

"Well, we know none of it would happen. No secret fool around or going all out." I tucked my hair behind my ear. "We just needed to avoid each other from now on."

"Yeah." He nods. "But if once again we're caught up in a similar situation, just one more wrong move, Jennifer, then things might go down to shit. Seducing is one thing, but getting cornered and seduced? That's one hell of a temptation to resist. I'm only a man. "

I dropped my jaw. Did he just imply I would definitely be the one who made the wrong move? The nerve he had.

"That won't happen. Trust me. After Garry leaves, we won't have a mutual connection that gets us to meet at the same event, and certainly, you won't see me drinking again."

He pursed his lips, and I found it too distracting to watch. "Judging from how we accidentally bumped into each other, you sounded a bit too sure, young lady."

"I'm not a young lady to you."

"Young enough for me." Blake cackled, enjoying himself. "You're like...twenty? Twenty-one?"

I didn't take the bait. "And you're like what, fifty?"

"A fifty-year-old dude who gets to snog a student half his age. What can I ask for more from life?" Blake wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're impossible!" I grunted.

Blake roared in laughter at my reaction. It was a wholehearted laugh that was rumbling deeply, caressing me all in the right places. No, no, no, I'm not enjoying this. I'm supposed to be annoyed at him! A part of me wanted to smack him hard to erase that smug look on his face, while the other wanted to grab him by the collars and...

No. Focus, Jen!

After his laughter died down, he continued. "Okay, joke aside. What I was trying to say is, I will behave next time." He glanced at me, smiling. "As long as we keep ourselves out of any risky situation, then we should be able to stay out of trouble."

"Likewise," I mumbled. This was the idea of having this talk, to stay put in our academic roles to keep each other safe. But why did it feel like something had just slipped off my hand? I'd lost my mind.

After spending some quiet time listening to the songs on the radio, we left the valley and entered the suburban area that connected the hill and the city. Contemporary houses and modern parks slowly replaced the scenery of green meadows and farmer's landscapes. I glanced up at the sky as the dark cloud hung low, a sign that rain would fall anytime soon.

"I'm glad we talked, though. It's been one hell of a week. I just needed to know how you processed it," Blake said.

"Why didn't you try to reach me sooner?"

"I thought about that, but you were freaked out that night. I didn't want to sound like a creep, calling you out of the blue just to talk."

"True, but you could've given me a day or two to think before calling, though. Wait, you don't have my number, well, you could've emailed me."

"Talking about our encounter in emails? No. And it's not that hard to break into the student database and get all the information I need about you, including your number."

"Oh."

"But why would I go through all the trouble if I could find a better resource?"

"Garry."

Blake smiled. "Bingo."

"But, how did you... Did Lea know about this?"

"I don't believe so. Garry is a pretty neat guy."

I was about to say something when my phone vibrated. Gwen's caller ID appeared on my screen when I retracted my phone from my vest pocket. I tapped the green bar. "Hi, Gwen."

"Hello, love. Bruno called in sick this morning, but I can only cover his shift until lunch. Mandy should be here soon, but well, it's Mandy. I would appreciate it if you could start at twelve instead of two?" Gwen's raspy voice vibrated through the receiver.

I glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard and made a quick calculation in my head. "Twelve o'clock, you said?"

"Yes."

"I think I can manage. I'll be there."

"Thank you, love. I know I can count on you," she said. "Leaving Mandy alone when there are so many things that need to be done at the store doesn't sit right with me."

"I understand." I almost said goodbye when I remembered Bruno's vacation plan. "Oh, hey Gwen, has Bruno told you about me doing his two-week shift next month?"

"Right, about that. I'm afraid I've promised Dani to give her the slot. She came to me last Monday and told me about her situation. I'm sorry, love, but Dani can use the extra money."

Of course, Gwen would buy Dani's bullshit. She was a girl with a gazillion problems; at least that was what she thought of herself. But instead of trying to fix her issues, she sought validation for her questionable decisions. Unfortunately, Gwen bought it.

"Oh, okay," I said.

"I promise you'll be the first person I call if there is an available slot."

"It's fine," I replied, a little too cheerfully to hide my disappointment. "Alright. I'll be there at noon. Bye, Gwen."

I slipped my phone into my pocket, thinking about my so-not-prospective summer. I practically had nothing to do except for helping Mom with her apartment and Lea with the packing.

"You could have said no," Blake said, bringing my mind back to his car.

It took me a few seconds to realize what he was referring to. "Oh. I don't mind helping her."

"And she doesn't mind using you as a last-minute backup," he pointed out. "Then you deserve that two-week shift."

Blake was partly guessing it since he couldn't hear Gwen, but he hit the jackpot, and I hated him for that. Because if he hadn't said it out loud, it would have made my disappointment less real. Dammit.

"So, you're looking for an extra job or something?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, kinda. Lea is leaving, and the thing isn't going so great" — I chewed my lower lip, remembering all the bullshit I told him about my family on the first day we met — "at home. I just need something to keep me busy, you know."

"I see," he said, frowning while rubbing his jaw. "I might have something for you. I mean, if you want to work at campus, of course."

My head snapped. "Come again?".

"The Assessment Center has an opening for a temporary position."

"What is the job, exactly?" I asked, trying hard to sound not too excited.

"Front-desk job, picking up phone calls, arranging client schedules, and maybe some paperwork." Blake pursed his lips and frowned again. "That's about it, I think. Since you're majoring in psychology, I might be able to get you involved in some assessment activities, if you like, to give you the experience."

"It's temporary?"

"Yes, it's a maternity leave replacement. Three months, four months top. I need to check with Betty for the details and to make sure the position is still vacant," he replied before adding, "But if we take a student, they need to be in the final year to avoid an overlapping schedule with the academic activity."

"I finished all the mandatory classes. The next term is all about elective subjects. I'll make it work," I convinced him.

"Okay. I need your number." He fished his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to me.

"I thought it wasn't that hard to get it from the student database."

"Jennifer," he said, half groaning, "don't make me regret this."

"Of course not, sir." I took his phone.

He shook his head, mumbling under his breath, but clear enough for me to hear. "This is going to be a long four months."