First Semester (Elton Hall Chronicles Book 1)

by Sarah Fischer

  We lay there like that for a minute while I listened to his heartbeat. It was almost more intimate than the acts we’d just completed. David kissed the top of my head and then gave me a quick squeeze.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked sweetly.

  “I’m a little hungry.” I remembered that Annabelle had eaten half of my sandwich.

  “I’ll make us some supper,” he said, letting me go and heading to his mahogany dresser. David slipped on a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt and then looked at me and smiled. He tossed me a t-shirt and shorts to put on.

  While David headed to the kitchen, I grabbed the clothes and headed to the bathroom. After a little clean-up, I splashed water on my face and put his clothes on. I took an extra couple of seconds just breathing in his scent off the shirt.

  ***

  There were some sounds from the kitchen and I went to check it out. David was standing over a cutting board slicing some onions. I sat on the barstool across from where he was working.

  “Can I help with something?” I asked, pretending I knew what to do in the kitchen. The truth was that I was a menace whenever I attempted to cook. My mother had tried to teach me but I didn’t have a knack for it.

  “No, it’s my treat to you. I intend to satisfy you in all ways humanly possible. One of those includes your stomach.” He looked up from the cutting board and winked.

  “I like this plan. What are you making?” I asked, looking at the ingredients on the counter.

  “Pasta. I make a great red sauce. I didn’t know what you liked but I figured pasta was a safe bet.”

  “Pasta is actually one of my favorite meals.”

  “Then score one for me. I have some soft drinks in the fridge if you want some. Cups are in the cabinet next to it.” He tilted his head toward the fridge. I walked over and grabbed two cups.

  “Did you want some?” I asked as I grabbed two sodas out of the fridge.

  “Yeah, sounds lovely.”

  I added some ice to the cups and then poured the soda. I placed the cup near him, but not too close that he would knock it over. Then I took my cup over to one of the bookcases. There were so many books that I had never heard of and I was dying to check them out. David seemed to also have a soft spot for murder mystery novels. I picked a couple off the shelf and looked at their summaries.

  “Any take your fancy?” he shouted from the kitchen.

  “Only about twenty. I’m a big murder mystery fan too.”

  “You can take any one you like,” he offered, and poured some pasta into a pot.

  “Thanks.” I grabbed one of the books and headed to the comfy couch where I settled in with my feet tucked underneath me.

  It was very peaceful. I sat on the couch, reading and listening to David hum while he cooked. I breathed in the aromas coming from the kitchen and started to lose myself in the story of a young girl murdered in a parking lot. Eventually, I heard David walking toward me. He leaned over the couch and kissed me on the cheek.

  “The grandmother did it.”

  “What? Why would you tell me that?” I groaned.

  “I’m kidding. Relax, there is no grandmother in the book. Supper is ready.” He tapped my nose and headed back to the kitchen.

  “Ha-ha. It smells good.” I followed him to the breakfast bar and David slid a plate in front of me. The pasta was piled high, looked incredible, and smelled even better. He grabbed his own plate and sat down next to me. I took my first bite and couldn’t help but sigh.

  “This is amazing!” There was such a difference between that crappy sauce they served in the cafeteria. The taste of fresh ingredients burst on my tongue and it was one of the best things I’d ever tasted.

  “Thank you. My mother owns a restaurant in England so she has had me cooking since I was little. She thought it was one of the most important things you can learn.” He practically beamed as he said this and I noticed the pride in his voice when he talked about her.

  “My mom tried to teach me to cook but I’m kind of hopeless,” I confessed as I grabbed a piece of bread.

  “And you were going to try to help with dinner tonight?” he asked incredulously.

  “Well, I didn’t want to be rude.” I blushed a little.

  “It’s okay. I can teach you a couple things,” he offered, and stroked my cheek gently. “Did you like that book?”

  “I just started but I liked the sound of it. I mean, can you really go wrong with a spy novel and the murder of an art gallery worker? Clearly there is going to be fraud and fencing stolen goods with some deception,” I said, getting excited. It really did seem like a good book.

  “Clearly. It actually is a good book. I think you are going to like it.” He grabbed some more bread. We spent the next hour talking about books and finishing all of the pasta. It turned out we read a lot of the same books but we had vastly different opinions about them.

  I insisted on cleaning the dishes while David went to the bookshelf and grabbed a few other books. The next few hours flew by. We curled up on the couch and continued the book conversation. There were many books that we both liked, but what really connected us was the fact that we could debate them. There was something sexy about an intelligent conversation.

  Normally, this would be annoying or frustrating, but with David it was comfortable. I didn’t get frustrated or annoyed when he explained his point of view. He made some valid arguments and actually listened to what I had to say. A first for me since I tended to ignore contradicting opinions, but David made me want to listen. Before we knew it, I checked the clock and it was after one in the morning.

  “Oh man! I have got to get to sleep.” I stretched my arms and fought a yawn.

  “Let me help you,” he offered, and picked me up. David carried me to his bed. We set an alarm and settled into each other. My heart was racing and I was having a hard time calming it. It was the first time I had spent the night in a guy’s bed. I wanted to be here but a million thoughts were going through my mind. What happened in the morning? What happened if he snored, or worse, what happened if I snored? Would I even be able to sleep in this unknown place?

  As if sensing my unrest, Berneli reached up and began stroking my hair. It was comforting and somehow slowed my brain down. I focused on his heartbeat and before long I was asleep.

  Chapter 13

  The alarm went off far too early. Apparently, David was a heavy sleeper because he didn’t even move. I tried to slip out from under his arm but he held on tighter.

  “Nope, too early.” He pulled me back into his embrace and locked his arms.

  “We have to get to class. I need to shower, catch a cab, and get breakfast.” I was pretending to fight his grasp but I was fine lying there for a few more minutes.

  “Shower, huh?” he asked, growling in my ear. “I’m ready for the shower.”

  “I bet you are.” I noticed that morning wood seemed to be a real phenomenon and not a rumor.

  “What? It would go twice as fast if someone is helping you,” he insisted as we both climbed out of bed.

  “I have a feeling that it would take twice as long.” I grabbed my bag and headed to the shower.

  “What if I wrote you a note? Dear Professor, Violet was late for class today because she was busy helping her other professor in the shower. No, I don’t share. Thank you for your consideration. Signed, David Sex Slave Berneli. I think it could work.” He pulled me into the bathroom and I fought the urge to giggle.

  “Sex slave, huh?” I asked as he started to help me out of my clothes, well, his clothes.

  “Oh yeah. Let me serve you.” He turned the shower on and it was more than the warm water that eased my tension.

  As it turned out, showering together did take twice as long so I had to skip breakfast. Luckily, my cab got to David’s pretty quickly so I wasn’t late for my first class. As I had that big paper to turn in, it was a good thing.

  ***

  I sat in class trying to pay attention but all I could think abou
t was the perfect night I’d spent with David. The sex was good, obviously, but it was more than that. I felt at home with him and completely at ease. This just created more trouble because my feelings were growing.

  I met up with Annabelle outside the coffee shop after our first class and she about ran me over.

  “So, how was it?” She grabbed a table and leaned forward eagerly.

  I was famished so I was shoving my pastry into my mouth. It was truly an attractive sight.

  “It was a perfect night. I mean, yeah, we had sex, and I still think he is a god, but it’s more than that. We spent most of the night arguing about books and authors. I can just speak my mind and he takes it and responds however he wants. We don’t worry about hurting each other’s feelings or what the other will think. It’s just two people discussing things they’re passionate about. It was nice,” I said, reminiscing.

  It was hard not to smile as the thought of lying with my feet in his lap on the couch while we discussed Peter Pan, Oliver Twist, and, unfortunately, Anna Karenina.

  “There is no judgement,” I continued. “And he is considerate. He made me this huge dinner and had even set up the cab the night before. He planned the whole night and it was amazing. Dates from this moment forward will forever have to live up to last night.” I was trying to put my feelings into words but they didn’t seem to match the level of perfection.

  “I hate you! That sounds amazing. He sounds amazing. I never would have guessed he was like that. In all the EET meetings, he seems so stuffy and boring. I mean, even his jokes are dry,” she said, stealing a few bites of my pastry. I was definitely going to have to do something about her food stealing habit.

  “I think it’s a British thing, that dry humor. I actually really like it.” I ate the rest of my pastry before Annabelle could take any other bites.

  “So, you officially have feelings?” she asked, looking at me with a smile.

  “I mean, I don’t think it will ever be more than just some fun. Sure, he is leaving in a year, but a lot can happen between now and then. We could be broken up in a month. Why worry now?” I said, hoping I sounded more convinced than I actually was. I was trying to keep the feelings pushed down inside. Denial was the perfect solution.

  “Sounds like a load of crap to me.”

  My mouth fell open as I stared at her. “What?”

  “You just looked at me with so much passion in your eyes, so I’m calling bullshit. You care about him a lot more than you’re willing to admit. If you need to lie to me to keep this façade going, that’s fine, I just hope you aren’t lying to yourself too.”

  I closed my eyes and then looked at her, all kidding aside. “Yeah, okay. I have feelings for him. I think about him constantly and it feels amazing to be with him. But it can’t go anywhere and I know that. At this point, I just want to enjoy it while I can and pretend tomorrow doesn’t exist.”

  “Well, I’m all for you enjoying your time together. And I’ll be here when tomorrow does come.” She reached her hand out and held mine just for a second. I smiled at her and we had a moment. “But are you going to tell him about Finn?”

  “Probably not. I don’t want to worry him. I’m really just overreacting. There is no way Finn can know about it.” If I said it out loud enough, maybe it would prove to be true.

  “I feel like he would want to know. Isn’t he risking his job? Shouldn’t he be the one making the decision?”

  “We talked about it once. He said that he would worry about it. Besides, he could probably just go back to his job in England.” I tried to ignore the terrible feeling in my gut. It was possible that I was being a little selfish. “Maybe I’m afraid that if I tell him, he will want to end it.” I looked down, averting Annabelle’s judgmental gaze.

  “It sounds to me like he already knows his job is on the line. At least make him aware so that both of you dive in with your eyes open.”

  “Fine, I will bring it up the next time I see him.” She was right, but I didn’t feel any better about this.

  “Good. I need my own pastry and a giant cup of coffee now.” She went over to the cash register and left me to my thoughts.

  Last night, David and I had finally exchanged numbers. We had to be delicate about it though. I even changed his name to Hercules in my phone just in case. Okay, that was also for my amusement but it still served a purpose.

  He hadn’t texted me yet, probably because he just got out of his own class, but I didn’t want to text him first this morning. Somehow, even after all the passion, we’d managed to forget, or at least overlook, setting up another night. I had no reason to think we wouldn’t, but I was a worrier like that.

  Annabelle headed back to the table and handed me my own pastry that she promised not to eat. I needed to change the subject before she realized just how neurotic this man could make me.

  “Are you ready for the comedienne this weekend?” I asked, knowing Annabelle had been working hard on this.

  “Yes! I am ready for this to be over!”

  “Okay, I think that is a little dramatic.”

  “It is just a lot of work, especially since Trent is not doing anything anymore.”

  “Well, give me some more work. Right now all I am doing is dealing with the rider.” I was feeling a little guilty. It was kind of my fault that Trent was not around anymore.

  “You’ll regret you said that.” She got out some notes from her EET binder. “So the biggest issue right now is that we have not sold nearly enough tickets. People are not signing up to sell tickets and we need to hang up some flyers and do some fun advertising,” Annabelle said, going over those notes.

  “What if we got some chalk and wrote on the sidewalk outside the dorms and the apartments about the comedienne?” I was partially kidding, partially serious.

  “Um, I don’t know how I feel about it. Part of me loves the idea and the other part thinks it is silly.”

  “At least it would cost, like, no money,” I said, trying to sound hopeful.

  “Actually, I am pretty sure we have chalk in the EET office so it would be totally free. This is starting to sound better and better. I mean, if it doesn’t work, then it is not that big of a deal, right? What are you doing after the EET meeting? Are you meeting with him again?” she asked as she downed her coffee.

  Then, all of a sudden, my phone went off. I jumped about three feet in the air and dropped my phone on the ground. “My bad!” I was blushing a deep pink.

  “I guess we know who texted you. I’ll chat with you at EET.” Annabelle got up and headed to her next class.

  “Bye, babe,” I said, and opened his text.

  David: Hey, beautiful. I’ve been thinking about u all morning. How was ur day?

  Me: Good so far. I’m excited to see you at the meeting but obviously I can’t jump your bones.

  David: I have work 2night, hoping you could come over tomorrow. We have to get the rider ready and then we can work on ur self-control. I have some ideas.

  Me: I think I can make some time for you in my schedule. I have some ideas of my own.

  David: Can’t wait.

  I closed my phone and headed to my next class with a smile I could no longer contain.

  ***

  After class, I went to the computer lab to wait for the EET meeting. I had just started to get in a stride when Annabelle came running in.

  “Uh, hi,” I said as she ran up to me.

  “You have to come to the EET board meeting.” She was talking very fast.

  “Why?” I asked looking confused.

  “Never mind why. Just get your stuff and hurry up,” she ordered, and actually grabbed my phone to ensure I followed her.

  I logged out of the computer and grabbed my things. I had no idea why I was needed at this meeting. My chalk idea really was not that big of a deal and I felt like if something was going on with David, Annabelle would have told me. I walked into the meeting and everyone looked at me. It seemed a little weird but I waved anyway.
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br />   “So, Annabelle has been telling us about your ideas and how you have the time to be on the board. Obviously, you know that Trent has backed out of the position and we have an opening,” Clarissa said with a huge smile on her face. “We would like to extend the position of late night entertainment chair to you.”

  “Thank you! Yes, I accept.” I actually was really excited.

  “Great! You will need to meet with us before the meetings and you will be in charge of some of the smaller late night events, but we can go over that after the comedy show.” Nat handed me a handbook and gave me a bright smile.

  She continued to talk about the comedienne and what needed to be done. Annabelle was vigorously taking notes and I felt a little out of place. I looked around the room and my eyes fell on David. He smiled slightly, the corners of his mouth perking up, and winked at me. I looked down to hide my blush and then it hit me. I really hoped that our relationship had nothing to do with this decision. Annabelle looked at me and smiled big. Really, my relationship with Annabelle probably had more to do with this job than my relationship with Berneli.

  They announced my joining the EET board in the actual meeting and we went over more information for the comedienne. The meeting went pretty well and no one seemed to question my new position. Well, at least no one questioned it to my face.

  David and I had to sit and work together because we needed to plan out the rider. We decided to go out tomorrow after his last class and then privately decided to head to his place after. I was really excited. Sitting across from each other knowing that I couldn’t touch him only seemed to make my need worse. It was exhilarating. I left with Annabelle feeling even more turned on than I had been this morning.

  Annabelle and I went to the dorms with the chalk and began to decorate. It was surprisingly more fun than I had initially thought. You could even say it was therapeutic. I wasn’t the most artistic person but I could color within the lines that Annabelle drew. Apparently, Clarissa was really artistic so she came with us.