The Valentines Day Proposal

by Bella Winters

  This wasn’t about grades or cheats in the class. Was it about sex? I wasn’t sure sometimes, and I sighed as I walked to my next class. I didn’t have any more tests today, so they were easier in a way, but I stayed up a bit too late studying to make up for the time I’d spent with Liam. I planned to take a nap before I finished a few articles that night to get some money coming in. I was falling behind there as well, needing to be more consistent with everything.

  He was just so damn addicting. I couldn’t get enough of him inside of me, making me feel things I never considered possible before. It made me remember why I was glad that I never got involved with someone when I was going to school.

  I was glad when my day ended, and I could go crawl into my bed for a much-needed nap. Then I would write no matter how much caffeine it took for me to stay awake tonight.

  I was on the third one as I sipped the steaming cup, feeling like I was making some progress. My phone dinged, and I looked at the screen to see the name that I was using for Liam as I grinned. He said that he was done with the fridge after a long afternoon and asked if I’d like to join him for some dinner and drinks.

  I explained that I had some work to do and my eyes widened when he offered to come to me. My place was tiny, and I didn’t know any students lived around here, two things that I explained to him.

  L: Work over here. Bring your computer. I have some stuff to do on mine, and we can keep each other company.

  I considered that idea. The chances were that we would get more work done on each other than anything of our own, but it sounded nice to be with him just doing our regular thing. I didn’t like being alone as much since I’d been seeing Liam and it bothered me often.

  E: Would you actually let me work?

  L: But, of course. You act like I can’t keep my hands off you.

  Yeah, he couldn’t, but I liked that. I looked around my dark apartment, sick of the four walls that were surrounding me. I told him that I was down with his plan and asked if he wanted me to bring anything with me.

  I changed into some fresh jeans and a soft, oversized green sweater to drive over in, slipping my feet into my warm boots. I took a minute to fix my hair and makeup before I bagged everything up to leave.

  I walked out of the front door and headed right to my car, locking the doors before I started the car. What would he even think of my studio? It was a shack compared to his condo and doubt flooded me for a moment as I wondered what he was doing with me. This happened from time to time, and I breathed my way through the panic attack as I drove, focused heavily on the commute before I parked close to his place.

  I calmed down before I unloaded my stuff and glanced around. Walking up to Liam’s door, I was just raising my hand to knock when the door opened, and a girl headed out. She gave me a surprised look, and I looked past her to see a shocked Liam standing right behind her. “Hi, there. I am Liam’s sister, Marie. You are?”

  “This is my friend, Elena. She was just coming by to go over some class stuff since she lives here in the complex. Elena, meet my nosy little sister.” His eyes pleaded with me to go along with his words, and I forced a smile on my face as I looked at her.

  Marie gave me a look like she didn’t believe him, her sharp eyes that matched his sizing me up. “It’s nice to meet you, Elena.” She turned to look at Liam, murmuring something before kissing his cheek and heading down the path. I looked at him as fear rushed through me, and Liam gestured for me to come inside before he closed the door.

  “Were you just caught?” I asked in a whisper as he gave me a reassuring smile.

  “No, I’m sure that she got me. Thanks for not saying anything, though.” Liam swallowed and leaned down to kiss me softly. “Want to work on the couch?”

  I nodded and followed him as he got me some wine and himself a beer, pulling his Mac on his lap to get some work done. I knew that he played it off, but I could see some concern in his gaze as he ran a hand through his messy hair. I forced myself to finish the article and edit it before sending it to the client, reading it closely to make sure that my nervous breakdown wasn’t evident in my words. I’d like to keep this long-term contract going since they paid a lot of my bills.

  I set the computer on the table and took a long sip of wine. He’d offered to reheat the lasagna that his sister brought over for me, but I was pretty sure that we both felt a little ill about her running into me.

  I lowered my glass to see Liam looking at me and forced a smile. “You know, if she does think anything, it’s okay. Marie won’t say anything about this. She’s got my back.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked as he pressed his lips together.

  “She would ask me why I was doing this. I would tell her, and we’d work through it, but all Marie wants is for me to be happy.” Liam shrugged, and I licked my lips.

  “Are you? Happy?” My words hung in the air as his eyes softened.

  “I like you, Elena. I like spending time with you. I know that I can’t offer you anything substantial right now given the circumstances, but I don’t want to be finished with this quite yet.” It was both reassuring as well as heartbreaking.

  “If we’re still like this at the end of the semester, then what?” I asked as he ran a hand through his hair again.

  “I have never considered that, but I will. I suppose if we weren’t connected through any classes, nothing could be done. We’re adults, and we can consent to this. It just can never get back to anyone that this is how it started.” Liam explained as I drank more wine. “I just want to see what happens here, Elena. It is all new to me since I don’t usually date.”

  We stared at each other for a few moments as emotions rushed through me. Liam wasn’t ending this or throwing me out of the door. He was trying, so why did I want to cry? Liam took in my face before he pushed his laptop away and moved towards me on the couch. “Liam,” I murmured as he cupped my face and stared into my eyes. His lips covered mine, changing all the emotions into lust as my heart pounded in my chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him closer as he groaned. “I don’t want to lose this feeling, Elena.” It was just a whisper, but it filled me with warmth as our lips parted and our tongues met in a deep kiss.

  Liam dragged me to his bedroom, stripping me of my clothes in between hungry kisses. Somehow, the idea of us being caught was now a turn on, and I sensed it in him as well as he kicked off his jeans. We fell onto the bed together as he pressed my back to the mattress before rolling onto his back and holding me close. I felt his cock against my thigh, and my core ached with need as I started to move over him. Liam kissed me as his hand slid down to hold his cock as I moved down over him. He was thick as he filled me, making me cry out. We rocked together as sounds filled the air; moans and bodies slapping together. His teeth locked onto my nipple as he held me over him, angling his hips to slide in and out of me.

  I came first and cried out as he slid into my tight pussy, feeling him jerk into me with a sigh. He filled me, gripping my ass as he kept coming with me. Liam moved me onto my back, still inside of me as he took a deep breath and slowly pulled out. Heat dripped down my thighs as I moaned and dropped my arms to my side as he rested his head on my stomach.

  The room was dark as we recovered, still in his bed. “Are you happy?” Liam asked as I licked my dry lips. “Let me ask something else first. How do you think you did on the test?”

  I was thrown off, and I frowned. “I think I did fine. Why do you ask?”

  “I have never made this about helping you in the class since I know that you don’t need it. But when the test approached, I started to worry about how much I was taking you away from your studies and work. I don’t want to do that, Elena. You have too bright of a future for that.” Liam’s voice was thick with emotion, and I stroked his hair.

  “I have had to make some sacrifices for this, Liam. I won’t lie. It’s worth it because I feel more alive than I ever have. I am happy, but I am also so scared. I don’t want to lose this feeling.” I
knew that I was close to tears as I spoke and felt him moving up beside me to cradle me in his arms.

  “Do you regret any of this?” He asked as I sighed.

  “No, never.”

  “Can you do this for another few weeks? Keep this under the radar and keep your grades up, since I won’t be responsible for you messing anything up?” Liam asked as I turned to look at him. It was too dark to see his face, but I knew how he was staring at me. I’d seen it before. “Can we move forward after we’re not in the same goddamn classroom twice a week?”

  “Yes, we can,” I promised him before leaning forward for a slow kiss.

  We got up to eat once we’d worked through all our stress, several times to be exact. Liam reheated a plate of the gooey lasagna in one dish that we shared along with a bottle of water. I thought about the time we spent in bed over the last couple of hours and how our emotions came through it all. Liam wasn’t used to dating, and neither was I. We were in a hard situation, and it would have rough moments, like walking up to the door to find his curious sister staring at me.

  I told myself that it could have been worse. It could have been Sarah or another teacher. Anyone from the university that realized who we were and that I was not supposed to be at his place would be far worse than what happened today. I looked at him for a moment, his hair messy from sex and mouth smeared with tomato sauce as he raised his eyes to mine. “What?”

  “I’m glad I am here. I have been from the start.” He smiled.

  “I am, too. It’s just a terrible situation for both of us, and we have to work through that. Tonight made me realize that more than anything,” Liam said as I sipped the water. “I am going to come clean with Marie, mostly because she won’t leave me alone. We’re close since she’s all I have for family. I will explain it to her carefully, and I won’t say that she won’t be angry with me, but she does want to see me happy.” He reached out and took my hand. “You’ll get to meet her for real someday. We can have dinner and just talk since I think you guys will like each other.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked as he chuckled.

  “It won’t be tomorrow or anything, but yes.” I smiled. We finished the food and cleaned up before settling on the couch together. I was sore from the rough sex from earlier. We had so many things in our head, and I realized that sex was a release sometimes in that way. “I’ll have the tests done in a day or so and hand them back next week. You’ll know earlier more than likely, so act surprised.” I looked up at him. “I am focused on that, Elena. I really am.”

  I left later that night, kissing him before he watched me walk to my car from his door. We did need to be careful and the near miss tonight was a reminder of that. I drove back to my apartment and hurried to the door, locking myself in before my phone chimed. I checked it.

  L: Make it home? I never asked where you lived.

  E: I’m home. I live on the corner by the club Wild Times.

  L: Is it safe there?

  E: I am very careful, and the building is secure.

  L: I suppose so. Lock up tight, pretty girl.

  We sent a few more texts as I got ready for bed and settled against the pillows, making me think that we were going to be just fine. This would work out, or it would end for acceptable reasons. That happened a lot, didn’t it? It was part of being an adult, and I was going to enjoy it as long as I could.

  CHAPTER 12

  Liam

  Elena got a fucking A on the test. I didn’t worry about holding her back and hoped that she was doing nearly as well in her other classes, quizzing her about that over dinner at my house the night after they were handed back to the class. Elena assured me that she was doing just fine and would focus on school over anything else. I kissed her softly in agreement, smiling when she laughed at me.

  Marie pinned me down at lunch the week after she met Elena. We always went to this diner, and she picked a table in the corner, staring me down until our drinks were ordered. “So, who was she?”

  “I knew that you wouldn’t let it go,” I muttered as she raised an eyebrow at me. “She was there about class, Marie. The thing is…she’s a student in it.” Her eyes widened, and I reached out my hand. “I know, I know.”

  “You could lose everything, Liam. You’ve worked so hard.” Her eyes filled with tears and I took a deep breath. “Why would you get involved with a student?”

  “I didn’t mean to. Neither of us did but there was a connection, and we couldn’t fight it,” I said as she glanced up. The waitress dropped our drinks off as my voice drifted off and I stared at the table for a few moments. “It’s been going on for a few weeks. Nobody knows about it apart from you and they won’t. It’s a private thing.”

  “It only takes one time, Liam. Do you know what might happen? Is this to help her grade?” Marie asked, hitting a sensitive spot for me.

  “Fuck, no. I was worried about that even though we never discussed the class at all. Elena is a smart student, and the only thing that she did was get some help with the tutor before we even saw one another.” Marie raised an eyebrow. “I had nothing to do with it, and she did better. She got an A on my test.” I looked into Marie’s stern face. “I didn’t help her at all. I was prepared to end things with her if it was worse. She writes for a living to make a little extra money. Her scholarship is only partial, so she needs to make ends meet.”

  “Does she have a family?” Marie asked, and I thought about the subject that she hadn’t discussed yet.

  “She just mentioned that her parents didn’t have money for college and that she worked hard to get in. They were disappointed by her partial scholarship so Elena found something she could do from home to pay rent. That’s all she said, but I suspect that they don’t live close by and she generally keeps to herself,” I replied as suspicion crossed her face. “She’s an independent girl and has it together, though I don’t like the neighborhood that she lives in too much. I am not considering anything crazy, though, Marie. Don’t worry.”

  “Your place is pretty big. She might just disappear into the walls,” Marie joked. She thought the three-bedroom home was big, but Mom’s house was cozy and on the smaller side. That was more her style.

  “If she lived there, I wouldn’t want her to disappear. It hasn’t gotten that far, though. We’re taking it day-by-day until we’re not in the same room together for the class.” I watched her nod as she sipped her tea. “For now, I’m happy. Elena is great, and we enjoy each other.”

  “You’re not being a man whore, are you?” Her voice was low as I felt someone’s presence, thankful that I didn’t need to look at the menu here. We ordered burgers, and I sipped my soda as I rolled my eyes.

  “No, just her. She’s enough.” Marie tilted her head at the words, knowing that I’d never felt that way before.

  “Is she in for you?” Marie asked, making me wonder if that was the case. I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but it did mean a lot the night Marie saw her for the first time and we talked it out or fucked it out. There was a bit of both.

  “I don’t know. I can’t think beyond tomorrow these days. It’s confusing.”

  “Bring her over for dinner sometime. I’d like to meet her.”

  “How about during the break?” I asked as she smiled and nodded.

  “Just be careful. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” I promised her that I would be. Elena and I were both concerned about that as well since I’d been in school for so long to work and she was a Junior. She needed to finish school and start her dream.

  We talked about other things through the meal, though I saw Marie’s maternal side coming through. She’d tried to set me up over the years with friends, but I avoided that, not wanting to ruin anything for her. She hugged me tightly before she left me there, reminding me to be careful before she told me that she loved me. I returned it, only saying the words to her and Mom over the years. Never a woman, since I didn’t meet anyone that meant that much.

  I headed through the city to
my condo, taking in the brief glimpses of sun in the sky. I loved Seattle. I loved growing up here, and it was an easy choice to move back here. I hoped to settle here and keep teaching until retirement because the university was a perfect job for me. I could start over somewhere else, but I didn’t want to leave this city.

  I didn’t want to leave Elena behind.

  I glanced across the street to see a redhead walking with Elena, smiling brightly. They seemed to be shopping, and I stared at Elena as she shook her head at something her friend said. My conversation with Maria played back in my mind as I wondered if she was in for me. She was beautiful, and her kindness showed even right now as they walked into a boutique.

  I found out later that night that they were shopping for a party. Ginger was taking her to a mixer at one of the frat houses, and the idea made me instantly uncomfortable. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “It’s a party. People go to them all of the time, and I promised her that I would hit a few a year with her since we met our first year here,” Elena told me as I stared into the fire. I’d heard about the darker sides of the parties, both personally and in news stories.

  It didn’t go unnoticed that I was feeling protective of someone other than my sister. I looked back at Elena sitting on my couch and smiled. “They do. I did, and that’s part of why I am concerned.” Elena shook her head.