Chapter 19 Three weeks. That was how long we'd been sneaking around with Harmony. Every night together was better than the one before. I hadn't thought it possible to fall so hard so fast, but Harmony was proving me wrong at every turn. She was a perfect student in class, and something altogether different at home. I grinned and sipped coffee from my travel mug. Stephen shoulder-checked me as we walked across the parking lot. "Fix your face. You're smiling too much." "Fix your own face." I gave him a playful shove, and his frown deepened. He'd been sleeping and eating better. The punishing workouts at the end of the day hadn't stopped, but he worked out with more effort and less savageness. We didn't mention it, but Matthew and I both noticed. He looked better. Less grumpy professor and more relaxed friend. Harmony did that to him. Every night she'd been with us, he smiled in a way we hadn't seen in years. He had every right to grieve, but the healing of Harmony's presence meant more than any of us admitted. We'd promised no feelings. Fuck that shit. I'd caught feelings the first time we slept together. Stephen hoped to protect his heart from further hurt. Maybe it would work for him. I might not have ever been in real, true love. Nor had I suffered any kind of loss similar to Stephen's. That didn't mean I had to hold myself back from loving Harmony. Even if I'd promised my best friends. Stephen was wrong to demand we keep our hearts separate from what happened in the bedroom. My heart was too big and open to constrict it the way he demanded. "I'm allowed to be happy." I elbowed Stephen in the ribs. Hard. He grunted and pushed me away, scowling and grumbling under his breath about putting up with me. I laughed off the perceived insult. My growing feelings for Harmony made even the sunshine brighter. "Any plans tonight?" I wiggled my eyebrows at Matthew. He grinned in response. "Depends on what she has in mind." "Not here." Stephen slashed a hand through the air. "You're getting too comfortable talking about this in public." "We're not saying her name," I argued back. "We're allowed to have a personal life. It would seem weird if we never talked about anything except work." "When we're at work, that's what we talk about." Stephen speared me with a look. He was good at putting me in my place with nothing more than that cold stare. I sighed but nodded, unwilling to allow an argument in the middle of the parking lot. "Fine." "You agreed to the rules." He loved reminding me of the rules. I moved past him, turning left at the paved path that split into four directions. "Have a good day at work, sweetheart." I blew him a kiss, wiggling my fingers. "Fuck you." He snarled when Matthew burst out laughing. A few students shot curious looks our way. I ignored them and whistled on my way to class. The tall brick building offered hints of shade from the thick sunshine. By the time I walked across the lacquered floor and entered my room, I couldn't stop grinning. The sight of my class filtering into the room dropped the smile from extravagant to polite. Having a relationship with a student was wrong. I knew that. Knew it but chose to continue anyway. I'd never felt this way about a woman, and I wasn't about to give that up because of some conservative rule. My relationship with Harmony-the way all four of us were included in each other's lives-felt deeper and more meaningful than anything I'd ever known. "Good morning." I set my coffee on the corner of my desk, did my best to keep from looking at Harmony, and jumped into class with my usual fervor. Class should be fun, and I always strove to make it learnable and interesting at the same time. I picked up my book of poetry, thickened my accent, and read my newest favorite. Soft smiles and quiet sighs met my words. Some of the girls leaned forward with their arms crossed on top of their desks. The warm atmosphere I created in my classroom might offend some professors, but I'd learned that students were more apt to learn in a comfortable space. It was why I'd printed off posters of my favorite poems and plastered them on the walls. I allowed the students to bring drinks and snacks to class. It meant a little more work cleaning up each day, but it was worth it to see them so engaged with every lesson. The hour-long class passed in its usual blur, and I dismissed them with a grin. "Miss Vogel, a word, please." She stilled in the middle of shoving her notebook into her bag. "Yes, sir." I schooled the smile that tried to emerge. Her submissive tone in class was such a contradiction to her responses in bed that I almost couldn't reconcile the two. It was obvious she trusted us in the bedroom or she would never unleash that part of herself. The same curiosity that appeared every time I asked a student to stay after class caused several students to linger. I made it a point to ask different students to stay instead of singling Harmony out every time. It helped keep suspicion off us. I walked to the back corner of the room and began erasing the questions I'd written there for yesterday's class. "Professor?" Harmony followed me at a distance. I grinned at her over my shoulder. "Congratulations." "On what?" She wrapped her arms around her middle. "You aced your last test." My grin stretched wider. "The plan to have you take them without a time limit seems to be working. How did you feel about the questions?" Her mouth had fallen open, and it snapped shut with a click. "I aced it? Really?" "Really." I risked touching her cheek with my knuckle, letting the shiver pass between us. "It's easier for me to concentrate when I know I don't have to keep an eye on the time." She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and shook her head. Thick tears sheened her eyes, and she sniffled. "Hey, this is good news." "I know." Her tears turned into a wobbly smile. She leaped toward me and threw her arms around my neck. I caught her around the waist. "I'm so proud of you. You worked hard, and it's working." Her arms tightened, her breath rushing out. "I never would have made it without your coaching and willingness to take an alternative approach." Her lips met mine, her joy slipping between us. I slid a hand up her spine and to the back of her neck. The room fell away. All that mattered was this moment, Harmony in my arms, her success a beacon of light. She groaned into my mouth and tangled her hands in my hair. It was something she'd done since the beginning, and I loved it more than I thought possible. The scrape of nails over my scalp sent sparks firing off in my body. What had been a gentle hold turned possessive. I wanted her, needed her, with such fervor there should be a sonnet written about her. Perhaps I'd write it myself and whisper it into her ears as we lay in bed together. Her tongue met mine in a tangle of rising desire. The hand I'd placed on her back slid down to cup her ass. I turned us so the rolling whiteboard blocked us from sight to anyone walking past my door. This was dangerous. Too dangerous. I should stop. It was up to me to draw the line and move away. She rose onto her tiptoes, and the press of her into my chest dissolved any argument I might have about getting caught. My control slipped, disappeared. I rocked my hips into her, sipping from her lips when she gasped. "Harmony." I groaned her name. Wheels squeaked, and a heavy fist knocked on the door. "Professor Rossi?" I jumped back, as did Harmony. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair mussed. I must have run my hands through it without realizing. I winked at her. "Come on in, Gerald. I'm just finishing up a tutoring session." Harmony flushed crimson and tugged the hem of her shirt. We were still behind the board, and I took advantage of the space to fix her hair and my pants. "Sure thing." Gerald, the same janitor who had cleaned my room for years, pushed his cleaning cart deeper into the room and began picking up the random food wrappers some kids left behind no matter how many times I asked them to clean up after themselves. "Keep up the good work, Miss Vogel." I picked up the marker and scribbled on the board, making doodles that made no sense. "Thank you, sir. I will." She turned on her heel and marched out from behind the board. I followed at a slower pace, watching as she picked up her bag and smiled warmly at Gerald on her way out of the room. She ducked her head, letting hair fall from behind her ears. Another habit of hers I'd noticed when she tried to hide. I waited for her steps to fade. "How are you, Gerald?" I erased the board, then moved to clean up my desk, stacking papers and tapping them together. My grade book lay open on the center of the desk, and a goofy smile threatened when I saw Harmony's name on one of the tiny lines. Gerald-a gray-haired, slump-shouldered man at least seventy years old-squinted up at me. He shoved a handful of wrappers in the trash and grabbed his broom. "Never better. You?" I answered with a similar response and continued straightening up. I usually ran into Gerald at the end of the day, but I only had one class today. He must have decided to get an early start. Good-and bad-for me. If he saw anything, Gerald didn't let on. I was glad he'd been the one to walk in. A few more minutes and our situation would have been more compromised. We'd been careful to observe all the rules we'd set up. Losing control wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't some hormonal teenager. I knew how to wait, so why had I given in and allowed Harmony to kiss me when we were exposed? My emotions were clouding my judgment. That was the only thing that made sense. Gerald and I worked in mutual silence. He cleaned the desks and swept the floors. I knew from experience that he'd wait until I left to mop. Once enough time had passed that I knew Harmony would be in her next class, I gathered up my books and materials and left Gerald to his cleaning. I'd get more done at home, and without the temptation of going looking for Harmony. That was absolutely out of the question. We were supposed to meet at home tomorrow. I had plans for us. Harmony had been open to trying anything, and even after three weeks together, we'd barely scratched the surface of positions I wanted to try with her. It had been so long since we shared a woman, but we fell back into the routine far too easily. My cheeks ached, and I realized I'd been grinning like a fool all the way across campus. A few students standing in the shade near the parking lot grinned back at me, so I kept the smile in place and waved at them. They were used to my happiness. None of them would think anything of it unless I made it weird. A single mother returns to the city she left seven years ago after breaking up with her ex to seek treatment for her son’s leukemia. Upon learning of her return, the ex immediately searches for the lo...