Page 17 of Burdens

When we both came down from our high, we finally looked into each other’s eyes.

What a fucking sight she was.

Cheeks flushed, messy hair, and lips swollen.

“That was…” She trailed off, giving me a smile. And this one might have been my favorite out of all the ones she’d given me tonight.

“Yeah.”

The air around us shifted, but unlike the uncomfortable silence that usually followed moments like these, this one was blissful.

She placed a soft kiss on my lips and lifted herself off me. As she moved to the side, I reached for the console and grabbed tissues. I wanted to do it but didn’t want to overstep, so instead, I handed them to her. She cleaned herself off as I tucked my wet dick back into my pants, not wanting to rid myself of her yet, and pulled my pants up.

We both leaned against the back seats and stayed quiet for a moment. I didn’t want her to leave, but she would have to eventually and I might not see her again.

I glanced over at her and found myself asking her something I told her I wouldn’t. Something I promised myselfIwouldn’t. “What if I wanted to see you again?” I whispered, almost hoping she didn’t hear.

She turned her head to the side and faced me, shock painting her features at my confession. “We agreed to one night.”

“I know what we agreed on, but what if…” I trailed off, not sure what exactly I was asking her for. My life didn’t have space for a relationship. My job didn’t leave room for one. But… I groaned internally. I didn’t know.

All I knew was that one night with her wasn’t enough.

Her silence tightened the flesh around my lungs and suffocated the previous peaceful air that had settled around us. But I didn’t look away. I wanted to see the truth behind whatever answer she would give me.

“I’d break your heart,” she said, letting out a soft laugh to dissipate the growing new tension.

I shook my head softly and whispered, “It’s already broken.”

I’d lost everything I’d ever loved.

My father didn’t want me and my mother eventually left me.

Sorrow filled Mia’s eyes and I looked away because I didn’t want her pity.

I felt her move beside me until she hovered slightly over me and placed a soft kiss at the edge of my lips. “I’m sorry,” she said as her goodbye before leaving the confines of my car and shutting the door behind her.

I didn’t move and kept an eye on her as she stepped onto the sidewalk of the main street in front of the bar and hailed a taxi. Once one halted in front of her, she opened the door. I waited forher to step inside, but she paused, a hand resting on the roof of the small red cab.

I hoped she would chance a glance over here, but after a brief moment, she climbed in and shut the door behind her.

When the taxi pulled away from the curb, I stepped out from the back seat and climbed into the driver’s seat. Later that morning, after I finished unpacking and settling into the apartment I had on the Academy’s premises, I went to bed dreaming of the green-eyed pretty girl I met at a bar, wondering if I would ever have the chance to see her again.

Not knowing that I would come face to face again with her the next day.

With her as one of my new students.

CHAPTER 4

AMALIA (PAST)

“It’s already broken.”

His words replayed in my mind so much I barely slept. I kept thinking about the way he looked at me. The way that one unruly strand of his lush brown hair rested on his forehead when he turned to face me. The way his dark brown eyes pinned my green ones as he waited for my answer.

The way the underlying pain in his voice made me feel something I’d never felt before and I didn’t like it.

Because I wanted to say yes to his proposal. I wanted more than one night to learn his real name and what he was about. But that wasn’t how I worked.