One Night

Chapter 34

Audrey

There was a long, tense silence after I stated my two truths and a lie. Edwin blinked at me in surprise, and I felt my face heat up beneath his gaze; was that too far? It was all I could do to quickly stare down at my whiskey and wish I hadn’t said those words.

Talk about inappropriate, I thought to myself. Damn this whiskey; I shouldn’t have accepted it.

♬ *

But then, to my surprise, Edwin let out a low, rumbling chuckle.

“The chocolate part is a lie,” he said easily with a wave of his hand.

I whipped my eyes up, shock coloring my features. I had thought that he might guess that the virginity part was a lie, but… I supposed not.

“What?” he asked, casually sipping his drink. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

I managed a shrug despite myself. “Nothing, I just… I thought you would have guessed that the virginity part was the

lie.”

“Well? Was it?” he asked. I shook my head, and he gestured to my whiskey. “You’re supposed to drink if I got it right.” Sighing softly, I took a tiny sip of my whiskey; when Edwin shot me a withering look, I took a bigger gulp to satisfy him. When I was finished, I set my glass down and toyed with the end of my braid.

“Was it that obvious?” I asked quietly.

“Was what obvious?”

“When…” I pursed my lips, my face reddening even more, and quickly looked down at my lap as though that would somehow hide it. “When we… slept together.”

Edwin cocked an eyebrow at me. “Are you asking if it was obvious that you were a virgin?”

I nodded, and he sighed, draining the last of his whiskey and refilling it. “Not really.”

“Seriously? But you didn’t even seem surprised just now.”

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then seemed to think better of whatever it was and simply shook his head. “You want an honest answer?”

Pressing my lips into a flat line, I said, “Might as well. We’ve made it this far.”

“True.” Edwin leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head and eyed me steadily, making me blush even harder. “Your skills in bed… did not speak to a lot of experience,” he finally said after a beat of silence. “I figured you hadn’t had much sex before.”

“But you didn’t immediately assume I was a virgin,” I muttered.

He paused for another moment then shook his head. “No. I didn’t.”

There was another long silence–one in which Edwin’s icy gray eyes didn’t once leave me. I squirmed uncomfortably in my chair, feeling a mixture of sensations: embarrassment, shock, and… arousal.

It was true; hearing him talk about this, about my ‘skills‘… Well, it just made the events of that night we spent together flicker through my mind all over again. I had been trying to push it out of my head since it had happened, but now I found myself going over every little detail, every little moment.

And I wanted to know more.

“Were there any… specific… pointers you may have had for me?” I asked.

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Chapter 84

Edwin’s eyebrows raised in unison at that. “Pointers?” He let out a laugh that was so loud it almost made me jump out of my seat. “You want me to give you sexual pointers?”

My face burned so hot I thought I might explode. Rising from my chair, I grabbed my bag. “I’m sorry, Professor Brooks. That was inappropriate. I should go-”

“Sit back down.”

The command in his voice gave me pause, and the ice in his eyes made me obey. I plopped back into my chair with a huff, my fingers tightly gripping the seat to keep myself from trembling.

“So you want tips,” he said slowly, leaning on his elbows across the desk. “Is that it?”

ཿ – ཕཊཿ ་ོ

I frowned, clenching my jaw, and looked away. “I mean… I’m just curious to know if you have any complaints.”

Edwin blinked at me for several long moments, utterly silent. I kept my gaze fixed on the window; it was pitch black outside already, although I could hear the sounds of voices and laughter floating up from the courtyard below as students made their way to and from parties. I should have been with them, not up here playing drinking games and thinking about sex with my superior.

Finally, clearing his throat, he said, “I’ll give you pointers. But you have to win the next round of two truths and a lie.”

I shot him a sidelong look. “That’s it?” I asked.

He nodded. “That’s it.”

“Alright. It’s your turn, then.”

Edwin swirled his whiskey around in his glass, staring pensively down into the amber liquid for a moment with his brow furrowed in thought. Finally, he straightened and met my gaze again.

“I enjoy classical music the most. My favorite color is blue. And… I’m engaged.”

My mouth hung open of its own accord at that last one, and without even meaning to, an abrasive laugh escaped my lips. “You’re not engaged,” I said immediately and without any thought. “That one is the lie. I thought you would have made this harder.”

For a few moments, Edwin said and did nothing—and I felt my stomach drop.

No, I thought to myself as we stared at each other. It couldn’t be… Edwin wasn’t engaged. He couldn’t be engaged. We had slept together, and he had never said anything about it. He wasn’t a cheater, was he?

Just as I was beginning to rise on trembling legs, however, he drank all of his whiskey and slammed his glass down on the desk.

“You got me,” he said with a smirk–or maybe a grimace, I couldn’t tell. “I’m not engaged.”

I let out a heavy sigh of relief and sank back into my chair. “I thought so,” I said with a wry laugh. “I was worried…” “That I would have hooked up with you while I had a lover at home?” He shook his head, although I couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes remained fixed on his empty glass. “No. I wouldn’t.”

There was another brief silence between us before I cleared my throat. “Well? What about those pointers?”

Edwin opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again… and closed it again. Then, suddenly, he rose from his chair and checked his watch. “It’s getting late,” he said abruptly. “You should head back to your dorm.”

My eyes widened. “But you promised-”

“I’m tired. And I think we’ve done enough grading for tonight. You can have Monday off from teaching assistant duties.”

“But Edwin-”

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Chapter 34

“Goodnight, Audrey.”

The tone in his voice brooked no argument, causing me to snap my mouth shut and narrow my eyes at him. Restraining a grumble, I grabbed my bag and my jacket and shot up from my chair, storming over to the door.

+5

Just as I was opening it, however, the whiskey got the best of me–and I whirled around, curling my hands into fists at my sides.

“You’re a cheat,” I growled in annoyance. “Leading me on like that.”

Edwin didn’t respond; he just clenched his jaw and stared at me, almost impatiently, as though he were simply waiting for me to leave. And with that, I whirled back around and stormed from the office.