Synopsis:
Layla Dahamrai has just begun her second year at university. She's acing every class and is one of the department's best students in her cohort. However, she's not getting along with her professor in her East Asian Regimes & Empires class, not that it's really her fault. It doesn't help that she's hot for her teacher either. Sebastian Henderson expects the best out of his students, given he's teaching at one of the most prestigious universities in London. He's had enough of Layla stumbling into his class late at the beginning of the semester. In the six years he's been teaching in academia, he has never desired a student until now. Layla and Sebastian will soon come to realise they have more in common during, and definitely out of, office hours.
Chapter 14: Field Trip
30/05/2018
"Something isn't right about this, Layla. Why would Bash break up with you out of nowhere? I know you can't see this at the moment, but that man loves you more than people should love other people. There is not a single thing he wouldn't do for you," I groan as Aurelia ponders over my breakup for another day.
Lifting my face from my pillow, I scowl at her. "Look Aurelia, I know you think you're being helpful, but this is the reality of the situation. Sebastian doesn't want to be with me. He'll probably find another student at the new university he lands in. If he wants out, then good riddance to him."
She takes the pillow and hits me on the backside with it. "Layla, don't start behaving like this, too. Bash and you are behaving like children. Every time you have an argument, it's because neither of you are talking to each other about what you're thinking. Neither of you will be happy until you both talk and listen to each other."
"I have always left the door open for him to talk to me. He's the thirty-year-old man-child that doesn't want to take me up on the easiest task there is in a relationship," I flip over on my back and stare at the ceiling.
Aurelia sighs and I know she's rolling her eyes without having to look at her. "Both of you are complete twats. Layla, you're not exactly forthcoming with your reactions and your responses. We have to push you to the brink to get the most honest reaction out of you! It makes you intimidating to talk to and it doesn't matter who the person is that does the talking," I sit up and frown at her.
"Hey! I listen to people! Don't place the blame of this fuck-up on me!" She rolls her eyes at me and rubs her palms over her face.
"Babe, you're not even listening to me now. I'm not blaming you. I'm telling you that you both need to do what the other doesn't do. Layla, you do all of the talking, but when it's time for you to shut up you can't do it. If you actually looked at him and listened, you would have realised much sooner that it's been on his mind for much longer than the week he wasn't responding to you. Same goes for him. If he spoke to you the second the fears and doubts entered his mind, he wouldn't have come to this conclusion that he has to break up with you to make you happy."
"I don't want to hear this," I get up from my bed.
"See? You're doing it right now," I scowl at her again. Aurelia stares at me intently but throws her hands in the air in defeat. "Fine! I'll go get the tequila and we can both wallow in your self-pity. That way we can get over this part before the gala my parents are holding for that museum on the second."
"Ugh, do we have to go to that? It'll just be filled with stuffy old people who are pompous and pretentious as they have too much money and they can't spend it all on themselves," I whine.
"Yes, we have to go because my parents are not going to be in attendance. They have to care of business in Shanghai, so I will be representing them. I'm just dragging you all along because that way I won't go insane. Besides, we're bringing in younger patrons so there will be people in their thirties and late-twenties, which is the perfect age for you," I gasp while she smirks at her little joke.
"I have slept with people my own age, you are one of them and the girls in this house make up for another four people I have had sex with who are my own age," Aurelia laughs at me.
"Yes, but you didn't fall madly in love with us," she says before she leaves my bedroom to fetch the alcohol. Maybe I should just go back to sleeping with the girls exclusively? If I do that then there is hardly any room for me to get into trouble with another older man. I shake my head at the thought. I can't use my friends as a rebound from my relationship with Sebastian. I don't want a rebound, I just want him.
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02/06/2018
Tugging the material of my dress over my breasts, I sigh as I still haven't removed the gifted piercings in my nipples to ones that I have bought myself. I adjust the periwinkle silk maxi-dress with a low-cut and a large thigh-high split. I fasten the knots of the straps and put on my gold jewellery and white sandals. I give myself a final check in the mirror when Aurelia walks into the room.
"Honey, you look so fucking fit!" she says gleefully and sits on my bed. Aurelia has chosen a front cut-out dress with the material joining at her neck and below her sternum. There's a long thigh-high slit on her dress and she's paired the red dress with diamond heels and jewellery. "Just a little warning, Bash and his friends have been invited to tonight's gala," I quickly turn around to Aurelia and gape at her.
"Why would you do that?"
"I didn't do it! Bash has a friend called Oliver Harrington and apparently he has had a few dealings with my parents, so they invited him and fiends of his," she bites her lip.
"They aren't even going to make an appearance tonight," I press my fingers to my forehead. "What about the girls? They can't know that I was in a relationship with my teacher! Oh my God, what happens if they find out I'm just out there having group sex with men every chance I get?"
"They won't! I highly doubt anything will come of them coming tonight. I'll talk to Fred and he'll make sure everything is nipped in the bud so no one will find out about you and Bash."
"You hate Fred," she rolls her eyes at me.
"No, I don't like Fred, but he's nice enough to look at when you're talking to him so I won't be put out."
"This is just great," I mutter to myself before we leave.
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While I was prepared to find Sebastian and his friends at the gala, I wasn't prepared to find his sister at the event as well. "Hello, Persie," I mumble as she kisses both my cheeks. She offers me a shy smile and sets her glass down on the table between us. "How have you been?" I ask her sincerely.
"I've been doing brilliantly, but that's not why I've come to talk to you. I want to talk to you about my brother and about you as well," I nod my head slowly at her words.
"Persie, there's nothing for you to worry about anymore. Sebastian has cut off all ties with me and I promise you I won't bother him or utter a word about us to anyone. It'll be as if nothing ever happened," I say trying to reassure her concerns about her brother's future.
"Bash broke things off with you because I told him to before and after your getaway at our family estate," I nod my head. I'm not surprised, I figured her words would have had some role in our breakup, not that I can fault her. She wants to protect Sebastian and make sure he's happy, too.
"I can't say it's unexpected. Again, I'm not going to hold onto him because I love him. I want him to be happy as well," she doesn't say anything in response. Feeling the tension building between us, I offer an excuse to escape the awkward silence. "I should go, my friends will be wondering where I am." I pick up my glass and start to move away from her.
"Hold on," Persie grabs me by the arm. She almost looks remorseful. "I'm sorry for telling him to break up with you. I realise now I shouldn't have done it," she says looking into her glass of champagne.
"Persie, you were doing what you thought was right. Let's just leave it at that," I say as I place my glass back down on the table.
"Well, you see, I can't just leave it at that. Bash is hurting. It's almost as bad as he was hurting when our parents passed away. He barely talks, or eats, or sleeps. It's only been the space of a few days. I know he misses you greatly," I shake my head at Persie.
"Stop. Persie, this is irreversible. Sebastian made a choice. I'm living with that choice. Leave it alone. Persie, sometimes people can love each other but should not be together and that's okay." I snatch my glass and storm away from her.
Aurelia is talking to Freddie about some clinical trial when I walk past them. She takes me by the arm and folds it with hers. "Who were you talking to?" she asks me as I sip on my champagne and stare at the floor.
"Hello, Fredster," I mumble and look around the room to see where the rest of our friends are. I want to avoid all of Sebastian's friends as best as I can.
Why did Aurelia think it would be a good idea to invite them with our housemates around?
"They all dipped the second they arrived, Layla," Aurelia tells me. "Apparently they
seriously
had to leave as all the other guests were arriving because there's a massive rave happening near Old Street. They simply couldn't miss it, so they took four bottles of champagne and left," I groan at the thought.
Why couldn't they have taken me with them?
Aurelia brings her attention back to Fred, "You would have liked them immensely, but I can't guarantee they would have put on the sapphic orgy you were hoping for," she smiles at Freddie facetiously.
Fred grins at the idea. "Well, it's a shame my friends and I showed up so late. It's okay though, I think I'll be fine with just thinking about you in that position," she rolls her eyes at him.
"If the two of you are quite done with your weird pseudo-sexual pissing contest, I think I shall make my leave too," Aurelia doesn't release me and holds onto me tighter than she did before.
