“I know this isn’t ideal,” Ashley started, making it up as she went along. “But if this isn’t against the rules, why can’t this happen?” Ashley searched Carla’s eyes, and when she didn’t say anything, Ashley kept going. “Because I know you want this. And if I wasn’t already sure of that after that first night, I am now.”
Carla visibly swallowed, but she still didn’t say anything.
“You pulled me into this office. You kissed me,” Ashley said, her confidence growing with every second that she was still in this room.
“What class of mine are you in?” Carla asked.
“This year? Psychology of Language.”
Carla dropped her hand. “This year? You’ve been in my class before?”
Ashley nodded. “Every year.”
“You’re a senior now?”
“Yes.” Ashley missed having Carla’s hand in hers, and just as her touch had slipped away, Ashley was starting to wonder if this moment was slipping away too. “I’ve wanted you for the last three years.”
Ashley’s words hung in the air, and she had no idea how Carla felt about them. Their gazes were locked, and Ashley had a feeling that she’d said too much.
“So, you knew who I was that night, at the wine bar,” Carla said. It wasn’t a question. She was putting the pieces together. “And you let it happen. You didn’t think you should have mentioned that you were one of my students?”
Ashley’s pulse tripped. It was so much worse than that, but she wasn’t about to tell Carla that she’d set up a fake date, using a fake profile. That Ashley had set that entire night up.
Instead, Ashley picked up where she left off just a few minutes ago. “I did want to explain.”
Carla sighed and pushed herself up onto her desk, waving her hand out in front of her for Ashley to continue. “Explain then.”