Ensnared by My Professor's Forbidden Touch.

A bright smile was plastered on Erica's face as she stared at the building in front of her.

"This is it." She sighed deeply, her smile not leaving her lips. "The University of California!" She squealed in excitement.

No matter how hard she tried to contain her excitement, she just couldn't keep it in check. She felt the strong urge to scream and jump around in joy, but there's a lot of people around, and she wouldn't want to embarrass herself when she just got here. That's not the kind of impression she'll love to give people on her first day of college.

It's been her dream to attend this particular university, and it's for two reasons, the first being that this is a top university and anyone would love to come here; it's literally a dream come true for them, and the second reason being because of her boyfriend Mark, who also attends this university. Mark actually had a scholarship for basketball, and that's why he got in before her. She had to study hard and wait a year to gain admission here; she hasn't seen him for over a year now. All they do is video call and just talk on the phone, something that was torture for the both of them, and despite not being close to him, she didn't let that affect their relationship and still remained faithful and loyal to Mark, keeping herself for him and him alone.

She didn't even tell Mark that she would be arriving at the university today, and that was because she wanted to surprise him. She bet he'll be so surprised, and she just can't wait to see him. But before doing anything else, she needs to get settled in first. With the help of some people, she was able to locate her dorm room. When she got there, she was a bit surprised to see another girl in the room, and that's because she didn't think she would have a roommate, but she didn't mind, as long as the girl was nice and not a bitch.

They both introduced themselves, and Erica got to know that the girl's name was Lisa. They talked for a while, and Erica couldn't help but like Lisa, who was cheerful and quite chatty too. The two immediately hit it right off and became fast friends.

Since Lisa has been here before her, Erica decides to ask her if she knew her boyfriend Mark. She really needs to see him and just can't wait. She showed Lisa a picture of Mark, and she confirmed that she knew him.

"Who wouldn't know him? He's really popular here." Lisa said with a smile, and Erica kind of felt proud hearing that.

"One more thing, please." She fetched a piece of paper from her pocket; it's where she wrote down Mark's address. "Do you happen to know where this place is?" She gave the paper to Lisa.

When Lisa collected it, she stared at it for a while before giving her a reply. "Sure, I do know where this is; why?"

"That's Mark's apartment, and I'll love to go see him now."

"Seriously!'' Lisa exclaimed in surprise. "You're head over heels in love with that guy; you didn't even think to rest for a little bit." She chuckled, and Erica simply blushed.

Lisa then stood up. "You're in luck; I'm heading that way, so I might as well show it to you, so come on, let's go."

"Thank you so much." Erica said happily. She stood up and grabbed the gift she had bought for Mark before leaving with Lisa.

They took Erica's Jeep; she drove, and Lisa gave her the directions to Mark's apartment. When they arrived, Lisa showed her the building and informed her she was going in the opposite direction.

"There's a bar down there; I just need to grab something for a friend. I don't need to ask if you'll be fine on your own because I'm sure your boyfriend will take care of you." She smiled.

"Thank you, Lisa; I'll see you at home."

When Lisa left, Erica took a deep breath before walking to the building, As she stood outside his apartment, she tried to control her beating heart; she didn't even know if he was going to be around or not, She then contemplated whether she should knock to announce her presence or just open the door and go in.

After a little thought, she decides to knock on his door. She knocked the first time but got no reply. She knocked again and still nothing. Disappointed, she made to leave, but then she decided to try the door knob, and when she saw that it was unlocked, her happiness knew no bounds, and she didn't hesitate to go inside immediately.

When she went in, her eyes scanned the living room; she would have thought he wasn't home had she not heard the weird sounds coming from upstairs.

"Mark?" She spoke softly as she made her way upstairs.

As she got closer to her destination, the voices she was hearing became clearer with each step she took. She didn't want to believe what she was hearing because she trusted Mark so much, more than she trusted herself, so she believes he's never going to do anything to hurt her.

She finally arrived at the room from which the sounds were coming. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she stood outside the room. She didn't want to open the door as she was too afraid to face the truth itself, but a part of her was still hopeful that maybe whoever is in there isn't her boyfriend, and that little hope gave her the strength she needed.

She wasn't physically or mentally prepared for what she was about to see.

As she slowly opened the door, what she saw shattered her completely. Right there was her boyfriend, whom she loves so much, having sex with another girl!

The gift she bought for him dropped from her hand in shock; the sound made Mark and the girl aware of her presence. When Mark saw her, his jaw dropped in shock.

"Erica!"

Erica couldn't even stand the sight of what she was seeing; she wanted to yell at him; she just wanted to scream so badly, but her voice failed her; all she could do was cry; it felt like her world just came crumbling before her very own eyes.

"Erica." Mark called, and this time, she sharply turned around and ran out of there, while Mark kept on calling out to her as he got off the girl.

When Erica got outside, she knew she couldn't go back to her dorm this way; she wouldn't want to go back and let Lisa see her like this. She then remembered Lisa's words about a bar being in the opposite direction. Without thinking twice about it, she got into her car and drove off. Going to the bar seems like the only logical thing to do at the moment because she would want nothing more than to get drunk and try easing this pain she felt.

It wasn't difficult to locate the bar; before she got there, she could already hear the loud music from a few meters away. When she arrived, she hurriedly went inside; unlike what she had expected, the place wasn't too crowded. She made her way to where the bartender was and took a seat.

"What can I get for you, lady?" The man asked.

Erica wiped off her tears. "Can I get a bottle of whiskey, please?" Her voice sounded hoarse, even to her own ears.

The man looked at her for a little while; it's clearly obvious that she's going through something and probably needs to drink her pain away, but a young lady like her trying to get drunk all by herself isn't safe as there are so many people who might actually want to take advantage of her in that vulnerable state.

"Are you sure, Miss?" He asked, and Erica, who was already so frustrated, replied to him in a rude manner.

"Should I go somewhere else, then?" She replied rudely.

"No, I'll just get the bottle." The man said, figuring it's best if he just minds his own business.

The man grabbed a bottle of whiskey; he opened it first before giving it to her. Erica brought out some cash and gave it to him without even asking for the price. When the bartender calculated his pay, he saw she'd paid him a little over and gave her the change, but she asked him to keep it instead.

She opened up the bottle and gulped down a large amount of the drink. Each time she asks herself what could have possibly gone wrong and why Mark would cheat on her and make her look like a fool because she's been keeping herself for him, but he's been messing around with other girls!

Back at home, she had so many guys flocking around her, but it never crossed her mind to cheat on her boyfriend despite being so far from him. She ignored other guys, not even sparing them a glance, all because she cherished her relationship with Mark; after all, he was her high school sweetheart, and they've been together since they were in high school. They made so many plans together, but he threw all that away. She even came to this university because of him!

She began to wonder what would have happened had she not gone to his apartment today. Obviously, she wouldn't have known that he was cheating on her and would have continued to follow him blindly. Her love for Mark was just too great, and that's the reason this sh*t is hurting her like hell! Was she stupid to have kept herself for him? She could have cheated and he wouldn't even know, but she never did; rather, she was the loyal and faithful girlfriend who trusts her boyfriend completely and sees him like a demi god who could do no wrong.

"Ha!" She scoffed bitterly; her eyes were red, and her face was starting to get puffy since she's crying so hard at the moment. She wasn't even going easy on the whiskey and was starting to get drunk.

An idea suddenly flashed through her mind, but she waved it off. After some time, she decided to just do it. If he had the audacity to cheat on her, then she might as well do the same to him. She doesn't even care about the consequences; she's going to betray him the same way he betrayed her; she's going to hurt him back the same way he hurt her.

She slowly turned around, and her eyes scanned the crowd for the perfect person she could cheat on her so-called boyfriend with. She just planned to sleep with any guy she found attractive.

When she noticed a handsome man with dark hair and nice features sitting at a corner in the bar, she smiled sheepishly. He looked so attractive to her and was the perfect candidate for this night.

She got off her chair, grabbed her drink, and staggered to where he was.

"Hey." She greeted me with a smile.

The man who was also having a drink raised his head to look at her. He had a straight face, but one could still see the look of pain in his eyes.

"May I sit, please?" Erica asked, and he nodded in reply before pouring himself another glass of his drink and gulping it down in one go.

Erica chose to sit beside him; at least that would make things easier for her. She didn't think she would ever find herself in such a situation, but there wasn't any other way she could think of at this moment than this.

She managed to engage the man in a conversation, and then she spilled everything to him about her boyfriend's betrayal. It also happens that the man has just been betrayed by his wife, and she left him all because she thinks he's a loser for not having a job.

While they talked about their pain, Erica suggested they have sex to forget everything.

The man who was stunned decides to confirm if he heard correctly. "Are you sure about that?" He asked, and Erica drunkenly nodded.

"I see no reason why we shouldn't; it's just for tonight." She said it with a smile.

After thinking about this for a while, he figured that since they might never see each other again, doing this wouldn't hurt, and it's also going to mean nothing.

He surprised her by wrapping his hand around her waist and pulling her closer to him so that her breasts were pressed against his chest. He then leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"Fine then, let's make this night worthwhile."

When Erica woke up the next morning, she was surprised to find herself in an unfamiliar room.

"Where the hell am I?" She panicked as she sat up.

She looked around the room, which seemed to look like a hotel room, and her eyes widen in shock as the realization hits her hard.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed in shock as she pulled the duvet away a bit to stare at her naked body, then she once again gasped in shock. It's obvious what had happened, but she just couldn't remember who the hell she slept with last night!

She was about to get off the bed when she noticed a small yellow piece of paper lying on the other pillow. She slowly took it and read it; it's a note from the stranger she slept with, saying he hopes she'll find love and wishes the same for himself.

After reading the note, she didn't even know how to feel or what to feel. She was angry at herself for doing something so reckless, but on a second thought, she didn't think she regretted her actions last night.

A loud groan escaped her lips as she got off the bed. She wouldn't even want to think about anything right now because of the terrible headache she's having at the moment, and it's the result of drinking too much.

She managed to wear her clothes while at the same time resisting the urge to just stay right here and continue sleeping to get rid of her headache, but she figured she could just get medicine for her hangover. When she was done, she hurriedly left the hotel room.

She managed to find her way back to her dorm, and when she arrived, she met Lisa getting ready for class.

Lisa, who's been worried about her, left what she was doing to meet her.

"Hey, I was worried about you; what happened? You didn't come home last night, and" She trailed as she moved closer to Erica and sniffed her. "Have you been drinking?" She asked in surprise, then noticed the look of pain and sadness in Erica's eyes, but before she had the chance to ask any more questions, Erica went into the bathroom, not saying a single word to her.

Lisa went after her. "Erica, are you okay? Is everything alright?" She asked, gently knocking on the door, but then she got no reply from Erica.

She would have loved to wait until she came out so she could have a talk with her, but she was already running late for class.

"I guess I'll see you at school then." She sighed, went to grab her bag, and took one last look at the bathroom before leaving.

Erica thought a lot about what she should do today. There were two options for her: one, she could just stay in bed all day and cry her eyes out while wallowing in her pain and sorrow; the other, she could just put up a tough face, not let what has happened ruin her, and go to school. She knew if she were to go to school today, she's likely to run into Mark, and she didn't think she wanted to see him after what he did to her, but still, she picked number two. Mark is a jerk, and she's not going to let that jerk ruin her life for her. She came here to study, and that's what she's going to do.

While taking her bath, what happened between her and the strange man flashed through her mind once more. She couldn't remember his face though; she was still finding it hard to believe that she would do such a thing, but she didn't want to think about it too much, so she forced herself to forget it. There's no use crying over spilled milk; what has happened has happened, and she shouldn't feel bad or guilty about it.

"Yes, Erica, just act normal, focus on your studies, and be strong!" She tried motivating herself with some positive words, and it kind of helped a bit.

She hurriedly got ready and left for school.

When Erica got to school, she checked her wrist watch and saw that she's so late for her first lecture. Using the school guide map, she was able to locate her class. She stood outside the class for some time as she prepared herself for what's to come. It's her first day in college, and she literally can't believe she's going to get scolded for being late to class.

After calming down a bit, she quietly opened the door and went inside. Her joy knew no bounds when she saw that the professor wasn't facing her; he was writing something on the board, so his back was turned to her.

Erica's luck seemed to run out right there when she tried sneaking in to go get a seat. The professor then turned around, and what surprised her the most was when their eyes met, his jaw dropped and his eyes widen in shock, and the marker he was holding dropped from his hand. At that moment, time seemed to have stopped as they did nothing but stare at each other.

At first, she only held his gaze because of his reaction when he saw her, but then things changed because she couldn't believe that her professor would be this hot! His ocean blue eyes were so mesmerizing that she got lost staring at him; she didn't know how, but she managed to snap out of her fantasy.

"Sorry for coming in late, professor." She apologized before rushing to go get a seat.

Meanwhile, her professor was too stunned to speak; his eyes trailed her until she got to her seat, which was somewhere in the front row.

The professor shook his head and awkwardly cleared his throat before going back to what he was doing.

During the lecture, Erica couldn't stop staring at her professor; she didn't know why, but she kind of felt a strange feeling of familiarity as she stared at him, but that wasn't supposed to happen as she doesn't even know him; she didn't even think she's seen him before until now, but still, the feeling refused to go away. She also couldn't help but notice that he would look at her anywhere else, anywhere but where she was, and that only added to her curiosity, leaving her with one question.

Have they met before?