Entangled in A Forbidden Affair

KATHLEEN'S P.O.V.

Staring up at the ceiling, I feel hollow inside as I dread the day ahead of me. Summer couldn't have gone by quicker, and now I had to face reality. A reality that I despised, Landon cheating on me with the person I had thought to be my best friend, someone whom I had grown to love and trust, Kiara. I had caught them together during the ending of last semester when I had forgotten to pick up an assignment that was due for submission. I could still clearly remember that day as if it were yesterday.

***flashback***

"Shoot, Dr. Kristoff's assignment. Well this is going to be bloody inconvenient, what the hell am I supposed to do?" I groan lowly while massaging the creases on my forehead, dreading having to walk all the way back to my apartment and then back to school. Perhaps I could call Kiara. Nodding to myself, I fish out my phone and dial her number, but she doesn't pick up, bummer. Not having any other option than to go back, I begin my journey back to my apartment.

Unlocking the door, I'm about to call out to Kiara when I hear all-too-familiar sounds. Ahh, that's why she didn't pick up, the horny bitch. Shaking my head with a slight chuckle, I head into my room and pick up my due assignment, but on my way out I'm halted in my tracks by a very familiar piece of clothing on the floor. Is that Landon's? It couldn't possibly be; I mean, it was possible that Kiara's lover had the same piece of clothing, right? Right.

However, I had this nagging feeling that something wasn't right and the urge to check surged within me. As I drew closer to her room, the moaning sounds intensified, and my heartbeat increased at the sounds. A voice I knew all too well.

"Oh fuck, Kiara, yeah, just like that. God, you're fucking sexy." No, no, no, no, it couldn't possibly be. But deep down, a voice in my head told me it was very possible. Needing to quell my doubts, I fling open the door only to be met with a sight that shattered my heart completely. Kiara riding Landon like her life depended on it. Tears blurred my vision as I staggered against the wall, the sound alerting them of my presence as Landon hurriedly threw Kiara, who let out a surprised gasp, off him.

"Baby..."

"Kathleen," they said simultaneously with wide eyes. My mouth opened and closed, trying to form the words that I couldn't seem to voice out. Unable to look at them anymore, clutching my assignment tightly, I flee from the scene, unable to control my tears.

But as I drifted farther and farther away from the scene, I could only think of one question. Why?

***end of flashback***

Letting out a huff, I slip the covers off me as I roll out of bed. It was all in the past; no need crying over spilled milk.

Stepping out of the shower with a towel wrapped around me after a bath, I head towards the mini-closet, going through my clothes as I try to select my outfit for the day. I finally settle on a black and red plaid miniskirt, a black bodycon top, and black knee-high boots. It didn't take me long to dry my body and hair, which I style in a loose high ponytail with strands of hair falling at the side, framing my face. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I nodded in satisfaction; I felt gorgeous. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I head out to campus after locking the door behind me.

The distance between campus and my new apartment was roughly thirty minutes; I had an extra ten minutes to spare. Entering my classroom, I recognize a few friendly faces from my last semester whom I wave at. Settling into one of the seats far back, I plug in my ears, waiting for the class to start until someone plops down onto the seat next to me, waving their hand in my face.

"Hi, Katherine, right?" A beautiful Caucasian girl with black and green-streaked hair smiled at me. She was gorgeous.

"Hi, um, it's actually Kathleen." I smiled back as she made an oshape with her mouth.

"I'm sorry, I thought it was Katherine."

"Yeah, it's fine; I get that a lot."

"Right, I'm so sorry for coming onto you like this, but I have to say, you're really pretty. And I so love your hair; is it the natural color?"

"Thanks, you too. And yeah, it's my natural color." And just like that we were able to hit it off. Her name's Alexia, Lexi for short, and she was really cheery. We hadn't even noticed how far spent the time had been; neither had we noticed how quickly the class got filled up, as we were too deep in our conversations. Soon enough, the professor walked in, and I must say he looked a bit too young to be a professor. His strides were downright confident as his polished shoes clicked against the floors. Placing his briefcase on the table, he turned to face the crowd with his hands in the pockets of his slacks.

"Good morning, my name's Xavier Dawson, but you'll address me as Professor Dawson. I'll be taking you on advanced literature." He spoke, his deep voice traveling across the room as he continued to ramble on. Lexi leaned close to me.

"Damn, he's hot. I'd totally fuck him." My jaw drops at her crude words as I look at her.

"Lexi, he's our professor."

"Yeah, well, he's human, and he's fine as fuck. But you'd totally agree with me that he's fine as fuck, yeah?"

To be completely honest, I totally agreed with her; his looks were to die for. Pairing with the 5 o'clock shadow look? He was panty-dropping gorgeous. Although Lexi didn't need to know that I fancied him, I had a feeling she'd never let me hear the end of it.

Shaking my head in amusement, "I have-"

"Would you ladies mind sharing your conversation with the class?" A firm voice calls out, and that instantly gets me to shut up as I turn my head to look at him. He and the rest of the class were already looking at us.

"Uh...I...uh..." I stammer, chuckling awkwardly.

"Cat got your tongue?" My cheeks flamed in embarrassment as the rest of the class laughed quietly; luckily for me, Lexi was quick to speak up.

"Sorry, Professor Dawson, we were just talking about how hot the weather is." I couldn't help but read the double meaning into Lexi's words, especially when she emphasized the word 'hot.' The little fucker, the bloody weather was warm, borderline chilly.

"Mmm, right. So as I was saying..."

Lexi and I shared knowing looks as we let out quiet giggles; I was so looking forward to this new semester with her.

KATHLEEN'S P.O.V.

Strolling out of class, I can't help but glance back at Professor Dawson. He seemed awfully familiar, like I had seen him somewhere, and I don't mean on TV or any shit like that.

"Ahem, falling in love already?" Lexi's voice cut through my train of thoughts as I returned my gaze to her.

"Pfft, please, falling in love with a man who I've barely known for two hours and that too my professor? That would be just as stupid as it sounds."

"Hey, I'm not judging." She smirks coyly at me as she locks arms with me, pulling me farther away from the classroom.

"Like I said earlier on, he's fine as fuck, and I'd totally dig him. But make no mistake, he's not my type of guy. For a nice fuck yeah, but totally not my relationship-boyfriend type. I'm more into our species if you get my drift." I squint at her momentarily, not getting her point until it clicks, causing me to 'oh' silently.

"Right." I drawl, hoping I didn't sound weird.

Stepping out of the university gates, she spins on her heels as she faces me.

"Yeah, but you don't need to worry your pretty head about anything; I'm not going to make a move on you. I like having you around as a friend." Her words are comforting, causing a smile to stretch across my lips, which she returns. If I was being honest, I liked having her as a friend too. Although we had just met, it felt like I could trust her.

"So where are we going to?" I ask, realizing we had been walking hand in hand with absolutely no direction in mind.

"I was thinking we could grab a bite; what are you in the mood for?" Sex? If there was something I sorely craved right now, then it was sex; I had been feeling so frustrated lately, which I knew was as a result of the lack of sex in my life, all thanks to my nonexistent relationship life, and I feared I'd blow up someday due to all the pent-up frustration I had been feeling, but I wouldn't tell her that; instead, I say...

"Chicken, anything goes. Rice, chips, whatever, as long as it comes with chicken."

She grins at me, her straight, green-streaked, black hair flowing in the air, "I think I know just the place." We continued making small talk as we walked to Lexi's destination, cracking jokes in between, and soon enough we reached the destination.

Stepping into the place, I'm impressed by the ambiance of the restaurant; the decor gives off a warm and welcoming vibe, the air is cool, the place smells wonderfully with a mix of air freshener and food, and it's peaceful and quiet.

"Whoa," I gawk, still feeding my eyes, "How did you come across this place?" I question Lexi, who simply shrugs, placing her bag on the seat next to her.

"My brother brought me here one time, and I just couldn't help but come more often. I'm in love with their food." She sighs dreamily causing me to snort in laughter just as a waiter comes up to take our order.

"Hey Lex, fancy seeing you here. It's been a while." The blonde-haired guy smiled boyishly at her, to which she just rolled her eyes, her smile dimming slightly.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I just love the welcoming ambiance of this place and its people." Cocking my head slightly, I squint at her, detecting a bit of sarcasm in her words. My eyes flicker between the duo, feeling the tension between them as they stared at each other, neither of them seeming to want to break the staring contest between them.

"Ahem," I clear my throat, smiling awkwardly as I raise a curious brow in Lexi's direction, to which she ignores, shifting her gaze away from the both of us. "Could you please give us a few minutes? You could come back to take our orders." I smile lightly at the waiter, who nods in return. My gaze returns to Lexi, who pays me no heed until she finally turns her attention to me.

"What?" She blurts.

"I didn't say anything." I shrug even though i'm itching to speak the words at the tip of my tongue.

Rolling her eyes, she responds, "You want to say something; I can see the curiosity written all over you." I blush in embarrassment at her words; I hadn't known I had been so obvious. I mean, we just met, so it was rude of me to pry into her life.

"I'm sorry." I apologize quietly, looking at the menu. Mmm, French stir-fried basmati fried rice with beef steak sounds fabulous right about now.

I hear her chuckle as she shuffles in her seat, "It's fine really. And if you're wondering about Matt and I...we're-well, we had this thing between us. It wasn't really serious, but I sort of liked him, y'know. Then I found out that he had a girlfriend while we had this thing going on; things sort of went downhill between us, so yeah." She explains while making hand gestures.

"Wow," "I'm so sorry that happened to you." I say sincerely, to which the left corners of her mouth lift into a small smile.

"Oh, it's fine; I'm over him." She says with a wave of her hand just as Matt comes back to take our orders. I place an order for the French stir-fried basmati fried rice with beef steak, medium rare, while Lexi ordered the Italian creamy pasta with salmon.

Just when I had taken my last bite, my phone began ringing. Taking it out, I take a look at the screen just as my heart skips a bit as I look at the caller, Dad. Excusing myself, I pick up the call.

"Hi, Dad." I greet quietly, expecting his outburst any second, and he doesn't disappoint.

"Finally Kathleen, thank the Lord. Where has your phone been? I've been calling and calling; I've been expecting your calls, but I didn't hear from you. What the hell's going on?"

Shutting my eyes tightly, my lips pull into a thin line as I rub my closed eyes. I was in no mood for this tonight.

"I'm sorry, Dad, I've just been so busy with-"

"Of course there's an excuse; there's always an excuse with you, Kathleen. If it's not classes, then it's assignments or some other issue." My jaw clenches in anger as I listen to him speak; I hated when he spoke to me so judgmentally. He never understood.

"You need to make out more time, Kath, be more responsible, be more like-

"I gotta go, Dad; my lecturer just got to class. I'll talk to you later." I didn't wait for him to speak before I hung up.

Shutting my eyes while tightly clutching my phone, my head palced on my intertwined hands, I swallow back the lump forming in my throat, I could feel the tears burning my eyes, begging to be released; fuck, I hated everything.

KATHLEEN'S P.O.V.

Art held different meaning to different people; to some, it was just some random hobby to while away time; to others, it was a means of earning a living; and to a few others, it held deep-rooted meaning to them. It was an important piece in their life; just like your significant other, it provided an escape from reality, and that was it for me. I was among the few who held art in deep affection; it was a haven of escape to me. A passion passes down to me from my late mother. It made me feel closer to her whenever I missed her, made me feel her presence, which I always appreciated. Art provided me with an escape whenever I felt overwhelmed with reality, and once again I had found myself running back to my haven.

Sitting in an outdoor café, I made a mother and her child my muse as I drew them, trying to express the tiniest details on my notepad as I listened to the soft music playing in my ear, which emitted from my ear pod. Humming according to the tune, my pencil glided across my notepad as I lost myself in the drawing. Feeling parched, I reach for my mug only to find it had disappeared from the spot where I had kept it. Glancing up momentarily, I was startled to find a pair of hazel eyes staring at me with a hint of amusement swirling within his orbs.

"My apologies if I frightened you." Came his apology, a strong hint of Italian accent seeping out. Seated before me was my lecturer, Professor Dawson.

"No, it's fine. I must have been lost to not have noticed you seated there. How long have you been here, if I may ask?" He didn't reply for a few seconds, and I feared I might have spoken out of proportion. Luckily for me, he answered a moment later.

"Not very long, but long enough to know that you were very much unaware of your surroundings, Miss Ramirez." My eyes widened slightly at his words.

"You know my name." I sputtered nervously, to which I could've sworn I saw a ghost of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

"Of course, it'd be unprofessional of me to not know the names of the students I teach." Fair enough, but did that mean all lecturers knew the names of their students? I would hardly think so. Glancing towards the direction of my muse, I see that the mother and child were no longer there, to which I internally sighed, shame. Deciding there was no point in being here any longer, especially in his presence, I began packing up my things.

"Leaving already?" I hear him ask lowly, and my gaze diverts to look at him, and I swear I felt the chills. His gaze was piercing, his aura intimidating, and it commanded respect and fear. He felt so different from other lecturers I had met. Perhaps it's because he's so young, although I wonder how young he was for him to be able to become a lecturer.

I watched as he raised a brow in question, expecting a reply, "Uh, yeah, I should go. I have some things I need to attend to at home."

I find myself struggling to find words that were not totally true. But how was I supposed to tell him that I just wanted to be away from him? He hummed in response, and I was pretty sure he didn't believe a word I said.

Rising to my feet while carrying my bag, I clutched my sketchpad tightly as I offered him a tight-lipped smile.

"Well, uh, I gotta go. I guess I'll see you some other time, Teach." As the words escaped me, I felt embarrassment course through me. Seriously? That was the best I could come up with. He seemed to understand my situation as he let out a chuckle.

"Can I see your drawing?" My brows furrow at his words, not entirely sure I had heard him correctly.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Your drawing, can I see it?" He pointed towards my sketchpad for good measure. Glancing hesitantly between him and my sketchpad, I debated whether or not I should give it to him. I hardly ever showed people my work, mainly because I was insecure about it, but also because it felt personal to me. My hesitance must have been written all over me as he spoke once more.

"I understand if you feel reluctant to, and I apologize if my request went overboard, but I have a feeling you're a really good artist." His words were kind, making me feel better about my art, which was enough for me to sit my ass back as I handed him my sketchpad. Watching nervously as he flipped through the pages, I couldn't help but study his features. His jet-black hair was trimmed lowly and combed neatly, his gold necklace and gold stud earring on his left ear shone brightly as they reflected the sun, and his white tee shirt fit him perfectly with the first button undone. His lips were the perfect shade of pink, bordering on red. His facial hair trimmed to perfection as his fingers caressed his jaw lightly. Studying him up close, I could see the faintest hint of amber, or was it gray, flecks in his irises, or perhaps that was just my imagination.

"You're staring." There it was, that deep masculine voice that could get any woman to swoon, and it wasn't as if I had a crush on him or anything of that sort; I was just stating obvious facts.

Looking away, I feel the heat in my cheeks as I feel the embarrassment overwhelm me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just-" I ramble, struggling to find the words to excuse my behavior.

"It's alright, Miss Ramirez," I hear him close the book and watch from the corners of my eyes as he slid it over to me, "I don't bite." I could have sworn he was teasing, but perhaps I was just hearing things.

"You have a talent. You're an excellent artist." Upon hearing his compliment, I look up at him to find him staring at him.

"Thank you, Sir, but I'm sure it's not all that great." I smile softly in appreciation.

"No need to thank me; I just stated the obvious. I myself indulge myself in art from time to time." He reveals. Professor Dawson and art? I would never have imagined.

"Oh, well, uh, I'm sure your works are far better than mine." I chuckle nervously, needing to find an excuse to be away from him that very instant.

Raising a brow in question, he interlaced his fingers as he drew forward, "Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?" Not very sure how to answer, I remain silent for a moment trying to come up with a reply when my phone rings. Excusing myself, I fished out my phone to see my father calling, and in that very moment, I thanked the heavens for him.

"I'm sorry, I really need to go."

"Of course, it was a pleasure speaking to you, Miss Ramirez."

"Same professor," I reply, getting on my feet, but just before I left, he called out to me.

"Miss Ramirez, would you perhaps like to take a look at my artwork sometime?"