Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Together
Cherish by The Association
The professor parked his sports car by the curb and stepped out, a picture of elegant perfection in his tweeds and dark aviator glasses shielding his leonine gaze.
With the sun in a particularly good mood on a Saturday afternoon, there were more people than usual on the streets, and all of the females who happened to walk past the professor weren't able to resist staring at him.
An all-grown-up, smoking-hot, fuck-me-now angel.
That was how all of them saw him.
An angel, who also happened to be in love.
This, too, was the public consensus, with the professor's austere expression only softening when a dark-haired girl come out of the hospital across the street. They watched him take his glasses off as the girl came running down the steps, they saw their eyes meet, and they knew. There was just no doubting it, with that look in his eyes.
That man was head over heels...and so was she.
Color had blossomed in her cheeks upon seeing her beau, and the moment the pedestrian lights turned green, it was as if she had grown wings, with the girl dashing and practically flying in her haste to be with the man waiting for her on the other side.
"Whoa." Once again, her sudden weight threatened his balance, but also just like before, Matthijs' proved too strong and too powerful, and soon Diana felt his arm going around her waist as he regained his footing.
"Hello."
Her smile was irresistible, and he found himself smiling down at her. "Hello."
So far, so good, Diana thought impishly, and so she raised her face for a kiss.
But her wiles didn't work this time, and she burst into laughter when the professor responded by rolling his pretty golden eyes at her.
"Too soon?"
His eyes bored through her. "What do you think?"
"Well, maybe this could help..."
The professor took the envelope Diana handed over and saw her confused surprise when he shoved it straight to his pocket.
"You're not going to read it?" After everything she had done for the past ten days, just to make sure that she could kiss and touch him without having him to worry he might hurt her—-
"I don't need to."
What?
The professor touched her nose as he murmured, "Everything I need to know is already written on your face."
Oh.
And then it really hit her, what the professor was saying - that he knew there was no longer anything to keep them apart...
OH.
The professor smirked, and he looked so, so hot, and she just loved him so, so much, she heard herself blurt out, "T-PILF."
Matthijs blinked. "Excuse me?"
Oh. Shit.
Had she said that out loud?
Diana cleared her throat. "It's, um, what the other students call you."
"And it's supposed to mean something?"
"The Professor I'd Like t-to Fuck." And with Diana's voice becoming smaller with each word, it was barely audible by the end. But even so, it was obvious he had heard her just fine, with the way the professor threw his head back with a laugh.
A rich, dark laugh, its sound she found herself cherishing so much that she just had to close her eyes to savor it.
And when she opened her eyes again—-
Just in time to see his dark head bending down.
And then...
Everything.
Her whole world coming to a standstill, her soul finding its other half, her life rediscovering its meaning—-
This kiss was her every dream come true.
The movement of his lips was both bold and gentle, the strokes of his tongue passionate and tender, and oh Saint M, but this kiss was beyond everything she imagined, and all she could do was grip the lapels of his jacket and kiss him back.
Even when she heard the sound of people starting to clap and whistle, even when she started to hear the loud clicking of professional cameras snapping away and feel the blinding flash strike the sides of her face, even when she started to realize that the few paps in the area had found her, and it was very likely that photos of them making out would be all over gossip websites...
She just didn't give a damn.
Nothing mattered more than kissing him back, nothing else mattered than letting him know that his kiss didn't scare her and would never ever scare her.
When he finally pulled away to let her breathe, and their gazes met anew, when instead of bleakness she saw hope—-
She reached to trace his lips with trembling fingers, and the tears started to fall when he didn't flinch away from her touch.
I can finally touch you, Professor.
He took hold of her hand and pressed his lips to the heart of her palm.
And so can I, my darling.
After that, things pretty much moved in another fast-paced if not anti-climactic blur, with Diana so dazed with relief and happiness that all she could remember was the feel of his hand tightly gripping hers.
Having both students and faculty members gape at the sight of them walking hand in hand, entering the Registrar's office to submit a declaration form regarding their relationship, packing her things so she could move in with the professor—-