Meant to Be by Tiffany King

age
gap between me and the students is too narrow. I tried to explain
that it wasn’t a problem, there was just something special about
you.”
    “He didn’t buy it. He gave me the whole,
‘It’s not professional to think about students that way.’ The
bottom line is, I’m supposed to stay away from you and finish my
thesis up in a timely manner. He did tell me that he didn’t feel
comfortable writing me a letter of recommendation. Without a
letter, it will be harder for me to get my thesis published.” He
ended his statement with a sigh.
    I reached out a comforting hand.
    “I’m so sorry,” I said, feeling bad for the
trouble I was causing him.
    “So, we have to stay away from each other?” I
said with a quiver in my voice. Just the thought of staying away
from him sent my heart spinning in panic.
    “ No , he said he would prefer that I stay away from you. I would rather stop breathing than be
away from you. My thesis is almost done anyway, I only needed to
observe students’ behavior’s for a couple of weeks to gather enough
data for my study. I should be done by next week and I don’t think
he’s going to revoke my internship before I finish,” he said,
holding onto my hand.
    My heart swelled as I comprehended his words.
He wasn’t breaking up with me. So what if we hadn’t kissed yet, at
least I wasn’t losing him.
    “You are the only thing that matters,” he
continued as he raised my hand to his chest and placed it over his
heart. “Can’t you feel what you do to me?” I could feel his heart
racing under my palm. “It races like that anytime I’m near you, or
anytime I think about you,” he smiled. “Sam’s right, we belong
together, and nothing is going to keep us apart,” he said with
earnest.
    I looked up into his eyes, he was right. When
put like that, everything else seemed trivial. All that mattered is
that we had found each other. The rest of the details, we could
work out together.
    I changed the subject.
    “Will you still come over tonight? Sam’s
spending the night and we were going to search the Internet some
more. Shawn will be coming over too for a little while.
    “I’ll be there as soon as the staff meeting
ends. Do you want me to pick up some dinner?” he asked, handing me
my customary chocolate.
    “That would be great. I’m so excited it’s
Friday, and that we get to spend all day together tomorrow,” I
said. Throwing caution to the wind, I reached up and gave him a
quick peck on the cheek. Before he could comment on the kiss, I
sidled toward the door.
    “I better go, the bells going to ring and I
don’t want to be tardy,” I said in a hurry, feeling a little
embarrassed over my impulsive act.
    I did it, I kissed him; sure, not on the
lips, but close enough. I closed the classroom door behind me,
feeling a little smug from my bravery. Lost in thought, I was
startled when I heard a voice behind me.
    “Well, what did teacherpoo think about his
talk with the Dean?” a snide voice asked behind me.
    Turning around, I saw Matt leaning against
the wall with an evil smile on his face. I was filled with an
uncharacteristic urge to sock him, which was strange because I had
always been the type to avoid any kind of conflict. Ever since I
had met Mark and Sam, I just felt somewhat empowered and had more
self-confidence. Still, I decided I would rather walk away than
give this creep the satisfaction of seeing me upset.
    I was jerked back as his hand wrapped around
my left arm. He increased the pressure making me wince in pain. I
didn’t know what shocked me more-- the fact that he was touching
me, or the pain. As a rule, I usually avoided contact with people
to escape a rush from their emotions. Contact seemed to intensify
the emotions someone was feeling, and Matt’s negativity made my
knees want to buckle.
    “Not concerned? Maybe I will tell everyone
you’re a slut, he threatened. “Maybe that will put you in your
place.”
    I felt heat overtaking my cheeks.