Two weeks had gone by and nothing had changed. Beau couldn't get her out of his mind to save his life, and did everything he could to hide his happiness in class. She too wanted him every second she could have him. They met up when they could between their hectic schedules, and cherished every moment they had together. Beau hadn't made any commentary about solidifying their bond as a couple, only because he feared asking her. He knew this was too good to be true and that there was probably a catch somewhere waiting to destroy this newfound happiness. She was probably seeing other men on the side, or didn't want to be anyone's girlfriend. He continued to keep his mouth shut and just enjoy this ride not only on her body, but in his heart. Victoria also hadn't asked to join him at any event that he'd mentioned he was attending. She seemed to understand that they couldn't be seen in public, which relieved him greatly. He didn't know what he would do if she asked to be with him somewhere that they would be caught. This was another factor in why Beau worried he wasn't the only one. She wasn't trying at all to be more involved in his social life.
He thought all of these things after their tryst. He was snuggled up against her backside in his bedroom, admiring her body more so than the view of Vancouver from his wide open terrace. The afternoon was winding down and Beau had to begin preparing himself for a meeting at the Harrison gallery with his colleagues.
"There's a Warhol re-imagining at the Harrison Galleries this evening," Beau told her before kissing her cheek.
"That sounds fantastic, I'm not working this evening. I love Warhol. Tell me, who are the artists?"
Beau felt immediate guilt. He didn't know how to tell his beloved that she wasn't welcome to join. He also felt irony. As soon as he contemplated the fear that one day she would ask to join him, she did. It was almost as if he summoned it on himself.
"Uh, actually I was planning to go solo."
"Oh, is it a boys night out?" She didn't seem to mind. Beau was worried it would take a turn for the worst. He thought he ought to lie, but wanted to be honest.
"No, the other professors bring their girlfriends."
Victoria said nothing. She knew precisely what he was insinuating. She got up and began dressing. "I forgot. You're ashamed of me."
"Baby, no," Beau got up and put his boxers on. She had finished dressing and started heading for the living room. He stopped her in her tracks and walked up to her. He hated the pain in her eyes, the ones stemmed from his decisions. "I'm sorry, I just."
"Can't be seen with me?" she threw out. He knew it was true.
"I can't let them see me with you, they know who you are! They would be disgusted with me!"
She stared at him dead in the eyes, seething inside. "I can name 10 men who would pay good money to be seen with me."
"Victoria, I thought we were in agreement that we had to keep things between us a secret."
Beau waited for her reply, hoping in some manner she'd be a little more understanding. Instead she eyed him with anguish.
"When did we have that talk Professor Edison? Was it when you pulled down your pants and fucked me against the wall in your office?"
Beau was seething at this. "That's very low of you."
"Low, or the truth?"
"Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I just can't have you around me in front of them. I'd be humiliated!"
"Okay Beau," she gave up and nodded her head in agreement, though the pain in her eyes was evident. She walked passed him and didn't look back, instead leaving his house, and leaving him to relish in his own poor commentary.
Beau knew he'd hurt her, but he was convinced she too understood the fact that they had to keep their relationship hidden from society. There was no way he could let any of the other professors know he was seeing his student.
Victoria got back to her home and pulled out her cell phone to dial the Sapphire Reserve.
"Hey, let me speak to Amani," she asked the first person who answered her call. "Hi, it's Victoria. Are there any extra shifts tonight I can pick up? Great, I'll be there tonight. Thanks."
Victoria wasn't kidding when she said she could name 10 men that would pay good money to be with her. She picked out an outfit even sexier than she would normally wear, and her favorite heels. She was going to make him pay for treating her like an embarrassment, even if he didn't know it.
#
Beau drank his wine while mingling with his colleagues, but that usual feeling of enjoyment simply wasn't there. He was too busy eyeing Kip, who had his arm around his girlfriend's waist. Darren, who for once, had a date of his own. In fact, even Reed had bought his wife out with him that evening. It wasn't just that Beau was the only man here who didn't have a girl around his arm to show off, it was because he felt guilty for leaving her out of his life. He knew it wasn't fair to her that she not be included in his social life just because of his own fears. He nodded along in conversations and pretended to be happy and entertained, but all he was really thinking about was how much happier he'd be anywhere but here, with Victoria by his side.
"You look upset," Reed mentioned to Beau when they both had a moment away from their group.
"We had our first fight," Beau admitted, pursing his lips as he eyed another painting.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Tell me it's not fatal."
"I don't know to be honest, I hope not. She was upset because…"
"You don't want her to be seen with you."
"You make it sound so awful."
"It is Beau."
Beau looked at him with shock. "I thought you were on my side!"
"I am, but it is the truth, no matter how much you look at it. I know you're in a bind, so I won't tell you that you were wrong to leave her out."
"What the hell would I say to those guys when I show up on a date with a student?!"
Beau was steaming, not in anger but in confusion. He didn't have a clue.
"Who cares what those guys think, I'm the only one of them you proclaim to care about's opinion, and clearly I have no issue with it."
"I can't trust those guys to keep their mouths shut, especially Adam. Adam would tell everyone what a creep I am, including the Dean."
"You've got a point," Reed nodded his head while taking a sip of his wine. He pitied Beau, but knew he couldn't force the younger man to let go of his inhibitions so that he could just be happy. "Maybe you should call it a night and see where she is. I hate to see you so unhappy."
"I don't even know if she will talk to me."
"That's exactly what you said two weeks ago, and now you've had sex with her in your office. I think you'll be okay," Reed patted Beau on the back, who couldn't help but laugh at that remark.
"You're right, I'll give it a shot. I have to. I owe it to her."
"Good boy, I'll keep the men distracted so they don't ask who you're texting."
Reed walked back over to his wife and the other professors while Beau picked up his cell phone and looked again to see if she'd texted him at all. Nothing.
"Where are you?" he text her.
"Work," she replied an hour later on her quick break. She tossed her phone back into her purse after freshening up her lipstick, cleaning the smudges of eyeliner off the sides of her eyes, and returned back to the floor. She felt sexier than ever in her low cut red velvet dress, her hair draped in loose curls around her perfectly painted face. She loved the attention she was getting this evening. Normally it meant nothing, tonight it was punishment.
Beau excused himself from his group as soon as she made her whereabouts known and jumped into his car. He was going to surprise her at her job and apologize for hurting her the way he had done so. The parking lot at The Keg was quite full, but Beau was lucky enough to find an open spot. He picked up his phone again to see if she'd text him back on his way inside of the restaurant. He slid his phone back into his pant pocket when he was greeted by a hostess.
"Hey, I'll just find a seat at the bar," he offered before passing her by. He took a seat at the large, marble bar top that circled around an entire television display. Hockey games were on every TV, and fans were all clustered up in groups to root for their chosen team. Beau got the bartender's attention and placed his drink order.
When the bartender returned back with his Guinness, he posed a question. "Do you know if Victoria is in the private room? The Spanish girl?"
"Uh…I don't know a Victoria. Maybe another location?"
"This is the southmost location, right?"
"Yeah."
Beau was left amid suspicion. Maybe this employee was new? He picked up his phone again and text her.
"I'm here."
"Where?" she wrote back on a bathroom break.
"Your job."
Victoria's eyes loomed. Was he at the Sapphire Reserve? She looked outside the curtain and skimmed the seats. She didn't see a tall redheaded man anywhere. Then it dawned on her, that she'd told him she worked at the Keg.
"Oh shit!" she started panicking to herself. Just at that moment, her boss walked in. "Hey, since I volunteered for this shift, would it be alright if I took off now?"
"Yeah, we're pretty slow this evening."
"Thanks!" Victoria spoke as she went running outside. She jumped in her car and hightailed it down Granville street in the fastest way she'd ever blown out of a parking lot. She cursed red lights and people that slowed her down as she continued doing 60 kilometres an hour in an attempt to beat the many lights before they turned red again. At last she found the Keg and parked her car illegally, knowing she wouldn't be here very long.
She hastily ran inside, buttoning up her long black raincoat to cover her ensemble. She eyed Beau at the bar as she ignored the hostess, marching up to him all the while attempting to catch her breath. She put her hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look up at her while he was sipping his beer.
"Hey beautiful," he smiled at her, setting his beer down.
"Hi."
"Look, I came to apologize, I was such an asshole earlier. I don't want to be with anyone but you."
"That's sweet," she accepted, looking around the room. She worried Beau would say something about her working there.
"I asked the bartender if you were here and he said he didn't know you."
"He must be new," she lied.
"So, do you hate me?"
"Of course not Beau."
"Excellent. Sit down, let's have a drink."
"How about we go back to my place?" she flirted with him, but really she didn't want to have a face to face exchange with the bartender who would surely call her bluff.
"Oh, even better," he smiled. He waved the bartender over. Victoria panicked and decided to leave without waiting on him.
"I'll meet you there, bye."
She scurried off back outside, feeling a breeze of relief to find no tickets on her car parked in front of a dumpster. She started the engine and left as fast as she had came in. Now she had to get home and change out of her work attire. She managed to make it home without his vehicle in her sight, running up to her door and frantically trying to open the door with her keys. As soon as she got inside, she tossed her keys on the bed and opened up her closet. She threw down her coat that she'd unbuttoned while driving, and nearly ripped her revealing dress off trying to remove it. She took off her frilly matching bra and panties set, then slid her high heels off and tucked them away deep in her closet. She heard Beau's car locking and his footsteps at the front door. She grabbed for a robe and tossed it on, tying the strings together just as she heard him closing the front door behind him.
He stepped into her bedroom with the biggest smile on his face. She felt awful. What a charade she'd pulled this evening.
"Victoria, I'm so sorry baby," he announced. He grabbed her hand and took a seat on her bed. He pulled her gently to him and had her sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and ran his nose along her robed arms. "I will never ditch you for those guys again. That was so rude of me. Can you forgive me?"
"Of course I can."
She had to. After the stunt she had just pulled, what he had done was small peanuts. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt his hand slide into the opening of her robe where he'd started cupping her breast. This bothered her. She stood up immediately.
"Is something wrong?" he innocently asked her.
"Are you only interested in me because of what my body looks like?"
"What? Why would you say that?"
"Why? Because all you did before we talked was fantasize about doing me. We only see each other and have sex, then you leave. You're ashamed to be seen with me and had no issue with leaving me out of your life, but here you are again hours later to get in my pants."
Beau had to pause for a moment to soak all of this in. Was this even true? He considered the facts, and they did add up as so. They had only been on one real date, their first. Since then, they'd just met up and each other's placed to consumate their feelings. He never realized how much this spoke volumes on his true feelings, not just the ones of passion.
"I didn't realize I had. I honestly didn't. I'm so sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was make you feel like a piece of meat."
"Do you not want a relationship?"
Beau's heart lit up. All of his fears that someone else was in the picture depleted immediately. As it turned out, she did care that they weren't a label. She did care they didn't spend more time together doing things besides sex. She did want him just as badly as he wanted her.
"I would give anything to be yours. I was scared to say anything, I didn't want to push you into something you didn't want. I thought it was too good to be true that someone so gorgeous would want me as a partner. I thought I was just another guy you were sleeping with."
"You thought I was sleeping around?"
Beau couldn't tell if she felt sorry for him feeling this way, or was mad that he assumed she was that kind of girl. The look on her face didn't do much to make him think she pitied him.
"I mean, look at you Victoria! You're fucking heaven! There's no way I could be so lucky as to have you be mine."
"Did it ever occur to you that you are my heaven? That I think about you every day and want nothing more but to grab you and kiss you in front of everyone in the class? That I want to sit naked on your desk no matter who is watching and have you touch me everywhere?"
Beau's heart was pounding in excitement. Her words meant absolutely everything to him. It was true love, no doubt in his mind. Of anything he'd never felt was right, nothing made more sense than this.
"Marry me," Beau spat. His face was as serious as he'd ever been, only with a love sick hue combined. Hers, on the other hand, did not speak the same language, which made him regret his decision immediately.
"What?!" She felt herself shaking inside. Her lips quivered and her heart pounded.
"There is no doubt in my mind that you are the love of my life."
"Um…."
It had only been two weeks. He didn't know anything about who she was besides being his student and her fake place of employment. As much as his feelings for her made her feel on top of this world, this was too much.
"I'm sorry, that's crazy talk. I'm a little drunk, too. I think what I meant to say, which was far more rational, was, will you be my girlfriend?"
Victoria sat beside him and squeezed his hand, breathing a tornado of relief that their relationship had gone from 90% back down to 15%. "Yes."
Beau smiled back at her and stared into her eyes. He felt himself falling miles downward, too far gone already at this point. How many more layers of her could he fall into before realizing he'd never be able to climb his way out?
"We don't have to pleasure each other to feel in sync," Beau said, hugging her and kissing her cheek. "If you want me to leave, I will. But I'd rather hold you while I sleep."
"I'd like that," she smiled, so thankful that the man she'd been seeing truly did have a giant heart. At least, for her.
"I'm going to make up for this lackluster approach I've given you thus far. I want to treat you like the queen that you are to me."
"You don't have to do anything for me," she cooed into his ear as she turned back to speak to him. He shook with lust but instead decided he'd take a more innocent approach and began to kiss her in every place he could comfortably reach.