“They knew I dated a guy named Chance,” Natalie told me. “I never told them that Chance was my professor.”
“Oh.”
“And I never mentioned your name to them, so as far as they’re concerned…”
“I’m just one of your professors and nothing more,” I surmised.
“Yes.”
“Would they not approve?”
“Does it matter now?” Natalie asked.
“Fair point,” I nodded.
She was looking a little nervous, and even though I was curious as to why, I knew I needed to leave soon before my resolve weakened. She seemed to sense that I was about to leave because she took a tiny step towards me and blurted something out so fast that I couldn’t decipher a
single word.
“What?” I asked. “I didn’t catch that.”
Natalie blushed scarlet and all I wanted to do was reach out and hug her.
“I… I wanted to know if you would have dinner with me tonight,” she repeated, slowly and clearly this time.
I raised my eyebrows. “That’s not a good idea.”
“But—”
“We’re broken up, Natalie,” I said firmly, reminding myself that her future was at stake. “Dinner is off the table for us now.”
“I know that… I’m not asking you out on a date,” she clarified. “I just want to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“About us,” she answered honestly. “I need you to explain to me what really went wrong because I don’t feel like I know the whole story. I need to know the whole story, Chance… I need the closure.”
I was instantly nervous. “I gave you my reasons.”
“But you didn’t really explain them.”
“And you really want me to sit down with you over a meal and explain my reasons to you in detail?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you think that’s going to be painful for you to hear?” I asked, when what I was really thinking was it was going to be really painful for me to say.
“Possibly.” She nodded. “But I need this, Chance… I need this if I want to move on once and for all.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. As much as I wanted her to move on and be happy, an equally large part of me was scared that she would move on and forget me. Not that I didn’t deserve it, though.
“Wouldn’t you rather spend the night with your parents?” I asked, hoping for some kind of escape.
“I’m spending the whole of tomorrow with my parents,” she informed me. “But tonight, I’m free.”
“What if I’m not?” I asked.
Natalie’s face fell visibly, and she didn’t attempt to mask her emotions. “Did I mean absolutely nothing to you?” she inquired softly.