The two hours between Selene's office and the session felt like an eternity.
I sat in a coffee shop three blocks from campus, nursing a cup of burnt coffee I didn't want, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
Selene knew about the kiss. She should've fired me. Should've threatened me. Should've done anything except touch my face and tell me she "rewards loyalty."
What the hell did that even mean?
And why did her touch feel so different from Aurelia's kiss?
Aurelia's kiss had been sweet. Uncertain. The kind of kiss that came from someone experiencing feelings for the first time and not knowing what to do with them.
Selene's touch had been deliberate. Controlled. The kind of touch that knew exactly what it was doing and what effect it would have.
I checked my phone. 2:30 PM.
Fifteen minutes until the Maybach arrived.
I downed the rest of my coffee and headed to the pickup spot.
---
Aurelia was waiting in the library when I arrived.
She looked nervous. Her hands were clasped in her lap, her shoulders tense. When I walked in, she stood up immediately.
"Elias, I need to apologise again. Yesterday was completely inappropriate, and I understand if you want to quit. I won't blame you. I'll even tell my mother it was my fault so you still get paid for the weeks you've worked."
The words came out in a rush, like she'd been rehearsing them.
"Aurelia, stop."
"No, I need to say this. I crossed a line. I made you uncomfortable. I ruined everything, and I'm sorry."
"Are you done?"
She blinked. "What?"
"Are you done apologising for having feelings?"
"I... yes?"
"Good. Because we're not doing this." I set my backpack down and sat in my usual chair. "What happened yesterday happened. It was unexpected, and yeah, it complicated things. But it doesn't change anything."
"It doesn't?"
"No. You're still my student. I'm still your tutor. And we're still friends." I met her eyes. "Unless you don't want to be."
"I do. I just thought..." She sat down slowly. "You're not angry?"
"Why would I be angry?"
"Because I made things weird."
"Things were already weird. Your mother hired me to teach you in a mansion with an NDA and threats of legal destruction if I stepped out of line. A kiss isn't even in the top five weirdest things about this situation."
She laughed. It was shaky but genuine.
"When you put it that way, it does sound absurd."
"It is absurd. But that's okay." I pulled out my laptop. "Now, can we get back to work? Because I spent two hours preparing a lesson on recursive algorithms, and I'll be damned if I let a kiss derail my teaching plan."
She smiled. A real smile. The kind that reached her eyes.
"Okay. Let's work."
---
We fell back into rhythm easier than I expected.
Aurelia asked questions. I answered them. We worked through problems together. She made a joke about my handwriting when I tried to diagram something on the whiteboard. I made a joke about her perfectionism when she rewrote the same line of code three times.
It felt normal.
Or as normal as anything in this house could feel.
By 5 PM, we'd covered everything I'd planned and then some. Aurelia was in a good mood. The tension from earlier had dissolved completely.
"I'm impressed," she said, reviewing the code we'd written together. "You actually made recursive functions make sense. The last tutor just told me to memorise the patterns."
"Memorising doesn't help you understand."
"Exactly. That's why you're better." She closed her laptop. "Do you want to stay for dinner?"
"Dinner?"
"My mother's working late again. She won't be home until after 9. The chef already prepared something, and eating alone is depressing." She looked at me hopefully. "Please? Consider it an apology for yesterday."
I should've said no.
I should've left at 6 PM like always.
But I didn't.
"Sure. Dinner sounds good."
---
The dining room was ridiculous.
A table that could seat twenty people. Crystal chandeliers. Actual oil paintings on the walls. It felt more like a museum than a place where people ate.
"We don't usually eat in here," Aurelia said, noticing my expression. "This is for when my mother entertains clients. We can eat in the kitchen if you want."
"Yes. Please."
The kitchen was better. Still huge and expensive, but at least it felt like a room where actual humans lived.
Aurelia pulled containers out of the refrigerator. Grilled chicken. Roasted vegetables. Some kind of quinoa salad that looked like it belonged on a restaurant menu.
"The chef makes enough for a week," she explained. "My mother barely eats at home, and I usually just grab whatever's easiest."
We made plates and sat at the kitchen island.
For a few minutes, we ate in comfortable silence.
Then Aurelia said, "Can I ask you something personal?"
"Depends on how personal."
"Do you have a girlfriend? Or boyfriend? Or... anyone?"
I nearly choked on my water. "Why are you asking?"
"Because I kissed you yesterday, and I realised I never asked if I was potentially ruining your relationship."
"You weren't. I'm not seeing anyone."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm a broke college student working three jobs to keep my family from being homeless. Dating isn't exactly a priority."
She tilted her head. "But you must have been attracted to someone. In your classes. At work. Somewhere."
"Sure. Attraction happens. But attraction and actually pursuing something are different things."
"Have you ever been in love?"
The question caught me off guard. "No. Have you?"
"I don't think so. I don't even know what love feels like." She pushed her food around on her plate. "How do you know when it's love and not just... loneliness? Or attraction? Or just wanting someone to see you?"
"I don't know. I've never experienced it."
"But you must have some idea. You're twenty-one. Surely you've felt something for someone."
I thought about it. About the handful of crushes I'd had over the years. The girl in my calculus class sophomore year. The TA who'd smiled at me once in the library. The coffee shop barista who always remembered my order.
"I've felt attraction," I said finally. "But it always felt... incomplete. Like I was only seeing part of the person, not the whole."
"That's how I feel about everything," Aurelia said quietly. "Like I only ever see parts of people. Never the whole. They're always performing for me. Trying to impress me. Or intimidated by me. Or wanting something from me." She looked up. "Except you."
"I'm not that different."
"You are. You're the first person who's ever been genuinely honest with me. Even when it's uncomfortable."
"Maybe that's just because I'm too tired to lie."
She smiled. "Maybe. But I like it anyway."
We finished dinner, and Aurelia insisted on showing me her favourite spot in the house.
---
She led me through the back door and out to the pool area.
It was dark now, and the pool lights cast everything in an ethereal blue glow. Beyond the pool was a small garden, and beyond that, a view of the city lights stretching out into the distance.
We sat on the edge of the pool, our feet dangling in the water.
"I come out here when I need to think," Aurelia said. "It's the only place that feels peaceful."
"It's beautiful."
"My mother had it designed by some famous landscape architect. Cost more than most people's houses." She kicked her feet gently, creating ripples. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere normal. An apartment. A dorm. Somewhere where you can hear your neighbours, and you have to share a bathroom."
"Trust me, it's not as romantic as it sounds."
"Maybe not. But at least it's real." She looked at me. "Do you ever feel like your life isn't real? Like you're just going through the motions of someone else's script?"
"Every single day."
"How do you deal with it?"
"I don't. I just keep moving forward and hope eventually I figure it out."
She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I'm glad you're here, Elias. Not just as my tutor. As my friend."
"I'm glad too."
She leaned her head on my shoulder. It was casual. Friendly. But it felt like more.
And I didn't pull away.
We sat like that for a long time, watching the city lights and listening to the quiet sound of the pool filter humming.
It felt peaceful.
It felt dangerous.
It felt like a line we'd already crossed without even realising it.
---
At 8:30 PM, I called an Uber.
Aurelia walked me to the front door, her arms wrapped around herself against the evening chill.
"Thank you for staying," she said.
"Thanks for dinner."
"Same time tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Same time."
She hesitated, like she wanted to say something else. But instead, she just smiled and closed the door.
I stood on the front steps waiting for the Uber and tried to ignore the feeling that everything was about to change.
---
The next day was Wednesday.
Session fourteen.
I arrived at 3 PM expecting Aurelia to be waiting in the library.
Instead, Selene was there.
She was sitting in Aurelia's usual chair, her legs crossed, her expression unreadable.
"Where's Aurelia?" I asked.
"Delayed. She had a dentist appointment that ran long. She'll be here in half an hour." Selene gestured to the seat across from her. "Sit."
I sat.
"I've been thinking about our conversation yesterday," she said. "About boundaries. About trust."
"Okay."
"I realise I may have been too harsh. You've been good for Aurelia. Better than I expected." She leaned forward slightly. "She's happier. More engaged. Even her sleep schedule has improved."
"That's good."
"It is. Which is why I want to make you an offer."
My stomach tightened. "What kind of offer?"
"I'm hosting a charity gala this Friday. Business partners, investors, and political connections. Very important people." She studied me carefully. "I'd like you to attend."
"Why?"
"Because Aurelia will be there, and she hates these events. She needs someone she's comfortable with. Someone who can keep her grounded."
"I don't have anything appropriate to wear to a gala."
"I'll have something sent to your dorm. Size 40 jacket, 32 waist, correct?"
The fact that she knew my measurements should've been creepy. But at this point, nothing about Selene surprised me.
"Why me?" I asked. "You could hire a professional companion or something."
"Because she trusts you. And trust is more valuable than professionalism." Selene stood and walked over to where I was sitting. "There's another reason I want you there."
"What's that?"
She reached out and straightened my collar. The same gesture she'd made before. Her fingers lingered on the fabric.
"Because I want to see how you handle yourself in my world," she said softly. "Whether you sink or swim."
"And if I sink?"
"Then you're not the person I think you are." Her hand moved from my collar to my jaw. The touch was light. Almost gentle. "But I don't think you'll sink, Elias. I think you're stronger than you realize."
My heart was hammering in my chest.
"Ms. Rowan..."
"Selene," she corrected. "We're past formalities, don't you think?"
Before I could respond, we heard the front door open.
Selene's hand dropped immediately, and she stepped back.
"Think about the gala," she said, her professional mask sliding back into place. "I'll have the details sent to you tonight."
She walked past me just as Aurelia appeared in the doorway.
"Mother? I didn't know you'd be home."
"Just leaving, darling. Elias is all yours." Selene paused at the door and looked back at me. "Friday night, Elias. 7 PM. Don't disappoint me."
Then she was gone.
Aurelia walked into the library, dropping her bag on the floor. "What was that about?"
"Your mother invited me to a gala on Friday."
"She what?" Aurelia stared at me. "She never invites anyone to those things. Why would she..."
She trailed off, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing. It's just... strange." She sat down and opened her laptop. "Are you going?"
"I don't know. Should I?"
"Do you want to spend an evening watching rich people pretend to care about charity while they network and compare net worth?"
"When you put it that way, it sounds terrible."
"It is terrible. But..." She hesitated. "If you're there, it might be less terrible. For me."
"Then I'll go."
She smiled. "Okay. Just prepare yourself. These events are exhausting."
We worked for the next two hours, but I couldn't focus.
Because all I could think about was Selene's hand on my jaw.
And the way she'd looked at me when she'd said I was stronger than I realized.
And the fact that Aurelia's mother was playing a game I didn't understand.
But I was already too deep to walk away.
---
That night, back in my dorm, I received a text from Selene.
**Selene:** *The tuxedo will be delivered tomorrow. It's been tailored to your measurements. Friday, 7 PM. A car will pick you up at 6:30.*
I stared at the message.
Then I typed back.
**Me:** *I'll be ready.*
Her response came immediately.
**Selene:** *Good. I look forward to seeing you in something other than that worn button-down shirt.*
I set my phone down and stared at the ceiling.
Jake was asleep. The room was quiet except for his soft snoring.
And all I could think was: What the hell am I getting myself into?