illicit affairs | Charlie Barber x Reader

chapter six: forbidden fruit

Hi guys, as you can tell, it is not IA day (Friday) and I'm posting this a little early. I wanted to stay on schedule but I've decided to take a little break and I didn't want you guys to be left without content. If my break is longer than a week, I'll make sure to be back to post chapter seven next Friday.

I hope you guys are excited and ready to find out what "see you later" has in store for us and professor barber. So with that, I hope you enjoy it.

-Dal

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Developing new habits is difficult sometimes. Some studies show that it takes an average of 66 days until a new behavior is learned. 66 long and never ending days. How long it takes a new habit to form varies from person to person, of course, all depending on certain factors. Those involve what the behavior is, the person, and the circumstances.

For you, 66 days wasn't the case at all.

Seeing Professor Barber in lecture and then meeting Charlie later that night, it took about two weeks for that behavior to be expected.

It was like clockwork.

You would say your goodbyes to Andrea, settling into your seat and counting down until Charlie joined you. He would be particular in organizing his scripts, separating his paperwork into different piles. His hand would then slide against his chest, reaching for a pen sitting inside his breast pocket. It took you a few minutes, shifting your focus away from how tiny the pen looked inside of his grip and towards the homework sitting in front of you.

Each day, you would read ahead in your lessons, taking notes and reading the next story for his class. Doctor Zhivago. The both of you would silently work until he inevitably thought up another burning question.

Every question was about you, his obvious desire was wanting to get to know you more... And that's exactly what happened.

Over the last two weeks, he learned a lot about you. Where you grew up, more of your picks during movie night, and wanting you to expand on some of your favorite reads. Part of you wondered if he was reminding you that he thought it was cute... but that would be ridiculous.

Each day that he joined you, you found it harder to focus on the schoolwork in front of you. The lingering thoughts you had about your professor were getting worse, especially the longer he stayed with you each night. The slight attraction you thought was harmless was quickly blossoming into more and that terrified you.

You found that in between his burning questions, you could have sworn his stare would linger towards you.

Now, you didn't know for sure, only having a hunch but sometimes you thought you could feel it. His glare seemed to burn holes over your skin, wondering what was going on inside that head of his. Unfortunately, you never got the courage to look at him. You froze like a statue, staring down at your book and never confirming any of your suspicions.

When it was time to go, you two packed up your things, not saying a word until he stood from his chair.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" His deep voice seemed to always vibrate around you, speaking your name like it was some sort of secret. He asked this every night, his facial expression giving nothing away until you nodded in his direction.

When you gave him confirmation, that's when he flashed you the smile you never saw outside these walls.

Every single time, he would turn to take one last look at you, trying to memorize the image in front of him before he left. When he finally walked off, that's when thoughts started to invade your mind about a certain six-foot-something professor.