The Phlebotomy Professor (Teacher x Student || Intersex)

15.

The storm is here.

Sage;

I couldn't help but stare at Novalie as she analyzed the art that sat on the wall. She looked so beautiful and I just couldn't get enough. I wanted nothing more than to keep telling her but I didn't want to be annoying.

She was staring at a painting, it being abstract with different colors and body parts in the mixture. She sipped her champagne before looking over at me with a smile on her face.

"What?" She asked. I shook my head as I licked my lips as I moved to stand next to her, looking at the painting even though I wanted nothing more than to look at her. She looked like the most expensive piece of art compared to everything else in here, but she wasn't worth no amount of money in the world.

She was worth way more than that.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked quietly as she continued to stare at the painting. I looked at her, my eyes looking at every part of her profile as I resisted the urge to kiss her cheek.

"Very." I whispered as I continued to stare at her. She looked at me again with a smile before grabbing my hand and walking to the next painting with me trailing behind her.

"Wow. I love this." Novalie breathed as her wide eyes ran across the canvas. It was a painting of a faceless woman, her hair wrapped in a turban as she sat in the middle of the desert. Her dark legs were crossed as if she was meditating, the large red sun sitting behind her.

"You do?" I asked as I pressed the red button without her noticing. She nodded and I smiled, watching as the server walked over and placed a red sticker on the painting.

My gift to you.

"There you guys are." Brooke stated causing both of us to turn around. Novalie smiled shyly and I nodded as I tried to ignore the way Austin's eyes travelled between us.

"Yeah, we're about to wrap it up in a bit."

"Oh, so soon? I'm sure you're loving the view." Austin chuckled, a hint of sarcasm in his voice causing me to look up at him with a snarl. Novalie cleared her throat before looking around as if she was trying to avoid his stare.

"What's with you and these jokes tonight?" Brooke asked as she looked up at him in annoyance. He scoffed and looked down at her before looking at Novalie.

"Of course she wouldn't tell you. I would be embarrassed if I was dating a whore too."

"Excuse me?!" I hissed as I stepped forward. Brooke scoffed and let go of his hand as she looked up at him in disgust and confusion.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Brooke hissed quietly. I looked at Novalie and saw she already had tears in her eyes as she shook her head, starting to walk backward.

"I didn't mean to ruin your night. Sorry." She whispered before walking off. I chased after her, walking outside and grabbing her arm.

"Novalie, wait-"

"No. I'm going to go home, Sage. It's clearly unavoidable. I knew he knew the moment he looked at me. He's at the club almost every Friday night with his lawyer buddies." She breathed calmly with a smile on her face. The tears were streaming down her cheeks and I shook my head in anger.

"Novalie, I'm sorry that he's such an asshole, but there is nothing to be ashamed of. You're not a whore. I should've punched him in the face but I'm sure Brooke did it for me. You're beautiful and you're strong and doing nothing but what you have to do to take care of yourself and Claire, and I commend you. I commend you. Please, just..stay with me. We can go somewhere else. I'm not embarrassed at all. There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

She looked up at me with tears streaming down her beautiful face. I saw the hurt in her eyes and I swallowed hard as I lifted my hand and wiped her cheeks. Her eyes fluttered closed as I continued to caress her face before leaning in, pressing my lips against hers.

She gasped against my lips, but then kissed me back. It was the sweetest, most gentle kiss I've ever received before. I kissed her again in the same tempo, it being nothing but soft pecks shared between us. The butterflies fluttered in my stomach and my chest as I nibbled on her bottom lip softly before pulling away.

Her eyes were still closed and her lips were still puckered causing me to smile widely. Her eyes fluttered open and she just stared up at me, a smile forming on her face before leaning in and kissing me again.

"Novalie, I am so so sorry about him. He's such a fucking asshole sometimes." We heard Brooke state angrily as she walked over toward us. Novalie smiled and shook her head before sighing.

"It's okay. I'm sure he forgot to mention that he pays me thousands of dollars almost every Friday night while you're at home." I looked at Novalie with wide eyes as she smiled while shrugging before looking at Brooke who just scoffed.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I really didn't know."

"I know."

"Are you finally going to divorce the asshole?" I hissed as I looked at Brooke who smiled sadly.

"Do you see a ring on my finger? I told him if he doesn't learn to respect you, then he doesn't respect me. I let this go on for too long and I should've said something sooner."

I walked over to my best friend and gave her a hug before pulling back. She shrugged and wiped a stray tear from her face before letting out a breath.

"Well..I'm going to go home now. I'm tired and honestly embarrassed by his behavior to even get in the same car as him. You guys okay?" Brooke asked as she looked between us. I looked at Novalie and saw she was smiling as her eyes met mine and I nodded.

"Yes. More than okay."

It didn't last though as Novalie's phone started to ring while Brooke walked off. She furrowed her brows and answered, her eyes widening in fear.

"Claire? Claire, what's wrong?"

"I need you to come home, please I need you to come home." I heard the young girl sobbing into the phone causing my brows to furrow in worry as Novalie swallowed hard.

"Okay, baby calm down, okay? I'm on my way, okay?" She hung up the phone and looked at me in a panic before looking down at her phone with shaky hands.

"I-i have to go. Somethings wrong with Claire." Her voice was shaky and I grabbed her phone causing her to look up at me with tears in her eyes.

"You're shaking. I'll take you, okay? I'll come with you."