The Art of Forbidden Romance (Student x Teacher)

Chapter 19

"Thank you for having me over," I said as we stepped through the front door of Chuck's house. Chuck owned a small home in Huntington Beach. It wasn't too far from the cafe, which explained his frequent visits.

"Of course," he said. "Welcome!" The home was brightly lit and well decorated with beautiful curtains and furniture with bright and bold colors. It had a very vintage, mid-century feel to the decor and color choices. I was surprised to find things so well decorated and not so bachelor pad like.

"I love your furniture, it's so pretty in here," I said. Chuck shrugged.

"I didn't really pick it. My ex did but she didn't want the house so I got everything," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh... well I still like it," I said. Chuck smiled at me.

"How does pasta sound for dinner?"

"That sounds amazing," I said. I followed Chuck into the kitchen to find ingredients measured out and spread over the counter. A cookbook was propped up and opened to the recipe he was following. Chuck walked over to a cabinet and pulled out two wine glasses and filled them with a red wine before handing one to me.

"Thank you for coming over," he said, holding his glass up to me. I smiled and clinked mine against his.

"And thank you for hopefully not murdering me tonight," I teased. Chuck laughed, nearly having to spit his sip of wine out so he wouldn't choke. I couldn't help the wide smile across my face.

I sat down at the kitchen island as Chuck cooked, chatting with him aimlessly about everything and anything. He seemed to know the recipe pretty well, only glancing at the cookbook a couple times to reference cook times.

Once dinner was ready, we both sat down at his large wooden dining table to eat. The pasta and sauce he made was delicious and I helped myself to seconds.

"I'm so glad to have you here," Chuck said as we cleaned up dinner.

"Really?" I asked him. He nodded, rinsing dishes in the sink before loading them into the dish washer.

"It just feels nice to not have to be on edge," he said. "In class it's so hard not to focus on you... and when we're out I'm worried we'll run into someone from school."

"I know," I said, chewing my lip as I thought. "This is nice..." I brought a couple more dishes to the sink for Chuck.

"What would you like to do?" He asked me.

"Well," I said. "How about you show me around the house?"

"Sure, and after that?"

"We'll see where the night takes us." Chuck looked up at my response. I smiled at him and gave him a small wink. He turned back to the dishes, clearing his throat.

"Would you, uh, like more wine?" He asked me. I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips at his nervousness.

"Sure," I said. Chuck finished up loading the dishwasher and dried his hands. He opened a new bottle of wine, us having finished the first one, and poured me a glass. I took a long sip from the wine, savoring the sweetness. I licked my lips clean as Chuck stared at me, his eyes darker than before. I smiled.

"So, tour?" I asked him. He nodded. Chuck grabbed my hand gently, his warm calloused skin pressed into my soft cold hand. He lead me down a hallway. A set of stairs were off to the left, and a bedroom and bathroom were to the right.

"That's the guest bathroom and bedroom, there's nothing exciting in there," he said quickly, before tugging me along up the stairs. Three more bedrooms were upstairs. I suddenly realized how large this house was for just him, it looked much smaller from the outside.