Lessons of Love [Part 7]

          Norah studied his face, searching for any indication that he was joking. She blinked her eyes several times, her throat was suddenly dry. "What?" She asked softly.

          Matthew was having trouble determining her reaction but he knew he couldn't take it back, "I said I love you. I've never felt the way I feel about you with anyone. These last couple of days has made me realize that I love you." He chose his words carefully as he spoke. Norah sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. Did she love him back? She did agree that he also made her feel the way that nobody has ever been able to do. She felt him sit up before placing his warm hand on her back. "Norah, if I scared you, please know that wasn't my intentions at all."

          Norah turned towards him, placing her hands on his cheeks and kissed his lips gently before gazing into his eyes, "I love you too silly." Matt's face lit up as he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply.

          "So, what does this mean now? We can't exactly flaunt our relationship." Norah asked as he crawled back into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He knew exactly what she was talking about. "I can talk to Mr. Sampson. Tell him the situation?" He offered as a suggestion.
          "That could work. It looks like it might be the only option."
          "Well.. Let's get some sleep and figure it out another day.." He trailed off as he kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer.


          "Hey Tony, can I talk to you for a second?" Matthew asked as he knocked on Mr. Sampson's open door.
          "Yeah, come on in!"
          Matt walked into the office, shutting the door behind him, and taking a seat in front of his professor's large wooden desk. Mr. Sampson put down the paper he was grading and removed his glasses from the bridge of his nose. "What can I do for you?" He asked.

          "Look, I'm just gonna come out and say it. Miss Wright and I have been engaging in a romantic relationship for a little over a month. What happens now?" Matthew spoke in a hurried tone, nervous for what Mr. Sampson had to say.
          Mr. Sampson let out a whistle as he sat back in his chair. "I was wondering if you were gonna tell me or if I was going to have to bring it up to you. Several people have brought it to the board's attention that Miss Wright has been staying in your dorm. Is this true?"
          Matt chewed on the inside of his cheek for several seconds before responding. "Only so I could make sure she was safe. I was, and still am, protecting her." His eyes were burning with a deep rage. It irritated him that there were people watching them.
          "Protecting her from what?" Mr. Sampson sat up and pulled out a pen to document what Matt said.
          "The day before you came to my office to ask me about her, she was pulled into a classroom and Kenny beat the hell out of her. She told me before she slipped out of consciousness. This was because I stood up for her after class one day. I don't like her being alone because I'm afraid of anything happening to her. I love her Tony."

          "Yes you do, my dear boy. Look.. She has to go back to staying in her dorm. She can stay the night on weekends, but there are rules. I don't think anyone is going to mind you two together. You're not technically a teacher yet, so you really won't get into trouble with a relationship with a student. And there isn't any kind of deals or trades with this relationship? As in she gets better grades or unapproved extra credit?" He asked seriously.
          "Absolutely not. I have shown Miss Wright no special academic treatment at any point in our relationship. We met right before the semester started; we were both unaware that we were in the same class." Matt responded.
          "Then it's fine my boy. Just remember to keep it professional in the classroom."
          "Oh she'll be so pleased!" He exclaimed as he shook Mr. Sampson's hand and headed out towards Norah's dorm.

          A series of quick raps on Norah's door made her jump. She paused her movie, moving her laptop off of her lap, and walked towards the door. "Who is it?" She asked as she put on a robe over her pajamas.
          "It's me darling, open up." Matt responded and she quickly opened the door, noticing the huge smile planted on his face.
          "Why are you smiling like a bird fed cat?" Norah asked as she moved to let him in.
          "Come here.." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms in the hallway, cupping her face with one of his hands, he kissed her lips gently. Him kissing her like this, outside of the comfort of the dorm room and in front of a couple students in the hall told her that his conversation with Mr. Sampson had gone well.
          He broke the kiss, but kept her in his arms. "Let's go to dinner tonight." He said, his bright smile still painted on his face. Norah smiled back and nodded.


          "He kissed you in the hallway?? In front of other people?? So you guys aren't really a secret anymore?" Autumn asked in a rush as Norah placed one more bobby pin into her hair. She was wearing her grey long-sleeved sweater dress, her grey tights, and her black ankle boots. She clasped her simple gold chain choker around her neck and fastened her small gold hoops into her earlobes.
          "Yup! He pulled me out into the hallway and everything, then invited me to dinner tonight. He said his meeting with Mr. Sampson went well but that's all he would tell me. He said he'd tell me more at dinner." She sprayed her neck with her rose perfume before looking herself over in the mirror and straightening her dress.
          "How do I look?"
          "You look fucking hot Norah!" Autumn squealed as there was a knock on their door and rushed to answer it.

          Matt was dressed in a plain black button up shirt and dark washed jeans. Autumn greeted him and moved aside to let him into the room. He noticed Norah's back to him as she was gathering the items to slip into her black clutch, giving him the much enjoyed moment to study her before she noticed him. He could tell she had just sprayed her neck with her intoxicating perfume; her dress clung to her curves in a way that made his breath catch in his throat. Her dark hair was pulled into a perfect bun that sat low on her head. She turned to him and he smoothly leaned against the wall.
          "You ready to go?" Norah asked as she slipped her coat on her shoulders.
          "Yeah. I'll take good care of her Autumn!" He called over his shoulder as they walked out.
          "You better!" She called back as the door shut behind them. "They're gonna get married. I feel it." She said aloud as she started studying for her test tomorrow.


          They walked out into the cold air and started towards his car. When they approached a luxurious looking jet black Lexus, Norah's jaw dropped as she stopped and glanced up at Matt.
          "Son of a bitch Matt, is this yours?" She asked as he flashed her a playful smile as he opened the door for her.
          "There's a lot you don't know about me Norah." He responded before closing the door and walking around to the driver's side.

          Norah's eyes explored the impressive dash of his car as he put it in gear and drove towards the restaurant. He reached over and grabbed her hand gently as he flashed her another smile. She narrowed her eyes at his cryptic attitude.
          "You have something up your sleeve, don't you?" She asked.
          "Well if I told you that, then it wouldn't be much of an ace up my sleeve now would it?" He responded and chuckled at her exasperated sigh. "Do you not like surprises?" He asked, his playful smile still across his face.
          "No I do. I'm just impatient."
          "It'll be worth the wait, I promise." He squeezed her hand gently.

          He pulled into an upscale looking restaurant, parking towards the back of the parking lot. He walked around the car and opened her door, offering his hand. She smiled up at him as she grabbed his hand, exiting the car. "What a gentleman."
          As she was beginning to walk off, Matt tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her back to him. He cupped her face with his hands and stared deep into her eyes. He could see her cheeks turn a soft pink and he lowered his mouth to hers, connecting their lips. The kiss was as innocent as it was passionate. He broke the kiss, smiling down at her. "I love you, Norah."
          "I love you too, Matt." She responded softly as her own smile had spread across her face.

          They walked up to the restaurant with their fingers entwined together. The different aromas filled Norah's nose, causing her stomach to growl. She glanced around taking in all the exquisite décor, she felt so out of place. The hostess lead them to their table that was tucked out of the way. When Norah opened her menu, she noticed the price of the food and nearly choked on air. She took a quick sip of water as Matt's facial expression changed to concern.
          "Are you alright my darling?"
          "Yeah.. The food here is like really expensive."
          "Don't worry about that. You can get whatever you like."

          As they received their food, Matt smiled over at Norah. "So.. I guess you're wondering what happened in Mr. Sampson's office?" He asked.
          "Yes!" She responded as she cut a piece of her chicken and took a bite.
          "Well.. He told me that, unfortunately, you have to cut spending nights at my dorm to just the weekends; also he said he didn't seem to think anyone would mind us together. We have to keep it professional in the classroom, but I don't think that would be a problem." He saw Norah's eyes light up brighter than the small candle flickering in front of them and her smile stretched along her face.
          "Also... Not only did I want to bring you to dinner to tell you the good news, but I was going to ask if you would care to attend an event with me later this month? You could bring Autumn! I would just love it if you would go with me.."
          Norah took a drink of her water as she thought it over. "What kind of event?" She asked before returning to her meal.
          "It's kind of like this big formal fundraiser my family does during the holidays. They donate the proceeds to multiple charities. Would you wanna come?"
          Norah lowered her fork as she considered it. "Formal? As in black tie?"
          Matt nodded his head.
          "I would have to get something to wear, but yes I'd love to go! And Autumn is invited?"
          "Absolutely! Here, these are the invitations." He said as he pulled out two ivory envelopes with both Norah and Autumn's name wrote in beautiful calligraphy. She chuckled softly.
          She opened the one addressed to her and gasped at the elegant invitation. It was the same ivory as the envelope but it was bordered with a gold embossing. "What are you, royalty?" She giggled as she ran her fingers over the invitation, admiring each and every part.
          "Haha no, not royalty. Well, unless you ask my mom.. She'll call me her prince until she's dead." He chuckled as he placed his card in the waitress's check book.
          "It's a masquerade?"
          "Yeah that would be my sister, Marjory's doing. According to her, it has to have a theme every year. Last year was a "winter wonderland" and it was more of a winter disaster."
          "How many siblings do you have?"
          "Just little Marjory. She's quite the character. Did you wanna get out of here?" He asked as he slipped his wallet back into his pocket.
          "Sure!" She responded as they stood up and walked towards the exit.

          When they approached his car, he backed her up against the door. He nuzzled his face into her neck, inhaling her perfume, "You're so damn beautiful Norah..." He trailed off as he lead a string of kisses up her neck and along her jawline. He softly returned to where he could feel her pulse race as his lips connected with neck before nipping at her soft skin, causing her to gasp sharply. He felt her knees weaken as she fell a bit against him.
          "Fuck..." She whispered as she could feel the familiar tightening in the lower part of her stomach. She needed more of him. He chuckled softly as he teased the particular spot on her neck with his lips, his tongue, and gentle nips with his teeth. She felt like every nerve he ran across sent jolts of electricity through her body.
          Unable to take any more teasing, she pulled his face up to face her. "Either you take me some where to fuck the ever living hell out of me or stop teasing me..." She trailed off, her voice rasping with passion.
          Hearing those words gave him a perfect idea and a mischievous smile spread across his face. Norah's eyes went wide when she realized what her words meant.
          "Oh don't you leave me like this.. I need you so bad right now. I know you feel the same." She ran her small hand up his thigh slowly before brushing her fingers against his hard member ever so gently, keeping eye contact with him as the same smile spread along her face. She felt his body jolt and heard his sharp intake of breath as she continued to run her hand up and down his thigh.
          "Miss Wright, you're playing dirty..."
          "This is nothing..." She whispered seductively as she began to gently stroke him through his jeans.
          A deep moan escaped his lips as he took her face in his hands and crashed his lips on hers. Without breaking their lips, he pulled her forward enough for him to be able to open the door.
          "Get in and buckle up. We're going back to my dorm." He growled after he separated from the kiss.


          Norah slowly woke up from the warmth of the sun hitting her exposed back. Her nose filled with the aroma of coffee and bacon, causing her to open her eyes and sit up. She recalled the events that happened once they arrived back at his dorm. She definitely remembered breaking something. Actually several things. She chuckled as she slid from the bed and grabbed one of his tshirts from his drawer. After slipping it over her head, she walked into the small living area where she saw several piles of broken glass that were being cleaned up by non other than Autumn.
          "Well good morning sunshine!" Autumn greeted her before grabbing her hand and sitting her at the table then brought Norah breakfast and tea.
          "Where's Matt?" Norah asked as she put jelly on her toast and taking a bite of it.
          "He ran out of orange juice so he called me and offered me coffee if I came by to make sure you were okay while he ran to the store. What in gods name happened here last night??"
          "It kinda got a little intense after dinner.."
          "What did you guys do, play the sex version of smack down?"
          "Kinda. Oh I have something for you!" Norah exclaimed as she rushed over to her clutch to pull out Autumn's invitation. She walked back over to Autumn and extended the envelope towards her.
          Autumn opened it and read it a loud, "We invite you to come spend the evening in lavish mystery and donate to the many charities at the Corrigan Masquerade Ball. Black tie? How did you score this?"
          "It's Matt's family. Come with me please."
          "Girl you know I love a formal event! This shit is exclusive Norah. My family has been trying for years to get tight with the Corrigan family. I can't believe I never realized Matt was a Corrigan. It's his last name!" Autumn rambled on as she continued to clean up as Norah ate her breakfast.