After his answer, Julie sighed with relief, and Noah frowned, glancing at her before looking back at the road. "That's good because for a second…never mind. I don't know what I thought. But that couldn't have been the case because that would be disgusting."
Noah gripped the steering wheel as he tried to keep control of his emotions. He had a feeling of what Julie thought his relationship with Melanie was, but what pissed him off was that she thought it was disgusting. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
When they pulled up to her dorm, instead of letting her out, Noah asked what was bothering him.
"So, you thought we were dating? No, we aren't. But even if we were, what would be wrong with that?"
Julie glanced at him, owlishly before she spoke again. "Well, Melanie's an adult. What is she like thirty or something?"
Noah wanted to correct her, but he let her continue.
"Either way, she's way older than you—"
"People date people who are ten years older than them all the time."
"That's true, but she's also your professor as well too. I mean technically that makes her like a guardian to you," Julie explained, and Noah nearly rolled his eyes, annoyed. It wasn't like Melanie was his high school teacher. She was his professor for one semester. A guardian was something else entirely, and Melanie definitely wasn't that.
"What I'm trying to say is that Professor Bryant shouldn't do that. No professor should. It's their job to teach us and nothing more. On an ethical standpoint, it isn't okay either. It creates too much of a power imbalance. Besides, I have so much respect for Professor Bryant, but if she were doing that, I would look at her totally different. It would… it would just make her seem desperate dating someone that younger than her who was her student. She should be dating men her own age, not someone that young."
Noah gripped the steering wheel tighter as he gritted his teeth. He didn't want to hear Julie speak another word. Noah wasn't a child, and Melanie wasn't his fucking guardian either. And so what, she was older than him? She wasn't desperate. Melanie had men falling over her all the time, and yet she chose him. To even hear Julie speak about her like that in a hypothetical way pissed him off until he suddenly realized that the way Julie was speaking would probably be the way many people would think of Melanie.
"We're here now," Noah said, gesturing to her dorm. Julie smiled sheepishly as she slowly took off her seatbelt.
"Are you sure you don't want to come in? We could spend some time together."
Noah sighed. He should have done this a long time ago, but he thought that Julie would have been able to take the hint on her own.
"Julie, I have a girlfriend, so I really shouldn't be spending alone time with you."
"Oh," Julie said as she looked down. Instantly, Noah felt bad. He never liked to tell girls off or anything like that. It didn't make him feel good about himself. Julie was a nice girl and beautiful too, but right now, no other person had his attention but Melanie. And even if Melanie weren't around, he wouldn't look at Julie as a potential girlfriend.
"Who is it?" Julie asked.
"It doesn't matter," Noah told her, dismissively. "I just wanted to tell you because I think you might like me and might be looking for a relationship with me. But that won't happen, and I just want to be honest with you."
"Thanks for telling me," she said as she grabbed her bag and umbrella, getting out the truck, but not before slamming the door shut. Noah didn't bother to get upset as he pulled out of the parking lot. He had a feeling that he broke her heart, and he didn't feel good about that. But at least, Julie wouldn't have her hopes up high anymore, and maybe then, she would stop watching him.
CHAPTER
42
MELANIE
W
HEN MELANIE ANSWERED HER DOOR, SHE WAS SURPRISED TO SEE NOAH BEHIND IT. He hadn't spoken to her since that night at the bar, so his unannounced appearance surprised her. And though Melanie was happy to see him because she had missed him, she didn't let it show, letting him inside without a word. He had no right to be mad at her like this. Quite frankly, she didn't understand why he was so upset anyway.
"Why are you here?" Melanie asked him as she folded her arms over each other. She tried to mask the hurt she felt for this past week with him ignoring her. Every time someone had knocked on the door, Melanie thought it was possibly him and had gotten her hopes up high to no avail. Every time she received a text or a call, she thought it was him, but it wasn't. He really hurt her feelings, and she wouldn't give in to some bogus excuse as to why he ignored her like this.
When he tried to grab her hand, she stopped him, placing her hand behind her. "Answer the question."
Noah sighed as he bit his lip. "I want to apologize."
"Apologize for what? Ignoring me for this past week or being an asshole?"
"Both," he said.
"Well, you can keep your apologies and leave," Melanie said as she went to open the door, but just as her hand touched the knob, he grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her.
