Professor Bryant's Second Chance

Chapter Two

Riley



How was it that I was the one arrested? It should be the i***t who grabbed my ass, making rude comments about what he would like to do to me.

Since Dylan and I stopped seeing each other, it seemed as if the whole world was out to get me now. The media continued to report about us, making the spotlight of their stories on the fact that I was a homewrecker. Nowhere did it ever mention that Dylan lied to me the entire time about being married in the first place. Looking back now, there were so many signs, but my feelings for Dylan got in the way. Now I was paying the ultimate price for it.

Regardless of where I went or what I did, someone was there to remind me of Dylan Bryant and his wife, Veronica. I was the laughing stock all around campus, getting women and sometimes men narrowing their eyes at me. It was official. I was the most hated girl on campus.

No one dared to come up to me and offer to hear my side of things. I was ridiculed for something that I didn't do. The second I found out, I was flooded with regret and guilt. I even spent more time in the hospital due to all that guilt.

The one good thing in my life was that I wasn't completely alone in all of this. I still had Nora, who supported me non-stop. Nora was so quick to defend me whenever someone teased me around her. She had even gotten into a few altercations on campus. Justin was also one of my biggest supporters. We hung out almost every single day. I'm not sure that I could have survived this without him. How would he react, knowing that I got myself into trouble this time?

"Bell!" An officer snapped at me, causing me to stand from the uncomfortable bed in the cell with me and walk over to the cell door. "You've been released. Make sure to grab your things at the front before you leave."

Just like that? Suspicious. I wonder if Justin or maybe even Nora had something to do with this. That wasn't likely due to how quickly this happened. It made me question who my secret savior was.

"Ms. Bell," Chief Mark said to me as I approached the front to retrieve my belongings. "Go home and get some rest. Your record is clean for now, so don't worry about all that."

"Is he pressing charges?"

Chief Mark sighed, walking out from behind the counter and over to me. He placed his hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. I was surprised by his sudden calmness and worry for me but appreciated it. "I'm trying to do my best to work through that right now. You kicked him in the balls. If he was anyone other than the popular media reporter he is, you would have been cleared immediately. I will do what I can to help you out of this little jam, but as far as we are concerned, you were only brought in for questioning, and no action has been brought against you. My officers are also aware of this, so you shouldn't have any problems there. Just do your best to stay out of trouble. Those media d***s don't know a damn thing when it comes to the truth. They just want the next scandal that will pay them some big bucks for it. Try not to sweat it. In the meantime, if you need me, give me a ring."

There wasn't a place to start when it came to me thanking him for his kindness today. Chief Mark didn't know me one bit, but here he was looking after me like a father would his child.

"Thank you, Chief. May I ask one question before I go?" He reluctantly nodded. "Who was here?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, directly staring into my eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm not mindless. Someone came by to speak with you, which is why I'm getting released."

Chief Mark pressed his lips together and gripped my shoulder. "I need to get back to work. Good luck out there, young lady."

He turned around and dismissed me casually, but not in a rude way. He was protecting someone; I just wish I knew who it was.

The second that I stepped foot outside of the police station, cameras flashed in my eyes, and reporters had swarmed me. This is what my life has been like for the past two months, though. I wish I could say I was used to it by now, but that couldn't be further from the truth. All this attention was exhausting. I truly had no idea how famous people did it all the time. Nothing was yours anymore. Your entire life was on display for the whole world to see, and there was nothing you could do about it.

I tried pushing through the crowd with no success. When I heard a loud noise come from the right of me and all the reporters turned to look, someone grabbed my wrist and began dragging me out of there. It wasn't until I was a good distance away from the reporters trying to run toward us that I realized the person saving me was the one who was always there for me when I needed him most.

"Justin. Slow down. Running with heels isn't easy!"

Justin let out his sweet laugh. He quickly pulled me into a small opening in one of the buildings. Justin cupped his hand over my mouth and pressed my back against the brick interior wall, staying this way until all the reporters had run past and out of sight.

I couldn't help for my body to spark a little when Justin touched me. We haven't been close in that way since that time in my bathroom. I never expected us to get through that as friends, but we did. Trust me when I say that it wasn't easy and awkward as you could imagine at first. Still, we quickly became comfortable again, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I wanted things to happen between us. At least, I thought that I did. Things didn't feel the same with Justin as they had with Dylan, but I knew with Justin, I was safe. Having a relationship with him would be easy, not challenging. I didn't know if that was a good thing or not, but part of me wanted to at least try.

When he leaned in closer to me, I could feel his hot breath on my lips. He hasn't once in two months made a move. I knew that he wanted to, but Justin knew that what I needed more than anything was a friend and not a lover. The thing was that I was always attracted to Justin. On paper, he was a perfect match for me.

"I can't," Justin said, forcing his eyes away from mine.

"Why not?"

"We've been through this before, Riley. Everything is still too fresh. I care about you so much and would do anything for you but be the second choice. I know that it's hard for you to still talk about Dylan, but he was the love of your life, the man you chose over me. You can't expect two months to go by, and bam, you're over him. That's not how it works, and I know that, but everything we have built over these last two months will be gone if I kiss you now. I can't kiss you once, taste you, and never get to have you."

After everything that I've put this man through, I didn't understand how he could stand by my side like this. There was no way in hell that I deserved Justin. His soul was too kind, too good for me. I'm glad that he was always able to pull me out of a decision that I would regret later.

"You're right. I'm sorry," I said, placing the back of my hand on my now warm lips. "Thank you for coming to my rescue out there."

Justin's serious look was back to being his gorgeous, playful self. "Who else was going to swoop in and save you? I heard the news and rushed right over here, figuring that you would need a hand. It looks like I got here right on time."

"You really did. Did you save me from being kept in that place?"

He seemed genuinely confused by my question. "No. What do you mean?"

Oh no. This wasn't good. That meant only one other person could have had the connections to pull off a stunt like that. My stomach tightened just thinking about it. Why would Dylan go through the trouble of bailing me out of jail? We have had no contact whatsoever in two months. I know that he tried, but I couldn't forgive him after what he did. I decided that it was best to move on with my life the best that I could and hope that one day soon, all this media attention would die down and I could go back to living my life as normally as possible.

"Nothing," I lied. "Can you maybe take me back to my dorm?"

"Sure, Riley."

We walked back to the doors making small talk the entire time. Conversations with Justin were easy, and it didn't hurt that he made me laugh and temporarily forget about how screwed my life was.

As I twisted the key into the door, I could hear muffled sounds coming from the other side. Justin and I were not prepared at all for what we saw.

"Oh, Mikey!" Nora moaned.

There Nora was on the couch straddling Mikey, whose face was stuffed between her breasts.

I gasped with my eyes still glued to the two of them. Nora must have heard me because she stopped and stared at us in the doorway.

"s**t!" She jumped up, quickly tossing the blanket around her naked body. Mikey didn't seem to have a care in the world like this wasn't the first time he had been caught having s*x before. "I'm so sorry, Riley!"

Justin smirked and wrapped his arm around my waist. "We are just going to wait out in the hall for a minute."

We laughed together as we pressed our backs against the wall and listened to the ruffling inside our dorms.

"Well, that's just something you don't see every day."

I knew exactly what he meant. I kind of felt a little ashamed that watching Nora made me a little jealous. When I was with Dylan, all we did was have s*x all the time. I was so used to getting it, and now that I haven't, my body was confused and angry with me. Walking in on Nora like this made me recall the time that Dylan and I watched porn together. It was incredibly hot and had left me wanting him more than I cared to admit to him at the time.

"You okay over there?" Justin finally asked, tilting my chin up to him. "Did that….um…. turn you on?"

Immediately my cheeks flared red. "Why ask me that?"

Justin's eyes raked over my body before he answered. "I'm sorry, but it was hard not to notice. You crossed your legs and your n*****s…. I can see them through your shirt."

His face was about as red as mine had to be. Justin didn't like to say things like this to me because it put us in that awkward place again. We were two people who cared deeply for the other but knew that our friendship would forever be lost if we went there, and neither one of us was willing to take that risk.

I was two seconds away from giving in. Justin was sexy as hell. Anyone who had eyes could see how gorgeous he was. The longer I found myself staring at him, the more I seemed to get turned on.

That changed when I heard a low grunting come from the other side of me. When I looked past Justin, the last person I expected to see was standing there staring at me with darkness and lust swarming in his eyes.

"Riley," He acknowledged me. Hearing my name come from his lips so smoothly had me shaking in the most delectable way. Holy s**t. Two months away from him, without seeing his face, my body still remembered him as if we were together yesterday.

When my eyes finally locked onto his, I nearly fainted. "Dylan."