Thirty Five

**Joel's POV**

"Don't ever leave. Stay with me forever."

My heart stopped, and I had to remind myself to breathe. I'd never heard her say anything like that before.

"I'm not leaving, baby." I promised, lifting myself enough to see tears pouring down her precious cheeks. "Shit, did I hurt you?" She let out a short and airy laugh.

"No, silly." Oh. "I'm just… I don't know. Emotional?" Ah, okay. It would take a while to get used to those pregnancy hormones.

"Shh, it's okay." I sat up, pulling her with me in my arms. "I won't be going anywhere, Jennifer. I'll be here as long as you're willing to let me." She sniffled again, tucking her wild sex hair behind her ear.

"Promise?"

"I promise. There isn't a damn place on this world I would rather be but right here with you." She leaned her head back, her big brown eyes blinking at me as she smiled. This woman was fucking incredible. I leaned down, brushing my lips against hers slowly, reverently.

"Thank you for my car." She muttered. I smiled against her mouth.

"I think you more than thanked me just now." She giggled.

"We didn't make it til tomorrow."

"No. But we aren't really the rule following type." I responded with a chuckle, turning her so she could rest snugly in my arms.

"Do you think I'll ever get to meet your parents?" She mumbled, playing with my fingers. Random, but okay. I sighed. I wasn't really eager to tell my parents that I got another woman pregnant six months after my divorce. Hell, they'd probably think Jen was the mistress Callie claimed I had.

"I'm sure you will eventually." I could see the gears turning in that beautiful mind of hers.

"What are they like?" Fucking hateful. Stuck up. Obnoxious.

"Pretentious. Not nearly as nice as yours sound. They really liked Callie, if that gives you a better idea." Her little nose scrunched up.

"But like, what do they do? You seem so down to earth so it's hard to imagine them being all that bad." I laughed, shaking my head.

"My dad is a Neurologist, my mom a Psychiatrist. Two doctors with a less than perfect son and perfect daughter." She gasped, turning to look at me.

"You have a sister?"

"Mhmm. She's around your age."

"What's her name?"

"Laurie. But she's studying in Paris, living the life my parents planned for her." Shit, I hadn't talked to her in years. Not that she was ever interested in talking to me. You'd think I had fucking leprosy with how they acted.

"You're not giving much away." She frowned, moving to stand. I wasn't done holding her. I furrowed my brow, watching her bend over with her t-shirt to wipe my come from her thighs. Damn, that's sexy.

"I don't talk to them much. The only time I've seen them happy is when I got married."

"But why? You have so much to be proud of! That pisses me the hell off. I swear, if I ever see those assholes-" She muttered angrily, but quickly clamped her mouth shut, turning to me with an apologetic look. "Sorry. Didn't mean to call your parents assholes." I bit back my laughter, taking her hand and pulling her back to sit on my lap.

"It's fine. They are assholes. Why don't we focus on your parents this weekend? How likely is it that your dad will kill me?" She snorted.

"Before or after telling them I'm pregnant?"

"Both."

"Well, I think you and him have a lot in common." I raised a brow. What the hell did that mean? From what I'd heard, he seemed nothing like me. "I think you have the same passion to protect those you love. Oh, and the same 'I don't give a fuck what you think' attitude." I laughed.

"Two stubborn, societally challenged men who care for the same girl in the same room together." I scratched at my chin. "Sounds fun."

.

.

.

I had convinced Jen to let me attend my stress test alone. She agreed, as long as I made it back by eleven, when her parents were supposed to be meeting us for lunch. After walking on a treadmill for an hour, I was cleared to return to work, and still had an hour before I had to be back home, so I refrained from telling my baby I was done.

I had something important I had to do before I faced her dad.

I pulled into my designated spot beside the art building, and damn, it felt weird. It had only been two weeks, but it felt longer. I straightened my t-shirt, trying to look as professional as possible before approaching the receptionist. Honestly, I should've just packed an outfit for this, but my mind was scattered, along with my nerves. After reading and rereading the damn faculty handbook, I still couldn't find the specific consequences of a professor/student relationship. Shit, it basically just said it was prohibited and moved on. Surely there was more to it. I couldn't be the only professor in this giant-ass campus to have fallen in love with a student. My mind was already racing with what we would do if I lost my job. My savings would last us a decent amount of time, but I would need another job. Who would hire me?

"Professor Becker. Welcome back. Here to pick up your mail?"

"Not this time. I'm actually here to see Dr. Sutton. Is he in?" Andrea opened up his scheduling page on her laptop.

"Yes sir. Looks like he just got in and he's clear, so you can head back." I offered her a weak smile, taking a deep breath before heading down the left hall. This was it.

My fist connected with the hard oak.

"Come in." He called, his voice distracted and muffled. The wood creaked as I swung it open.

"Hey, Doc. Have a minute?" His hands were covered in clay, his thick glasses slid to the tip of his nose as he looked up at me with kind eyes. He pulled his palms away from the sculpture he was working on, dipping them into the bowl of water beside his stool.

"Come on in, Joel. It's nice to see you on the mend." I stepped inside, pulling the door behind me. His office was the largest due to his position, but he managed to fill it with his various projects. The guy gave Michaelangeo a run for his money. He was easily the most talented artist I'd ever met, so having his respect was something to be proud of.

"Yea, I feel good. Actually, I just got cleared to head back to work on Monday." He dried his hands on the cotton towel over his shoulder, turning to me with a smile.

"I see. Certainly a phone call would've sufficed, so I'm assuming that isn't the primary reason for your visit today." I tensed and he raised a brow. "Does this have something the do with the brown haired girl in your painting class?"

"What? How-?" My heart was beating frantically against my ribs. Had someone already reported us? Shit, this could not be good. He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She seemed rather distressed when she heard of your condition. Before darting out the room, I believe she declared, 'I'm more than just his student.' As you can imagine, she raised some questions with her declaration." Fuck. Jennifer. I grimaced, shifting on my feet. "I'm sure you can shed some light on that for me?"

"Yes, sir. May I have a seat?"

"Please." I crossed to the plastic chair, pulling it out so it was facing him. As soon as I sat, I ran my palms down the front of my jeans. They were already sweaty as hell, and I hadn't even said anything, yet.

"I guess I'll just come out and say it. I am in love with Jennifer Matthews and have been dating her for a month now." I paused, thinking of something, anything I could say to defend our relationship, but he spoke first.

"I see. I assume, based on your contract, that you were aware of the policy regarding that type of relationship." I groaned, lowering my face into my hands.

"Shit. Yes. I read it. I… knew that it was wrong." He cleared his throat.

"Very well. Although I appreciate you coming to me with this, I wish you had spoken to me a little sooner. At this point, I'm afraid our options are quite limited. Honestly, the easiest would be for you to terminate your relationship until she graduates, what, in two and a half months?"

"Not an option." I snapped, catching myself immediately. "I mean, I'm sorry, but it's a little more complicated than that. Jennifer is living with me now. She's also, um, pregnant."

"Oh. Wow." I snuck a peak at his widened brown eyes. "Joel. You've really put me in a tight spot. I was willing to handle this within the department, but I'm afraid I'll have to speak with Chancellor Lawson and the board. This… this is a very serious offence."

"I know that, okay, I know. But there has to be some kind of exception or appeal process. There has to be a way for me to keep my job! Please. I have a baby to think about."

"I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. Once it's reported, the Chancellor will likely terminate you. The only exception for a professor/student relationship is for those in a pre-existing one. But you don't fall into that-" Wait.

"Pre-existing?"

"Yes, but-"

"Jennifer and I met before the school year started. The Sunday before. Shit, do you think that'd count?" He lowered his shoulders in thought.

"Having met before the school year won't be enough. Not if your relationship hadn't started yet." My jaw tensed. I couldn't believe I was about to admit this.

"What do they consider a relationship?" He cocked his head, meeting my eyes with confused curiosity. Then, realization flushed over him.

"You were sexually involved with Miss Matthews the day you met?" There goes my respect. I cleared my throat, nodding my response. "They might accept that, but how would you prove that to the board? I doubt you two had witnesses to that event."

"No. But there were three others with us when I took her home, um, with the intent to be intimate. If I could get them to testify on our behalf…"

"Okay, okay. Let me think." He pulled the glasses from his face, scrubbing his hand over his eyes. "Okay. Here's what we're going to do. Give me a week to draft the report. In the meantime, speak to those friends. Ask them if they'll testify in your hearing. I imagine they'll want to move quick, before anybody notices something is wrong. I can't promise you that your job will be spared, but I can promise I'll do my best. You're one of the most talented painters I've met, and I'd hate to see you lose your career over a scandal like this." My jaw fell open.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. You do good work. We can't pick who we fall in love with. Trust me, I know. Please, use your time off taking care of that girl of yours. I know when my wife was pregnant-" Wait, what?

"Time off? But, I said I was cleared by my doctor today. I can come back." His eyes shifted from reminiscent to apologetic.

"Joel, you're going to be on disciplinary leave until your hearing. I'm sorry, but I need to show the board that I practiced some measure of discipline with you, or else I'll seem partial. And that could complicate things worse than they already are."

"Fuck. Jen's going to kill me…" He cocked his brow.

"She doesn't know you came to see me?" I shook my head, rubbing my hands together anxiously. A cigarette sounded fucking amazing right now. "Hm. Well in that case, I recommend you find a good, gentle way to break the news to her. Pregnant women can be quite… aggressive. And judging by the mouth on Jennifer Matthews, I'd say you'll have your work cut out for you."