Damaged

32 | allure

We started meeting in the darkroom whenever we could. During free periods, after school and recess we were nowhere to be found. That tiny room with the red lights was our safe haven; a place where we could talk freely and be ourselves without worrying about anything else.

I observed some of Alex's pictures while I waited for him. He photographed the old lady that worked in The Hideout, capturing her smiling as she handed coffee to a pair of customers. There were pictures of New York and splendid portraits of strangers, all taken in a analog camera. They were beautiful.

I heard the door open and I looked up as he entered the room. He gave me a wide smile and walked towards me.

"What's that?" He frowned as he looked at the pieces of paper in my hand, the angle making him unable to see them properly.

"They're yours." He comes closer and takes a look at the pictures, finally recognizing them. "They are splendid, Alex. Why don't you show your work to anyone? These are professional level."

He sighs as he looks at them, his eyes clouding over in doubt.

"Once, I wanted to follow photography as a career."

"Why didn't you?" I questioned, unable to comprehend why he didn't follow this through. His pictures deserve to have their own exhibition in galleries and museums, and not remain hidden in the school's darkroom.

"My father didn't allow me. He said that it wasn't a serious career and it would leave me poor for a lifetime."

"That's harsh." I frowned after hearing his father's callousness, "What a prick."

His jaw was tense, "Yep."

I sensed that there was something bothering him about this, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"So why did you chose to be a teacher?"

"Literature was another passion of mine, and so was traveling. So I combined both and now i'm here." He gave me a cheeky smile and his cheery self returned.

I felt the heat of his skin and memories from our first encounter here started to resurface. I looked at him from under my lashes, all strong jaw, sculpted full lips and green eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" His voice was husky. I felt shivers running up and down my spine.

I grabbed his dress shirt and pulled him to me.

"About this." I kissed his neck.

"And this." I opened one of his buttons and kissed his chest.

"And this." I kissed his lips, savoring their shape against mine.

"You need to stop." He groaned.

I kissed him again and sat on top of the table. I pulled him closer to me until I could feel his body heat on my skin and his smell enveloping me.

He deepened the kiss and i felt his hands on my hair. I felt breathless with the sudden contact and was surprised to find out he responded to my advances. I know he wants to touch me, but his morality is way to strong to do something wrong. I guess that I misjudged that, and I'm happy as hell that I wasn't right.

He broke our kiss, making me frown and then pout at him. He lifted his strong hands and allowed his fingers to gently trace my swollen lips.

"You're so beautiful. You're too beautiful for your own good." He pulled his eyebrows together while he uttered the words, his forest-green eyes still focused on my mouth.

I wrapped my lips around his index finger and his eyes shot to my own. Slowly, I started sucking on it, making sure to use my tongue and giving wet kisses on his finger tips.