Tinder | tayley ✓

Never Again

Hayley's roommates would not hear the end of that story. They heard way more information than they wanted to know. But Hayley couldn't help herself, she finally got Taylor to really like her. At least she thought so.

Taylor, on the other hand, was not so proud of what he had done. He had surely dug himself into an even deeper hole and had somehow made the situation even worse. Now Hayley would be even more attached to him. God, a relationship? Not exactly his thing.

Taylor had so much more to worry about in life. Not being in a relationship was the least of his worries. He was content with life, why ruin that by forcing himself into a relationship?

Unfortunately, his fears became more of a reality when he checked his phone to see he had received a text message.

Hayley: thanks for the help today, really needed it ;)

He didn't even bother with responding, why encourage this behavior? No, he needed to stop it before things became even worse.

Next time the class took place, Taylor said to the students, "Have a good day, everyone. Miss Williams, may I see you for a moment?"

Assuming that this was a good sign, that maybe she was getting more action, she hurried over to the older male.

"Yes, sir?" She spoke as soon as her classmates had left. She really knew how to get to him, really knew what his weaknesses were.

"Please don't call me that. Look, Hayley, we can't do this. What did prior to me being your professor was bad enough considering our current circumstances. But now — for us to do what we have done while I'm your teacher? It's irresponsible. I can lose my job, Hayley. I know that my well being isn't your number one concern, but I beg you, please don't spread this around. Please keep it between just us. I can't lose this job. We need to keep the relationship between you and I strictly professional. No more sex. That was a one time...a two time thing. Never again can we do that. Well, unless we end up still having feelings for one another by the time I'm no longer teaching you. Otherwise, never again."

Out of all he had said, Hayley smiled at just one statement of his. "You have feelings for me?"

Taylor's hand rose, palm pressed against his forehead for a few seconds.

"That's not the point. Even if I hypothetically did have feelings for you, it wouldn't matter. Because we cannot do this. By no means is this acceptable. Trust me, I went into the handbook to make sure. It's unacceptable. According to the university, this is strictly prohibited by all means. I worked hard to get this job. I don't expect you to completely understand that, but please realize that I can't lose this. It's all I have."

Hayley looked down. She somewhat understood his reasoning. She knew that she would not be the one to face severe consequences because of their relationship, but if word were to get out then she would never hear the end of it. Her parents would not be happy to hear that she was screwing her teacher.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I haven't had a relationship since my ex boyfriend. And seeing him move on showed me that I needed to move on. You helped me move on. I get attached to people very easily. You were no exception. I'm sorry. I'll stop."

Taylor let out a sigh and shook his head.

"It's okay. It's in the past now."

Hayley thought that their conversation went well. Maybe they had even established a friendship. Even though Taylor felt quite differently, Hayley had high hopes.

Her feelings quickly changed the following week when everyone received their grades for their creative writing pieces.

Some students were clearly upset with their grades. Others could be seen smiling, making it obvious that they had done well.

Hayley was the last to be handed her paper. Her eyes widened when she saw the number written in red. Forty-five.

"No, I am not curving these. You all knew what to expect when you signed up for this class. Hopefully, your writing will improve throughout this semester. Plenty of your peers did well, so don't think I'm being too harsh. Try harder. Class dismissed."

Hayley stomped over to Taylor and shoved the paper in his face as if he wasn't the one who had graded it.

"Are you kidding me?" She asked in a dumbfounded manner.

"Your story lacked depth. It seemed more like an erotic fanfiction than something you should ever give your college professor. I'm not going to make an exception just because I know you better than some of your classmates. Just because I know exactly who those characters are based on does not mean I'm going to make an exception either. It's not going to make me want you, Hayley."

He shrugged his shoulders as Hayley angrily left the room.