Beautiful Monster(33)

The next morning, I was up at the crack of dawn, my head still spinning from what had happened last night.  I hadn’t slept well at all, and part of that was due to the thin walls in the dorms. I knew I had it luckier than some of the students who had moved across the world to be here, some of them so young. I heard what I assumed was crying or moaning through the walls. And at first, my heart broke for whichever poor girl was so heartbroken that she was sobbing into her pillow.
              By 3am, however, I had little pity for it, having been woken up twice. I actually fell asleep with my fingers in my ears, and they rang with exhaustion as I walked down the halls.
              As soon as I knew Liam would be in his office I briskly walked down the hallways, trying not to draw attention to myself. In the hours since dawn, I had painstakingly done my makeup and paid more attention to my hair than I normally did. I put on the one pair of high heels I owned, trying not to pitch forward when I walked.
              The hallways were mostly empty. The school officially opened at 8am but classes didn’t start until 9am, and so I passed very few students.
              Liam’s door was closed, but I could see him through the shadowy glass window. Taking a deep breath, and checking my reflection once more, I knocked twice.
              “Yes?” His reply was brisk and curt through the door.
              “It’s Amy,” I said, my voice shaking. “I was hoping we could discuss those…questions I had…”
              There was a silence and a shuffling of papers. Suddenly, the door opened. Liam stood there, looking crisp and sharp in the morning light; his shirt rolled up to his elbows and his pants perfectly pressed. The smell of a woodsy cologne drifted from his neck, and when he moved his arm to usher me in, I saw the ripple of lean muscle.
              Once I was inside, Liam closed the door behind me, and sat on the edge of the desk, watching me intently.
              “How um…” I gulped. “How are you?”
              “I’m fine,” he said, his eyes never leaving mine. “How are you?”
              “Also fine.” I blushed, looking down at my shoes. For a moment, neither of us said anything, and then we both spoke at once.
              “About last night…”
              “Amy, last night…”
We both stopped, and laughed, awkwardly, nervously. Finally, he spoke again.
              “Amy, last night was a mistake.”
              “Right,” I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to ignore the feeling of my stomach hitting the floor. “It was late, I was …clumsy and you were…not yourself and….I mean, of course it was a mistake, this is something that can’t happen, but don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” I rose quickly. I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
              “Amy, Amy, Amy,” he waved his hand with a small smile, motioning for me to sit back down. “Last night was a mistake because you didn’t deserve to be treated that way. You’re a young woman, a respectable young woman and I should have approached you with respect … asked to court you, rather than act like a drunken lout.”
              My jaw fell open, as I watched him pace the room slowly. He turned back to look at me, his eyes wide and full of question.
              “So may I?”
              I met his eyes, surprised.
              “May you … what?”