Quarantined With My Professor Page 6

  It was only when they’d moved onto something else he realized they’d both taken the joke about what they’d be doing when all this was over in stride. They might not have explicitly sat down and talked about it yet, but they were still planning on there being a them when life returned to normal.

  And that helped pushed the doubts even further to the back of his mind.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Laurie

  The announcement of the vaccine couldn’t have come soon enough. Numbers of cases were already starting to peter out, but the confirmation that the vaccine was ready, and that it would be rolled out across the country with immediate effect, was a relief to everyone.

  Laurie had been lucky. She hadn’t lost anyone, and hadn’t experienced even any symptoms herself.

  Quarantine back in the States might have been boring, but it had definitely worked.

  And she had at least gotten to spend most of it with Adrian, even if only over the phone.

  Their abject fear about never seeing each other again when they returned to the US clearly wasn’t warranted.

  Talking on the phone was nothing like being there with him, though, and she ached for his touch. A sex drive she hadn’t realized she had, had materialized over the past two weeks and she felt ravenous whenever she heard his voice. If he was in front of her, she thought she might have physically jumped on him, social distancing be damned.

  Stepping out of her apartment for something other than a quick walk to the local supermarket to stock up on supplies for the first time in nearly two months was refreshing, even if it was only to walk to her similarly nearby doctor’s surgery instead.

  She was going to get the vaccine, and that was the first real step towards ending the current situation.

  All the current information from the government was making it very clear that the vaccine being rolled out and received didn’t mean the immediate removal of the lockdown restrictions, but it was definitely a start.

  Adrian had received the vaccine yesterday, and been told he still needed to self-isolate for fourteen days from that point, and so she was expecting to be told the same.

  Despite spending most of her time inside since returning from Austria, she’d made a real effort to learn to stop touching her face and washing her hands at every available opportunity, so that when she did go outside, she was ready. It seemed to have worked–she hadn’t shown any of the symptoms the entire time, except a tiny cough which disappeared as quickly as it had come, and that had been over a month ago now.

  The doctor’s office was busy, though, and it gave her more anxiety than she was anticipating. Considering all the precautions that had been taken up until now, she had expected them to be staggering the vaccinations a little more. Then again, maybe they had and this was just people coming to the doctor’s demanding a vaccine when they hadn’t been invited yet.

  She stood in a corner by herself, and waited for her name to be called.

  Her name wasn’t called by someone she was expecting to see, though. “Laurie!” Duane said again as he shimmied his way through the crowd toward her.

  For some reason, he was smiling at her as though he wasn’t expecting her to want to punch him in the face.

  Maybe before Adrian really laid down just how badly he’d treated her, she would have smiled back at him and let the guilt he’d made her feel take over.

  Now, she set her face into an indifferent mask. She wasn’t going to let him see the anger either. She was grateful when he didn’t attempt to touch her in any way.

  “Hi,”‌ he said. “It’s been so long.”

  “Yes.”‌ It had been long even before the lockdown. She hadn’t properly seen him in over six months now, and the last time hadn’t been pretty. She had ended up in tears, and he had looked pleased about that fact.

  “How have you been?‌ I heard you got stuck in Austria for a bit.”

  She had no idea where he had heard it, but she just said again, “Yes.”‌ She didn’t ask him how his quarantine had been, or why he was even bothering to talk to her. She listened carefully for the intercom, praying her name would be the next one.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m really good, actually.”

  “Oh.”‌ He shifted his weight from foot to foot.

  She couldn’t resist a sarcastic, “Sorry to disappoint you.”‌

  He frowned. “I–”

  “Duane I don’t really want to speak to you.”‌

  “I‌ wanted to apologize.”

  “Have you had some sort of spiritual awakening in isolation?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, I had a lot of time to think. About all the time together, all the things we did.”‌

  “All the things you had to selfishly make me do because all I want in life is to hoard my money and lord it over people.”‌

  “Laurie…”‌

  “It’s fine, Duane, I forgive you just because I’ve stopped caring. We did have some fun times, but I‌ don’t want to create any more memories with you. I’m done.”

  “Oh.”‌ He looked like she’d hit him, and she tried to tell herself she was above taking satisfaction in it. “Well, I‌ guess I’ll see you around then.”

  She reined herself in and didn’t tell him, Well I sure hope not. Instead she smiled a flaccid smile and said, “Yeah.”

  He disappeared back into the crowd without another word, and it was a door she was more than happy to have closed in her life. She hadn’t wanted to see him again at all, but getting that closure actually helped.

  And more importantly, she couldn’t wait to tell Adrian. To tell him that she’d come face to face with the guy who had been manipulating her life for so long, and essentially told him to fuck off. Adrian would be proud of her.

  The vaccination itself was simple enough. She asked the nurse, “Is the continued quarantine to stop possible infection of people who haven’t been vaccinated yet?‌”‌ And the nurse confirmed it was.

  That was what convinced Laurie her plan wasn’t going to be risking anyone’s life.

  When she got back to the apartment, she packed some things and then went to the garage to grab her car. She didn’t touch anything along the way.

  The drive to Adrian’s apartment was a new one, but one she expected she would be doing often in the near future.

  The roads were quiet, but no one stopped her. She got there in just fifteen minutes and pulled up outside his house. It was a small detached house, relatively new, with a lawn that was overgrown due to the lockdown.

  She loved it.

  She knocked on the front door and after a moment, Adrian opened it. He was in the same pajamas he’d had in Austria.

  The moment he saw her, a massive smile spread across his face.

  “Hi,” he said.

  “Hi,”‌ she replied, then stepped forward and pressed her lips against his.

  Epilogue

  Adrian

  Considering what he did for a living, it felt like forever since he’d sat in the concert hall. And that wasn’t even just because of the quarantine–which was now well and truly over.

  In truth, he’d been avoiding attending a classical concert ever since he’d had to stop performing himself, over two years ago. He’d even pretended to have come down with an illness for the end of year concert of his students the year before, despite having really wanted to see some of his students getting to showcase their skills. It just made him sad and bitter when he saw people on the stage, doing what he had loved doing. When he saw people much older than him, who had gotten to do it their entire lives.

  The end of year concert for his graduating class this year had been canceled altogether.

  Adrian was at the San Francisco Concert Hall for something else.

  It was Laurie’s debut performance with the San Francisco City Orchestra, and he wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

  He’d been expecting that same bitterness to infect him even as he approached the do
ors of the building, but especially as he walked in, got himself a drink, and took his seat. This concert hall in particular held so many memories. This was the same orchestra he’d been a part of. This was where he’d started his professional career as a musician and ended it.

  In another life, they would have both been sat up there together. He would have been calming her nerves backstage with a kiss.

  Then again, maybe if they had never been stuck in Austria she wouldn’t have made it here. She might have allowed herself to keep being disillusioned and be working in her parents’ company right now.

  They hadn’t been happy with her choice following graduation, but Laurie hadn’t cared. They’d come around after not too long. “I think they’ve decided I’ll be doing this for a couple of years before I get bored and decide to come back to the haulage business.”‌ She’d rolled her eyes. “They’ve cut me off, as if my lowly wage is going to be a problem. I haven’t taken money from them for years anyway.”

  As he sat and looked at the stage, waiting for the concert to begin, none of the bitterness came, and it was such a relief he almost slumped in his seat for a moment.

  He was here to enjoy the woman he loved doing something she loved, and that was the only thing that mattered.

  When the orchestra came on he clapped. The first piece was a short excerpt and she wasn’t on stage for it. He still watched and enjoyed it, but he was eagerly awaiting the next piece.

  It was a cello concerto where Laurie would be center stage playing a solo. It was a bold way to do her debut, but they had asked if she wanted to, and she had accepted. The concerto was difficult, but she had adapted the solo parts into a continuous piece that she’d been planning on performing for her finals which had never happened.

  He’d heard her play both versions. Both her adapted one, and the original. He loved the adapted one, but of course they were playing the original for the concert tonight. And it would sound completely different when she had the whole orchestra behind her.

  When Laurie walked onto stage, Adrian’s breath caught in his throat. The rest of the orchestra was dressed in black, as was tradition, but the soloist could wear what she wanted. She had a floor length jade gown, high-necked and tight fitting. Classy. He wanted to do very unsophisticated things to her in it.

  She took a small bow to the audience, not searching it for his face. She looked put together, but he could see the nervous twitch in her fingers as she drummed them against her instrument.

  He knew she was worried about how he’d be feeling, how he’d be taking being back in a concert hall, and he’d done all he could to tell her he wasn’t worried at all. All he cared about was getting to see her perform. He prayed that wasn’t adding to her nerves at all.

  Her seat was beside the conductor, a woman who gave her a friendly and reassuring smile while she tuned her instrument for the final time.

  Laurie gave her a nod, and then the piece began. There was a sweeping opening by the orchestra as a whole, and Laurie had to sit for five minutes until it was time for the cello. She looked at her instrument only, and not at the crowd. Her foot tapped ever so slightly with the rhythm of the piece.

  And then, all of a sudden, she was playing.

  The sounds coming from her instrument were beautiful. Intricate and technically impressive.

  She was more beautiful, though. She played mostly with her eyes closed, not needing the cues of the conductor. She knew this piece inside out, and she didn’t make a single mistake.

  Watching her, watching the rapture on her face, he couldn’t believe that less than a year ago she’d lost that passion. She’d really been considering not following music as a career, considering giving it up altogether.

  It seemed madness to think she could have stopped this, when clearly she was born to be on stage playing her cello.

  Time seemed to slip through his fingers as he watched, and it was nearly over already. He wanted to make the moment last forever.

  He’d booked them a table at a nearby restaurant to celebrate afterward, and he had no doubts what they’d be doing the moment they got home, but he would have much rather sat in his seat right here and watched her play for another four hours first.

  When it was over, he clapped until his hands ached.

  She looked up and at the crowd for the first time, her cheeks red with pride and her eyes a little glassy. They found him immediately, and her face split into a huge grin. The clapping from the whole audience increased.

  She didn’t look away from him as she bowed, and he mouthed words he hoped she understood.

  I love you.

  He was almost awestruck by how lacking those three words felt to describe the swell of emotions that flooded him when he looked at her.

  He would make sure he showed her exactly what he was feeling when they weren’t separated by the stage and the crowd.

  He just hoped there was somewhere in the building they could get some privacy, because there was nothing that was going to stop him wrapping himself around the most beautiful woman he had ever met the second he got to her.

  Epilogue

  Laurie

  Laurie’s stomach flipped as she waited for the key to turn in the lock. She’d started by sitting in the couch that faced the apartment door, but realized Adrian would probably be freaked out if we walked in and she was silently sat there waiting for him.

  Now she was pottering about the apartment instead, not really doing anything. Her stomach twisted with nerves, though she wasn’t really sure why.

  She’d asked him to come over to hers for dinner for a change. Normally they went to his–it was bigger, was the main reason. And it had more privacy since it was a house rather than an apartment.

  Naturally she was planning to order a takeout rather than actually cooking, and so she didn’t even have that to distract herself with.

  She wondered, as she ran a hand across the kitchen counter, whether he’d notice that it was more barren since the last time he had been here, a good couple of months ago now.

  She poured herself a glass of wine, knowing she’d drink it too quickly as she waited.

  They had been together nearly a year now, and everything was perfect. They were both happy in their jobs, they never argued, the sex was still incredible. There was just one thing wrong, and that was why Adrian was visiting her tonight. She was intending to fix it.

  She picked up the sound of the front door opening and he back was immediately ramrod. She forced herself to calm down, walking into the lounge and wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Hi,”‌ she said.

  “Hi,”‌ he replied, then immediately, “You look nervous. What’s going on?”

  He definitely knew her too well. “Nothing,” she lied. “Did you want a glass of wine?‌ I‌ was thinking Indian for dinner.”

  “Indian sounds good,”‌ he confirmed, following her into the kitchen. “Red or white?”‌

  “I’m drinking white.”‌

  “That’s good for me too.”

  “Great.”

  She poured it in silence and without looking at him, working her way up to the conversation she was about to start.

  She jumped when he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed a kiss to her neck. “Laurie,”‌ he soothed. “What’s going on?‌ Has something happened?”‌

  “No, no.”‌ She realized she was making him nervous without cause now. “Nothing is wrong.”‌

  She turned in his arms and he kissed her again, long and languid and making a shiver work it’s way up her spine.

  It was exactly the reassurance she needed to just say it. “I want to move in with you.”

  He laughed, which caused her to have the knee jerk reaction of a frown. He smoothed it with his fingers. “Of course you can move in with me. I’d love it if you moved in with me.”

  Relief made her body sag, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly. “Good,”‌ she said, “Because I already started packing.”
‌

  “You didn’t have to be nervous about that,” he said, taking her hand and bringing her through to the living room so they could sit on the couch. Her legs rested on his lap and his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

  “I know I didn’t really, it just felt a bit cheeky asking to move into your house with you.‌ And… I thought maybe there was a reason you hadn’t asked me.”‌ They had practically been living together for months now anyway.

  He glanced away and then back. “I didn’t want you to think I was only asking you to move in because I‌ struggle to pay my mortgage.”‌

  “Of course I wouldn’t!‌ Besides, the rent on my apartment is extortionate. It’s going to be cheaper for both of us when I move in.”

  “And you don’t mind?‌ Moving into the house that’s just in my name‌? I’ve looked at remortgaging in both our names, but because of the negative equity isn’t not possible right now.”‌

  “I don’t mind. One day we might look to move, but right now I’m just happy as long as we’ve always got the same roof over our heads.”

  “Then we should lay off the wine so that we’re not distracted from packing as quickly as possible,” he said. But despite his words, he circled his hand around her knee and pulled her into a position where she was straddling his lap.

  “You know,”‌ he said, “My initial thought when you had some sort of nervous announcement to make was that you might be pregnant.”‌ He rested a hand over her stomach.

  She grinned and rolled her hips against his, making his gasp. “Well, we’ll just have to keep this up and I’m sure I’ll be making that announcement in no time.”‌

  Fin.

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