I took a deep breath and counted to ten.

No. Rowan, it's not helping.

I had put up the cool guy facade in front of Alana and even agreed to go out with her friends; I'd be kidding myself if I said I wasn't shit nervous. It was all because I wanted to please her and when I'd seen her happy slash excited face, I couldn't turn that offer down.

I'm not a loner and definitely not an introvert but I'd been teaching these kids for a while now and facing them outside of university without a professor tag on my collar was almost like walking around stripped naked. I knew for a fact that if I'd discussed with Alana, she'd be kind enough to go with the FLOW and go with the FLOW for me equated not hanging out with her friends.

  I'd taken my time to dress up, gone all the way and spent an hour switching t-shirts. I wanted to look great, even younger because making a good impression topped my list of agendas for the day; I wanted them to know that we were meant to be. Alana was riding in Chez's car and since girls spent more time to get all dolled up, they were going to be late which was good for me. I parked the Rover across the street and waited as I turned on the air-conditioner.

"Daddy, Where are we?" Minnie asked me from the back seat.

"We're going to eat pizza with Alana's friends."

Minnie beamed at me at the mention of Alana's name, "Bunny iz comin?"

I nodded. In the short span of time that I'd known Alana, I was glad Minnie had come to like her so much.  Just when I was ready to kill the engine, I noticed a black Dodge charger pull into the parking lot. Fuck, I didn't even know what Chez drove. As soon as I saw the beefy guy's head blob out of the car, I stepped out of mine, picked up Minnie and made my way towards the restaurant entrance.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw Alana, she wore a red slim fit lace dress, a little too short for my liking and DAMN the low cut was pulling the wrong strings, my insides were curling into balls. That clothing company should be shut down for even making woman wear such a thing. She looked too hot and I had to dwell on the idea of hauling her ass on my shoulder and making a run towards my car.

Get it under control, Rowan.

She smiled at me nervously; probably uncomfortable with the way my eyes lingered on her dress for too long. I'm pretty darn sure Nina talked her into wearing it; I had to put up with it without making a scene which I'm a pro at. Nina and Chez were busy eye-torturing me, I get it. It was either they hadn't seen me in a t-shirt before or I looked like an old hag. I was rooting for the former.

"Hey, what's up? Long time no see."

What the fuck am I saying? Do kids these days say 'what's up' anymore?

Chez broke from the trance and offered me a hand shake, "Sir, it is so nice of you to join us for dinner."

"Don't be so formal, Chez; I'm no longer your professor so you can call me Rowan." Chez gave my hand a tight squeeze, almost sucking the life out of it. The paranoia was beginning to sink in.

"Rowan." He nodded uncertainly.

I turned to Nina, "Hi Gorgeous."

"Sir."

That was an impulse; she was clearly still intimidated by me. I wouldn't blame her for that, considering the amount of times she'd been deep fried in my office, she was being a sport, "Call me Rowan, I insist."

When we were done with short introductions, we made our way inside the restaurant which was packed because of the weekend. I placed my hand on Alana's small back as I led her in, "You look beautiful."

She looked up to me, and smiled shyly "Thanks Rowan."

I inched closer to her ear and whispered, "Don't you think you should have worn something longer?"

Her face fell as she looked away, "I thought you'd like it."

Do that again, Rowan. Just screw it! Make a damn scene and watch her cry, that's what you always do.

I let out a sigh, "No baby, you're looking wonderful, I mean..." I was trying to stitch the piece together, "I love the dress but I'm jealous about how much it's catching the eye."

She nodded.

"Table for four." I told the guy and he led us to a secluded spot near the window. The fancy round lights were suspended from the ceiling creating the best romantic atmosphere. We took our seats while I put Minnie in the high kid chair.

I watched Alana's dress inch upward as she settled down.

Maybe it was time I stopped paying attention to her dress.

Things were getting pretty awkward, but I took it upon myself to make conversation, "Are you coping fine with Ms O'Hara, Nina?"

She sat straighter, and strutted, "Uh-yeah. I uh-- mean, you taught far better than her. She's practically on my case most of the time."

I smiled, "Give her some time, she isn't that bad."

That was another full stop to one conversation, I had nothing in common with them, for instance, I didn't go to university with them nor did I have any job which pretty much closed all the discussion topics.

Chez decided to ask a question, I knew the guy hated me with his guts but he was trying, "Rowan, I've always wondered if you were an ex-Carmel student. Were you?"

"I never went to Carmel as a student, I'm a Stanford alumnus. I chose to take up the job in C.U just because it was close to my apartment, that way I can come home and take care of my daughter."

Chez's eyes lit up, Nina's jaw dropped on the floor. They were not expecting me to turn out to be a family man.

"But since I heard you'd dated a student in C.U way before Alana, it occurred to me that maybe you'd be an ex-student."

I had little to NO tolerance for games and Chez was playing dirty, so far the ball was in his court.

"Who are you talking about?" I shot back at him, "there were three."

That was meant to piss him off but there was a likely possibility of being ripped to shreds by the woman sitting next to me. I watched from the corner of my eye and caught Alana grimacing, she bit her lip with what I could only assume was jealously.

Please don't be mad.

"Felicia McHugh."

I tried to recall that name and I did remember her. Felicia was an ex-student, passed out of Carmel two years ago, there was no way in hell Chez even knew her, so where the fuck does he even get that stinky info, I was gonna act daddy cool, "Yes, I do remember her, Felicia. What of her?"

"You guys were an item back then."

Alana seemed close to stabbing me or Chez with a fork, I had to come up with something fast. What kind of joy did he find by hurting his own friend? This guy wasn't going to give up until he'd fucked up my life real good; I needed to play discreet, "We weren't an item. Felicia just met me once in a party and she was too drunk and as a teacher it was my duty to see to it that she made it home safely. I dropped her home. You should check with your sources before asking me, Chez, because it clearly lacks originality."

These were practically kids to me. I'd come across worse than this. Who did Chez think he was?

"Felicia was one of the three?" turns out Chez wasn't backing down. He was going to make sure Alana dug up my grave and buried me alive, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a funeral speech ready.

"No, she wasn't. You expect me to be a saint? Those were merely flings; you could hardly call that being an item. You agree with me, Alana?"

I squeezed her hand beneath the table.

Come on, play the game.

"Yeah, Rowan was a major player back then and I'm not here to discuss ex-girlfriends and flings." she said nonchalantly, flipping through the menu card, I didn't miss the sarcasm there, "hey how about we order a large margarita pizza and a chicken fajitas pizza with cheese calzone?"

We placed our order and within a few minutes, the hot pizzas were served with mouth watering side dishes of Calzone. Minnie began picking on the cheese, "Minnie, you're eating the entire slice, stop jabbing it with the fork. Alana's friends are gonna laugh at you and call you a loser."

"dey are the Looousers." She shot back.

Yeah, that was my daughter.

"That's bad manners Minnie, you don't say like that."

She turned to Chez, plastered a smile and said, "Shorry."

"Oh God. She's so cute." Nina cooed, taking a sip of her soda.

"Daddy, who iz the fat girl?" Minnie pointed her fork at Nina.

I knew I'd be dead by the end of the day but didn't think it would be so soon.

"Minnie, where are your manners? Apologize to her. She's not fat."

She turned to Nina and said, "Shorry."

Before I knew it, I began to enjoy their company and started to blend slowly into their conversations. Chez started to let me loose. Hanging out with them wasn't so bad after all; maybe it was just my crazy paranoia. My insecurities always used to get the better of me, forcing me to make the wrong decisions, forcing me to think what is impossible but for once, I was letting my heart do the job where decisions were concerned. I sneaked a glance at Alana, who seemed to be enjoying herself-she laughed at a lame joke Nina had cracked, a soft ringing laughter that I could record and keep listening to all day. She pushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear and caught me staring.

"What?" she seemed amused by the fact that she'd caught me staring.

She hadn't a Damn clue what she did to me.

"I love you." I simply said to her, she punched me playfully-her cheeks turning crimson.

The angel walked into my life two and a half months ago, disguised as a normal girl but she'd done a great job of putting her hand right through my chest and pulling my heart out, claiming it as her own, the only girl who was determined to tame the beast that was me, giving everything and not asking anything in return, filling my never ending gray life with vivid colours. I wanted to be the guy she'd be proud of and I was still working on it.

"Mr Masters."

I glanced up to see who had interrupted my thoughts, and found myself staring into pools of gray. Helena, my ex-student and supposedly the sleazy hoe ranking first in C.U, approached our table with her crew. She wore a very tight short dress, almost squeezing the life out of her assets, screaming for attention.

"Hi" I had lost count as to how many times she'd offered to accompany me home, I'd flat out denied which obviously didn't stop her from whoring the remaining Carmel body, I faked a smile. "How are you doing, Helena?"

Helena beamed at me, doing that flirtatious thing with her eyes again, "I'm doing good, Thank you" her face turned sour once it took halt on Alana, "but it doesn't look like you're doing too well."

"Why don't you speak for yourself, bitch?" Alana shot back.

"Please. I'm not even talking to you," Helena's mouth was set in an annoyed line, she turned to me, "So Mr Masters, I was wondering if you could, y'know tutor me privately for economics? I could really use some help."

Disgusting. Did these girls have zero self- dignity?

"I never took private tuitions during my time in Carmel, Helena, and just so you know, I don't plan on taking them in future but ofcourse I could always help you by asking my colleagues." 

"Sir but.."

"Don't waste your breath. That's just his polite way of telling you to fuck off. Why don't you take a hint?" Alana snapped at her.

My brave Girl. Always there for my rescue.

She continued, "Besides he's not gonna fall for your bobby trap, no pun intended."

Nina snorted, Chez joined in and I couldn't keep a straight face any longer. Horrified and unable to come up with a smart come back, Helena spun around and trotted back to her crew. I put a hand around Alana, and squeezed her shoulders, "Did I mention that you're my knight in the shining armour?"

"You should take a stand for yourself, Rowan. It's high time you keep acting like a gentleman."

I angled my face towards her, "Do I smell jealousy?"

"She practically had her claws out; I almost saved you from being her prey."

I chuckled, pulling her closer to me; I kissed the side of her head. The wonderful essence of honey lemon body wash entered my nostrils, and I had to fight off the urge to pull her in my lap, "You're so beautiful, baby and that territorial demeanour just turns me on."

"Daddy, me too." Minnie brought my fantasies crashing down. It occurred to me that she was asking for a kiss too. I pecked my daughter's cheek.

Chez and Nina cleared their throats, "Incase you guys thought we weren't sitting here anymore."

I averted my gaze away to notice a pile of junk making their way near the other vacant booth. I recognized one of the guys from C.U, I never taught him though. His blue intense eyes spotted Alana and lingered until the gaze travelled to me, I passed him my signature death glare which forced him to turn back to his crew. I thought he'd stop the staring game there, but that just wasn't the case. He was asking for a piece of me which included more than a few punches and teeth knockout.

He silently began undressing my girlfriend, I clenched the fork hard.

"What's wrong?" Alana asked me, she sounded concerned. Possibly because she knew I was a potential trouble maker.

Alana can never relax where I'm concerned, she's always worried I might let her down and the last thing I wanted was for her to feel ashamed of me.

"Nothing." I gave her a nervous smile.

I was fighting battles with myself. If I approached them, I was likely to flip the lid and start a brawl here that would end badly, not to mention, a night behind bars. I was so tired with the rage, so tired of controlling myself but I sure as hell wasn't gonna let this guy get away with eye-fucking my girlfriend. I just couldn't, the way he stole those dirty glances at Alana made me want to rip his head off.

Three.

Two.

"If you'll excuse me for a minute guys, I gotta say howdy to a bunch of my old students." I smiled, climbing to my feet and strode over to their table.

The pile of junk turned their heads in my direction; I smirked at the man, giving a harsh pat on his back. I dug my hands deep in the pocket since my hands had a mind of its own and went out of control sometimes; I leaned into the table, "Haven't seen a woman, before?"

"Sure we did, but not like that one buddy. You have a score."

My jaw tightened, and his cocky grin vanished as soon as his eyes were levelled with mine. I used to be the president of the 'threatening club', I spoke softly and clearly, "That's my girlfriend you're talking about, you fuckwit. You look in that direction one more time and I'll rip your head off and beat your ass to the ground."

I had robbed off their ability of speech, "that's my first and final warning, trust me, you wouldn't make if for a second."

I watched him swallow; the Adams apple blobbing up and down. I successfully threw the junk out of the restaurant.

"They went back?"

"Yeah, they just told me they had some really important business come up." I said, and Alana passed me a wary look. She knew what I'd been up to.

I noticed Alana's phone vibrate on the table, she scanned it-glanced at Nina and did some weird eye signals.

"I need to use the restroom." Nina climbed to her feet suddenly, "Alana, you coming with me?"

Alana nodded and excused herself and the two disappeared farther into the restaurant.

That rung the suspicious bells in my head.

What were these girls up to?

"I really appreciate what you did."

I turned to Chez, "What? You said something?"

"I saw what you did, how you threatened those men." Chez took a bite of his calzone, speaking with a mouth full, "that's quite badass even for an ex-professor. Did you play basketball at an international level?"

"You heard me, huh? Yep I used to, but it's been a while since I last played."

"Did you watch that game the other day?" Chez was becoming amnesic about us being on bad terms. 

"I had the VIP passes to it but I couldn't make it."

I swear I noticed his eyes sparkle.

"I could get you one for the next game if you want." I wouldn't deny of having an ulterior motive behind the offer.

"You can?"

"Sure, I mean, my father's vice-chairman."

"Wow. I'd love to go, that would be awesome, sir, thank you."

The momentary silence filled the atmosphere, Chez took upon himself to ask, "Do you really love her?"

"More than you could imagine."

He just nodded, taking a bite of his now cold pizza, "So why didn't the other girls get promoted from being a student to a girlfriend? Why Alana?"

This was supposed to be my test. Maybe a little scarier than the university entrance.

"Alana is an incredible woman; she's never been intimidated by me-not at the very least. She is so much different and honest and speaking her mind without hesitating which makes her very special. That is probably why I was attracted to her in the first place." Chez was hearing me out, regarding me sincerely, "I tried to push her away in the beginning but c'mon, I'm a man and if one keeps pushing, you're bound to give in. I forced the idea that a student-teacher relationship wasn't gonna work but much to my predicament, Alana proved me wrong. She's not concerned about consequences and does what she thinks is right. She's strong and she....."

"WHOA. Hang on there. I get it." Chez smiled, "You're in love."

"So am I safe to assume that I've passed the Chez inquisition test?"

"Your half way through."

"I know you don't like me Chez, maybe you hate me and I can understand why and just because I'm Alana's boyfriend, it doesn't mean you have to force yourself to like me." My own words were twisting me from the inside, because for what it's worth, I wanted him to like me. To accept me.

"I don't hate you, si..I mean Rowan. I'm not sure how I can explain it. Alana is like a baby sister to me, she always looked up to me, even transferred to the same university so we could remain close but BOOM! This man walks into her life and she dosen't give a fuck about me anymore. I'm being honest with you here, with the amount of rumours that plagued Carmel, I was compelled to believe that you were someone who took advantage of his students and I was just trying to protect my friend." He gulped down the remains of his drink and continued, "But for Alana, I'd like to bury this hatchet. I'm done being the bad guy here; I can't pretend to keep hating the guy she clearly loves so much."  

I folded my arms across my chest, "I hear you buddy, but Alana does give a fuck about you. Infact your important to her so don't say stuff that might upset her. She already has a load of things she's dealing with at the moment."

Chez nodded in agreement.

Your one to give that suggestion, Rowan. Face it, you're her heaviest bag of worries.

Why was Alana taking so long? It was almost past fifteen minutes. My bad instincts were kicking in, "Don't you think these girls are taking too long?"

"Yeah. Kind of."

I left my seat abruptly, something just wasn't right. "You keep an eye on Minnie; I'll go check on them."

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A/N: Please vote and comment what you think of this chapter. I always love hearing from ya'all.