Teacher's Girl (Aflyingwhale)

EMMA’s POV : For the first time in eight months, I typed his name into a google search.

A few things came up.

There was an article in The New Yorker about the gallery’s grand opening.

The article praised the exhibition, calling it a creative space for international contemporary art lovers.

There was also a picture of lan and Ally, standing together in front of the gallery with Mayor de Blasio.

They were smiling from ear to ear.

They sure made a great looking couple.

That was painful to see.

The article even called them ' the power duo’, New York's hottest art lovers.

I put my phone down and immediately regretted my decision.

I should have never googled an ex.

Ever.

But I was stubborn.

After my friends went back to the States, I was alone in my apartment again and I was forced to deal with my feelings.

There were still a few days left in the holiday, so I had no excuse to be busy with school or the internship.

In my desperate, boredom stage, I ended up googling his name again.

This time, I found Ally’s social media page.

lan had deleted his Instagram profile ages ago, right around when we started dating.

He wanted to keep himself and his activities hidden from the world.

He also never liked the idea of social media in the first place.

But finding Ally’s Instagram page was like finding a land mine.

Her page was filled with pictures of her and lan.

Ian looked...great, of course.

His hair was longer and his jaw was scruffier.

He wore a lot of suits now and he looked amazing in them.

His tattoos would peak out of his collar and I remembered how much I enjoyed running my fingers through his inked skin.

Ugh! I need to stop! We just entered a new year and this year my resolution was to stop pining over my long lost love.

Stalking his girlfriend’s instagram page wasn't gonna help my case.

I threw my stupid phone on the bed groaned into a pillow.

I'm so pathetic! I can’t keep living like this! I have to do something! Suddenly, I was hit with an idea.

I grabbed my phone again and stared blankly at the screen for a few seconds.

Not wanting to overthink things anymore, my finger tapped the screen several times and I got right to work.

This was probably not one of my brightest moments.

I just download Tinder.

For a while, all I did in that app was swipe people.

Swiping left, swiping right, it was just something to entertain myself.

I wasn’t in any mood to find love, especially not on Tinder in a foreign land.

I was just bored, honestly.

And looking at these guys’ faces on my screen was a safe way to remind myself that there are other people out there.

There could still be a future for me after lan Hayes.

Sometimes the guys I matched with would send me messages and they could be flattering.

They were a great confidence boost, and I would leave it at that.

But some days when I got super bored, I ended up replying to their messages.

I didn't think of much of it.

I only downloaded the app for fun anyway.

But after talking to several guys for a few weeks, the idea of meeting one of them seemed enticing.

"I don’t have to marry the guy, I’m just looking for friends,"

I said to myself.

So one day in early March, I agreed to go on a date with this guy, Olivier.

like a sweet guy with beautiful eyes, and we bonded over our love of Harry

at this bar not too far

I quickly learned was that people were

nice in his pictures and he seemed like a genuine guy on the phone, but as soon as we met that night, all

it

was too naive going into this date thinking that

for? No, not

about the

in France was

form, and French people were more than willing to indulge in them in

noticed that French men

masculine French men in the

feminine side more openly than guys in

America, men showing their feminine side were often considered gay

vocal about their love

or mushy, they

shoving their uninvited tongue down my throat did not scream romance to

okay, no, sorry, I don't think this gonna

said as I pushed Olivier by his

at me in confusion as I gathered

"Something wrong?"he asked.

you have to ask, I don’t even know where to begin.I smiled

I turned to my heels and walked out of

feel like walking home alone, so

Uber in front of the bar, when suddenly a tall guy in messy dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes

"Tough night, eh?"he greeted.

"Excuse me?"

lent out a pack of cigarettes

good,

"You are an American?"

"Yes,"

are

"Georgia originally,"

thought you're from

"Only ten I see?"

I laughed drily.

eyes met and we laughed at the lameness of

English was pretty

"What's your name?"he asked.

"Emma,"

meet you, Emma.I’m Elliott Jacques,"he put his hand out to me and I

pull away, however, he held onto it

tension in the air,

me, aside from being drop-dead gorgeous, what do you for a living?"he said after a while

of college.I'm on

my mistake.I thought you are

"Why?"

my

I look at you,

help but laugh a

"Are you always this...cheesy?"

the one who's

"What?"

looking Gouda tonight!"he

"Stop!"

rolled my eyes

keep going all

she said,"we both said this joke

met again and we smiled appreciatively

like

pulled up in front of the bar and I took a step

I

"Wait, before you go,"

before saying, "Don’t tell me if you want me to take you out to dinner.Just smile for yes or kick me in the nuts for

funny

that,

agree on getting dinner with him and he did

counting the weird meet-up with Olivier at that bar, I hadn't been on a proper date with a guy other

that as going on a date since we mostly stayed in his apartment

last time I went out on

surprisingly a

at this romantic restaurant by the

dinner, I found out that he was

took a walk along the river after dinner and we talked about everything from music

could hold

guy asking to hold my hand instead

I went to the Carnavalet Museum

time we got to the garden, so the place looked

when I confronted him about it, he calmly responded with, "I keep looking at your because

did kiss that

garden

was just a short, sweet

feeling I wouldn't forget it that

took a day trip to

beautiful area with a castle, historical towns, vineyards, and fruit

Elliott kept raving about this

parting my mouth open with the tip of his

very smooth