Clarity gave an audible sigh. Her father nudged her in the ribs, but had to smother his own smile behind a fake yawn.
Libby fluctuated between flipping her hair, giving flirty looks to the male members of the Honor Council, and glaring at me. She had not managed to mount any kind of case, especially not when she ranted at the council about how she had pursued me and been rebuffed. She even quoted my use of the rules as protection against her solicitations.
The Honor Council stood up and adjourned into the back room. Landsman College allowed up to an hour for deliberation, but no less than fifteen minutes. In the meantime, everyone shifted, half the students left, and Clarity looked ready to tear her hair out. It cheered me that Clarity was so sure of the outcome.
I still feared the council would assume the worst and decide I had coerced a student into an unwanted relationship.
Until I overheard Libby. "He's just bringing all of this up now because I may have actually found a serious boyfriend. I mean, I get it. Jealousy makes people do funny things. I guess Professor Bauer saw me with my new man and decided to go ahead with all of this as a way to remind me of what we had. He totally wants me back."
I got up to stretch but could not bring myself to walk over to Clarity and her father. There was a wall between Clarity and I. Things had settled down since we broke the Landsman donors’ corruption scandal. I hadn't seen much of her, and it worried me that Libby's self-serving lie was close to the truth for someone else.
I did it for Clarity. I wanted her to know that the truth mattered to me. I wanted to face her free and clear of all my past mistakes. It felt like we would never be on solid ground if I didn't face this last indiscretion.
How could I tell her how special she was until she knew for certain she was the only one for me?
The thought threw me back into my chair. I was ready to stew for an hour when the back door opened and the Honor Council returned. The foreman handed a slip of paper to the interim dean of students. He reviewed it and then cleared his throat.
"The Honor Council has reviewed the evidence, heard testimony, and decided on how to move forward. In the matter of Professor Bauer and Libby Blackwell, the Honor Council finds the relationship was consensual."
A ripple sigh and smattering of applause went around the room.
The interim dean frowned and continued. "The relationship should have been declared to administration, but, seeing as Mr. Bauer has left Landsman College, the Honor Council finds no farther action is necessary."
I stood up lighter than I had felt in years. Former students waved and it was easier to look everyone in the eye. Especially Clarity.
I turned to meet her gaze and felt a bolt of lightning run through my body. She waited until most of the students had filed out of the assembly room, but she never once took her eyes off me. Thomas, her former classmate, tried to get her attention, but she waved him away. Her father went to talk to his replacement, and the room emptied out.
As soon as the crowd was gone, she moved. I stood rooted to the ground as she wound her way through the empty folding chairs. A few feet from me, Clarity broke into a run, and she was flying by the time she leapt into my arms.
I caught the enthusiastic hug with a wave of surprise. "I understand if you're still disgusted by my past with Libby," I said.
Clarity tossed back her hair and hooked her hands behind my head. "The past is the past. Who wants to think about something that won't change? Besides, our future is much more exciting."
I pulled her into the doorway of the back room. "Our future?" I asked.
Her green eyes darkened as she grinned. "You know, you didn't need to do any of this. You've already proved yourself to me in many different ways."
I shrugged, "I just wanted to make sure I had my bases covered."
"Grand slam," she said and leaned closer to me.
I set her back, still keenly aware we were on her college campus. "Clarity, I'm serious. I want to start whatever this is on the basis of total and complete honesty."
She widened her eyes. "Whatever this is? You mean this?" She brushed her breasts against my chest. For a moment our hearts pounded against each other. "Or did you mean this?" Her lips hovered near mine.
"More," I whispered. "I want more."
Her cheeks blushed and she seemed to remember that people could still see us. "What kind of more?"
I chuckled. "Everything. A whole relationship. You'll be stuck with me, if you let me."
"Oh, then, yes," Clarity said.
I tugged her closer, our bodies flush, and her lips were inches away.
Then Jackson and his wife popped up in the doorway. "Oh, no, don't do that," Jackson groaned. "Now my wife will think she really is a matchmaker. None of my friends will come over for beer anymore because she'll be so busy setting them up on dates."
"Matchmaker?" Clarity asked.
"Sorry," Alice smiled, "but I couldn't help notice at Thanksgiving. We've known Ford these past few years, and when I saw him chatting to you, I knew we'd only known a part of him."
"See? This is what I'm talking about," Jackson said. "Just because we're happy in love and we happened to spot another happy couple, does not mean this is all you should think about. For god's sake, get a hobby."
"You mean like practicing law?" I asked.
Jackson chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose she is pretty amazing at that too."
I let go of Clarity only to shake Alice's hand. "I can't thank you enough, Alice. You really saved me there."
She shrugged her diminutive shoulders. "I didn't do much else besides call in a favor. The judge took one look at all the evidence you compiled and threw out the libel suit. We may not have been able to make anything stick to Michael Tailor, but at least the truth is out there."
"Without you, both my father and Ford would have been mired in courts and paperwork for years," Clarity said. She snaked an arm through mine.
I hugged her arm close, despite Jackson's wide grin. He winked at me and snaked his arm around Alice's waist, not to be outdone.
"In the end, I think all of this was the best lesson you've ever taught, Professor Bauer," Jackson said. "The students were outraged over the article being taken down and they are now set to defend their freedom of speech in the real world."
"It was all part of my lesson plan," I said.
Clarity rolled her eyes and turned to Alice. "So, Michael Tailor is really going to get away with it after all?"
"I'm pretty sure Junior is looking for other schools," Jackson said.
"Thanks to your article, I was able to prove to the judge that Michael Tailor's money gave him influence over campus activities and processes. He agreed to keep it quiet in order to discourage further retaliation from Tailor."
"The judge also expunged the charges from my father's professional record. That was the amazing part. Thank you," Clarity let go of me to hug Alice.
Alice's cheeks lit up. "Just doing my job," she said.
Jackson beamed and kissed his wife on the head. "She's so modest. Though, really, the students did a lot of the work for her. They protested, they organized, and they've even come up with a plan for Landsman College to have more administrative transparency."