“You want to hear the truth?” Hardy asks but doesn’t let Luke answer before he proceeds. “You’d be an amazing sub. And I’d love to train you. I’m going to be a hundred percent honest and tell you’re the first person since my ex that I truly want to train, have a contract with. But I just can’t, Luke. You have to understand. Do you know how much trouble I would be in if the university found out I’ve had s*x with you? There’s no way I could have a, a…” Hardy doesn’t know the word exactly. Affair? Contract? No word can embody the exact level of commitment and effort it’d take to train Luke. He ends up going with, “A relationship with you. There’s nothing wrong with you, but I’m sorry to say, my work is more important.”
Hardy thought his words would smooth things over, that they would comfort
