The next morning Art History class was cancelled at the last moment, Iris and Eddie were waiting outside of the room when they got the notice. She texted Brenn, asking what happened. His response was to remind her that he had a busy week and that he looked forward to seeing her in a few days. Iris and Eddie were standing outside of the cancelled class. Once she received Brenn's response, she excused herself from her boyfriend, saying she needed to use the restroom.

Iris purchased a new phone the previous weekend. It was used and still cheap by most people's standards but was a significant upgrade for her. She entered a stall and took off her pants and held one leg up, balancing it against the wall. Eddie had no nude pictures of Iris. She had always been afraid that any nude picture would inevitably become public and refused to take any for Eddie. But her encounters with Brenn awakened something confident and reckless within her. She wanted to take more risks. Angling the phone as low beneath her, she took the picture of herself and sent it to the Professor with a message telling him that a few days was too long.

Eddie was waiting loyally outside the bathroom when she was finished. They walked together to her room. Iris hoped to work on a paper for another class with her extra time. While the pair were walking, she began to feel foolish again, but the feeling wasn't the pangs of regret which haunted her earlier. She really liked Brenn. That had been obvious to her for a long time, but it had quickly grown from an infatuation, to a sextual awakening, to what? Iris wasn't sure, but the two of them were really talking now, it wasn't just sex.

Eddie would always be her first love, but as beautiful as their story was, maybe it was something that didn't need to last forever. Maybe she was at the beginning of something new that needed to be cherished. Eddie kissed Iris goodbye at her door.

"Hey, are you available for breakfast tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yeah, that should work for me." he answered, ignorantly looking forward to their next meeting.

"Okay, well I'll see you then."

"Cool, Love you." he said on his way out.

"Take care."

Iris made up her mind, she would finally break up with him.

That evening, Iris attended one of the few Honors College events of the semester. It was essentially just a networking get together for the students in the honors program. Since several of the students in the program had become close friends, it felt more like a party where Iris didn't belong. Held in a large meeting room inside of the campus library, Iris planned to go, sign in (because of course they had a sign in sheet), make a quick appearance with her faculty advisor, and then sneak out. Eddie texted her to ask what she was up to that evening. She reminded him of her schedule, happy for the excuse not to see him that evening.

Iris did just as planned, making quick pleasantries with classmates from the past year while she sought out her advisor, Dr. Jackowski.

"Iris! I was looking for you." said Dr. Jackowski, flagging Iris down.

Dr. Jackowski was standing with a tall, striking woman.

"Hello, I was just looking for you Dr. Jackowski." Said Iris.

"Iris, I wanted to introduce you to one of our Honors class teachers, Professor Feehery. I noticed something interesting in your schedule."

"What's that?" asked Iris.

"You are the only honors student in Art History. And your teacher, Professor Brenn, is actually Professor Feehery's spouse."

It took a moment for the information to settle in for Iris. The revelation didn't make any sense to her. She had exhaustively scoured the internet for every scrap of information it had on J. Brenn, he was her complete obsession. Never once had she heard of this woman. But as Iris stumbled her way through the conversation with her advisor, it became clear that Professor Feehery really was married to him.

"What's your major, Art History?" asked Professor Feehery.

"No, I'm a business major." answered Iris, in a hollow voice. Everything about this woman filled Iris with jealousy -- her height, her smart outfit, her perfect straight hair. It was exactly the person you would picture with someone like Brenn. Iris had never been as mad at anyone as she was at Brenn in that moment, but at the same time felt a deep anxiety that he might cast her off at any moment – that she was a superfluous little detour in his rich life. Finding herself outside of the library crying, she had a distant awareness that she made a scene leaving the event, but didn't care.

Iris pulled out her phone to text Brenn. When she opened the hidden text thread, she was horrified to see the picture of her vagina she sent him, along with his quippy, self-satisfied response. The reminder of her shameless behavior was enough to help her make a decision. She texted him that she was canceling all future sessions and blocked his number. While walking back to her room, her thoughts turned to Eddie. It astonished her how callous she had been with their relationship. This past week was disgusting and Iris was hopeless to make it right.

By the time she reached her room, Iris was having a panic attack. Because of her anxiety, she purchased some non-THC edibles earlier in the semester. She didn't do drugs, but these were fairly benign. When she received the gummies, they came with one large high-THC individually wrapped sample. She was against taking it in theory, but also felt it would be a waste to throw it out. So it sat in her drawer, till that night. Iris ate the purple diamond shaped gummy and calmed down and came up with a crazy plan and fell asleep.

In the morning, Iris was awakened by knocking at her door. It was Eddie. Iris had overslept meeting him at breakfast and she looked a mess. She slept in her clothes from yesterday and the once sharp skirt and blouse she wore to the honors meetup were wrinkled and bunched. Her makeup was in broken smudged tear-streaks which had partially smeared off on her pillow, and her hair was disheveled. She expected this to happen, it was actually the first part of her plan.

Iris freshly appreciated Eddie and wanted to stay together, but selfishly knew that she couldn't carry the burden of this lie forever. If she was going to be with him he needed to have some idea of how she changed, but she wouldn't become involved in some controversy. No one could ever know she slept with Professor Brenn. It could ruin his career (and marriage) and her life. So, without going into specifics, she intended to admit to similar wrongdoing on her part, but suggest that the mistakes she made involved another student, maybe from the Honors College. Her plan was foolish and chaotic and would hurt Eddie awfully, but Iris was spinning and needed to do something.

Her logic was that she could break up with Eddie, but they had dated for two years, and a breakup wouldn't happen without a long conversation. Iris was sure he would have a lot of questions, and she would end up admitting to cheating anyway. But she didn't want to break up, and she couldn't say anything about the Professor in either case. So this admittedly terrible plan seemed like the best way to give Eddie the choice of whether or not they stayed together.

She opened the door for Eddie. Iris's eyes were already welling with tears, and Eddie instantly embraced her, knowing something was very wrong.

"Are you alright? What's the matter?" asked Eddie.

"Can you come in? I need to talk." said Iris.

The couple sat on the bed. Eddie was very nervous. Iris could get emotional like anyone, but she was the steady and reliable one in the relationship. He waited a long time for her to talk.

"I cheated on you." said Iris.

"Okay." he said timidly. Leaving her room to continue.

She explained that it was a flirtation that had gone on for a while and she hadn't expected anything to come of it. The situation between her and this person continued to escalate, and last night she took a real edible, and things happened. Iris tried to be vague and hated herself for chickening out and mentioning the gummy. If she was going to avoid responsibility like that, then why do this in the first place.

"Are you sure it was all your decision?" asked Eddie, referencing the edible.

"It was. I went there knowing it would happen."

"How?"

Iris considered her answer for a moment. Fortunately, the gravity of the discussion made her pause seem organic.

"I sent him a sext earlier in the day."

Eddie didn't seem angry but sat there in shock from hearing Iris's admission. Both of them were crying at this point.

"So do you want to break up with me?" Eddie asked.

"No, I was stupid. I love you. But you probably want to break up with me." she replied.

"I don't think I do. But I'm really hurt and need to know what happened. You weren't specific."

Iris expected he’d want to know more and went through the details she had come up with. It was a senior who was graduating that semester. The two of them made-out at a previous event and started a flirtation that intensified over time. She sent the nude picture and went to the event intending to hook up with him, and she'd never regretted anything in her life more.

"Can I see what you sent him?" asked Eddie.

After a long time deciding, she agreed to show Eddie the picture, but thought it would be better to keep the person anonymous. Eddie agreed that was probably for the best. Iris went through her camera roll and found the picture she sent Brenn, looking at it without immediately showing Eddie. It was obscene. The shot was from below and Iris held her legs wide apart to display everything -- the pink inner lips of her vagina framed by dark brown pubes. She handed the phone to Eddie before she could change her mind.

"Iris, I thought you'd be topless or something." he said

"I'm sorry."

"I think I need to know exactly what you did with him."

She paused.

"He went down on me. And we had sex -- twice."

"And that's everything?" Eddie asked.

Iris thought about his question, and it made her second guess her story. Her current problem with it was how the events were mostly contained to one night. Almost like it was one big but individual mistake. She had sex with Professor Brenn five times already, and beyond failing to communicate the scope of her betrayal, she felt her story didn't explain how she had changed. Iris needed to go further.

"A few days ago, I gave him a blow job, and I let him finish in my mouth." she said suddenly.

Iris was remembering her previous Art history class. She continued the habit of arriving early in hopes of seeing the Professor before class. That morning Brenn showed up fifteen minutes before class started. It was inconvenient timing because the other students would start coming shortly. He walked straight to the door and unlocked it.

"Are you coming?" he asked her.

When they got inside, he relocked the door and led her to the corner of the room that couldn't be seen from the door's window. He kissed Iris and grabbed her butt, pulling her close.

"Okay, I need to open the class before other students get here." he said, attempting to go for the door.

Iris grabbed his belt by both hands and was nearly pulled down as he turned to move. But Brenn stopped and She began to undo his belt.

"I don't think we have time for this." he said as she took down his underwear.

Iris ignored him and started to kiss his penis. This is why she got up early that day. Really, it was why she got up early the morning after their first session, he just hadn't shown up. Knowing they were pressed for time, she worked quickly, sucking in her cheeks firmly as she slid her mouth along his shaft.

"Is this working?" she asked, stimulating him vigorously with her hand while taking a brief break from using her mouth.

"Put it back in. Else I'll come one your face." he whispered.

She took him back in her mouth, and shortly after, he ejaculated. It was her first time experiencing a man finishing inside her mouth. He held her head close to him but tried to limit his instinctive thrusts -- not wanting to choke her. They were both careful to minimize the mess. Iris sucked and swallowed hard trying to take in all of his semen. It nearly worked, but as Brenn withdrew himself from her, the stimulation he felt from her tightly drawn lips caused him to release one last spurt. It landed on the front of her hoodie. Iris laughed impulsively, forgetting to keep her voice down.

The pair worked quickly to make themselves presentable. Brenn pulled his pants back up, and Iris wiped her tears and mouth and removed the come stained hoodie. There were already a few students outside when Brenn unlocked and opened the door. Two guys entered, oblivious to anything, but there was another young woman. She came in and saw Iris sitting at a desk with her eyes still flushed, pretending to act casual. The other student knew the two were inside the classroom alone with the door locked and had a fairly accurate suspicion of what happened.

Luckily Eddie didn't get to class early that day, but it didn't matter much in the end. Because now she was owning up to her actions, or at least some version of them. Iris was very embarrassed after telling him about the blow job, and once again asked if Eddie wanted to break up. He was still organizing his thoughts, but said he couldn't help being in love with her and didn't want to break up. Emphasizing that it in no way lessened how hurt he was. She apologized emphatically and the two embraced in silence for a long time.

The couple stayed together the whole weekend, both putting in extra time to try and salvage their relationship. Eddie skipped studio time he had on Friday and Iris skipped her class. That stuff would have to wait. Eddie was down, but he believed Iris was sorry and didn't lash out at her. They talked a lot, and Iris felt a rekindled connection with Eddie which had previously evaporated when Brenn came into her life.

But there was one huge hurdle that they both knew needed to be surmounted -- sex. It was a palpable cruelty that Iris had been so reluctant to have sex with Eddie and then cheated on him, and it would have been hard to take the relationship seriously going forward if they didn't incorporate that into their regular activities.

Iris was enthusiastic to try. She was willing to do anything to move forward, but it worried her how it might go. In the couple's extensive talks about what Iris had done, she admitted to orgasming during sex. It wasn't that she was concerned about her own pleasure -- they had plenty of time to figure that out. What really worried her was the effect a perceived poor performance would have on Eddie's confidence, and she wasn't wrong. He was very nervous about falling short.

As much as they tried to put it off, by Sunday the couple knew they needed to get to it. Iris treated Eddie to lunch just off campus, then, the plan was to go back to Eddie's dorm. After they ate, he asked if he could show her his project before they went back. As they followed the path back into campus, the couple briefly turned different directions where it forked.

"Where are you going?" asked Eddie.

"The Annex?" said Iris

"I moved out of there last week."

Eddie led Iris to the Art Building and up the familiar staircase to the fourth floor. When they began to walk down the hall towards Brenn's studio, she grew concerned that he knew. That somehow in the interim he figured it out and had now brought her here to confront her about it. Eddie didn't go to Brenn's studio though. He stopped at the door adjacent to it and pulled his keys out. As he did, a door behind them opened, and Professor Brenn stepped out of his office about halfway down the hall. He and Iris's eyes met, but Eddie didn't look up. Brenn started walking down the hall towards them, a concerned look on his face. Iris wasn't sure what to do so she grabbed Eddie and pulled him to her and gave him the most passionate kiss she could muster. Letting out a deep "mmmm" as she pushed her hips into him. Iris was not a fan of PDA's, but she needed to do something. When they finally finished kissing, she checked for Brenn, but he was gone.

"Wow, it's going to be big." said Iris admiring Eddie's work.

"Yeah, they typically don't have student pieces this large, but Professor Olsten is the head of the selection committee and said it wouldn't be a problem to make an exception." said Eddie.

Eddie's piece was turning out well, but because of Iris's display in the hall, he was much less interested in showing it off than when he first thought of it. Eddie was now motivated to get back to the dorm quickly. Iris was happy to leave the Art Building for different reasons. It was incredibly uncomfortable that Eddie's studio was directly next  to Brenn's, and she tried to think back to when her session times could have overlapped with Eddie's studio times, but couldn't come up with anything.

When they returned to Eddie's room, the pair kissed on his bed for a while -- both of them nervous to progress. Iris made the first move, standing up and stripping completely naked -- the pink indentations from her bra strap visible on her bare flesh. She stood there feeling more naked and vulnerable than she ever had in front of Eddie. He was mesmerized but unsure what to do next. Within their relationship, Iris was the dominant personality -- helping Eddie figure out his schedule or where they should eat or if he should study more. Her admission of infidelity had screwed up their dynamic and as much as Eddie was willing to try to make it work, he wasn't ready to be the responsible one. He needed her to make the choice, and she knew it.

"Take of your clothes." said Iris.

He took them off and she sidled up next to him in bed. It was so weird. The pair kissed while she massaged his stiffening penis. But Iris felt that the whole moment screamed with the context that she let someone else do this to her. Iris just needed to get through it for the both of them -- to ignore the shame and embarrassment. Once Eddie was fully hard, Iris sat up and got a condom from his drawer and opened it and helped Eddie put it on. She considered using her mouth to help unroll it down his erection but didn't. She was afraid that if she did anything too pornographic it would take Eddie out of the moment by reminding him of her indiscretions.

Iris told Eddie she loved him and got on her back. Besides making out, they hadn't done nearly as much foreplay as she typically had with Brenn, so it was a little tougher for her to get Eddie in than she expected. At least it went smoother than either of the couple's previous attempts. Eddie started slowly, working to find how he could best balance himself.

To Iris's relief it was actually starting to feel pretty good. As it became easier, Eddie quickened his pace. Iris cooed, in encouragement as she became aroused. It absurdly dawned on her that she really liked sex. Eddie was panting intensely.

"Keep going." she encouraged.

Eddie, spurred on by her apparent enjoyment, bucked his hips harder and faster. He tried not to focus on her infidelity, but the thought was still ever-present in his mind. The woman he loved had been with another. She was reluctant to have sex with him, in spite of all they had been through, but not that man. She was so attracted to him -- she couldn't stop herself. She didn't want to. She sent him a picture of her vagina and he fucked her, and he made her come.

Eddie thrust harder and harder, needing to make Iris orgasm. As she got closer, her vagina grew wetter and tighter. He was not up to the challenge. As Eddie arrived at his climax, he held Iris tight and bucked his hips as hard as he could. He hoped maybe that would push her over the edge, but it didn't. He groaned loudly in enjoyment. Iris felt bad for noticing, but because Eddie positioned himself in the same way Brenn had their first time, it was too obvious to ignore. Eddie's body was much smaller and weaker than Brenn's, and the difference had a noticeable effect on her arousal. She was enjoying herself, but she also knew that Brenn would have easily made her come by then.

Iris was close though, and Eddie finished her off with his hand. She had a nice orgasm, and she told him so, hoping he was happy with how everything went. But Eddie was disappointed that she hadn't climaxed during the act. He would have a chip on his shoulder, when it came to sex, for a long time.