Everyone has secrets. Although, I was a master at concealing mine. But part of hiding was deception, and I’d become a veritable Pinocchio. He was like two different people—Eli and Dr. Paxton. While I knew the latter would turn out to be an incredible teacher, the idea of Eli being more threw me for a loop. I couldn’t separate the two, and it seemed vastly inappropriate and strangely alluring. The practical side of me needed to win the war inside my mind. I had to please the teacher, not the man. But once I'd cross that line, there was no turning back. For either of us.