Me and My Hot Professor

by Raquel Belle

  “You might be having a boy. Literally meat and cheese was the only thing I could eat early on,” Amy said. I glanced at Josh who was trying to hide his hopeful grin but was failing miserably.

  “Is there really a way to tell so soon?” I asked. I was jumping for joy inside that Amy was so easy to talk to and that she seemed to like me so far. Our conversation over the rest of dinner was easy like that, it flowed and we all clicked. We clicked so well that by the time we were all done eating, Kaden had migrated over to my lap. Josh said that he and Kaden would clean up and Amy took my hand and led me outside. I wonder what else she wanted to talk about privately.

  Josh’s backyard was big, he had a lot of grass and a nice patio. Amy lit the tiki torches to keep the mosquitos away and we sat on the wicker swing together. “Josh told me that you were really nervous to meet me,” Amy said. “I hope I didn’t turn out to be so scary.”

  “Not at all. I was just worried that you wouldn’t like me or approve…” I said. Amy could tell I wanted to say something else and my heart picked up its pace a little bit. “Josh told me that you were setting him up on dates and whatnot,” I said.

  Amy’s eyebrows rose and she shrugged apologetically. “Yeah, my brother was just so sappy still over his ex-wife I was trying to get him out with anyone. And for the record those were both before I knew you guys were anything and after when you broke up for a short while,” she said. “I didn’t want him to backslide because I can tell when he’s really into someone,” she said and bumped me with her shoulder.

  I smiled. “Thanks and yeah, he…I saw him going through her pictures a couple of times. Does he do that a lot?”

  “It’s a problem and I wanted to send him to therapy for it at one point. He’s just upset over the fact that she’s happy and he’s miserable—was miserable. I don’t think he’ll be obsessing over her pictures anymore though,” Amy said.

  “It’s not a real…problem?” I asked. “Does he still have feelings for her?”

  Amy shook her head “No, he definitely doesn’t care for her anymore. I think it’s just morbid curiosity,” she said. “Anyway, you can talk to him about it. He’s always been touchy when it comes to talking about his ex but if you tell him that it’s really bothering you, he’ll be an open book. My brother will flay himself open for the people he cares about,” she said.

  I nodded, I sensed that about him. “And he cares about you,” she said, emphasizing “cares.” “Plus, you’re the mother of his baby, he’d fight lions for you,” she added. I almost teared up, I definitely got choked up hearing that from her.

  “Thank you for telling me that,” I said after I swallowed a few times and composed myself.

  “I know it has to be kinda hard with how new your relationship is. Hell, when my husband was alive and I was pregnant I wanted him around twenty-four-seven. I wanted as many people around me as possible. It’s important to have a support system and I want you to know that you can count me as your sister too. Don’t hesitate to call me or text me, if you’re freaking out over something but you aren’t sure, text me and I’ll let you know if it’s gas or not,” she said on a giggle.

  “Oh my god, thank you,” I said and we hugged. A huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders as we exchanged phone numbers. But the weights of dealing with my family still remained. They were nothing like Amy—Jess came close but still. I was just as nervous for Thursday’s dinner as I was for dinner with Amy.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Joshua

  “Unca Josh,” Kaden slapped my face lightly to call my attention. I was trying to read my sister’s lips as she talked to Naomi. They’d just hugged, so that was a good sign. “Unca Josh!” Kaden slapped my face with both hands then and I was so shocked at him that I cracked up and he started laughing maniacally.

  “Dude! What the heck?” I said and put him down. He squealed and then ran away from me. I glanced outside and saw Amy walking towards the patio door. I ran after Kaden before she could catch me red handed eavesdropping.

  “What’s going on?” Amy yelled. Kaden ran around the dining room table then back into the kitchen and living room. His mom caught him.

  “He just slapped me to get my attention,” I said. Amy gave Kaden a disapproving look and his face turned red then he started to cry. Kaden was probably the only two-year-old on the planet that hated it when his mom was mad at him. He hugged her around the neck, sobbing and she rubbed his back and shushed his sobs while talking to him about hitting. She walked into the living room and sat down with him.

  I slipped outside and sat beside Naomi.

  “Hey,” I said. She smiled at me and slipped her fingers between mine.

  “Hey,” she said. “Your sister is really cool,” she said. “She…said that you care about me.”

  I studied Naomi’s face, she seemed shy but not turned off by the fact that I cared. I acted on impulse. “I do care about you, a lot, Naomi. I love you,” I said. She blinked rapidly and opened her mouth to say something then closed it again.

  “You do?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I said without hesitation. A single tear fell from her eye and she hugged me tight. I held her for a long time. I didn’t expect her to say it back and didn’t think she would for a long time. It took long enough for her just to be open with me. But I wanted her to know how I felt. When she pulled back I pushed the swing and we started to rock gently, back and forth.

  “Are you ready for tomorrow’s dinner?” she asked.

  I laughed, “Of course, what’s to be afraid of?”

  #

  For starters, Casey had made reservations at a five star restaurant on the water in Sunny Isles. Naomi kept glancing at me as we waited for the host to escort us to Casey’s table. He and her sister, Jess, were already sitting down. Naomi wore a little black dress, her hair was brushed into waves and pinned over one shoulder. I wanted, more than a lot of things, to ditch her brother and sister and head back home.

  “Follow me please,” the host said. I took Naomi’s hand and we walked breezily through the dining room to a table with the perfect view of the beach below us. Casey stood up along with Naomi’s sister, who was almost a carbon copy of her. Jess was thinner, an inch taller, and there was something about her expression that made her seem less approachable than Naomi.

  “Hey guys,” Naomi said. “Jess, this is Josh,” she quickly introduced us and I shook Jess’s hand. She looked me over head to toe…calculating wasn’t the word.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you,” I said, then shook Casey’s hand in greeting. Naomi kissed her sister on the cheek, the same for her brother.

  “Yeah, it’s nice to put a face to the legend,” Jess said as we all sat down. I didn’t want to let go of Naomi’s hand but the waiter came to pour water and take our drink orders. I looked at the menu and picked a scotch at random. Naomi ordered a strawberry lemonade in a clearly dejected tone.

  “I think the hardest part about being pregnant is the no coffee, no alcohol rule,” she sighed after the waiter left.

  “You probably only drink around us anyway, we’re that hard to handle,” Casey teased. She stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled.

  “We are…a little hard to handle,” Jess said bluntly. The air at the table pretty much froze then and Naomi squeezed my hand under the table, I was glad for the contact. “I just want to get all of the hard stuff out of the way before we order appetizers, if that’s okay?” Jess glanced at Naomi who simply took a deep breath, then drank some of her water.

  “Our family is going through a lot right now, I’m sure you know?” Jess said.

  “Yeah, Naomi told me about your parents,” I said. Jess nodded and the waiter came back with our drinks then disappeared again. “I know her relationship with them is rocky,” I added.

  “Yeah it is and Naomi is the baby of the family and now you guys are having a baby. My brother and I want to look out for her because our parents don’t really live up to that task and right now the
y can’t,” she said. “My big question is, how on earth does a professor end up here with his student?”

  Naomi’s hand squeezed mine tightly and I wondered how much she needed the contact. Then again, I was able to drink, she was stuck with water and juice. “It’s not that simple for us, it’s never been—”

  “So you knew her before class started?” Jess asked. “You guys were friends?” She glanced at Casey for a second, as if he’d kicked her or something under the table.

  “Well, no but our relationship wasn’t like any of those typical student teacher things that you hear about. We had real interest in each other and were attracted to each other since the first day of class. Neither of us acted on it immediately for obvious reasons but when there’s a spark…” I shrugged and glanced at Naomi for a second. Her elbow was on the table and she was focused on me entirely. She smiled and I took an easy breath for a second.

  “It was inevitable that we’d end up together, I think. We had our issues because Naomi was scared that I’d get bored with her or something and the pregnancy was…an accident. But I’ve always felt attached to her, I still do—I love Naomi and she knows that,” I said and took a deep breath.

  Jess was surprised to hear that from me, she looked at Casey who nodded, impressed, then took a sip of his own drink. “And if there’s ever a doubt of me being here for Naomi and the baby…first of all, I love Naomi—like I said—and second, I’ve wanted to be a dad for a long, long time. The baby is a literal miracle for me and I’d go to Neptune and back for them,” I said and looked at Naomi again. She bit her lip, trying to stifle the huge grin on her face.

  “So you’re going to be there? For everything?” Jess said.

  “For everything,” I said without hesitation and without looking away from Naomi.

  “What about the school? Casey told me that you guys reported your relationship?” Jess asked.

  I sighed and nodded. “Yeah, the report was just filed with the ethics committee. My supervisor is waiting to hear back from them. The fact that Naomi is pregnant could be a problem,” I said honestly.

  “Actually, according to the language in that handbook you forwarded, if any wrongdoing is filed by Naomi then there’s a problem. I’m pretty sure the next steps will be that they ask for a brief statement from her to cover their asses and yours a little bit. Just in case you split and my sister brings hellfire down,” Casey said with a mischievous grin. Naomi snorted at her brother’s antics, I wondered how true to his nature that was and paused for a second.

  “I hope it’s not too difficult of a process, in any event,” I said and took another sip of my drink.

  “It might take a little while but difficult, it shouldn’t be. Unless they suddenly change their policies,” Casey said. He looked at Jess and raised his brow, “Done with the grilling?” he asked. “I’d really like to order appetizers now.”

  “I guess,” Jess said. Casey waved to the waiter and we all quickly decided on a couple of appetizers and started looking at the entrees.

  “Have you decided when you’re going to tell Mom and Dad?” Jess asked Naomi, she shrugged.

  “Not at all. I kinda just want them to settle everything and get into their separate lives before I do. This moving out and splitting the assets thing is too sensitive,” she said. “I haven’t even heard from either of them since that time I went over.”

  “That’s to be expected,” Casey murmured. Jess was quiet, she sipped her mojito.

  “How do you think they’ll react? I haven’t told my parents yet. They’ll freak, but in a good way. Imagine mister and missus Claus,” I said. Casey chuckled, Jess simply tilted her head to the side. I didn’t think she liked me at all.

  “My dad will probably disown me, my mom…she’ll be shocked and disappointed but she’ll come around,” Naomi said.

  “I’d put money on that,” Casey said.

  “Sometimes they behave lovingly, you know. Out of the blue, who knows, they could throw you a curveball,” Jess said. Both Naomi and Casey looked at her as if she were an alien. “What? It’s possible,” she said and shrugged.

  “So what do you do in the summers, Josh?” Casey asked.

  “I teach summer classes, I try to work year-round. It’s easier for me than a grade school teacher with summer semesters and whatnot,” I said. Casey nodded.

  “That’s not bad, do you ever consult?”

  “I have once or twice, only because it keeps me out of jury duty. I don’t really like talking to cops or investigators about the sad cases they have to work on. Especially if it involves kids,” I said.

  “You have a doctorate?” Jess asked skeptically.

  “Jess,” Naomi said in a low voice.

  “Sorry, what kind of doctorate do you have?” she said. Her reframing of the question made Casey laugh, Naomi just rolled her eyes.

  “I’m actually a clinical psychologist but I realized very quickly that I’d rather teach,” I said.

  “Wow, nice,” Casey said. “So you could have your own practice and the whole nine yards if you wanted?” he asked. I nodded.

  “How interesting. Maybe you can diagnose our parents,” Jess said.

  “I specialize in developmental disorders. Especially PTSD in kids,” I said. Naomi’s hand twitched in mine under the table and I glanced at her, realizing she didn’t know any of that about me. I wanted to get up and go home to tell her everything she wanted to know…my whole life’s story.

  “What made you want to specialize in that?” she asked in a low voice.

  “My dad was a school teacher and ended up being the therapist to a lot of his students. The stories he’d tell us about what teens go through…was tough. I realized that a lot of kids deal with varying degrees of PTSD that will follow and affect them well into their adult lives. I got really passionate about it. But then, when I was on the front lines for like two years, the stories broke me down. I was getting angry at the world, you know?” I said, speaking to her more than the table at large. Naomi nodded.

  “That’s something to think about Nao,” Jess said. “She wants to do the same thing but with learning and attention disabilities.”

  “I doubt those kids would have traumatic things to talk about, though,” Casey said.

  “When you’re the therapist, the kid will talk to you about anything and everything they’re dealing with,” I said and looked at Naomi. She nodded, her expression was thoughtful. “But don’t get me wrong, working with kids is incredibly rewarding too. They’re resilient in a lot of ways but they’re basically clay. You’ll have to keep spinning the wheel and make corrections to the mold until they’re good enough to hold water,” I said.

  Naomi chuckled, “Nice metaphor,” she said.

  “It’s true though. When you get to grad school and start residency, you’ll see what I mean. Either way you can always fall back on teaching.” We talked more about career paths in psychology then I generally got to know more about Casey and Jess—what they do for a living and all that. Dinner didn’t turn out to be such a disaster after all. When Naomi and I left the restaurant together and got back to the car, I let out a deep breath and she laughed at me.

  “See what I meant about them?”

  “Yeah, they’re just different, a different kind of family,” I said.

  Naomi clicked her seatbelt and nodded sagely, “Yep.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Naomi

  Josh held my hand as we walked into the OBGYN’s office. It was decorated in a cutesy boutique style. The chairs in the waiting room were plush leather seats, the end tables were made with deep mahogany wood. The carpet made the room quiet and hushed even though there was a good number of women waiting to be seen. Some were visibly pregnant and some women were with their partners.

  We walked to the front desk and the medical assistant—a soft looking middle aged woman—smiled welcomingly. Her nametag read, “Anna.”

  “Is this your first visit with Doctor Reveena?” Anna pulled
out a clipboard with new patient forms for me to fill out as if she already knew.

  “Yes,” I said. She had me sign in and then I took the forms with me to sit beside Josh. The couple across from us were studying a maternity magazine, the woman looked big, like over six months pregnant.

  “You okay?” Josh asked. I snapped out of it and glanced at him, smiling.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said and started filling out the first form. I couldn’t envision myself getting so big but I knew it was bound to happen. Then the thought finally crossed my mind that I’d have to push out a baby human through my very small vaginal canal and I balked.

  “Nao, what’s wrong?” Josh kissed my temple and put his hand over my trembling one.

  “I’m going to have to give birth, Josh. To a baby that’s gonna come through my vagina,” I whispered. He chuckled and I looked up at him, his smile disappeared when he saw that I was seriously freaking out.

  “I’m sure the doctor will be able to answer all of your questions about birth and we’ll go to those Lamaze classes so that we know what to expect,” he said. Josh rubbed my shoulder and I took a deep breath and focused on filling out the damned paperwork. When I was done, Josh took it to the front for me and I focused on not looking at the huge pregnant women all around me. I slipped into a realm where everything made me feel like I was in some kind of bizarre fantasy.

  “We might have a long wait,” Josh said when he came back. “Is it only the one doctor who works in this office?”

  “No, there’s two others,” I said. Just then, a nurse stepped into the waiting room and called a name. Two more people were called back after that. I started tapping my foot against the leg of my chair. Josh was reading a parenting magazine while glancing at me every few seconds. As much as he wanted to be a dad, I was sure he had no preparation for dealing with a pregnant partner.