by Bee Daniels
“Melanie tutors me,” Noah said off-handedly as he continued to flip through the exam to see what he had gotten wrong. It was only when he felt Julie staring that he realized he had said something wrong.
“Melanie?” Julie asked with a pinched look. “Who’s that?”
Oh. “I meant Professor Bryant.”
Julie’s eyebrows furrowed. “You call Professor Bryant Melanie?”
Before Noah could respond, Melanie made it back to the front of class and began to go over the ways people could improve their grades if they failed the exam. And Noah was grateful. He didn’t really feel like explaining himself about the situation.
It wasn’t long before class was over, and once it was, instead of heading to the door, Noah strolled down the steps on his way to speak to Melanie, who had a few students talking to her. As Noah straggled down the steps with hopes that by the time he made it down there, those students would be gone, Julie followed after him.
“Do you want to go to lunch?” she asked, hopefully.
“Oh. Sorry, I can’t. Mel— Professor Bryant owes me lunch.”
Melanie, who just finished talking to her last student, glanced at him with an arched brow, before realization settled in.
“Yeah, you got to pay up,” he said, thinking back on the deal they had made last time. If he passed this exam with higher than a B, she had to make him dinner again. And Noah was happy about that. Melanie’s food was good, and he could eat it all day.
Melanie groaned. “Maybe you should have failed the exam.”
Noah’s eyes widened before he laughed, following her out of the classroom. “How can you say that to your favorite student?”
“You’re not my favorite student,” she whined out as they walked out into the hall.
Noah flashed her a smile. “That’s not what your friend said.”
She gave him a look that told him she thought he was insufferable. That was okay with Noah because as long as she looked at him like that, it would make him happy.
“Let’s go knock out this next class,” he told her, wanting to make good on his own promise. She glanced at him and gave him a small smile, and he relished in it. Noah found that he lived for her smiles.
CHAPTER
17
MELANIE
A
S MELANIE SAT IN HER OFFICE ON CAMPUS, TALKING TO ABIGAIL, who had come to meet her before they went out to lunch, Melanie's phone continuously vibrated as she texted back and forth with Noah. Noah was texting her about a taco joint he had found over the weekend with some of his friends. Quickly, it turned from a conversation about whether the place was authentic or not into an argument about what the best taco was— beef tacos or chicken tacos. Melanie didn't even know why she was entertaining this kid. It was clear that chicken tacos were superior in every way and form.
Whenever Melanie finished sending a response back, when she would look at her friend, Abigail was always side-eying her. Finally, after the tenth text, Melanie gave up and gave in.
"What do you want to say, Abi?" Melanie asked her. Whenever something was on Abigail's mind, she would give Melanie looks and hints. Clearly, she was holding something on her tongue, and she would only say it if Melanie pried it out of her. To take mercy on Abigail's eyes, Melanie decided she would take the bait.
"Who are you texting with that big smile on your face?" Abi asked, grinning knowingly.
Melanie resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her friend's antics. Though they were both now pushing closer and closer to their thirties, it was clear to her that Abi was still the same eighteen-year-old at heart that she had met in her first year of college.
"First of all, I don't have a big smile on my face." Or did she? Melanie tried to fix her face subtly. She didn't remember smiling while texting Noah. There wasn't necessarily anything to smile about other than the fact that Noah clearly knew nothing about good food.
"Second of all, you already know I'm texting Noah."
"About what exactly? Because you couldn't be texting that long over schoolwork."
A part of her wanted to lie and say it was about schoolwork. How could she explain that she was texting her student about what the best tacos were like they were friends? Noah wasn't her friend, right? He was her student— nothing more and nothing less.
"We’re going over— Hey, don't take that."
Within seconds, Melanie’s phone was snatched from her desk, and Abigail began scrolling through her text messages. Melanie cringed as she looked at the reflection of her phone in Abigail's wide eyes as she read through Melanie's text messages.
"You guys are texting about tacos?" Abigail asked in disbelief. Melanie tried to compose herself in her seat despite the heat she felt in her cheeks. She was a professor working at a very good university, one of the best universities in the state, and she had a very nice job and career, and here she was getting embarrassed because she was texting her student about tacos. How did her life get to this point?
Melanie snatched her phone back and put it closer to her side of the desk, so it wasn't within Abigail's reach. Just as she did it, another text came through, and though she very much wanted to know how Noah responded, she didn't want Abigail to know how much she wanted to respond, so she ignored it instead. She would respond later to make her final case as to why chicken tacos were the best, and if all else failed, she would take Noah's offer on the taco joint to prove it to him.
"You and Noah are very close for professor and student."
Had anyone else suggested something like this, Melanie would be very offended and would have told them to leave her office for saying such a thing. But this wasn't just anybody. This was the friend that she had known close to ten years now. She didn't expect anything less from her. So instead of reacting with rage, she waved her off. Of course, Abigail would think something ridiculous like that. This wasn't a soap opera. She would never do anything like that with any of her students.
"Goodbye, Abi."
"What?" Abigail exclaimed, a smile in her eyes. Unfortunately, Melanie also knew her friend enough to know that she wouldn't let this go easily. "I'm just saying. Not many professors text their students about things outside of schoolwork, and then you told me about how he made you dinner—"
"You're making it sound weird when you say it like that—"
"You brought groceries together—"
"Correction. I brought groceries. He just helped me carry them up the stairs because he was there—"
"You go out to eat all the time."
"Sue me for eating lunch with my student. As if no one has ever done that."
"Melanie," Abigail said, giving her a look that told Melanie that Abi thought she was full of shit. But Melanie didn't understand why. She seriously wasn't doing anything with Noah, and she never would.
"It's not like that. I would never do anything with a student. End of discussion."
"How old is he?"
Melanie sighed, dropping her paperwork against the table. She wouldn't be able to get anything done like this. Now, she regretted agreeing to lunch. Abigail wanted to eat first before she went to the hockey game that was happening later on tonight. "I don't know, and it doesn't matter anyway."
"It's his second year, so this will be his last year to put his name in the draft. And then I remember my father saying something about his age back when he was in high school. I think he's at least 20 by now then."
"I don't know his age," Melanie said, though when she thought about it, that one time after she finished helping him study, they had dropped by a place for a quick bite to eat, and he was able to order a beer. But then again, the waitress hadn’t asked for either of their IDs because she had been so busy giving Noah googly eyes, being hypnotized by the signature charming smile Noah gave all the girls that highlighted his deep dimples. So, she had no idea how old he was. Melanie shook her head. It didn't matter anyway, and she definitely wouldn't confirm Abigail on what his age was.
"Look," Melanie started, wanting to end this discussion now. She felt uncomfortable talking about it, especially when she was at school. If anyone walking by heard them discussing this, they would think they were some dirty old cougars who were unable to get men their own ages, and they were anything but that. Yeah, she had a hard time with relationships, but that wasn't because of her inability to get a man, but more so, her inability to keep one. According to Abigail, Melanie had a way of turning men off with her life goals but screw them if they didn't understand stability. She didn't want to waste her life away with a relationship that wasn't going anywhere, and she wanted to make sure she kept her life plans on track. In her life plans, with her dream man that soon would be her husband and the father of her kids, he was not a kid himself. Noah checked off none of the requirements she wanted in a man, and the most important thing was that he was her student. She would never cross that line with him.
"I don't look at him that way. When I see Noah, I only see a student. He's a boy, not a man."
Abigail shrugged. "I would do it."
Melanie gasped, shocked because she knew whatever Abigail said, she meant, and Abigail laughed. "This isn't a sixteen-year hormonal kid. You call him a boy, but trust, he's anything but that, Melanie. He might not necessarily be a man yet, but then again, most men our ages aren't men yet either. If he's over 19, I don't see what the problem is."
"The problem is that he's my student."
"So, what if you met him now, but you weren't teaching him?"
That made Melanie pause. And for a second, her mind drifted before she quickly shut that door down. She wouldn't even think about it. She liked Noah, but not in the way she would like a man. She liked his company, and out of all of her students, she hated to say it, but he was her favorite, though there was no way in this lifetime that she would ever admit that to someone as arrogant as Noah. She wouldn't think of him in that way because it didn't matter about the ifs. It didn't change the fact that he was her student, and that she didn't see him that way at all.
"It doesn't matter."
"Suit yourself," Abigail said with a shrug. "But, still, we really need to get you laid. Did you use the app yet?"
Melanie shook her head as she placed her paperwork into her drawer before locking it up. She grabbed her phone and purse and headed towards the door.
"Let's go while I still have my patience," Melanie said, grumpily. She always felt slightly sensitive whenever her failures of love were brought up. In everything else in life, she was a winner, but this was the one task that she could not beat. Why was love so hard?
"You're going to the game with me, right? So, you can see your favorite student? I know you said you didn't want to go, but maybe after our conversation, you want to go now." Abigail wiggled a brow suggestively, and Melanie glared at her.
"That's it!" Melanie exclaimed. "You're going to lunch on your own, and to the game on your own."
"Aww," Abigail said, glumping herself onto Melanie, kissing her cheek. "Don't be that way. You can't let me eat alone. Okay. Fine. You don't have to go to the game."
"I don't even know why I'm friends with you," Melanie grumbled, and Abigail squeezed her tighter.
"Because you love me!"
CHAPTER
18
MELANIE
B
EFORE THE GAME EVEN STARTED, THE SCREAMS WERE LOUD AND BOISTEROUS. Feet banged against the steps of the bleachers as people clapped loudly, amped up on the high of the night. But when the players came out, the crowd became louder, screams at an ear pitching high, nearly making Melanie regret letting her friend goad her into coming here.
Melanie sat, purse nestled against her stomach like armor while attempting to shake the jitter in her legs. Though she liked basketball, she had never gone to a game before. Now, she was here in a packed stadium, and she felt out of her element. She wished Abigail would come back soon from picking up some snacks from the concession stand, but Melanie had a feeling that would take a while, judging by the line she saw earlier.
"Which team are you here for?"
It was only a second later that Melanie realized the man sitting next to her was speaking to her. She looked at him, slightly perplexed by why he was suddenly talking to her, only to notice that he was quite handsome. Dark chocolate skin, a nice goatee that complemented his pearly white teeth, and he was also clean-shaven that let Melanie know he was a man that took care of himself. And best of all was his smile. He wasn't just quite handsome, he was very handsome, and he was smiling at her. She hadn't even noticed him when she first sat down because she had been so busy responding to emails from her students.
"Oh, I'm here for the Falcons," Melanie said and then cringed, wondering if she had said it right. She didn't even know the mascot for the university she worked at though she had a few students a part of sports teams who always wore their jerseys with the school's mascot on it. How could she not remember that? And, why didn’t she just say Weston? Melanie cursed herself for being so shy around men.
"Me too," the man said, a crinkle around his eye as he smiled. "I couldn't tell if you were here for the other team or not. For a second, I thought you might have been a recruiter."
"Why is that?"
"You're dressed up in a suit," he said, gesturing to her heels and dress pants. Since she had never planned on going, Melanie never had time to change. She was positive at first that she was going to go straight home after eating with Abigail, but Melanie should have known that Abigail would have found a way to drag her here against her will with all her sob talk about Noah needing support. Noah probably wouldn't even notice she was here nor care.
"Oh," Melanie responded meekly, pushing up her glasses, not sure of what else to say. She had never been a good talker around handsome men because it made her nervous.
"I told her we should stop by her house so she can change first," Abigail said, joining the conversation as she sat down with a drink in her hand and a box of candy. "I'm Abigail, and you are?" she asked, offering her hand.
The man did not hesitate and eagerly shook her hand, Melanie noticed. He was the social type. That wasn't a bad personality trait to have. "I'm Damon," he said. The name matched him, and his deep voice. Melanie liked it.
"And you are?" he asked, looking pointedly at Melanie.
"You didn't even tell him your name?" Abigail asked, rolling her eyes. "Sorry, my friend is shy. Her name is—"
"I can tell him my own name," Melanie said, embarrassed. Sometimes, Abigail really was too much. She needed to give her a muzzle. "I'm Melanie."
Damon offered his hand to her, and when she shook it, Melanie noted, he shook her hand a few seconds longer than he had with Abigail.
"It's nice to meet you, Melanie and Abigail."
"So, what do you do, Damon?" Abigail asked cheekily, giving Melanie a wink. She clearly liked Damon for her, and right now, Melanie was definitely leaning towards the positive side too. But she was positive that was because of looks alone, and attraction was not the only thing necessary for a healthy, long-lasting relationship. She needed to know more about Damon to know if she wanted to pursue a relationship with him.
Before Damon could respond to Abigail's question, a loud bomb sounded, nearly sending Melanie's heart out of her chest. Suddenly, practically everyone in the room stood up, cheering, and Melanie did not have to wonder for too long why everyone was so hyped when she saw Noah skating out onto the ice. He waved at the people in the stands as he effortlessly skated across the ice. It was like seeing Noah for the first time.
She heard Abigail talk about him, and she had dealt with Coach Benson's praises of him. And maybe, just maybe, she didn't necessarily believe them. But right now, Noah looked like a star even without playing the game. He was loved, and everyone was cheering for him like he was LeBron James winning the championship for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Noah Walker wasn't just her arrogant student. He was the real deal.<
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People continued to cheer, especially the girls; their voices could be heard louder than anyone else.
"There goes your boy," Abigail said, winking at her, as if Melanie could not see Noah clearly on the middle of the ice, receiving love and praise from everyone.
Finally, the cheers died down as the game began to start. And once it did, Melanie was lost. It's not like hockey was a hard sport to understand. It wasn't. It just really wasn't her cup of tea, and it really didn't hold her interest unless she saw one of her students playing. And it wasn't just Noah out there, but she even saw Dale and Josh playing too. She wanted to cheer for all of them. They looked so happy out on the ice, a stark contrast from how they were in her class. From what she could tell, they were good players, doing their part to help the team.
And Noah, well, Noah was something else on the ice entirely. He was a beast, running through everyone around him to get the puck past the goalie. It was really weird seeing him this way, especially when she initially thought he was nothing but a slacker, but clearly, he took something seriously, and that was hockey.
When Noah scored again, everyone cheered, including Abigail, who was practically bouncing in her seat.
"I'm telling you, Melanie," Abigail said as she sat back down. "He's going to go pro one day."
"Who? Walker?" Damon asked as he simultaneously kept his eyes on the ice. "Of course, he's going pro. He has it in the bag, and not just because of his father. No one is like Walker on the ice. If he keeps playing like this, every hockey team in the country will want him."
Suddenly, Melanie felt bad for giving Noah such a hard time. Then again, had Noah been doing his work properly, then it would have never had to come to these tutoring sessions anyway, but now she could see why he was so passionate about hockey. She still wouldn't have given him a pass anyway, but she definitely could see his passion.
The air in the room must have been infectious because the next time Noah scored, Melanie found herself jumping up with both Damon and Abigail as everyone cheered. She was super happy, and their team was dominating on the ice. It was only when Melanie clapped Abigail's hand that she realized what she was doing, and she quickly got a hold of herself, ignoring Abigail's knowing look. Gosh. She really needed new friends.