by Alex Wolf
“I’m not in high school. W-we c-could make something work.”
Jesus. She still wouldn’t let it go. If there was a God, He was definitely trolling the professor. A beautiful young woman practically begging for him, and he had to say no. One he liked, even. Surely, she could understand his point of view.
He did his best to search for words that wouldn’t hurt her feelings more than he already had. The last thing he wanted to do was see her in pain, and he could tell his words were driving a dagger through her heart.
He looked down at the ground, and then off at the wall. Anything to relieve him of her intensity. “Not going to happen. It’s not ethical. I’m a teacher, and you’re my student.” His eyes moved back to hers. If he could show her how bad it would be for her, maybe he could get through and make her understand. “You have your entire life ahead of you. It would complicate everything for you. It’s against university policy, and I don’t want to see you get in trouble.” He could see by the look in her eyes she didn’t care if she got into trouble. She was willing to risk everything just to be with him.
“If that’s how you feel, why do you dress the way you do? Why do you look at me the way you do? I’m not an idiot. I see what you’re doing. You can’t just flirt with me until you get bored, and then move on.” Her jaw tensed as she spoke.
God, is this woman psychotic?
But if he was honest with himself, the crazier she sounded, the more he wanted her. He secretly loved how much she craved him, even though he couldn’t act on it. The power that came with that was almost too much to keep him restrained. When her jaw tensed, and the anger filled her tone, his cock stiffened more.
Compose yourself.
“It wasn’t my intention to lead you on. I apologize if you took it that way. I try to look nice because I take my job seriously. If I expect my students to take things seriously, I have to set an example.” He knew it was bullshit. He’d dressed up for her. She was spot-on with her assumptions.
Part of him loved the fact he was heating her up even more. Frustrating her. He didn’t like that about himself, but what else could he say?
She was about to respond when the door suddenly opened, and one of the other students walked in. Grant recognized the kid from one of his other classes, but he didn’t know his name.
“Sorry, professor. Am I interrupting?” His eyes roamed from Grant to Kristen.
“What’s up, Jordan?” She turned to face him.
Grant didn’t like the look in her eyes when she did it, as if she had some devious plan.
“We’re busy, if you don’t mind.” Grant’s words came out harsher than intended.
Kristen stared over at the professor and shook her head. “No, that’s okay. We were just wrapping up. It’s no big deal.”
Grant’s stare hardened at her, as if to say what the hell are you doing?
Kristen turned to Jordan. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing, I just left something in the room earlier. Gonna see if it’s still here.” He ran over to a table and reached down and picked up something off the floor. “Sorry, professor. My lucky pen.” He held it up at them.
“Lucky pen?” Grant asked.
“Yeah, I aced all my finals with it last year, so I keep it for test days. Thought it was gone.”
“Okay then.” Grant nodded to the door.
Kristen had taken a few steps toward the exit as well while Grant had been talking to Jordan.
Jordan looked Kristen up and down in her outfit, definitely checking her out. Grant’s hands balled into fists at his sides, and he caught himself glaring at Jordan.
“You can walk me out, if you don’t mind.” She stared back at Grant when she said it and added a little sway in her hips. She stopped next to Jordan and hooked her arm in his.
Jordan’s eyes lit up like a horny teenager. “There’s a few people going bar-hopping downtown tonight. Wanna go? Might get a little crazy.”
Kristen glanced back at Grant, as if challenging him to stop her, and then back to Jordan. “Sounds awesome.”
Heat rushed into Grant’s face, and he didn’t appreciate the way he was affected by this. He was a professor for fuck’s sake, and she was a college student. He should be encouraging her to go and have fun, yet all he could think about was ramming Jordan’s face through the wall for touching her. When he was finished, he’d tell him to stay the fuck away from what was his.
The more his mind wandered, the worse it got. She’d practically accepted a date right in front of him. And if they were going bar hopping, it meant she’d be drinking, most likely heavy drinking. He knew how the college boys were. They’d get women drunk and do anything in their power to take advantage of them.
No. He couldn’t let her make a mistake like that. The thought of her fucking some little frat boy like Jordan sent flames rushing through his body. His chest constricted, and every muscle tightened.
He had to do something, but what? He couldn’t tell her to stop acting like a fucking idiot in front of Jordan. He couldn’t make a scene. “You have a test coming up, Miss Monroe. You’d better get a good score, or college, and the bar hopping, might end early for you.” His face had to be bright red, and he needed a cold shower to cool himself off.
She looked at him with a wry smile. “Thank you so much, professor. Seriously, you were such a huge help to me today. I’ve got it down now. Think I’ll celebrate with a little fun.” She turned to Jordan. “Want to pick me up?”
Jordan practically drooled in front of her but tried to do one of those frat boy head nods to play it cool. He stared down at Kristen’s ass while she was turned toward the professor. “Definitely. Text me your room number. I’ll pick you up when you’re ready. We were thinking about heading out around seven.”
“Here’s my phone. Put your number in it, and I’ll send you a text when I get back to the dorms.”
She grinned at Grant while Jordan typed his number in the phone.
Grant glared at her, trying to let her know how displeased he was with nothing but his eyes.
It was a mistake. He should act like he didn’t care. He knew that was the way to win this little game of hers, but his frustration wouldn’t allow it.
Jordan handed the phone back.
“Goodnight, professor.” Kristen didn’t even bother to look back after she turned and followed Jordan through the door.
Fucking bitch.
Maybe it was for the best. Maybe once she was gone things would improve. He’d calm down and go back to grading papers. All he could do was worry about her though. His feelings morphed from angry to concerned.
The worst part was he knew if he really wanted, he could be fucking an orgasm out of her right now, on his bed and pretty much anywhere else he wanted. She would’ve followed him blindly and did whatever he told her to do.
Fuck.
He was almost sure she had a fake ID. Every damn freshman on the campus seemed to have one, and if they didn’t, someone else would buy the shit for them. He’d pissed her off. She’d probably get wasted now to take her mind off him. He knew she drank heavily. The girl was hungover and smelled of alcohol on the first day of school.
What if she got drunk and something happened? She could end up drugged or raped. Would it be his fault? Not legally, but he could’ve prevented it if he hadn’t run her off. He’d be up all night worried about what he’d done.
Right then, he realized he had to stop sending her signals, flirting with her. This was the exact reason he never should’ve done it in the first place.
He’d led her on. Rejected her. And now she was going to go make a stupid decision because of him. It had to stop. All of it. He needed to cut the shit off, stop sending her mixed signals, and be clear and concise the next time he saw her.
He had to let her know nothing would ever happen between them.
Chapter Eight
Kristen kept her head down as she walked back to the dorm. Her mind was spinning, and she didn’t know which
thought to follow. There was a deep sting in her chest, like someone squeezed her lungs so hard she couldn’t breathe. Anxiety riddled her stomach, and she thought she might burst into tears before she got back to her room.
She’d gotten away from Jordan as soon as she left the classroom, telling him she would text him later. She hadn’t given him her number so she could blame it on miscommunication. What the hell had happened back there?
She’d been rejected, but the thing with Jordan. She didn’t know what had come over her. Maybe it was the fact she wanted to frustrate Grant as much as he frustrated her.
Still, it was childish and inconsiderate. Even though she didn’t think Jordan really gave a fuck. He was just looking to get laid, and if not her, he’d find someone else. It wasn’t like it was difficult to find a fuck buddy for the night at college.
Right now, her heart was shattered. There was no way she could go out later. She’d thought for sure once she’d dropped obvious hints and been straightforward, Grant would jump all over the opportunity. Why else would he subtly flirt with her and change his outfits for her? He said he hadn’t, but he was full of shit.
She didn’t want to go out with anyone but him. And he didn’t want any part of her.
She needed to get her shit together and just focus on school. What was she thinking anyway? It did put him in a compromising position.
She wouldn’t have told anyone though. She’d have been perfectly fine keeping it all a huge secret, taking proper precautions to make sure nobody found out. Why didn’t he trust her? She would have just as much to lose as him. Even if they had a falling out, she wasn’t so shitty as to try and get him fired over it. She liked to play the flirt-and-make-jealous game, but she cared about him way too much to ever hurt him.
The real question was why did he pull back so suddenly? Sure, she heard his excuses, but you wouldn’t lead someone on if you thought that way. Why was he staring at her tits and lingering over her shoulder? Why was he offering to give her one-on-one help when everyone knew there was no way he’d do that for someone else?
She pushed her way into her dorm room, glad to have a few minutes to herself. Maybe have a nice little cry and then pick herself up.
Stefani was seated on her bed with a book in her hands, flipping through like a machine.
God, didn’t she ever go and do anything?
She smiled at Kristen, but it quickly faded when she saw the look on Kristen’s face.
Kristen didn’t like being upset with Stef either. She was a hard worker, and she was always nice to her, even when she thought she was screwing up. She always tried to help Kristen with her problems when she’d clearly rather be studying or doing something else. Kristen didn’t want to be mad at her roommate, but she needed some fucking privacy for five minutes. Was it too much to ask?
“What’s wrong?”
Kristen stood there for a brief moment, staring a thousand yards beyond the room, and her bottom lip began to quiver. She burst into tears. They streamed down both sides of her face.
She couldn’t hold it back any longer. She sat there and spilled the entire story to her roommate.
She sobbed as she spoke, and Stefani rose from her chair and put her arms around her.
“I’m sorry.” She squeezed Kristen in a hug, but Kristen wasn’t feeling much comfort in her words.
Kristen wanted to tell her friend that there was so much more to the situation than what she was able to say, but she couldn’t find the right phrasing to do it. How could she make her understand when she didn’t fully understand herself?
“I don’t understand what the problem is with a professor dating a student? We’re both adults.”
Stefani leaned her head on Kristen’s shoulder. “I had a crush on one of my professors, too. Then I found out he’s married, and I had to get over it.”
Kristen stared up at her blankly. “Really?”
Stefani nodded. “Yep.”
“That does make me feel a little better.”
Stefani frowned.
“No, no, not that he was married or whatever. I’m saying, gah—” Kristen damn near started crying again. She never cried and hated herself even more for that. “I mean it’s nice to know I’m not the only person crushing all over a professor.”
Stefani nodded. “Oh, okay. Yeah.” She stared at Kristen and smiled with a shrug. “It’s hard when there are all these good-looking men on campus who have their shit together, and we’re supposed to go out with the ones who don’t.”
For the first time in a while, Kristen laughed. A real, genuine laugh. Stefani had a point. A damn good one too. She felt a sense of relief. She’d thought Stefani stayed in their room like a hermit all day and did nothing but study, and then study some more. It was nice to know even the conservative girl who didn’t seem to even notice guys had suffered from the same affliction.
“You’re absolutely right.” Kristen smiled. It was nice talking to Stefani, and actually having a conversation. She’d assumed she was sitting back, judging the situation the entire time when really she could relate to her.
She made a mental note not to judge people or size them up as quickly as she had. Stef was a good friend and the best roommate she could ask for.
Maybe that was what was so attractive about Professor Wiseman. Kristen hadn’t been able to put her finger on it, but Stef hit the nail on the head. He was already established in life and had his shit together. That, and he had icy-blue eyes behind a hot set of glasses and a fucking body like a Greek god. And he was broody, and protective, and jealous. He was the ultimate alpha professor. The kind you read about in romance novels but didn’t exist in the real world.
“It still hurts, though. Why would he do that to me? He broke my heart like it was nothing.” She shook her head as she looked out the window.
Stefani nodded once more. “I know it hurts, and I think that was a shitty thing for him to do. I think you should move on, though. You don’t have to waste your time on a guy who’s going to be wishy-washy. You can’t trust someone like that.”
Kristen nodded. She knew Stef was right, as hard as it was for her to believe it. She’d have to push through the pain and move on. She couldn’t waste her time with a man who didn’t want her.
He’d basically told her there was no way they could be together, too. It wasn’t like he was unsure or thinking about it.
Nope.
It was steadfast—final. Maybe there was a hot senior out there, or better yet, a grad student who was heading places and looking for something long-term. One that was even hotter than the professor.
“So, what do I do? I’ve never been rejected like this before.” She still had tears in her eyes, and a thick lump formed in her throat.
“Why don’t you go out tonight? I know you said you don’t want to, but trust me, that’s the best way for you to get over him. Jordan’s a decent enough guy. Just go have fun and remember you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. But it’ll definitely take your mind off things.” Stefani smirked. “Jordan’s not that bad to look at either.”
Kristen tried to smile. She had to agree. Jordan was good looking and seemed sweet, and she wouldn’t mind fucking him. He was probably decent in the bedroom, too. But he wasn’t Professor Wiseman. Something inside of her just simply wanted what she couldn’t have, like it was a wired reaction and part of being a human.
She should be happy someone like Jordan even asked her out. A lot of girls on campus would die for a date with him. But she wanted what she wanted.
“All right, but I’m not going out very long. I’ve got other things to do. I don’t have time to be moping around about some crush, anyway. I’ll just have some fun with Jordan and his friends for a bit and call it a night.” She rose from the bed, walked over to her closet, and opened the door, scanning her clothes for something that might look good. “Hey Stef?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. Seriously.”
Stef nodded. “No problem.
” She looked Kristen up and down for a quick second. “Why don’t you wear something of mine? You want to look good, and it might help if you have something different than what you normally wear.”
Kristen grinned. It was the first time Stefani had offered to loan her clothes, and it was nice that she’d taken the time to try and make her feel better. Stefani was very particular about clothes.
She didn’t have much, but what she did have was adorable.
“Really?” Kristen’s eyes widened, and she raised her eyebrows.
Stefani chuckled as she walked over and opened her side of the closet. She flipped through everything and grabbed a leather jacket. “You’ll rock the shit out of this. Turn every head in the club.”
Kristen took the jacket with a smile. “Thanks. I’ll take good care of it.” She slipped it on and looked in the mirror, trying not to criticize herself too much.
Stefani stood behind her and smiled. “You look smokin’. Maybe you’ll find someone even better than Jordan.”
Kristen smiled. “It does look good.”
“Good? You wear that jacket, and you call the shots. It’s made for a boss.” They both cracked up.
“Is it okay to ditch one date for another?”
Stefani gave her a mischievous look. “You can do whatever the hell you want. Especially if the other date is hotter. Is it even a date?”
“I don’t know. It really sounded more like he was asking me to hang out with a group.”
“There you go. Take your pick.”
Kristen sat there, smiling. She was glad she’d decided to open up and tell her roommate about what’d happened. Kristen hadn’t thought it would go anywhere near this well.
She was so used to keeping things to herself that she never opened up to anyone.
She could still feel anxiety in her stomach when she thought about Wiseman, but it was a little less than before. She would need to move on at some point, and better sooner rather than later.
Kristen took her time pairing her jeans with boots and finding the right shirt to wear with the jacket. For a minute, she entertained how nice it would be if Wiseman happened to see her out somewhere while she looked hot as fuck in Stef’s jacket and the rest of her outfit.