The Professor

by Kelli Callahan

  And that kiss? It will last me a hundred Christmases.

  Chapter One

  Abby

  Head down, I march through the parking lot toward the school’s front door. I pull my beanie low over my brow. It’s a knitted, drab brown thing with too many spaces in it. It’s the ugliest headwear one will probably ever look at, but I love it. My sister made it two years ago when she volunteered at the nursing home. One of the residents taught her how to knit. She sucks at it… evidenced by the beanie I’m wearing. Yet, it’s my most special accessory. I wear it for luck.

  I need luck today. Well, more comfort than luck really. I’m back at school for my second semester. Although I busted my ass in high school and got a full academic scholarship to St. Jacobs University. I feel out of place. Maybe you’d say I have every right to be here but not everyone thinks so, and that’s what makes me uncomfortable. A girl from the wrong side of the tracks with a criminal father, who is in prison, shouldn’t be here. That’s the kind of looks I’m expecting to get. I got them all through my first semester. Thank God for that Christmas break. I really needed the time away from the small-town judgment. I get too many scornful looks from too many residents of Oak Valley.

  Blowing out a breath, I burrow into my coat. I’ll just have to steel myself against the judgement like I always do. I’m here for a purpose and I’m going to fulfil that purpose. I’ve got a lot to prove as a Knight, and I’m going to show everyone that not all Knights will end up in prison.

  “Abbs! Hey Abbs!”

  I look up to see a familiar face and smile. It’s Charlie, my friend from the diner where I work part time. She’s waving excitedly. I swear, I don’t know where she gets so much energy from. It’s like she’s always in a state of hyperactivity. Her bubbly personality matches her in every way. I’m glad I’ve seen her because I need the extra boost she tends to give people when she is around them.

  I’ve known her for years, but we’ve only become friends since we graduated high school. She was always a year ahead, so we didn’t cross paths much. It’s kind of a weird friendship since she’s the police chief’s daughter, and I come from an infamous family known for criminal activities. Charlie is really cool. One of the few who doesn’t look at me like I’m poor scum from the worst side of town. She doesn’t think I’m going to end up like my dad. Charlie believes in me, something I find hard to come by these days.

  “Hey,” I say happily.

  Her wide green eyes smile just as much as her lips do. She pulls me in for a hug. “Welcome back from your fancy getaway.”

  “I wouldn’t call it fancy and I got back last week so you’re way late, Ms. President of the welcome committee.”

  She laughs. “I haven’t set eyes on you since you got back, so accept my late welcome and be grateful.”

  I snort. “Thanks.” After I got back, I took a week off from work, so we haven’t seen each other.

  She flings an arm around my shoulders and leads me towards the biggest building on the campus. “How was it? Tell me everything. Did you finally lose your v-card?”

  “Oh, my God. Say that a little louder I don’t think the rest of the town heard you.” I give her a heated glare.

  “I’ll take that as a no.”

  I playfully elbow her in her side, and she giggles. “Really, how was it?”

  “It was great. I’ve never been anywhere, so it was exciting. And warm.” Funnily enough, I would have lost my v-card if I hadn’t come to my senses. The memory of Bryce, the handsome stranger I’d fooled around with, warms me from the inside out. He’s become the star feature of all my female wet dreams since our encounter. I wonder what would have happened that night if he hadn’t been such a gentleman with self-control. He had wanted to go further, I saw it in his eyes. If he hadn’t stopped, I would have let him go further.

  Charlie sighs and looks skyward. “Ugh, Christmas on the beach. Must be nice. In the meantime, I was here freezing my ass off. If my dad wasn’t such a stickler for Christmas with the family, I would have been in Cancun with you and Lucy.”

  “Next time.” I push thoughts of my vacation escapades aside. I’m not even going to mention it to Charlie. She’ll get too excited...as she does about everything.

  “Oh, are you implying a girls’ trip for the near future?”

  I scoff. “The near future is out of the question. It took me a freaking year to save enough for Mexico.” Now that I have school to focus on, I’ll probably be doing fewer hours at the diner sometimes.

  Charlie wrinkles her nose. “One day, we’ll have our wild girl’s trip.”

  “One day,” I mutter.

  She gives me a squeeze. “So, freshman, you survived your first semester of college. How are you feeling about starting your second, you nerd?”

  “I’m not a―”

  “You got a full academic scholarship. You’re a nerd. Accept it.” She shrugs. “At least, you’re a cute one.”

  I roll my eyes. “Whatever. I’m nervous but happy, I guess. One less day before I graduate and get the hell out of here.”

  “Here as in St. Jacobs University or…”

  “You know damn well what I mean.” Pretty soon, I’m hightailing it out of Oak Valley, and I intend to take my sister with me.

  “But, Abby,” she whines, “why would you want to leave me?”

  I laugh at her dramatic tone. “Why would I want to stay in a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business and treat me and my family like social pariahs?”

  “That’s not true.”

  I turn to her with a raised brow and she huffs. She knows damn well that it’s true.

  “Well, I’m not worried. You might find a reason to stay.”

  “Yeah, right,” I grumble. “So, experienced college sophomore, point me in the direction of…” I hold my schedule out to peer at it, “my economics class.” I didn’t take the course last semester but decided to this time around.

  Charlie gasps. “Economics with Professor Marshall?”

  “That’s what it says.” I’m still going over my schedule of classes.

  “You lucky bitch.”

  I can’t help laughing. Charlie is a piece of work. “Sitting in an economics class makes me lucky? Okay, if you say so.”

  “Not just any economics class. Professor Marshall’s economics class.”

  Staring at her, I shrug. “Is that supposed to mean something?”

  “He’s the hottest professor you’ll ever see, I promise.”

  “Well, you’re known to be dramatic and extra so…”

  She sniffs and flips her blonde hair. “This is not me being extra. I’m stating facts. Do you know that a lot of female students take his class for no other reason than to stare at him?”

  “You sound guilty.”

  Her sheepish grin makes me snicker. “You’ll see what I’m talking about soon enough. Come on, I’ll show you the way.”

  “Thanks, this place is a maze.”

  “It’s not far. The building is across from the gym. It’s not new like the rest of the buildings. It’s older, more historic or whatever.” Charlie loops her arm through mine and nearly skips with happiness and waves at other students as they pass by.

  “I need to have what you drink in the morning,” I mumble, wanting to just crawl back into bed and that’s after two cups of coffee.

  We pass the dining hall and the sign for the gym is light blue sticking in the grass. “Just a green smoothie. Super foods. It really matters, Abby. Happy inner body, happy outer.”

  “You sound like a commercial,” I tease just as she points to the building I need to get to.

  “Maybe one day I’ll be in one,” she says as chipper as ever. “You want to go there. I’ll see you later. I need to get to my psychology class.”

  “Okay, see you later.”

  She wiggles her brows. “Tell me everything about Professor Marshall when your class is over. Text me like my life depends on it.”

  “Bye, Charlie,”
I drawl out her name and open the door to the building.

  “Tootles,” she finger waves.

  Since class is about to start, students are clogging the hallway. I stare at my schedule and realize I need to make my way up the stairs to the second floor. “Excuse me,” I say to the people I bump into. “Sorry.” I hurry up the steps and turn left and find the door with the correct room number.

  A few people are entering the door at the end of the hall, so I follow the crowd. Come to find out, this is where I need to be.

  I hurry down the steps and pick a desk that isn’t too close to the front or too far. I don’t want to seem too eager. I sit down, sling my backpack off, and unzip it to gather supplies.

  Notebook and pen on my desk, I glance around the lecture hall. It’s a medium-sized room. St. Jacobs is in a small town, but it’s a big university and there are plenty of students from out of state. That comforts me a little. At least, not all the students will know who I am. As I survey the room, I catch a few glances from some of the town’s residents―most of them I went to high school with. Just like that, the little comfort I’d achieved vanishes. Stifling a groan, I sink down in my seat, wishing I was invisible.

  The room gradually fills up, and I relax… a little. A man walks in and puts his laptop bag on the desk. He’s wearing a button-down shirt that fits him with perfection and black slacks. The famous Professor Marshall, I presume. He isn’t what one would expect when hearing the title professor. For some reason I always thought of professors as older English guys with thick round glasses, gray hair and beard and dressed in dapper three-piece suits. This one is tall, young, and handsome. I guess I’m guilty of stereotyping. I fight back a laugh. I almost choke on it, however, when I get a good look at the professor’s face.

  No. It can’t be because the world cannot be that small and hate me so much.

  No fucking way!

  Have I thought about Bryce and our kiss so much that I’m hallucinating? There’s no way he’s standing at the front of the room, facing the class right now. I blink several times.

  “Good morning, fresh young minds.” He grins.

  There’s no mistaking that smooth baritone or the charming, panty-dropping smile.

  “Good morning, Professor Marshall,” comes the chorused reply. The first three rows are lined with females, and I swear I hear a rush of sighs.

  I nearly keel over from pure shock. How is this possible? Of all the men I could have met in Cancun, lied to, and kissed, it had to be my college professor. I glance upward and glare.

  Hilarious, I throw at the big guy upstairs.

  Sinking lower in my chair, I eye the door with longing. If I try to leave, he’ll see me for sure. While my heart gallops, Professor Marshall...Bryce, introduces himself to his new students. He starts his lecture, and his eyes move around the room. He doesn’t seem to recognize me. Maybe he forgot about me. Why would he remember some random girl he kissed on the beach? Look at him, he must have women throwing themselves at him daily. I’m expecting at least one of the female students in the front row to do just that. They’re practically salivating. Savages.

  I peep at him, praying that I look different enough for him not to recognize me. I’m still wearing the horrendous beanie. That should throw him off. I can’t focus on a thing he’s saying. All I can think about is that night in the water, in his arms. Our bodies pressed together, his mouth exploring mine.

  Oh God.

  The first thing I’m doing after this is dropping his class.

  Chapter Two

  Bryce

  A new semester and fresh faces. I love my job. It’s my second year at St. Jacobs teaching economics. Almost everyone I know thinks I’m crazy for working. Funny, right? I mean, working is a part of life. It’s just that it doesn’t have to be a part of mine. As the mayor’s son and a trust fund kid, I have the option of being at home, lounging by the heated inside pool on this cold winter’s day. I can even be on some island paradise sipping cocktails. Whatever rich folks do with their lives. But I’m here in a classroom and I’m happy.

  It’s the end of my class and students are slowly filing out. I try to take in every face as they leave. There’s a mixture of returning and new faces. There was this one student sitting in the middle row that kept ducking every time I looked her way. It was hard not to notice, and I was a little amused. I did get a quick glimpse of her at one point though and almost lost my trail of thought.

  For a moment, I thought it was the woman that has been haunting my dreams― in a good way― for the last week. As much as I’ve tried, I can’t shake thoughts of Jessica. I’ve never felt such a connection with anyone before. Such an instant attraction. I’d walked away that night, leaving things at only a kiss because I’d been too shaken by my reaction to her.

  Shoving my laptop and everything else into my bag, I still scan the faces heading for the door, still searching for the girl with the brown beanie. I spot her scurrying like mad for the exit. I frown. Wait a minute…

  “Hey! Jessica?”

  It can’t be. She said she lives in Las Vegas. Then again, we get plenty of students from out of state. A bubble of hope rises in my chest but quickly deflates. No, if it is her, she can’t be my student. Educators and students are a big no-no.

  She freezes and glances over her shoulder.

  I’m practically hit in the chest with the force of shock.

  Fuck me.

  It is her. The same petite frame only now she’s not wearing a skimpy two piece. It’s the same sweet, heart-shaped, innocent face, tilted blue eyes and pouty lips that have been wakening me up in the middle of the night, harder than steel. Lips that I know to be incredibly soft and delicious. Her eyes widen and she takes off again, up the stairs and towards the back exit.

  “Wait.” A few other students look my way and I growl. “Damn it.” Grabbing my bag, I take off after her. My shock is replaced with confusion. Why is she running? She looked terrified just now. I try to make chasing down a student look as little conspicuous as possible. It’s a pretty hard task.

  When I catch up to her, I grab her elbow without thought. She wheels around, still wearing the terrified expression. Remembering where I am, I let go of her and take a quick look around. Luckily, no one seems to notice us. We stare at each for a while. I search her face, drinking her in. All I can see is us in the water, her arms around my neck, her breasts crushed against my chest, us devouring each other in a heated kiss. My jaw clenches, recalling the intense craving I’d had to take more. I didn’t know the extent of my self-control until that night on the beach.

  “Jesus, you’re my student,” is the first thing I utter.

  Her face flushes a pretty pink and her gaze drops. This is just too much of a coincidence.

  Studying her with suspicion, I ask, “You’re not from Las Vegas, are you?”

  I’m hit with that familiar jolt of attraction when her eyes meet mine. It’s even more disturbing this time because I’m her freaking professor.

  “No.” Finally she speaks.

  “So you’re Jessica from…”

  “Not Jessica.” Her face is no longer pink, but a bright red. “I’m Abigale from...here.”

  So she lied. I’m a little pissed. But should I really be? Maybe she was just trying to protect herself because she didn’t know me. I was just a stranger on the beach. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I nod. “Okay. Abigale what?”

  Her teeth sink into her lower lip, distracting me. I can’t stop my gaze from drifting to the plump, tempting flesh.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “I’ll find out, anyway. You’re in my class.” Even if she wasn’t, it wouldn’t be hard.

  “Not anymore.”

  “So you’re going to drop my class?”

  “Yes,” she hisses and looks around. “This is beyond awkward, okay?”

  I can’t deny that it is. Blowing out a breath, I tell her, “You don’t have to do that. Drop my class, I mean.”

  “Wel
l, I shoved my tongue down your throat only to find out that you’re my professor so, yeah, I kinda have to.”

  My lips twitch. There’s that sarcastic sense of humor I detected when we met. The magnetism between us is quickly overriding the knowledge that she’s my student. Now, I’m happy that I’ve run into her. “How long have you lived in Oak Valley, Abigale?”

  Her eyes round to the size of small saucers, and she gives our surroundings another sweep. There are students mulling around, but no one is paying much attention to us. “Seriously? You want to stand in the middle of campus and have small talk?”

  “Why not?” I shrug. “For all anyone knows, you’re asking me questions about my class.”

  She releases a long breath and rolls her eyes. “Can’t you just forget we ever met and leave me alone?”

  I really wish I could. But she’s stuck in my head. “No. So, how long have you lived here?”

  “I can’t believe this,” she grumbles. “All my life.”

  I can’t believe she’s been right here in Oak Valley all along, and I’ve never laid eyes on her. “Where have you been hiding?”

  Her derisive snort has me raising a brow. “On the other side of the tracks, teach.” She gives me a once over. “The chances of us meeting before now were slim. You don’t even know what the west side looks like.”

  Ah, so she’s from the other side of town. “So much judgement in your tone. How do you know I’ve never been to the west side?”

  A small smile lifts her lips, but I detect no humor. She angles her chin to my left wrist. “People from my world don’t rock Rolexes. Unless it’s stolen.”

  She’s glaring at me, so I glare back. For goodness’s sake, why are we glaring? Pulling in a breath, I relax my stance. I got so tense because her energy became so defensive, which I don’t understand. I don’t give a shit where she’s from. “Can we meet up somewhere else to talk? Somewhere more private?”

  She scoffs. “Absolutely not.”

  “Why?”

  She shakes her head, her face twisting into a severe scowl. “Just stay away from me, Professor Marshall. It will be in your best interest if you do.”