Page 13 of My Forbidden Professor

My gaze flies to Jacob, but his attention is on Daniel. “Hey. That’s not fair. She’s without a partner. And so am I.”

“It’s best you learn from students who are still working on the fundamentals, seeing as you’re coming into my class at such a late date. I’ll send an email and bring you into the appropriate group,” Jacob says.

“But—”

“I hope you enjoyed your first class of Business Analytics. If you need help with the assignment, you can book some time with me on the university’s intranet. I’m available Monday and Tuesday afternoons,” Jacob says.

I turn to go, wanting to skip ahead of Daniel before Jacob finishes with him. Daniel sees me moving and mutters a quick okay to Jacob. I’ve barely made it to the door when his arm brushes mine, stopping me in my tracks. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he whispers.

The barbed wire ball begins to ping inside me, opening more bloodied wounds. There will be nothing left of me but a hollowed out husk. I have avoided him. For reasons obvious to us both.

“I’d still like to catch up your assignment, Miss Smith. I have those notes you asked for. I have time to go over them now,” Jacob says.

“Make another time. Tell him it doesn’t suit right now,” Daniel’s eyes flash a warning. He wants more money. It’s been a few days and he’s probably burned through what I gave him. But there’s nothing else to give. Not unless I ask Dad and that won’t happen, because then he’ll ask why I need it and I can’t tell him.

I’ll have to ask for more shifts at the café. And skip lunch. And breakfast. I can afford one meal a day. If it’s Ramen.

When I turn, Jacob has narrowed his gaze on Daniel’s back. His body is still. Solid. I haven’t answered either of them and the hole I want to open under my feet and swallow me isn’t opening up.

Neither is a good option, but Jacob is the lesser evil. As long as I can control myself.

I clutch my laptop so tight I hear the casing squeak and step back into the sanctuary of the lecture room. “I’ll catch you around another time, Daniel.”

“I’ll catch up with you soon, Stephanie. It’s a promise.” A tremble works through me and I feel the weight of his burning gaze in the long pause before he walks away.

I don’t know how long I can do this. But I can’t tell Dad. Or Tristan. Not even Adeline. The repercussions would be devastating. Hey. Daniel was my first sexual experience. Come and see the evidence. My one and only has photos and a video. Hours of entertainment. Bring popcorn. No imagination needed. Just the thing a father wants to see of his daughter.

“Is he really your friend?”

“He’s someone, all right,” I whisper. The air has gone from thick and heavy to become charged with nipple-beading intensity.

Jacob scrutinizes my face. “If he’s hassling you—”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle, Professor,” I snap and internally wince. “Look, I really should be going.”

“I really did want to ask you who you’re partnering up with for your assignment,” he says, stopping me in my tracks.

The ground grows sticky and catches my feet. I want to walk into the sanctuary of the unknown outside. But I don’t. Instead, I half turn to face him. “What about it?”

A list of class mates runs through my head. None will be happy to let me into their group. Not when they’re already partway through and will have to rework everything they’ve done so far. Besides, the hours of work I’ve already done will need to be rewritten to suit the idea they’ve come up with and I already like the fabricated company I developed for the sake of the assignment.

“Are you listening to anything I’ve said?” Jacob asks.

My head clears and I realize I’ve vagued out. Again. I blink back into the moment. “What?”

A smile tugs his lips and jolts straight through me. “As I was saying, you probably don’t want to join another group and personally the company you designed for the sake of the assignment is brilliant, quite frankly.”

I ignore my stupid heart fluttering. “Oh.”

“You still need to satisfy the group component, though,” he says.

“I understand. Thank you, Professor.”

Lines mar Jacob’s brow. “What do you understand? And please, don’t call me Professor. Not when we’re alone. It makes me feel old.”

His smile lingers, softening his words. Dark stubble coats his jaw and there are shadows under his eyes. He isn’t old. I don’t see the years between us. They don’t matter to me. I do see that he looks as though he’s had as little rest as I have recently. “What would you have me call you?”

“How about your assignment partner?” he says.

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