Page 13 of Praise You

"Of course," I tell him, pausing when my stomach tightens again. He’s looking at me with a megawatt smile and I can’t help but grin back. His smile is infectious.

He’s infectious.

"I figured I can get this read by Thursday, if that works for you?"

"Perfect."

"See you then." He turns around, walking away, and my eyes track the movement of his ass in his black jeans.

What the fuck?

Thursday comes quickly, meaning Ronan and I are meeting in the library once again. We spend an hour going over every aspect of the assignment and what I'm requiring them to do. His energy for learning is contagious and I love being able to see how he's taking my directions and processing them.

We spend the next few weeks after class getting together and going over the assignment and where he's at. Twice we’re joined by other students, but most of the time it's just the two of us. While there’s been working, there’s also been a lot of joking around and laughter filling our time together.

Grabbing the highlighter, I snatch his paper and highlight something before turning it around and showing it to him, my eyebrow raised.

"Oh shit," he laughs and my chest warms at the sound. "I can't believe I missed that."

Looking at Ronan, I see the small laugh lines in the corner of his eyes, and I have to force myself to look away.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I don't know when it happened, but lately I’ve started noticing little things about him I didn't notice before. At first it was small things like the sound of his laugh, or how when he smiles, it’s with his whole mouth—teeth and all. And then it started to move toward how I would feel nervous or anxious to see him. How his class is the one I’m the most excited about because I know I’m seeing him. The fact I started counting down the minutes in class because I knew I’d be meeting with him after.

Nothing’s happened, of course. But it still doesn't stop me from viewing him differently.

Now I notice the light amber in his eyes, and the pink blush that appears on his light tan skin when he laughs. Or the fact he styles his dark brown hair differently. Sometimes it's styled to the left and other times it's to the right. But it's always styled with some type of gel or pomade into a pompadour. I obviously stare way too much at his damn hair if I noticed that.

And it's one hundred percent only on me. He hasn't said or done anything to make me view him differently, but I can't stop myself. Something about him has me seeking him out and makes me want to get to know him better. Which I can't.

He leans over into my space, and the smell of lavender fills the air around me. I catch myself trying to lean closer, so I gently slide my chair over, putting more space between us. Ronan glances at my chair quizzically before turning back to his paper.

I look at him again and my breath catches in my throat. He’s gorgeous. He's wearing a black tee with blue jeans and black combat boots. He has a lean body that I'm not sure if it's from a sport or working out. I honestly don't know much about him besides the fact he's my student.

Fuck.

He's. My. Student.

Hastily gathering my papers with shaking hands, I shove everything into my bag, needing to get out of there as fast as possible. My thoughts are running wild and I need to get away from him.

“Sorry, I just remembered I promised a friend I would meet him somewhere,” I mutter out, my heart beating wildly.

“Uh. No problem. Thanks for helping me today.” Ronan glances at me, his head tilting slowly. And I get it, I’m not making any sense. One minute we’re laughing and joking and the next I’m running away as though my ass is on fire.

“See you in class,” I rush out. I don’t give him time to respond before I’m practically sprinting out of the library needing to get to the safety of my apartment.

Chapter Six

Ronan

The lecture hall is starting to empty while I’m glued to my seat, not moving. I’m actually nervous to meet with Professor Carson after school today. When we met last week, he ran out of our session quickly and I’m sure it was because of me.

I don’t know what it is about him, but he’s so damn sexy and I can’t stop myself from staring at him. I’m pretty sure I fucking sniffed him last time, which was why he bolted out of the library.

The last person leaves the room and I’m still planted in my seat. Professor Carson glances around the room before locking eyes with me.

“You still want to meet at the library?” His voice is quieter than usual and it ramps up my concerns if it’s because of me who made him leave so swiftly last time.

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