Page 17 of Praise You

"So, you want my job."

"Kinda. But I want to teach high school. I was one of those kids who loved being in that class."

We both chuckle again, my eyes locked on his face. Ronan is a gorgeous man. He's once again wearing a black T-shirt with black jeans and black combat boots. Whenever he smiles, it lights up his whole face and I can’t help but stare.

"What makes you want to become a teacher?" I inquire, trying to calm my racing heartbeat.

“Very similar reasons to you. I know I want to teach, and I know I don't want to teach little kids. I had a great experience in high school and I want to pass that onto someone else.”

“I think it’s a really great idea,” I tell him honestly. I think he would thrive as a high school teacher.

We sit in comfortable silence, both of us returning to the papers that are in front of us. Even when we're not talking, I enjoy being in his presence. Which is so fucked.

"Alright, I'm going to head out, unless you need me for something else?" I ask, not knowing whether I'm hoping he wants me to stay or hoping he says he doesn't need anything from me.

"Oh, okay. I'll see you on Thursday?"

"Sounds good."

Tossing all my stuff into my messenger bag, I put it onto my shoulder before walking out of the library.

What the fuck is wrong with me and what am I going to do?

The next day, I'm sitting in my office when there's a soft rap on the door. Lifting my head, I wait to see who walks in. Nate strides in a few seconds later, two bags of food in his hands.

"Got us lunch." He wiggles the bags in his hands and I grin.

"Fuck, thank you. I completely forgot." I tend to do that; getting so wrapped up in whatever I’m doing that I forget to take a break and eat something.

"It's all good. I just got what you ordered last time." He sits down in front of me.

"Thank you. Let me know how much it was and I'll pay you back."

"No problem." Nate takes out a burger and fries handing them to me. "Damn, I can't wait for the break."

"Only one more week." Next week is already Thanksgiving and I'm looking forward to having the week off. We don't get many holidays off, but we're guaranteed to get a week for Thanksgiving and then three weeks for winter break. "Do you have any plans?"

"I'm going to spend the day with my parents, but other than that? No. Get some relaxation in for most of the time. What about you?"

"No. I was planning to head home to Chicago, but I figured I would save that for winter break. So, I'm hanging out here. Maybe try to find some new places I haven't been to yet."

"We'll have to plan a day to do something."

"Yeah, man." Taking a bite of my burger, I dip my fries into some ketchup before tossing those in my mouth, too. "Thank you again for grabbing the food." I say around a mouthful.

We eat our food, making small talk about our plans for the rest of our day. We're cleaning up our trash when there's another knock on the door.

"I'll grab it on my way out." Nate says.

"Thanks Nate." He walks over to the door, opening it and moving to the side when a woman steps in.

"Ah. Good afternoon, just the two men I was looking for." Dean Grey walks into my office, Nate trailing back in behind her.

"Good afternoon, Dean Grey." Standing up, I reach my hand out to shake hers. She takes a seat on one of the chairs in front of my desk while Nate takes a seat in the other.

"Good afternoon, Oliver. Nate. I was just coming in to check and see how everything’s going. It's been a few weeks since my last check in, so I figured it was time.”

Dean Grey has made it her personal mission to check in with me, Nate, and the other new professor a few times so far this semester. She has truly made me feel welcome in a place that is so big and crawling with so many people. She has this sense of family about her and I'm grateful I moved here for this job.

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