Page 19 of Praise You

"Wow, that's pretty damn amazing of you all."

"I would do anything for him."

"Thank you again for helping me with this." I lift the drink up before taking another sip. "I have to head out, but I hope you have a great Thanksgiving break and I'll see you once we get back to school."

"See you later, Professor Carson."

My eyes cast down his body one final time before I force myself to walk through the doors. The little bits I get with him outside of class aren’t doing anything to diminish the flame that burns inside me for him. Yeah, he's damn sexy, but there's more to it than that; he fascinates me. It’s his passion for learning, the fact he seems genuinely interested in listening to what I have to say. There’s something so different about him that keeps him on my mind way more than he should be.

Once I reach the sidewalk, I walk down the street heading back toward BU. Reaching the faculty building I get into my car and head to my apartment.

I cook myself a frozen dinner I find in the back of my freezer, then sit at the counter scrolling through my phone. I feed Ember and then she takes off, doing whatever it is she does. Once I finish eating, I slowly clean up my mess, then hand wash the dishes. I have a dishwasher, but I'm trying to stall and kill some time.

Wiping down the counters, I spray it twice, cleaning it thoroughly. Turning in a circle, I realize there's nothing else for me to clean in the kitchen. Deciding to take a quick shower, I rush to the bathroom and strip down before stepping under the spray. The water starts turning cold from how long I stand under the spray and I reluctantly get out.

There's no point in trying to stall anymore.

After dragging black sweats up my legs, I snatch the towel off the counter and dry my hair. I walk toward my couch, grabbing my computer on the way.

I pull up the FAN-tasy site, debating whether to try joining another live session. Sweat forms on my forehead, my skin prickles, making me realize I'm still not ready yet.

Blowing out a breath, I shake my head irritated at myself. Maybe next time I'll be more sure. I click on masked_menace's profile, seeing he's uploaded a new video. I don't care to watch anyone else. On the days he doesn't upload a new video, I either watch nothing or I rewatch one of his videos.

"Hey baby, thanks for joining me." His deep muffled voice comes through the speaker and I lean back on the couch pushing my pants down and grabbing ahold of my shaft.

Chapter Eight

Ronan

We've been on Thanksgiving break for a couple days now and we've done different activities to keep Noah occupied. Today, Asher, Carter, and West decided to go to the gym, so I asked Noah if he wanted to hang out with me.

We're sitting at the sandwich shop, Noah straight across from me. He takes a bite of his sandwich before offering me a huge grin.

"I wanna say thank you. For not letting us lose our friendship."

"I would never let us lose our friendship," I say, taking a fry off my plate and dipping it into the ketchup. I knew Asher and Noah would end up together eventually, I just didn't realize how much I would miss my best friend when it happened. Letting him know how I was feeling was the best decision I made, because we've both made it a point to talk and hang out with each other. Don't get me wrong, I still don't see him as much as I used to, but it's better than nothing. "So, talk to me. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Ronan." He rolls his eyes before taking another bite of his sandwich. "You don't have to go all daddy and protective on me; Asher does it enough already."

"Okay, okay," I concede, drinking some water. "Are you almost ready for finals? That shit is going to be brutal."

"Hell yeah, I am. Then it’s only one more semester till we're done. But you’re the one planning to stay in school until you retire." He shudders, then tosses me a small smirk.

"The life of wanting to teach."

"Better you than me."

We finish eating, tossing our trash away, then make our way back home. When we get inside the house, Asher, Carter, and West are in the living room watching a movie. Noah walks in and sidles up to Asher while I take my spot on the floor.

"You guys wanna play a game?" Noah asks, his head resting against Asher's chest.

"Am I in the mood to get my ass kicked?" West pipes in. "Hmm. Hell yeah, let's do it."

"I'll sit this one out, but I'll watch you guys." I say, grabbing my phone out of my back pocket.

They start playing their games while I scroll aimlessly on my phone and Carter sits behind West, rubbing his head.

Professor Carson flashes in my mind and my hand falters slightly, the phone almost falling down. I gave up relationships a while ago, but I can't say the thought of spending a random night with him doesn't make flutters appear in my stomach. But I know it'll never happen.

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