Page 6 of Too Hostile

Annie doesn’t back down, “No really. Like an actual genius. He hardly ever makes it to my class, and the kid aces every single test.”

“Being lazy isn’t equal to being a genius. Maybe he cheats on his tests,” I offer.

Nathan just dismisses me, waving his hand. “She checked.”

Annie laughs at that and nods. “I did. I had to. But ask Nathan here. Not one missed question on any algebra test.”

Nathan shakes his head. “Nope. And that little asshole never shows up to the actual lectures. Although he is there for the smaller classes, and trust me, he isn’t cheating.”

“We’ve compared notes.”

I’m suddenly annoyed I chose to teach at the small private college now because we all frequently have the same freshmen students in our intro classes. “He’s not a genius. Maybe you both aren’t watching closely enough.”

The fact that he’s actually a year younger than most freshmen sits in the back of my brain, but I push it away.

“I don’t know,” Nathan says, popping a pretzel into his mouth. “I see him in the library a lot.”

“So?” I ask, hating that they seem to have a positive view of him when I’m just not willing to see that. He’s an entitled little prick, and that’s all there is to it.

“So, he’s actually reading. Not like textbooks, but reading, reading. The kid is smart,” Nathan says, and Annie agrees, nodding her head as he speaks.

I just huff like a child because I refuse to believe he reads for fun.

Fortunately, they move on quickly. Nathan pipes up excitedly, “Oh, did you hear about Professor Tuttle?”

“Rhonda?” I ask, and he nods.

“Yup.”

“No,” I answer absently. I don’t know her well, but I can’t imagine the gossip is that juicy. The woman is boring as hell. You think I’m buttoned-up and disciplined, you should see the late-thirty something.

“What happened?” Annie bites.

“Apparently, she was put on leave. Had an affair with a student that went south.”

I nearly choke on a pretzel that gets lodged in my throat because I did not see that coming.

“What? Rhonda Tuttle was fucking a student?”

He nods, and Annie gasps, saying what I’m thinking, “No. Way.”

“Yes way,” Nathan confirms. “Apparently, she tried to break it off, but the kid went a little crazy. Wouldn’t take the rejection.”

“Jesus,” I say incredulously. “She’s married.”

“She is,” he confirms sadly. “It’s going to be all over the news though, no doubt. She had to get a restraining order, and the kid has been all over social media. Claiming she seduced him and then just dumped him.”

“That’s brutal,” Annie says, and I have to agree.

“Who the hell would want to sleep with a twenty-year-old?” I blurt because I can’t imagine wanting to sleep with a student.

I mean, even if they don’t look twenty. Built like a fucking house and gorgeous as all hell...

No. Absolutely not.

Even if I was attracted to someone who looks like Fletcher, which I’m absolutely not, if he acted like Fletcher, it would be nothing but a turnoff. I tend to go for older men. Mature. Can rent a fucking car and don’t have to have their parents pay their rent.

“Yeah. I for sure don’t get that. I didn’t want to sleep with a twenty-year-old even when I was twenty,” Annie says, and I grin.

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