Page 5 of Hello Kitten

“Yeah, and Hell’sjusta place,” I retort.

“It’s awkward, but it’s not going to get less awkward if you avoid it. Plus, you can’t start skipping classes. You T.A. here,” she hisses.

“Don’t remind me. I spent half of my T.A. time yesterday peeking around corners to make sure I wasn’t going to run into him,” I admit.

“What happened to my badass friend who isn’t afraid to tell a guy no, huh?”

My shoulders slump and as my lips part to speak, the door flings open and Dr. Hayes comes in.

Unlike Monday where he skewered me under his gaze, he artfully avoids me as we talk about the reading. He reads a section when no one volunteers to and my mind swirls. Even Beth is focused and wrapped up in his beautiful, deep reading voice.

When he finishes, there’s a collective sigh around the room that pisses me off. It shouldn’t, because I’ve already decided I’m never going to touch him again, but I hate that others swoon just as easily as I did.

He’ll have no trouble getting another girl my age or a woman closer to his.

As someone raises their hand to answer a question I didn’t hear, I notice Dr. Hayes’ eyes flick to me. I’m sure it’s only a second, but it feels so much longer.

Kitten, I practically hear him whispering in my ear as his hands glide over my body and—no. Absolutely not. We’re not going down this road. I glance away and focus on taking notes until the end of class when we hand in our assignments.

“Ms. Turner,” Dr. Hayes says, softening his voice into a croon.

I don’t look up as I set the pages in his hand and walk away. Eager to get the hell out of here as I hear Beth mumbling behind me.

“See you tonight,” I call out over my shoulder as we go our separate ways.

Thankfully, the rest of the day is easy. Dr. Hayes is the only professor I have to worry about. Not that Iwantto worry about him. I’d love to forget him entirely at this point.

And now, I stare at my phone, ready to delete his text, but every time I try, I think of some very good reason not to. What if something happens and I’m going to miss class? I know it’s a stupid reason, why would he even care if I text him to tell him I’m late, or missing classes. I can do everything online.

“Just do it. Be done with him so you can stay in class,” I whisper to myself.

But I don’t. Instead, I go to the school gym—a place I never thought I’d go. To get to the cardio machines, I have to walk through the weight lifting section. I keep my eyes trained in front of me until someone drops their weights a little too hard.

I glance over my shoulder and find green eyes staring me down. I blink, look over the face those eyes are attached to, and relax when it’snotAdrian.

I work out for an hour, dive into homework, take care of some work I need to do as a T.A., and try to exhaust myself thoroughly so I can stop thinking.

Adrian was a one-night stand. Just because he had my toes curling, my back arching, and made me moan until I was hoarse doesn’t make him impossible to replace. I was just drunk, easy to please, really horny.

Now I’m in control. It’s fine. Totally fine.

I cling to that Thursday as I run errands for the professor I’m T.A.ing for. She’s great, but I wish she’d let me grade, or do more than offer office hours, check attendance, and get the things she forgets from her office.

Dr. Spence has connections though. She’s linked with publishing houses, grad schools, and people I need to meet if I want a solid career in that field. So, I’ll fetch her coffee, her notes, even her laptop if she forgets, and I’ll do it with a smile on my face.

Until I get said laptop and find myself walking in on her and Dr. Hayes talking before Dr. Spence’s class starts.

She smirks at him, then beams when I walk in. “And here is my functioning brain. Have you met Emily Turner?”

“I’ve seen her in one of my classes,” he says as if it’s that simple. But it has to be that simple. Because that’s all that’s going on between us. Nothing else.

Dr. Spence takes my hand and tries to pull me closer. I move forward stiffly, pasting on a smile.

Dr. Spence sighs. “She’s an amazing writer. You’re lucky. Of course, I say that to all professors who get to have her in class. Whether it’s academic or creative, she’s a beautiful writer.”

“I look forward to seeing more of that,” Dr. Hayes says, his eyes burning through me until I feel breathless and want to obey whatever comes out of his mouth next. “I’m pleased to meet you, Clarissa Spence. I’ve been hoping to have more friends in the department.”

“You will,” she replies, then gasps. “Oh, I forgot the essays I graded.”

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