Page 29 of Forbidden Professor

“You just travel and party and write code?”

“Yeah, bro,” he shrugs. “Life’s a party, right?”

“How do you support yourself, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh, I just couch surf and crash wherever I feel like, you know? It’s easy.”

“Easy, is it?” I ask. I was definitely intrigued now.

“Sure,” he shrugs again. “I guess my trust fund helps, too.”

There it is. He's rich. His family has provided for him.

My father’s face flashes in my mind. He’s been taking care of me and my expenses all my life and he’d felt entitled to control every aspect of my life because of it, too. If I had chosen to live my life like Handsome Halston here, my father would have snatched me up so quickly and locked me in my room.

I’d never hear the end of it or be allowed to make any decisions for myself again.

I may not be attracted to Halston, but I certainly envy his freedom. I glance over his shoulder at Carter again and feel the frustration inside of me grow. I can’t even choose who I want to be with because of my father.

And even though I can’t have Carter, there he is, glaring at me because I’m talking to someone else.

Suddenly, I am so tired of everyone else’s influence in my life. I’ve had enough. I look into Halston’s eyes and smile boldly.

“That sounds like a great life,” I say, letting my hand fall on his bicep. He flexes under my palm. “You must have a lot of fun.”

“I do my best,” he says, flashing me another charming smile.

I’m so not attracted to him, but I figure I can fake it till I make it. Why should I mope around and be sad about what I can’t have when I am pretty sure if I keep up the act, I can get further with Halston than I ever did with Carter?

“Can I get you another drink?” he asks.

I look down at my glass and I’m surprised to see it’s empty.

“Yes, please.”

He orders and the drink comes and we sit there together while he begins telling me all about the places he’s traveled to, completely unprompted. I’m bored, though, because he’s talking about nothing but drinking and smoking pot and talking about how big of a bonfire he can make. And coding. Lots of coding.

By the time he’s onto delivering detailed instructions on how to make the bonfires grow even bigger, I’m on my fourth margarita and very glad I am walking home.

Through my blurry vision, though, I can see that Carter is still in the same seat and has been watching us intently this entire time. I continue to ignore him as I order my fifth drink.

“So, as you can see, driftwood is always the best choice,” Halston is still going on, but handsome as ever, even if his features have blurred a little by now.

I laugh, even though he hasn’t said anything funny.

The urge to pee overwhelms me, so I head to the ladies room, sashaying past Carter’s table and completely ignoring him. It appears he’s been drinking a bit himself, because I spot five empty beer cans on his table.

By the time I come back, I half expect Halston to be gone. I haven’t done or said anything to keep his interest. But there he is, with another fresh drink waiting for me.

I giggle, sit down, and grab the drink.

When his hand lands on my knee, my eyes widen, the straw still in my mouth as I look down at his hand. I don’t say a word and it begins to creep up my thigh.

He leans over and whispers in my ear.

“Maybe we should get out of here. You said you live nearby?”

I am fairly certain I did not offer that information, but all I can really think about is the feel of his fingers quickly inching up towards a place I’m pretty sure I’m not ready for him to visit. I put my hand over his and pull it away, smiling up at him.

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