Page 25 of Forbidden Professor

Vi holds up a little ramekin filled with purple goo, wiggling her eyebrows. “No time like the present.”

She opens her mouth and upends the contents into her mouth in one smooth motion. I shake my head and then copy her, emptying my red Jello into my mouth.

Having to chew my liquor makes my eyes water. The taste of the vodka is much stronger than whatever cherry flavor they mixed in with it.

I swallow, looking at Vi with my face scrunched up. “That was vile.”

Vi wiggles her eyebrows and takes her second shot. She swallows and grins, her lips and tongue still stained with a hint of purple.

“Come on. Eat your other shot. Then we will get in line for the bar.”

Sucking in a breath, I take the second one. Like the first, the overwhelming flavor is that of vodka. Shivering, I stack my ramekins and follow Vi.

When we come to the end of the line — well, it’s less a line than a crowd waiting for drinks — we stop and look around. Everywhere I look, there is exposed skin, belonging to some towering dude with great abs or a bikini clad woman.

“Try to look available,” Vi whispers in my ear before flipping her hair over her shoulder in an extravagant gesture. “Who do you think is cute? Him?”

She points to a guy standing near us. He’s tall with a blond surfer vibe. And like everyone else here, he seems allergic to his own shirt. “He seems available.”

I scrunch my face up. “Do you want to go talk to him? I can hold your place in line.”

Vi gives me an odd look. “We don’t go talk to guys. Guys come to us. That’s like half of the reason why this pop up is so popular.”

My brows rise. “Oh? So you knew that this was…” I cast around for a second. “Basically just a big make out party?”

“Duh!” Vi grins. “It’s time to find your fall hookup. When the weather gets cold, we’ll move on to more serious pursuits. But for now…”

She waves her hands with a giggle.

It’s hard not to be in a good mood around her. I smile and shake my head. “You’re terrible.”

A stunning brunette in a dark bikini and heels walks by, making eye contact with us for the briefest moment. Vi grips my arm. “She is so hot. What do you think? Did she give you a bisexual vibe at all?”

I squint, turning my head and watching the brunette walk away. “I don’t know. Is that… I mean, are you…”

Vi has already moved on, scoping a guy in front of us out. “Bi? Yes. I mainly date guys… but we’re just talking about one night stands here.”

I nod, silently digesting that. “I see.”

She elbows me. “What about that muscular Greek god over there?”

I glance over, seeing a Black guy with a shaved head and abs that seem to go on forever. “He’s very attractive,” I answer, shrugging a shoulder.

“I’m sensing a but.”

“No but. He is attractive. I’m just not really looking.”

The words are out of my mouth before I can even think about what they mean. Vi crooks an eyebrow, looking at me.

“What, you already found a hottie?”

I blush, hugging myself. “Not really. I mean… there is a guy…”

Vi squeals. “Tell me everything!”

I pause, my cheeks red. How much would Carter actually want me to tell Vi about him? Probably very little. Especially not that he’s our Cell Biology teacher.

I take a breath. “I’m not sure what to tell you. I mean, he’s made it clear that he doesn’t think we can work long term, so…”

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