Page 5 of Where We Met

It’s been two weeks since the semester started, and I still can’t seem to shake my body’s reaction to Professor Luke. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I feel like his eyes linger on me throughout the entire ninety minutes of each class.

“Yes, go ahead,” he calls on a girl on the other side of the room.

“Well, for starters, the entire sales pitch was awful. The French are classy and sexy,” she says in a seductive voice, clearly not subtle in her attempt to flirt with our professor. “They would be bored to death with that kind of pitch. I would know, I’m a Marketing major.”

Ugh, I do everything in my power not to roll my eyes at her. It’s moments like this where I hate myself for this stupid crush I have on him, because obviously every girl in this lecture hall is feeling it too. It’s pathetic.

“Um, okay…” Professor Luke responds slowly. “While you may disagree with the sales pitch, we are looking for reasons why this would not sit well with the French businessman because of the cultural differences that the American did not take into account. Anyone else care to answer?”

When the class remains silent, I raise my hand out of annoyance. It’s not like we’re dealing with rocket science here.

His eyes land on mine. “Yes, go ahead.”

“I think there are several reasons why the French businessman orwoman” —I swear the corner of his mouth turns up at my point— “wouldn’t be interested in this deal. For starters, it sounds like the deal is a high-risk situation, and as you stated earlier, the French are not known for being risk-takers in the business world. The American presented his pitch with a cold demeanor, and he didn’t add any flair with his personality. He also made it apparent that overtime was a huge factor in the success of the proposal, while the French put work/life balance as a higher priority than working extra hours.”

Tricia nudges my side and whispers, “Damn, girl. You sound hot when you talk all intellectual like that.”

“That’s right,” he replies. "What's your name?"

“Savannah.”

His eyes warm as he gives me a nod, leaving my stomach in flutters. I’m proud of my response, being as I pulled from very subtle things we've learned so far about French culture in this class, yet he skips over my answer like it was nothing.

I struggle to remain focused as he continues his lecture, hung up on why he didn’t have a response or elaborate on my answer.

Luckily, I’m interested enough in this material to rebound quickly. I diligently take notes, excited for our first test next week. Professor Luke goes on to explain how the tests will all be in the form of essay questions and that they’ll be graded by Rebecca and approved by him.

“And that’s about all the time we have for today. I’ll see you all next week,” he says as he wraps up class.

I stand up and stretch my arms above my head. Sitting in this chair for ninety minutes always makes my muscles tense. When I steal a glance at Professor Luke, his eyes are on me. As soon as he notices I’m looking at him, he looks down at his shoes.

Just then, an arm wraps around my waist, dragging my attention away from whatever just happened. “Are you up for happy hour with us at Mac’s?” Tricia asks.

The local campus bar is known for being strict with IDs, so you’re sure not to have to deal with younger classmen trying to sneak in and turn it into some obnoxious place to get wasted.

“I’m down. I need a cold beer to cool me off after watching Mr. Hottie down there strut his stuff.” Aubrey fans herself.

I laugh. “Do you think Matt would like you talking about our professor that way?”

Aubrey shrugs her shoulders like it’s not a big deal. “Oh, please. Matt knows I love him. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the view when I’m presented with another beautiful creature.”

Shannon’s head falls back in laughter. “He’s not a character from an alternate world like in your fantasy books.”

“Oooh, I wasn’t even thinking about that. I’m totally going to picture him like that next class,” Aubrey jokes.

As soon as we get to the door of the building, I put on my cream-colored beanie and get my matching gloves out. Even though the bar is on campus, I’m not walking there in this cold.

“Any of you guys need a ride to Mac’s?” I offer.

All three of them raise their hands.

“Lucas,” someone calls from behind us.

We all turn our heads as one of the other professors in the business department runs up to Professor Luke, who is walking our way.

Professor Eric is also easy on the eyes. I’ve never had him for class before, but I’ve seen him around campus.

“I think I have a new kink,” Tricia whispers.

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