Page 17 of The Professor
I sit up straight and cross my arms. “Screw them. Let’s go out and do something fun. Something that will make us forget we ever had crushes on professors who probably screw every student.”
“Hey. I don’t know about Professor Grayson, but my coach isn’t like that at all,” she protests.
“Oh no? Letting you sit on his lap and the blatant flirting doesn’t make you think it’s something he often does?” I ask, lifting an eyebrow.
She’s quiet for a few minutes and I know she’s going to where my head is. She’s hoping she was something special last night, but knows she more than likely wasn’t. It’s messed up they do this, but guys are assholes that’s nothing new. I guess it doesn’t matter if they are professors or guys our age.
“Let’s have a party,” she yells, jumping off the couch.
“When?” I ask, laughing at her excitement.
“Tonight. Let’s have a big party. It’s exactly what we need. Come on, let’s start texting and we’ll head to the liquor store later.”
For the next two hours we set out to invite as many people as we can. Bexley and Makena were informed and said they were staying out for the night. Fine with me, it might be temporary, but my mind is clear and void of all things Grayson. I’m excited for a night of drinking, laughing, and messing around. This is what college is about, everything else can wait.
Chapter 8
Drake
It’s beentwo weeks since that night at the bar with Emma. She’s been avoiding me and I can’t say I blame her. She didn’t come to study group last week and I’m curious to know if she’ll show up today.
I was out of line. I took advantage of the situation and I’ve been pissed at myself since. Unfortunately, I ended up telling Liam everything that happened. He thinks I’m being too hard on myself, but the fact that Emma hasn’t even looked in my direction, proves I’m not. He, of course, told me if I wanted her I should just do it. The guy doesn’t understand consequences, it’s not something he’s had to deal with before. Me on the other hand, I know all too well what consequences are.
However, I would be lying if I said I haven’t thought about her. That I haven’t jerked off in the shower countless times the last two weeks, moaning out her sweet name. Which in turn makes seeing her that much worse. I’m fucked up and I’ll be the first one to admit it.
As I head to my class for my last study group of the week, my cell phone rings. Pulling it out of my pocket I see it’s Professor Erikson, the head of my department. Fuck.
My stomach drops as I answer the call.
“Professor Grayson, glad I caught you before your study group begins. I wanted to tell you that you’ve definitely proven yourself the last couple of weeks. The students I’ve talked to have nothing but wonderful things to say about the study group. In fact, I just talked to one student of yours, Emma Bower.”
Hearing him mention her name brings out a completely unnecessary protective side. “What exactly are you talking to Emma about?” I ask, a bit too harshly.
“She came to me, Drake.”
Fuck. She told him what happened and this is the phone call telling me I need to leave. “Oh she did, why’s that?”
“She wanted to tell me that you’ve gone above and beyond for her. That she didn’t expect to get as much out of this as she’s getting. She told me how you’ve given her things to do to excel and I wanted to commend you on it. This is the type of thing I wanted to see from you,” he says.
I’ve stopped walking and stare out onto the extensive campus. To say I’m blown away is an understatement. There’s no reason Emma should have done that, but she did. She’s more of an adult than I am.
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate the positive feedback,” I say, still dazed.
“My pleasure. Keep up the good work and enjoy your weekend.”
He ends the call and I take a minute to myself. I’ve never had someone go out of their way to compliment what I’m doing. It feels good. It feels like what I’m doing is actually making a difference. Emma Bower, damn if that girl doesn’t constantly surprise me.
I get into the class and grin when I see her there. I answer a few questions before I grab the papers I made up for Emma. Dropping them on her desk, I stand beside her, resting my hand on her bare shoulder.
“See what you think of this,” I say. “If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
She finally glances up at me and her honey eyes are smiling. “Thank you, Professor Grayson.”
“You’re welcome, Miss Bower.”
While they all work on what they’re doing, I sit at my desk and grade papers. I might as well take advantage of the time. Occasionally, a student will come up and ask for my help and I give it to them. This study group isn’t horrible. The ones that didn’t want to be here left and the ones still here want to be. So I don’t mind helping.
Looking at my watch, I can’t believe the time is up. “That was fast. If you don’t have any questions you are free to go. Have a great weekend.”
