Page 14 of Good Girl

No thoughts entered that space as Derek Hansen closed the gap between us and stopped a foot away. This close, I had to tilt my head up to look at him properly, and I could smell the faint hints of vanilla that wafted off him.

What the hell was going on?

“Wh-What?” I stammered out as I clutched tighter at my bag strap.

“I said,” Derek said carefully, “I preferred your other clothes.”

“My other...?”

“Your other clothes, yes.” His head tilted slightly to the left, and that loose curl brushed delicately across his forehead. I was frozen, pinned in place by his intensely dark eyes.

“Take your clothes off, Charlotte.”

“What?” Every nerve in my body jumped on alert, and heat warmed my cheeks so fast it was as if I had been slapped. I took a single step back. “No!”

“You said you wanted to try something new,” Derek continued, still as calm as ever and unfazed by my instant rejection. “I thought you were something beautiful to look at, a stunning gem in a sea of faces that didn’t give two shits about what I was talking about. Then today, you turned up looking like a basic cut-and-dry student, and frankly, I’m a little offended.”

“You can’t... you shouldn’t...” I couldn’t get my thoughts in order, caught between my sensibilities and how utterly close this was to a drawn-out fantasy. Did I fall asleep in class? Did I trip down the stairs and knock myself into some fantasy land where a handsome man like Derek could have even a drop of interest in me?

“You are, of course, welcome to say no.”

“No!” I blurted out, and I pushed past him, making my way to the door. This was wrong, this was so wrong. He was my teacher, and there was no way in hell he should be asking me things like that.

And yet, when I reached the door and touched the handle, something made me stop. Maybe it was the excited skip of my heart at the sound of Derek saying those words to me or the exhausted result of constantly being picked at and shoved down by Haley.

The boring, sensible, good girl inside me knew that this was wrong. I should unlock the door and leave, never returning to this class.

But... I didn’t want to be that good girl anymore.

I didn’t want to be the boring, frumpy girl who was the butt of every joke and was snapped at simply for existing in a bigger space than other people.

I wanted to be thebadgirl.

My hand dropped away from the door, and I slowly turned back to Derek. He was back at his desk, and his brow lifted slightly when he caught sight of me slowly walking back toward him.

“Is this... a joke?” I asked softly, my voice trembling with how hard my heart was hammering beneath my ribs.

“I wouldnever,” Derek replied, and it was the first time I had ever heard his voice pitch up slightly as if he were throwing his entire reputation behind that word. Whether it was that or his entirely calm presence, I couldn’t decide.

My bag slipped from my shoulder and landed with a heavy thud on the floor, and then I reached for the hem of my halter top.

Fuck it.

7

CHARLOTTE

My halter top landed on the floor next to my bag, and my heart thudded so rapidly I was a little concerned I was going to pass out.

What the hell was I doing? Standing in front of the most gorgeous man I have ever seen, my teacher to boot, and following his instruction to take my clothes off because I was tired of being the boring good girl.

This was crazy.

This was wrong.

This was...exciting.

If I got caught, my time at this university would be over. I wouldn’t be able to show my face to anyone ever again, and my mother, she would be utterly horrified. Never mind the fact that I was now standing in my bra, facing down astunningman, and there was no longer any fabric to hide the rise of my stomach.

---