Page 80 of The Professor's Possession (Crystal River Billionaire Brothers)

I roll my eyes. “You can’t fool me, Ava. We sleep in the same room. I know you better now than family.”

She nods toward my shut journal. “And I now know all your dirty little thoughts, Olivia.”

“I guess that makes us... what exactly?” I ask.

“Friends,” Ava replies sincerely.

“Yep,” I say. “Best friends.”

36

OLIVIA

I’m goingto be late for the professor’s class.

I hit up the campus gym this morning, totally owning it and hoping for some chill vibes to get my workout on point. I was ready for the day. But nope, the university cheerleading squad rolled in, hogging all the showers just when I was about to hop in. They had me cooling my heels forever, making me super late for class.

I finally arrive at the lecture hall and take in a deep breath. I didn’t even get a chance to properly dry myself back at the gym. I can feel a trickle of remaining shower water make its way down my back as I place my hand on the door handle to the lecture hall.

This is really not me at all. I hate tardiness, especially when it’s me. I’m usually early – sometimes so awkwardly early – just so that I never even get close to being late.

I’ve run across campus to get here, to no avail. I always get a rising panicked feeling in my gut whenever I’m fighting against the clock like this. It’s like each passing second hits me progressively harder and harder.

I glance at my phone before I dare turn the handle. I’m fifteen minutes late.

Oh,great.

And I slowly open the door.

This is probably going to pan out exactly the same way it did the other day. I don’t even want to guess what my fellow students might think of me.

Professor Penmayne is clearly halfway through a speech as I enter his lecture hall. His eyes immediately dart to mine.

And now, it’s like my gut is being crushed.

“Sorry,” I mumble almost incoherently, my cheeks probably brighter red than traffic lights.

I've got the whole class's eyes locked onto me, no doubt about it. Everything has stopped, just for my grand entrance.

I want to tell the room that, yeah, this may be the second time this has happened, but it isn’t normally me. I’m the girl with good grades. The shy goody-two-shoes. I’m not one to turn up late.

“Take a seat,” the professor tells me in his deep authoritative voice, with no trace of recognition. I’m instantly taken back to the other night when he commanded me to strip for him in exactly the same tone.

Not now, Olivia. Not the time or place.

“Okay,” I squeak.

“I won’t tolerate lateness in my class,” the professor warns, before turning back to the rest of his captive audience. He resumes his lecture as I dash to a spare seat on the side of the hall, completely and utterly embarrassed.

Wow, he’s really taken that NDA to heart, hasn’t he?

It’s like we are total un-met strangers.

It’s like he wasn’t inside mejustthe other night.

And the professor doesn’t look at me for the rest of the class. I try to sit there and pretend there’s not a storm brewing in me. I simply take notes and try to wipe the sweat that’s seemingly leaking from every single pore on my body.

When the class is over, I take my sweet-ass time packing my stuff and leaving. I make sure I linger long enough to be the last one in the lecture hall except for the professor.

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