"We’ll have to do it on Wednesday because I have plans for tonight. But I hope on Wednesday, I'll see you at eight o'clock on the dot. Not a minute later, or I'm leaving," she warned, pointing her red pen at him.
"Okay," Noah said, making it a point to remember that no matter what happened, he needed to always be on time for their tutoring sessions. He waved goodbye to her and made his way to the door, wondering what he'll eat before practice, but before he could make it out the door, she called his name.
"What's up, Mel?"
The exasperated look on her face nearly made him laugh, but instead of her telling him not to call her that, she shook her head, clearly intent on not entertaining him.
"As a thank you for your favor, I'll take you out to eat," she said.
Noah blinked, surprised at her offer. He hadn't expected her to do something like that for numerous reasons. One, majority, if not all the time, she seemed like she didn't like him. Two, she knew he did this for tutoring, so both of their dues were already paid. And three, didn't she dislike him?
But instead of asking why, Noah found himself saying, "Okay."
It wasn't long before they both got in their cars separately because she wasn't planning on coming back to campus, and they made their way across the city to a restaurant that Noah had never heard of before.
It was an Asian-fusion cuisine restaurant, and judging from the fiery red ball of flame on top of their building, Noah knew his stomach would be in for it.
They sat in a booth together as they looked over the menu, and Noah had to question how he found himself here, at lunch with a professor who made it abundantly clear that she didn't like him and wanted nothing to do with him. But then again, strangers things had happened.
"Do you know what you're getting?" Professor Bryant asked as she placed her menu down and took off her blazer, revealing a pink satin blouse. It was sleeveless with a very deep V-neck that revealed the swell of her breast.
"I'm getting the sweet and spicy wings," Noah said, placing his menu down as well. "What about you?"
"A pad Thai dish," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know why I even bother to look at the menu. I always get the same thing."
It's clear that she's telling the truth because the moment the waiter came over, she recognized Professor Bryant as a regular customer and repeated her order before Professor Bryant got a chance to say anything. Next, the waiter asked Noah what he wanted, and he rattled off his wings and the amount he wanted, which was a lot. He was starving, and he knew he would eat all thirty wings without needing a to-go box.
"My friend always gets the wings as well, too," Professor Bryant said. "I should order her some and take them over to her place after this."
And when she suddenly grabbed her phone, Noah had a feeling what she was doing.
"Wait. Are you making a note for it like some eighty-year-old woman with bad memory?"
"If I don't write it down, I might forget," she said as she finished typing the note before closing her phone. "It's easy to forget something like that. And are you calling me old?"
"You definitely don't look old," Noah said, thinking back on the time he had mistaken her for a student. Every now and then, whenever he thought about it, he couldn't help but laugh at his own foolishness because it was so clear now that Professor Bryant was far from a young girl and was a woman through and through, from her sharp eyes to the way she carried herself. He really tried to hit on his professor, unintentionally, without knowing it.
Noah wasn't that type of guy. He didn't have the same fantasies other young men had about their teachers with the red apples and glasses. But then again, Noah also never had a teacher who looked as good as Professor Bryant did. Even if she was a hard ass, Noah would find her attractive. But the moment he realized she was his teacher, anything he found attractive about her had disappeared— until now.
When the food was set in front of them, Professor Bryant's mouth nearly watered. She quickly gave her blessings before digging into the food in front of her mercilessly. Noah had to admit it looked good.
As he finished off another one of his wings that were really good, Noah said, "Mel, let me try it."
When she glared athim, Noahwasn't sure if it was because of the nickname or what he had asked. Maybe it was both.
"I treat you, and you're still asking for some of mine," she said with a huff before shaking her head. "Never mind that. I don't share food."
"I'm your student," Noah pointed out. "Of course, you share food with your student."
"Maybe if you were a helpless teenager who couldn't feed yourself, then I would. But this isn't the Freedom Writers, and I'm pretty sure you could pay for an extra meal, Noah."
Noah couldn't help it. He burst out into laughter. "Now, I get it. You're just greedy. You could be Hilary Swank if you want, but you just want to hog all the food to yourself."
"I'm not greedy, Mr. I'm-going-to-order-thirty-wings-on-my-teacher's-dime."
"You're a professor," Noah argued, laughing as he licked the sauce from his fingers. "It's not like you're on a teacher's salary. You're a professor, so you're making the big bucks, unlike me, a college student who's eating ramen noodles every day."
She rolled her eyes, not moved by his words. "I doubt with a body like yours that you're diet consists of only ramen noodles."
