He bit into the apple with a crunch. A line of juice ran out the side of his mouth and down his chin, which he wiped away with the back of his hand.
Lord have mercy.
“You should always be prepared to discuss the reading material in class, yes,” I said with as little emotion in my voice as I could manage. “Is that all?”
“Have you caught up on Stranger Things?”
The change of subject caught me off guard. “I have not.”
“You should come over to my place to watch it,” he said casually. Like it were an easy thing. “I can open a bottle of wine, make some popcorn. We could have a good time.”
We were alone now, so I didn’t have to hide my sneer. “Thanks, but I’m good. You should ask one of the girls in your dorm. I bet they’d be impressed with your ability to buy them alcohol.”
That elicited a grunt from Jace. “I’ve got my own place over on seventh street. The offer stands if you change your mind.”
He bit into the apple again with a crunch, smiled, then strolled out of the classroom.
I waited until he was out of sight to let out a deep breath. “Persistent, aren’t you, Jace?” I muttered to myself.
But I had no idea just how persistent he could be.
8
Lila
As the rest of the week passed by, I slowly was able to push Jace from my mind and focus on the beginning of the semester. I lectured, held office hours, and advised my students.
Cam Keenelookedlike a slacker, slouching in his chair in the back of class and seemingly focused on whatever he was doing on his laptop. But when I called on him, he always had the right answer. He also got a perfect score on the quiz I gave on Wednesday.
Looks could be deceiving, I guess.
When I walked into my Criminology 101 class on Friday, I was greeted with another fruit on my desk. This time it was an orange, and the note was even more suggestive than the first one.
Some vitamin C to help boost your immune system, just in case you have some sleepless nights in the near future.
-J
I refrained from looking at him, but I could feel him smiling down at me from his seat. I walked across the lecture stage toretrieve a wastebasket, carried it back to my desk, and slid the orange and the note into the trash.
When I glanced up at him this time, he was frowning.
Good.
“Close your laptops if you have them open, and take out a sheet of paper,” I announced. “We’re going to have a quick quiz to review this week’s reading.”
There were a few groans in the class. I made a point of staring up at Jace, as if to say that his flirting was the reason for the pop quiz. He slowly shook his head and tore a sheet of paper out of his notebook.
After collecting everyone’s quiz answers, I launched into my lecture and only thought about Jace a handful of times. When class was over, I quickly packed my things and hurried out of the classroom before Jace could flirt with me some more.
I was almost back to my office when I rounded a corner and nearly ran into Professor Galloway.
“Woah there,” he said. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
Thinking quickly, I said, “I need to get to my next class, and it’s over in the Crawford Building. I’m just stopping by my office real quick.”
Galloway fell into step next to me. “How was your first week of the semester?”
“Very well, actually,” I said. “I’m happy with all my classes.”
