“He knows his stuff,” I agreed. Then, a moment later, I said what was really on my mind. “You know I cut things off with him.”
“Professor Galloway?”
“I… no. I meant Jace. I don’t date students, let alone students in my class.”
Brock was silent a moment, then asked, “How’d he take it?”
“Stubbornly, actually.”
Brock grinned. “He seems like the stubborn type.”
“I just wish he would drop it. He’s leaving me notes in class, along with fruit. There’s an entire campus full of women who would happily go out with him. I don’t see why he’s obsessed withme.”
“Normally, I would tell the woman sitting in your barstool that she’s incredibly beautiful, andthat’swhy this guy likes her. But you’re my professor, so I would never say that, of course.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Of course.”
The guy next to me ordered a beer. Brock retrieved a pint glass and started pulling the beer, then resumed chatting with me. “Honestly, though, it’s probably the forbidden nature of the relationship.”
“Is that all it takes?” I mused. “If you tell a boy he can’t have something, it makes him want it even more?”
“Yes, that’s all it takes,” Brock replied while giving the other guy his beer. He planted his palms on the bar, which made his arm muscles pop a little. “I have some relevant experience there. When I was a high school senior, I started hooking up with the basketball team’s athletic assistant. I was eighteen, don’t worry. She was twenty-two. The forbidden aspect is what made it so hot.”
I started to say that maybe he was just attracted to older women, but then stopped myself. That’s what I would say if I wanted to flirt with Brock. Which I definitely didn’t want.
“The crazy part was that I wasn’t really attracted to her,” Brock continued. “We didn’t have anything in common. She wasn’t my type. But hooking up with her was borderline scandalous, so we had this insane chemistry. The fact that we weren’t allowed to do it was what made it fun.”
“Well, hopefully Jace gets bored with bombarding me with fruit,” I muttered. “Thanks for the perspective.”
He pointed at me. “You’re welcome to repay me with an A on today’s quiz.”
I plucked his quiz out from the stack and slid it across the bar. “Too late. You already earned an A the harder way.”
Brock grinned. “The next gin and tonic is on the house, too.”
I decided it wouldn’t hurt to let him make me another drink.
9
Jace
I couldn’t get my professor out of my head.
Normally, it would be easy to move on from something like this. Block their number, and never think about it again.
That was impossible since I had to sit in her class three times a week, listening to her melodious voice explain criminology while she walked around in high heels.
I spent my Saturday with a project at home to take my mind off things. The screen door on my porch had broken in a storm last month, and I’d been putting off replacing it. For a few hours, I lost myself in the satisfying task of fixing something. Going to the hardware store, picking out hinges and the right kind of wood screws. Removing the old ones, cleaning the frame, and then installing the new.
But as soon as I was done, my mind drifted right back toher.
Professor Carrington.
Fortunately, I had plans tonight that would distract me. I got to the bar early that night and ordered a scotch.
“Strickland, you son of a bitch!” my buddy Carter said when he showed up a little later. “You’re still looking slim. I expected you to pudge out now that you’re a civvy.”
“Civilians can stay in shape,” I replied while hugging my former squadmate. “You’re looking soft, yourself.”
