I sipped my drink and thought about what he’d said.
17
Lila
Later that night, when I was home from the bar and had changed into comfortable clothes, I looked for something to watch on TV. But nothing on Netflix or Hulu jumped out at me. The closest thing was an old season of The Bachelor, but it didn’t really fit my mood.
But thatdidremind me of Tinder, which made me think of Cam.
Me: Thanks again for the favor you did. And I laughed REALLY hard when Jace told me what else had been done. Changing his profile to bisexual was a nice touch.
Cam: Hell yeah. I had to add a cherry on top. Besides, that girl is in my Economics class and she’s kind of an asshole. Brittani is the sluttiest way to spell that name.
Me: That’s what I said!
Me: Thanks again. And I’m sorry for teasing you for liking Wicked.
Cam: Like I said, musicals help me relax. I’ve got Wicked streaming in the background right now while I work.
Me: You’re doing schoolwork on a Friday night?
Cam: It’s not for school. Just a fun little side project I’m working on.
Me: I don’t like how vague you’re being. Are you hacking someone else’s Tinder account?
Cam: Nope… but you’re not far off. I’ll let you know if it pans out. It’ll be big.
Me: Maybe you shouldn’t tell me about it.
Cam: Plausible deniability. Smart. But I can promise you: this is a good deed.
It made me a little nervous that I was almost an accomplice to whatever Cam was doing, but I honestly didn’t have the energy to worry about it. Not after having sex with one of my other students in my office today. Tonight, I was channeling good vibes only.
Me: How far into Wicked are you?
Cam: Just started. About 6:30 on the timestamp. Glinda is still doing her whole intro bit.
That sounded better than The Bachelor, so I rented the movie and watched it while grading the rest of my papers. A little while later, I poured myself a glass of wine and texted Cam again.
Me: Dancing Through Life is such a great song. It’s unfair that Jonathan Bailey is gay.
Cam: You turned the movie on, too?
Me: After talking to you, the soundtrack was stuck in my head.
Cam: Hell yeah. You’re officially my favorite professor.
The compliment made me smile almost as much as the memory of Jace and I in my office.
But my excitement faded over the weekend as the reality of what had happened sank in a little more. Anxiety filled in the gap, and I began worrying about what we had done. I could lose my job. I would likely never be hired by another school. My entire career would be over before I turned thirty.
By Monday, I was a nervous wreck. I walked into my class expecting to see another gift from Jace on the table, but it was empty.
“Good morning, I hope everyone had a nice weekend,” I announced. “Unfortunately, your tests last week fell out of my bag while I was getting into my car this morning. They’re covered in mud. Your scores are posted online, but I’m afraid the physical copies are gone. If you want to discuss your grade, I’ll be available in my office hours.”
Another pang of guilt hit me. The tests had been on my desk—the desk where Jace and I had sex. My affair was already affecting my job, even if it was in a small, relatively meaningless way.
I won’t allow that to happen again, I told myself while locking eyes with Jace. He smiled like he heard my thought, and took it as a challenge.
