After class, Jace stopped by my desk. “Sorry I didn’t have any fruit to give you. I was going to swing by the store on the way to class, but didn’t have time.”
I glanced at the students leaving behind him, then said, “We can never do that on campus again. It was reckless.”
“And amazing,” he said, lowering his voice and leaning closer. It was a deep rumble I could feel in my chest. “Not on campus. Understood. But wearegoing to do it again… right, Professor?”
The way he saidProfessorsent another sexy tingle up my spine. “We’ll see. It’s probably best to wait until May, if at all.”
His expression darkened. “May is a long time to wait.”
“Let me think on it,” I said, shoving my things in my bag. “I have a busy week.”
“Me too. Three exams.” Jace gave me a knowing smile. “Have a great day, Professor Carrington.”
I hated how turned-on that made me.
But I also kind of loved it.
To Jace’s credit, he did back off that week. He didn’t text me at all. There wasn’t a gift on my desk on Wednesday. And aside from the look in his eye during my lecture, he didn’t treat me differently than any other professor on campus. It seemed like he was respecting my wishes.
Or maybe he’s bored of me.
The thought sent me into a spiral on Thursday. That’s how men usually were. They finally got what they wanted, then left you out to dry. I wasn’t a sexy, desirable woman—I was just some forbidden fruit he wanted to bite into.
And after one bite, he didn’t care anymore.
I tried not to let it bother metoomuch in class on Friday. Jace smiled at me when our gazes met at the beginning of class, but otherwise he was a model student, concentrating and taking notes.
But then he didn’t say anything to me on the way out of class, even though I took my time packing up.
I knew it was for the best. It was agoodthing. The request I’d made.
It still left me feeling hollow and unwanted.
My next class brightened my mood, but only a little. I handed out their graded tests, tapping the one I placed in front of Cam’s desk in the back of the class.
“Nice work.”
He ran a hand through his hair and grinned up at me.
And it was true: he’d knocked the assignment out of the park. He was a cute kid, too. If he were my classmate when I was back in college, I would’ve had a crush on him.
That evening, I went straight to the bar after my office hours were over. But there were two women behind the bar tonight.
“Where’s Brock?” I asked after she brought me my drink.
“He’s off tonight,” she replied. “He’s working a double tomorrow.”
That sent me back into a foul mood. I hadn’t realized just how much I was looking forward to Brock making my Friday evening drink. It was nice to see my students outside of class in aplatonicway. It helped balance out what had happened with Jace, like it proved that I had self-control and that he was a one-off situation rather than a habit.
I sipped my gin and tonic, pretended to grade some papers, and then went home.
But as I pulled into my driveway, I noticed movement in the shadows on my porch. I squinted at the darkness. There was definitely a figure there, behind one of the brick pillars holding up the roof.
I pulled out my phone and started to call the police, but then he moved closer to the porch light.
I immediately put my phone away and got out of the car.
“I tried to be respectful all week,” Jace said as I approached. “But I can’t do it.”
