I owed her, right?
Besides, there was every chance Professor Hilman wasn’t in his office right now—he was usually teaching class until at leastafter noon. I could put the papers on his desk and be in and out before he realized I was even there. No threat required.
“No problem. Thank you, Professor.”
She gives me a strange look—maybe she can tell I’m a little uneasy, but I’m already out of the office before she can ask questions.
The problem with Professor Hilman is that he doesn’t always teach in the same building. That means if I want to see whether he’s in class right now, I’d have to carry my arm full of papers out into the sprinkle of cold rain and across the entire campus to make sure he’s where he’s supposed to be.
I’m going on blind faith, and my ability to throw the papers and run if I have to, when I step in front of his office and peek in. The door is open, which isn’t a good sign. Worse, when I try to stuff the papers into his mailbox, there are too many of them to fit.
My eyes glance around one more time, my heart thundering in my chest. I don’t likebeinghere. It reminds me too much of everything that I’ve been trying to avoid since my freshman year.
But I don’t hear any noise from inside the office, and even though the door is cracked, the light is off.
It’s probably fine.
I’m probably fine.
I push open the door and blow out an instant breath of relief when I see an empty desk.
It only takes me a second to gather the stack of papers back into a neat, orderly pile and step forward, plopping them ontothe middle of his desk. I’m just stealing a Post-it note to write where they’re from when I hear the door click shut behind me.
My entire body goes rigid, and I know I should turn around, but for some reason my muscles feel like they’re made of lead.
But you’re supposed to turn when there’s a predator in the room. Giving them your back is dangerous.
And that danger slides up behind me and brushes fingers between my shoulder blades.
“We just keep running into each other, don’t we, Luca?”
God, he sounds so happy about it too. I bite my cheek hard enough that I feel blood, and the little zing of pain and taste of copper grounds me enough to turn around.
I can’t take a step away from him this time, because he has me pinned between the desk and his body. His light blue eyes are full of warmth and excitement, and…
God, I think I hate him.
I think I really, really hate him.
“We didn’t run into each other,” I say through clenched teeth. “You snuck up on me.”
He tilts his head, a strand of his dark hair escaping the careful styling that keeps it out of his face and from falling into his eyes. “But you’re in my office, Luca. So who really snuck up on whom?”
My mouth drops open. “That’s not…” I glance between his body and the door, and then back to the papers. “Professor Hines had some papers for me to drop off. That’s the only reason I’m here.” I try to put emphasis on the wordonly, because he needs to realize that I’m not here for him.
Once upon a time, I’d put my trust in him. He’d burned that bridge the second he kissed me when I told him no.
“I think we both know that’s not true.” He’s still grinning when he leans closer, and I feel my entire body go tight for just a second before my hand balls into a fist.
“No,” I say. “It’s a complete sentence, Professor Hilman.No.”
And just like last time, the word doesn’t do anything. He just leans in until his broad body is pressed to mine, and his fingers brush across my cheek, drawing my gaze up to his.
“I know you’ve been busy, Luca. Professor Levine is probably working you to the bone with that TA position. If you wanted something for your resume, I could have helped you out.”
Professor Levine…
God, it’s like a parallel in my brain—if I’d said the wordnoto him with any kind of force, he probably would have been halfway across the campus by now and texting me an apology.
