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Opening my book, I skimmed over the page, barely reading a sentence before glancing out the window. After weeks of making this my daily routine, I knew I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything until I finally saw him. Lifting my phone, I texted my best friend.
Me: I’m such a pathetic dork.
Me: I feel like a stalker.
Hayat: You are totally both, but I don’t give a fuck. You get cranky without your daily dose of Professor Hottie. It’s for the greater good that you see him. Now sit there and don’t text me again until you’ve gotten your fix. Or your class is over. Whichever comes first. I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with Bitchy Abi today. Love you. Miss you.
Laughing, I used my phone to mark the page and closed the textbook. Propping my chin on my hand, I kept watching, counting down the minutes until I would get to see Professor Vaughn again. Trinity University’s campus was beautiful. It was nestled on the edge of a sleepy little Northern California small town, and I’d fallen in love with Creswell Springs when Hayat and I had spent a few weeks with her uncle Lyric one summer a few years before. After that, I’d put all my energy into getting accepted to the prestigious college.
Now, I was in the second semester of my freshman year, and I was beginning to wonder if it was the right place for me after all. My first semester grades had been great, but I’d struggled a little with being homesick. This semester, I was floundering. Not only with the continued loneliness, but my grades had dropped in comparison.
Grimacing at why I’d let myself fall behind, I glanced over at the dwindling order line. Several of the tables around me had filled up. Promising myself I would only wait a little longer, I turned my gaze back out the window. As I did, I caught sight of a familiar dark head.
Heart rate speeding up, I slowly inhaled in an attempt to center myself as I took in all of Professor Vaughn. His nearly black hair was shaved short on the sides but was a few inches long on top, with a light sprinkling of gray throughout. He had a strong jawline and a slightly imperfect nose that I’d spent many hours memorizing during class. He wore a pair of dark-framed glasses, but they couldn’t distract from how his brown eyes glowed like warm honey.
Today, he wore a hunter-green button-up tucked into a pair of black slacks that were secured not by a belt but a pair of black suspenders. Sexy. His sleeves were rolled up, showing off his muscular forearms with thick veins popping. I licked my lips, letting my eyes eat up the sight of him for a little longer.
Until he stopped and looked down at the woman who had walked up to him. I tensed when Professor Lynch tucked a lock of her blond hair behind her ear, looking up at him with a smile that I assumed was supposed to be sexy but, to me, just looked desperate. She was one of the computer science teachers, and I’d noticed Professor Vaughn going into the building where her office was more and more often lately.
Unreasonable jealousy ricocheted around inside me, making my hands fists on top of the round table. Were they in a relationship? He didn’t look down at her with softness, but then again, he rarely showed much emotion. At least, from what I’d seen. Maybe he was different with her.
Hurt, which was just as unreasonable as the jealousy, twisted in my chest. Tearing my gaze away from the two professors, I stood and walked over to the counter. The last customer had already ordered and was waiting for their drink. I asked for a white chocolate mocha with extra foam and then added a chocolate-filled croissant. Carbs were the enemy, but chocolate was one of the keys to happiness. Tapping my card on the reader, I didn’t look toward the window again until the barista placed my things on the counter.
Carrying them back to my table, I saw that most of the quad was empty. Did Professor Vaughn follow Professor Lynch back to her office? Did he kiss her? My hands shook at the thought of them being alone together, but my gut clenched when I imagined him kissing the blond woman.
Shaking my head at how ridiculous I was being, I took a huge bite of my pastry and forced myself to focus on studying. Knowing my luck, Professor Vaughn would give the class a pop quiz, and my grade still hadn’t completely recovered from the catastrophic hit it had taken when Professor Miller taught the class.
Shuddering at the memory of the man who had nearly sent me running home, I got lost in the chapter we were currently covering.
CHAPTER FOUR
abi
When my alarm went off, I blindly swiped my thumb over the screen of my phone to silence it. My morning runs were my time to de-stress and mentally prepare myself for the day, but lately, I’d been feeling less and less like getting out of bed. It wasn’t so much the getting out of bed that I hated, but the waking up part.
My dreams were too good to want to be in the land of the coherent.
Yawning, I rolled over, pulling my pillow closer and burying my face deep. The dream was still so vivid I imagined I could smell Professor Vaughn on the pillowcase. It was a soothing sandalwood scent that made me want to rub myself against him like a cat whenever I smelled even a hint of it. Ever since that first day I’d caught his scent, it haunted me.
I gave myself five minutes just to lie there and relive my dream. It was always the same one, where I woke up with Professor Vaughn pressed up against me from behind. He would wrap his arm around my waist, kiss my neck, and then whisper for me to sleep. I would snuggle back into him, rubbing my ass against his straining hardness.
But he always grabbed my hip and stilled me. Growling, he would tell me to be good and then rub little infinity symbols right above my panties, making me ache deep between my legs. I was so lame, even my dreams didn’t go further than that. I’d fall back to sleep with him continuing to caress my skin, his breathing deep and comforting.
A tear spilled down my cheek as loneliness hit me once again. The reality of never being able to have what I kept dreaming of made my chest feel tight.
Pushing away the melancholy, I got out of bed and dressed for my run. Tossing on a Trinity University hoodie over a pair of yoga pants, I tied my shoes and secured my phone into my armband. Putting in my earbuds, I started stretching as I left the dorm.
“Red!”
Startled, I jumped then grinned when I saw Sammy standing close by. I saw her sometimes on my runs, but she’d been absent the last two weeks. When I’d seen her the day before in the coffee shop, she told me she’d been back east but hadn’t gone into details, and I didn’t want to intrude.
But I was happy to see her. Not many people shared my love for running. Finding someone who willingly wanted to join me was rare. For the first time in a long time, I suddenly didn’t feel so lonely.
“Did you drive here just to run with me?” I asked when we passed her car. She lived miles away in one of the few apartment complexes Creswell Springs had. Her boyfriend co-owned them with his brother.
Her blue eyes drifted over me, and she gave an approving nod. I let my gaze skim over her in return. Dressed in her usual sports bra and tiny spandex shorts, her dark hair in a ponytail that fell halfway down her back, Sammy was a bombshell. If I had an ass as perfect as hers, I would show it off too.
She slung an arm over my shoulders as we walked. We were both above average in height, but she was an inch or so taller. “I’m not a fan of you running alone. Too many motherfuckers in this world would gobble you up.”
