The rest of the class went by in a blur. There was no denying that Professor Elijah Taylor was born to teach. He had everything I looked for in a good professor.
He spoke eloquently.
He dressed well.
He knew what he was doing.
And most of all, he knew how to do it too.
There’s something about a guy who’s so utterly sure of himself.
I wondered how it would feel to be that way, to never have to worry about walking into a room and making a complete fool of myself.
But then again, that was my specialty. Who knew? Maybe I lit up the room just by running in and slipping so badly that I catapulted on my ass to the front teacher’s desk.
That’s just what happened on my first day at my last college.
It hadn’t made me any friends, but it sure had gotten the room to laugh.
I didn’t even realize when the class had ended. Why did he want to meet me? A hundred scenarios popped into my head.
Maybe he wanted to scold me for being too upfront or late.
Heck, did he want to give me detention? I’d totally contest that. I was only five minutes late!
I didn’t even give him the chance to speak.
“Sir, before you make up your mind, I was late because I really couldn’t find my way around, and besides, I collided into you, so technically—”
“Whoa, calm down, Ms. Sullivan!” Low laughter rumbled from the bottom of his throat. Baritone, rich, deep.
“I wasn’t about to punish you for being late.”
Why was there something about the way he played with the word “punish”? Why did it make something tingle downthere? Was this what eating a magic mushroom felt like?
I gulped.
“I’m sorry, I...”
He handed a wad of papers to me. “I really liked what you said in class today, how you spoke about love and tied it to society. That’s advanced thinking for someone your age.”
Come on, McDreamy, don’t go making me feel so young.
It was as if my mind and body were already debating on how to make me feel about this man. All kinds of strange and delicious.
“These are some unpublished essays that I’ve collected. I want you to go through them. Explore the topic of sex, and see how it’s influenced thinking in literature. And come back to me when you’re ready. I’d like to do a paper with you if it's something you’d consider.”
Oh, man. Day one and I, Aurora Sullivan, had advanced to being a teacher’s pet? Chels would be so proud of me.
Unlike my mother, who’d totally ask me a hundred questions aboutwhythis dude was preferring me so much.
Why is he, actually? I’m not that special.
I nodded. “Thank you, sir. I’d be honored.”
He smiled briefly before turning his back to me. “Thank you, Ms. Sullivan. You are dismissed.”
Ugh. He even madethatsound hot.