She blinked back tears and looked away to hide them.
I met Joska’s arctic stare and returned it as calmly as I could, even though my heart was racing. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d kicked me out of class then and there. Instead, he looked around and sensed the mood of the room. I was a popular and talented student. At the moment he was a very unpopular professor. Still, he had to reassert his authority.
“We will talk after class, Mr. Hughes.”
“Of course.” I gestured at my model. “May I begin?”
He nodded to say that the floor was mine.
A small part of me wondered if it would be my last presentation for him, but something about impending doom gave me confidence. I nailed it. Even Gracie was nodding along by the time I finished and asked if anyone had questions.
Joska read the room again. They were all on my side and he knew it. He asked a couple of softball questions and then we were done.
“Mr. Ivey,” he said next. “Please share your project with us.”
“Damn,” Freddie said under his breath as I slid into my chair. “That was a blaze of glory.”
“Fuggedaboutit,” I whispered back.
His grin could’ve spanned the Hudson.
I waited after Joska dismissed the class. Freddie and Rosemary were the last to leave, and they walked out together. He gave me a thumbs-up in solidarity before he pulled the door closed.
“What, exactly, do you think you were doing?” Joska said after a moment.
“Standing up for a friend.”
“Miss Fisher? Your loyalty is admirable but hardly appropriate.”
“Your comments were asinine and hardly constructive.”
“I will not be made light of in my own class!”
“I wasn’t ‘making light’ of you. Besides, you were the one who wanted me to read my note in front of the class.” I had him there and he knew it, although it didn’t matter. He was the professor and I was the student; he could do whatever he wanted. But still, I’d scored the point.
“Mr. Hughes, do you think you deserve special treatment because you show promise?”
“Absolutely not. I deserve the same as anyone else. But praise in public, Professor, criticize in private. You broke that rule and you know it.”
“And you did not?”
“I did. So we both need to do better.”
His eyes narrowed at the familiar phrase.
“I’m sorry I criticized you in public,” I said. “I won’t do it again.”
He gave me a hard stare and weighed my future.
I was still feeling surly and defiant, but I didn’t let it show. I’d learned from the best, after all, so I kept my emotions in check as I waited for the proverbial ax to fall.
“See that you don’t,” he said at last. “Good day, Mr. Hughes.”
Christy was on the phone in her old bedroom when I came home. I knew something was wrong as soon as I heard her tone. I eavesdropped for a moment. She was talking to Brooke, so I poked my head in.
“Everything okay?” I asked softly.
She looked startled but shook her head and turned her attention back to
the conversation. I pulled the door closed and headed upstairs to my studio.
She came looking for me about twenty minutes later and surprised me by simply climbing into my lap and curling up.
“Oh, Paul,” she said miserably, “I don’t know what to do.”
“Tell me what’s the matter and we’ll figure it out.”
“Fletcher broke up with Brooke. They had a big fight yesterday and he ended it today. He said some really nasty things.”
“Was he cheating on her?”
She nodded glumly. “Almost the entire time they were dating. He got tired of hiding it, he said. He didn’t care anymore, had never loved her. He was only with her for the sex, he said, and even that wasn’t worth it anymore.”
“Ouch. He sounds like a jerk.”
“You can say that again.”
“What’s she going to do?” I asked.
“She doesn’t know. Neither do I,” Christy said, despondent again. She avoided my eyes and said hesitantly, “She wants me to fly home. To San Diego, I mean.”
“I knew what you meant,” I said neutrally. Then I took a deep breath to get my frustration under control. “Doesn’t she have friends there?”
“She does, but…”
“None like you,” I said heavily.
“No.”
I could only think of one way to avoid being the bad guy. “Go see her.”
“I can’t. I have exams. I won’t graduate if I miss them.”
“Then after your last exam. Go. Brooke needs you.”
She looked up in surprise. “But… next week? It’s only six days. I promised…”
“I’ll survive until you get back.”
“You could come with me.”
“I… think I’d be a distraction,” I said diplomatically. It was the last thing I wanted, but I knew how bad Christy would feel if she completely abandoned her friend.
“No you wouldn’t,” she argued. “You’d—”
“Just get in the way. You need to spend time with Brooke.”
“But I don’t want you to think I’m choosing her over you. I said I’d never do that.”
“I’m choosing her over me,” I said softly. Then I realized that I actually meant it. “Go. Take care of Brooke. You and I can spend time together when you get back.”
“What’ll you do? Will you stay here?”
“I’m not sure.” I thought about it. “I don’t want to go to Florida with Trip and Wren. I’d be a third wheel there too. And… I don’t really want to stay here by myself. I guess I’ll go to Atlanta.”
“I could meet you there, after I see Brooke.”
I shook my head. “A breakup like that doesn’t suddenly get better after a day or two. What if she needs you?”
“I’ll tell her that you come first.”
“Why don’t we compromise?” I said. “You spend a few days with Brooke while I visit my family in Atlanta. Then I’ll fly out to San Diego and spend the rest of spring break with you and your family. I can meet Brooke—if she isn’t sick of guys, that is—and it’ll be a good distraction.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that you and I can distract her from her ex-boyfriend. We can hang out at the beach or pool or whatever.”
“You really wouldn’t mind?”
“Of course not. She’s one of your best friends. In a way, she’s still your girlfriend—”
Christy nodded.
“—so it’s important that you’re there for her. I know you don’t want to choose her over me, but it’s okay if I make the choice.”
“I still want to… you know… what we planned.”
“Go all the way?” I grinned. “We have the rest of our lives.”
“That’s still the worst line ever.”
“What can I say? It’s true, though. Besides, who says we won’t find time while we’re in San Diego?”
“Oh my gosh, no! We’ll be staying with my parents. We can’t!”
I chuckled and kissed her. “Little Bit,” I said, “I guarantee I can fuck you five or six times a day and your parents’d never know.”
Her eyes widened in shock.
“Seriously. Your dad’ll be at work, and your mom can’t watch us all the time. It’s a big house. Heck, it’s a big town. We’ll find someplace if we’re determined enough.”
“But… I don’t want to ‘find someplace.’ I want someplace that’s ours.”
“Christy, my love, anywhere we are is ‘ours.’ We don’t need a consecrated bed. A kitchen table will do nicely.”
“Not for our first time!”
“No,” I agreed, “but it’ll work for the second or third. Or pretty much any time, now that I think about it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Guys’ll do anything to get lucky.”
“Yeah, we will. And I’m willing to wait a bit longer to get lucky with you. Well, luck ier. I’m already lucky. But you know what I mean.”