“Now that I have everyone’s attention, shall we begin or should we continue with the mating rituals that seem to be plaguing class today?”
“Jerk,” Travis muttered. “Old Coop is a pain in the ass.”
“Shh!” Gianna turned in her seat scowling. “Just because he won’t give you an extension on your assignment doesn’t mean he’s a jerk.”
“Says you,” Travis said. “You’re just defending him because he likes your other talents.”
“Not that you’ll ever know.” She huffed, turning back around.
“Talents?” I whispered.
“She meets with him every week to, you know.” He made a lewd hand gesture, forming his hand into an “O” and then pushing his tongue against the inside on his cheek.
“Is my lecture interrupting you, Mr. Brandon?”
I glared at Cooper. I knew it! That would explain why he was so nice to her.
“Nope, I’m done.”
“And you, Ms. Ashford?” His eyes met mine. This time I held my own and didn’t move an inch. I was not letting that man get to me. “Are the ramblings of Mr. Brandon more entertaining and educational than my lecture?”
Narrowed blue eyes glowered, so different from the ones I’d seen only a few minutes ago. Maybe whatever I saw earlier was a hallucination, or maybe he had a nicer twin brother who also happened to be a chemistry teacher, because this dude was an asshole. Whatever thoughts I may have had about him actually being kind and sweet flew out the window.
“No, sir.” I gritted my teeth, surprised that I was annoyed. And I wasn’t sure what was more annoying—having Cooper embarrass me in front of the class again or knowing that Gianna was living my wet dream.
Chapter Eleven
I was a total masochist. There, I’d said it. I’ve heard that admitting your problem was the first step to recovery. There was no doubt I got off on pain, because over the last couple of classes I couldn’t take my mind of Cooper, and I was actually worried about him.
Ever since he’d barked at Travis, he hadn’t brought his class back to Jitters. The only time I saw him was in class. And he looked so different from the stunning, well-dressed professor I’d first run into. His scruff was unkempt and thick, hiding his beautiful chiseled jaw. His clothes were wrinkled, as if he didn’t care. His hair looked like he didn’t even bother to put a comb through it. Though that just-rolled-out-of-bed look made him look even sexier. But what worried me the most was the haunted look in his eyes.
I chewed on my pencil, watching him pace the length of the auditorium as he went over his lecture. Even his voice had lost its spark.
Other students picked up the changes in Cooper and the gossip was fierce.
“He’s drinking again,” Gianna said to Red.
“How do you know?”
“I could taste it on his breath.”
My hand itched to slap that smug smile off her face. I’d resort to drinking too if that tongue had been in my mouth. Who knew where that thing had been?
“He did the same thing last year around this time of the month,” she continued.
Red giggled. “You make it sound like he’s having PMS.”
Gianna laughed. “No, seriously. He lost someone close to him around this time of the year. I think it was his fiancée.”
“Oh, wow. Yeah, I heard about that. Did he tell you anything about her?”
“We don’t exactly do a lot of talking when we’re together.”
In another minute, I was going to hurl my breakfast. Tofu scramble in all its glory all over Gianna’s skin-tight silk let-me-show-you-my-nips blouse.
“Midterms can be picked up at the front, next to a box of tissues set aside for those of you who may need it. And I anticipate many of you who will.” Cooper’s gruff voice echoed in the auditorium as he plopped them on the table.
Boy, the man was making it hard to feel sorry for him.
Gianna was the first up front. She looked down at her paper and frowned. With hands folded over her chest, she clicked her shoe on the floor, waiting to get Cooper’s attention. He was busy explaining a grade to a crying student. Despite his curt announcement, he was surprisingly patient as he explained the grade. He was so concerned about the student he didn’t appear to notice Gianna waiting for him. Better yet, maybe he was intentionally ignoring her.
I smiled as she left in a huff. Something told me that they weren’t together—if they were even seeing each other at all.
“So I ran into the Gregster yesterday,” Travis said as we approached the table. “He tells me you have a birthday coming up.”
“Uh, yeah.” Cooper’s eyes flicked to mine. I quickly looked to the stacks of midterms. They were placed in alphabetical order by last names. I picked up the A-D stack, expecting my midterm to be on the very top. It wasn’t there.
“Why don’t I take you out to celebrate this weekend? Club Vortex is having an 80s night. I hear it can get pretty wild.”
I gazed into Travis’s hopeful eyes. Weekend evenings were usually exhausting for me after working a full day at Jitters. Soaking in a tub with a good book sounded more exciting to me than going out with Travis. Turning twenty-one wasn’t a big deal for me. It was just another year without my parents’ acknowledgement. Another reminder that instead of nearing the end of my college education, I was way behind and barely starting it. Besides, I was a lightweight when it came to drinking and didn’t do much of it.
“Well, uh...”
“Ms. Ashford, may I have a word with you?”
I blinked, shocked that Cooper was calling me. It was almost the exact same words he’d used in my dream! I reached out to Travis’s arm and pinched him.
“Ouch! What was that for?”
Shit! I’m not dreaming.
“Sorry. I’ll be right back.”
Incredible blue eyes pierced into me, making the butterflies in my stomach flutter. I wished he’d stop doing that.
The moment he took hold of my arm and pulled me away from the crowd of students around the table, electrical currents raged through my body, making my heart slam into overtime. Stupid body. It didn’t want to listen to me. Why couldn’t I feel like that when Travis smiled at me?
As we headed to a quiet corner in the auditorium, the image of him holding the baby against his chest infiltrated my mind. I didn’t want to remember that he could be sweet and kind when he wanted to be. His fingers burned into my arm, and all I could think of was that I wanted more of him. And for a moment, I wondered what it would be like to be wrapped in his muscular arms.
When we stopped, I gazed up at him, remembering the dream and the feel of his scuff rubbing against my chin, throat, and breasts. Wiggling, I tried to shake off the growing sensation deep in the pit of my stomach.
“Need to visit the ladies room, Ms. Ashford?”
My eyes narrowed. He seemed amused. What was it about him that made me want to slap him and grab him by the shirt collar and press my lips against his at the same time? It was so infuriating.
“No,” I snapped. “What did you want to see me about?”
“This.” He waved my midterm exam. “Your grade is unacceptable for a student of your caliber.”
Aww, crap. I failed the exam. I should’ve studied harder. My parents were right. I was doomed to be a failure. I wondered if it was too late to drop—
I did a double take. Wait. Did he just compliment me?
“What did you say?”
“You made an eighty-nine on the midterm.” He held out the exam. “Although it was one of the highest grades in the class, I expected more from you.”
Holy shit! I made one of the highest grades in the class. Damn! I’m not as dumb as I thought I was if other people had a hard time with it too.
“I, oh, wow.”
“I hardly think this is a grade to be impressed with, Ms. Ashford. Based on your performance on your previous assignments, I anticipated better. I thought maybe your job at Jitters has taken away from your study time, but now I see that other pursuits,” his eyes flicked to Travis, “may be interfering.”