Page 33 of Wish You Were Mine
He turned, scanned the room, and then looked right at me, the faintest smile tugging at his lips.
“Good afternoon,” he said, his voice clear and steady. “I’m Professor Park. Welcome to Intro to Chemistry.”
My jaw hit the desk.
He was?—
No.
No, no, no.
My stomach dropped straight through the floor as the full weight of what I’d said…what I’d assumed—what we’d done—came crashing down around me.
Professor Park.
Owen.
The guy I made out with in a hot tub at midnight.
The same guy I’d just patronizingly congratulated on signing up for classes because I’d assumed he was “just a bartender” who’d slacked off for most of his twenties.
Oh.
My.
Gosh.
I was going to die. Literally combust in my chair from embarrassment. There would be no surviving this semester.
Because I’d kissed my chemistry professor.
Twice.
And then completely burned all the bridges the next day.
10
LUCY
When class ended,I stayed frozen in my seat long after everyone else had packed up and left, my thoughts spiraling in a thousand directions. When I finally stood and walked toward the front of the room, it felt like I was wading through molasses. My legs were heavy, my stomach twisting.
Owen—or rather, Professor Park—was gathering his notes from the podium, his brow furrowed in concentration.
“Hey,” I said, a tentative smile on my face.
“Hey.” He looked up, his eyes wary when they met mine.
Ok, so maybe he felt as uncomfortable as I did.
“Um…” I said, suddenly second-guessing my decision to talk to him instead of simply fleeing the room when class ended. But since I was already here, I forced myself to continue. “I just wanted to say...I’m sorry. For earlier. I didn’t mean to assume you were a student. I just—after last weekend…”
“It’s okay,” he interrupted before I could say exactly what had happened between us last weekend. “I should’ve said something when I walked in here and saw you. I just…wasn’t sure how to handle it. I haven’t exactly been in a situation like this before.”
“Yeah.” I gave a small nod. “Me neither.”
I promise I don’t go around kissing all of my professors.
He tucked a loose paper into his folder and straightened. “Anyway, I hope you enjoy the semester. And…it’s probably best if we keep what happened on New Year’s Eve between us.”
