Page 35 of Wish You Were Mine
Falling for my professor?
That was full-on reckless behavior.
Owen stepped back slightly, like he needed more air between us. “Well…that definitely complicates things.”
“Just a little,” I said, trying to inject some humor into my voice, but my laugh cracked down the middle.
We stood there for a moment, the silence between us no longer charged, just...defeated.
We hadn’t known. But now we did. And there was no going back.
“I should go,” I said, my voice quiet. “I have another class.”
“Yeah,” he murmured. “Me too.”
As I turned to leave, I caught one last glance of him—tall, composed, a mix of guilt and something else flickering in his eyes. Regret?
Well, whatever it was, it didn’t matter.
Because whatever we’d started in that hot tub?
Couldneverhappen again.
11
OWEN
The restof the day passed in a blur. I showed up to my next class. I taught. I answered questions. I even managed to explain molar mass conversions without anyone suspecting I was barely functioning on autopilot. But through it all, Lucy’s face kept flashing through my mind—ping-ponging between that sexy smile she’d given me in the hot tub, snowflakes clinging to her lashes, and the way she’d looked this morning, stunned and wide-eyed in the back row like I’d just slapped her.
Yeah. Things were totally fine. Definitely not unraveling.
By the time I left campus, my head was pounding. I walked home, hoping the cold January air would give me a reset.
It didn’t.
I unlocked the front door to my apartment and dropped my bag by the couch, shrugging off my coat as my eyes landed on the familiar stretch of exposed brick. The place had an industrial loft vibe—metal piping along the ceiling, newly installed laminate floors, and a fuzzy charcoal rug I’d scored during a winter sale that did its best to warm the space.
The leather couch was my one indulgence when I movedin—deep brown, structured, just broken-in enough to feel like home. A flat-screen TV hung above a sleek black console across the room, though it mostly served as decoration when school was in session.
I tossed my coat over the arm of the couch and sank down with a sigh. There were a hundred things Ishouldbe doing, like prepping next week’s labs, replying to Dr. Callahan’s email about the upcoming research seminar, and finalizing next month’s schedule for The Garden. But instead of doing any of that, I pulled out my phone and opened the text thread I had going with Bash and Miles.
Me: Hey, don’t tell anyone about what happened between me and Lucy on New Year’s Eve, okay? Just found out she’s in one of my classes. I promise I didn’t know she was a student. She made it sound like she was done with college.
Me: Also, her dad is President Archibald. So if this gets out, I’m definitely fired.
It took all of twenty seconds before Miles responded.
Miles: Yikes. I didn’t realize. I probably should have since I knew Theo was her brother, but I was so distracted that night I didn’t put it together.
Bash: Same. Crap. I had no idea. But don’t worry—my lips are sealed.
Me: Thanks. Seriously.
I tossed my phone on the coffee table and let out a long breath. My apartment was quiet, except for the occasional hum of the old fridge. I stood there for a moment, debating whether Ishould stress-eat, go for a run, or just hurl myself face-first into my mattress.
Instead, I sat down and opened my laptop. If I was really going to panic about this, I might as well be informed while I did it.
I typed:“What happens if a university professor kisses a student?”
