Page 3 of No Way Out
“I love when you get all hexen-witch on me,” she giggled, hooking her arm into mine as we walked toward the ticket booth.
It felt like the whole town was here tonight. Granted, Hiram was tiny enough as it was, but cramming the whole town into a couple of acres of corn was a wild idea. I felt a cool breeze against my neck, and my flesh exploded in goosebumps. I should have brought a jacket. This time of year was already cold, usually teasing the idea of snow by Halloween. This morning had been so hot, I didn’t even think to grab anything for when the sun set; by night, I would regret my decision.
It would be a good excuse to leave earlier than planned without Naya giving me hell.
The line to get through the gates was long as hell, the screaming of happily frightened children polluting the air. Their parents blissfully ignored the sounds as they contentedly sipped their overpriced beers and concession stand hot chocolates.
Colored lights hung on strings from tent to tent. There was a fun house attraction, red and white tented roofs with a poorly painted sign that read ‘Carnival’ with a missing letter ‘I’. The line for the hayride, though, was the longest. In the distance, the leaf blowers could be heard, mimicking chainsaws as the scare actors moved from person to person, hoping to get a fearful reaction.
“Didn’t think you’d be the type to show up to this kind of thing, Miss Machado.” The sound of my professor’s gravely voice came directly from behind me, the mint of his gum so cool, I swear I could feel it on my neck with the brush of the wind. The scent of something woodsy, like the spiced cedar of his cologne I knew well, invaded my senses.
My skin pebbled, and I exhaled, still not daring to turn around and face the handsome teacher only six years my senior. Seeing Demetri Harkins outside of the college grounds was dangerous. Every interaction we’d had without other students around felt too tense, unbearably heavy with the electricity of our undeniable attraction.
Well, undeniable tome.
“I-I was forced,” I stuttered before spinning to face him.
He grinned. That damn smile.
Shit.
It was even better out in the real world than it was in class.
Stupid, dimpled, gorgeous, perfectly straight teeth with sharp canines that should be forbidden on hot professors.
“I’m happy to take any students held against their will back to their dorms,” he said with a straight face.
Naya was still facing forward, but the squeal that came from her was loud enough to paint my entire face red.
“I appreciate the offer. I’ll let you know if I’m under duress. Alas, I’m here, so I might as well suffer through some… research. Of the vegetation, of course.” The words fumbled out of my mouth faster than my brain could process them.
Naya laughed, and Harkins bit his cheek, as if to hold back the corner of his lip from curling further.
“Of course. It’s good to do social things sometimes, even if the company isn’t the most agreeable,” he said, as if two years of exposure to my mind was enough to hack into my brain.
He knew my threshold for people was a maximum of two or three at a time.
He pointed forward to let us know it was our turn to buy tickets.
I blacked out.
My heart was beating so fast from the interaction, I couldn’t remember pulling my wallet out or even speaking to the booth attendant. I felt the pressure of my best friend’s palm on my back and the muddled echo of her voice trying to reach me, and suddenly, I found us sitting on a nearby bench just past the gates.
I waited for some sort of clarity to return to me. Dr. Harkins was nowhere in sight—not that my vision was reliable at the moment. It was tunneled and foggy, partly from adrenaline, but mostly from embarrassment and desire. “I told you he was gonna wait until graduation to fuck you,” Naya said, as if she’d already been planning the whole thing.
I breathed in and out through my nose a few more times before I could actually generate words from my throat.
“Okay, but that was direct as hell, right? Or did I read too much into it?” I asked, starting to wonder if maybe I was overthinking it and fabricating my own version of the event.
“You think too much. He fucking wants you.Camila Harkins.” She sighed, falling onto my lap dramatically.
“Idiot.” I rolled my eyes. “I feel better now—panic attack averted. Let’s fucking do this and get out of here.”
“You know this is an event, right? Not a chore to get through. It’ssupposedto be fun.” She pointed her fingers to her mouth and faked a giant smile.
“Why would hundreds of people gathering in a small location, with very little way to get out in case of an emergency, sound like fun? Oh, and there’schildren, too.” I wrinkled my nose at the little shitling running by with sticky fingers and a runny nose.
I’d be sick by Wednesday.
