Page 55 of The Biker and the Professor
Yawning, Nero brushes past me and throws himself onto the bed, folding his hands behind his head. “Toni, it’s not even nine yetand I was fast asleep, that should tell how beat I am. Not in the mood for your antics tonight. Tell me why you’re here.”
I drum my fingers against my thigh. “Before I do, you have to answer me one thing first.”
“Shoot.”
“Was Cookie right?” I demand to know. “Was Leyana a virgin? And if yes, is she stilla virgin?”
He watches me for a long moment, before replying with, “What youreallywant to know, is if I've slept with anyone since you.”
Yes. That is exactly what I want to know. “And?”
“No, Toni. I haven't.” He says it as if the answer should have been obvious. “You don’t get it by now that you’re it for me?”
Again, I point to the bedazzled purse hanging off the bedpost and raise my eyebrows.
“Ley’s got her own issues, but her story’s not mine to tell,” he says through a weary sigh. “Yeah, I let her crash here whenever she needs to. If you check the bathroom, you’ll find her shit in there, too. But I haven’t touched her.”
Maybe I’m stupid, maybe I’m dumb, or maybe I’m just a fool in love, but I believe him. I believe nothing’s happened between them. “Okay.”
“Wanna tell me why you're here now?
From inside my purse, I whip out the envelope with the ticket I purchased a few days ago and hold them up. “To give you your birthday gift.”
He scratches his chest, and my attention is drawn to his hard pecs. “My birthday was three weeks ago.”
“Yourbelatedbirthday gift, then.”
On his birthday, I'd sent him a simple “Happy Birthday!” text message and that was it. Still in “sort my life out” mode, I was not in the headspace to have any other interaction with him. I’d decided not to see or communicate with him again until I knew what I wanted from him, what role I wanted him to play in my life. So, I didn’t.
“What is it?” he asks.
Ambling toward the bed, I throw the envelope on his washboard abs. “Two weeks’ vacation trip to Fiji.”
He stares at me for several beats, before he picks up the envelope, slides the ticket out, scans it, shoves it back into the envelope, and throws it back at me. “Don't know why you think I’d want to go to Fiji by myself. It’s not a gift if you’re not gonna be there.”
At that, a wide grin stretches my lips.
“The hell are you grinning at?” he asks, sounding irritated. He’s so darn cranky tonight. While I’m feeling light and free.
“I was hoping you'd say that.”
“Say what?”
Whipping the other ticket from my purse, I hold it up with the biggest grin. “This is mine. Iwillbe there with you.”
After eying the ticket in my hand for the longest time, he pushes up on his elbows and narrows his gaze at me. “Make it make sense, Professor.”
I roll my eyes. He's always demanding that I “make it make sense”. Because, well, I usuallydon'tmake much sense. But not this time. Indecisive, addle-brained Toni is no more.
Kicking my shoes off, I climb onto the bed and sit astride him. “I won't be back on campus after the summer break. I've resigned.”
“Make it make sense, Professor.”
“I want to be with you. And I can't be with you, the way I want to be with you if I’m your professor.”
“So, you quit your job?” He shakes his head emphatically. “I’m not on board with that, babe.”
“It's no big deal. Teaching isn’t something I planned. I wanted a job when I moved here, and C-Tech needed a calculus professor. It was perfect at the time.” I trail my fingers through the valley of his defined abs. “But now it's standing in the way of something that Ireallywant, so I’m letting it go.”
