Page 15 of The Naughty Professor
Then came the ding of a text.
I sighed and picked up my phone.It was my pal Sean.
are you still alive?
Grading papers.As always.
ugh boring.come out tonight.
Pass.
no really i need you.meeting a guy from TrueMatch.don’t want to get catfished alone.
You’ve survived worse.
easy for you to say.what if he’s a serial killer?
Then I’ll get your plants when you’re gone.
ha ha.seriously thorne.just come out.
I leaned back into the couch cushions, thumb hovering over the keyboard.Sean was my oldest friend.We’d met freshman year of college, and somehow, despite two very different lives, had stuck.He was charming, reckless, the kind of man who burned bright and fast.
I, on the other hand, was tired.Bars, apps, strangers—it was all the same.A merry-go-round of disappointment.I typed out a reply.
You’ll be fine.
no i won’t.come to Badlands.please.
My stomach sank at the name.Badlands.Loud music, crowded dancefloor, endless drinks.I’d been too many times, and each time I left emptier than when I arrived.
I’m not in the mood.
you never are.
I frowned.
come on.it’ll be good for you.you’re still young.you should actually enjoy life before you shrivel up with those boring student papers.
I’m forty-three.not eighty.
same difference.
I huffed out a laugh despite myself.
Why do I let you talk me into things?
because you love me.now get dressed.
I set the phone down, staring at the ceiling.The sensible thing was to say no.Finish grading these papers, then pour a glass of wine and go to bed.
But the truth pressed against me in the silence of the condo.
I was lonely.
The essays, the books, my home—none of it filled the hollow space Fred had left behind.I didn’t even miss him anymore, not really.What I missed was the warmth.The companionship.Someone’s voice echoing through the rooms.
And if I stayed here tonight, the silence would press in harder.
