Page 33 of To Professor, with Love
“I hope she’ll be a fool -- that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”- F.Scott Fitzgerald,The Great Gatsby
He kept coming backto me.I knew I shouldn’t, but I relished every little visit.I let myself dream that he wanted to be near me because he found me so irresistible and exciting.And with every beer I drank, that dream infiltrated itself into my system until I was downright giddy with it.He wanted me.
Even though he was serving a girl that looked as if she had to have a fake ID, and fake boobs too, his gaze roved to my end of the bar.He accepted his fee, barely glancing at her, even though she was making it obvious she was interested in him.Then he made his way back...to me.Watching him saunter closer was such a rush.
This was why I lingered here.I craved every time he was pulled away from me, just so I could watch him come back.
“Need another one yet?”
I shook my head.“No.”But as soon as the words left my mouth, I blurted, “yes.”
Noel grinned and another bottle of Bud Light Lime appeared in his hand.As he tugged the cap off and set it in front of me, I tilted my head just enough to make my hair spill over my shoulder.
“How did you guess I was here for a date?”
He rested his elbows on the bar to lean in toward me.“Maybe because I don’t need a PhD to read minds like you do, Professor.”
Something molten, hot, and way too yummy swirled through me as I recalled the conversation we’d had on campus over a week ago.I loved it when someone remembered something I’d said to them and referred to it weeks later.It meant he’d paid attention and soaked in just enough to carry a part of me away with him.
Resisting the urge to shiver and sway toward him, I grinned.“That or you have amazing deductive reasoning.”
He chuckled.“Or that.”Straightening away from the bar to toss his white hand towel over his shoulder, he picked up my empty bottle and pitched it toward the trash.The sound of breaking glass followed, making me shudder.
“You’re wearing more makeup than you ever do in class,” he finally said.“Your hair is all pretty and tempting.Your dress is flirty and seductive.You smell good enough to devour.”Once again, he leaned forward onto the bar so he could see down on the other side and get a peek of me feet.After he glanced at them, he looked up again, and our eyes were only inches apart.“And you’re wearing the most tantalizing pair of fuck-me shoes I think I’ve ever seen.Add that up, and it spells date.”
I drew back aghast, but more aghast by the way my nipples tightened at his words.“Fuck meshoes?”I’d heard that term once or twice before.But no one had ever accused me of wearing a pair before.It made me feel alive.Warm.Dangerous.
Wanton.
Giving the source of those rampant feelings all my attention as he slid back to his side of the bar, I said, “And here, all I was going for waskiss me silly and mess up my hair a little.”
Noel shook his head.“Trust me.From a guy’s point of view, they shout a very definitefuck me.Hard.Maybe even in the backseat because waiting until you went inside to find a bed would take just too…long.”
The image he painted should’ve freaked me out.In the backseat with a date was where my darkest nightmares had originated.But hearing Noel describe it, with his hot voice and his engaging blue eyes pinned on me, I only grew more aroused.
Wow.But seriously, wow.That’s definitely what my shoes meant now.For him.
What?No.That’s not what they meant for Noel Gamble.Not at all.But, still.Wow, it kind of was.
God, he had me so confused right now.
How much had I drunk?
Managing to act a lot less scatterbrained than I was feeling, I lifted my chin and murmured, “Hmm.Thanks for the heads-up.I guess it’s a good thing he didn’t show then.I’m not sure I wanted to go quite that far on a first date.”Then I couldn’t help it, I added, “with him,” and the way I looked at him made it clear I might not have been so discerning on a first date with a certain someone else.
“Damn.”His lips parted and cheeks began to look a little flushed.His heavy-lidded gaze traced me and made me ache because he looked almost...tempted.
God, I was in so deep right now.Unfortunately, I loved the sensation of drowning in his presence.I never wanted this moment to end.
15
Noel
“Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is.”- C.S.Lewis
My control was slipping.I swear I tried to remain a gentleman, but inappropriate things kept slipping out of my mouth, and then she’d come back with something just as—
Damn.I was almost relieved when I was called away from her because anything I would’ve said to Dr.Aspen Kavanagh next would’ve been an unmistakable, totally inappropriate proposition.Hell, I probably would’ve gotten down on my knees and begged for a piece of her.
