Dear Professor(34)

That was the oddest thing about Dalton House. We were…cliquey. We found our people and we stuck with them. That was something I’d learned.

Females were like penguins. When you found that friend, that was it. For life. No backsies.

Which was unfortunate for me, because Jenna and Bella were my penguins. It was perfectly fine when they were apart, but together…

I shuddered as I got into my car. It was like moderating a nursery full of newborn babies. I dumped my purse on the passenger’s seat and plugged my phone into the aux cable right as Jenna texted me.

Jenna: I saw that, you whore.

Me: LOL!

Then I tapped the Spotify icon and drove away. The music stuttered as her response came in, but I ignored it since I was driving. Adele’s low voice filled my car, and within seconds, I found myself singing along to “Someone Like You.” It was oddly fitting for the situation, and when I turned into a spot in the campus parking lot, I snorted at the irony.

That was exactly what I did not want to do with my current situation. Find another Professor Keaton… Especially while I was still stuck with the real one.

History was my first class of the day, and I’d dressed for the occasion. After my little trick last night, I fully expected every minute of the lesson to be at the “flight instinct” end of the comfort spectrum. A part of me wanted to get back in my car and call in sick, but I figured doing that twice in no more than a week would have been suspicious.

It was time to pull my big-girl panties up and get on with it.

I grabbed my purse and tugged the hem of my dress down. It covered my butt by maybe an inch, and it wasn’t exactly hot enough to really wear it, but hey. With tall boots and a light-knit cardigan, it wasn’t too bad.

My ass disagreed, but that was the fault of my underwear. They didn’t have that much material. It was kind of breezy up there.

I slung my bag onto my shoulder and grabbed the bottom of my dress as a gust of wind blew through the parking lot. I just about saved myself from having a Marilyn moment and darted into the building. I blew out a long breath, pushed my hair from my face, then turned in the direction of the classroom.

“Is Halloween here early?”

A tiny scream escaped me at the sound of Jake’s voice close to my ear, and I jumped back with my hand on my chest. My heart thumped against my palm. I reached out to smack his arm.

“Don’t ever do that again, you bastard!” I wheezed, adding another little slap for good measure.

He roared with laughter and grabbed me. His strong arm went around my shoulders as he tugged me toward him for a quick hug. “I’d say I’m sorry…”

“I get it, I get it.” I pushed him off me and readjusted my bag strap.

“Seriously though. Did I miss a dress-up notice or something?” He glanced down at my legs.

I looked at my legs and then at him. “Jake.”

He didn’t respond, but he kept staring at my legs as we walked around the corner.

“Jake!” I swung my bag toward him.

He jumped out of the way just in time but grabbed his arm and rubbed it anyway. “Sorry, sorry. Those things are distracting.”

I rolled my eyes, but inwardly, happiness tingled through my veins. Distraction was exactly what I had been aiming for. I hoped it worked the same inside the classroom as it did out of it.

“Those things are my legs, but thank you for saying so.”

“For real though. Is there any reason you’re wearing that particular dress?”

“It was in my closet, and I wanted to wear it before fall is over. It still had the tags.”#p#分页标题#e#

“And you didn’t think your…bedroom…was a better place for it?” The word bedroom was said in a very hushed voice.

I shook my head and opened the door to Professor Keaton’s classroom. “Jake? I love you, but shut up.”

He held up a hand. “Noted. At least you wore flat boots.”

I stopped, turned, and gave him a death glare. “One more word…”

The grin that stretched across his face was warming, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t return it. Damn him. He was as adorable as he was annoying sometimes.

I took my seat and made sure to stretch my legs out in front of me. Now that I was sitting down, I honestly had no idea whether or not he’d be able to see me, but just walking out of the class would be enough. And, when that happened, I wouldn’t even try to cover my butt.

This was turning into a chess game of epic proportions.

I just hoped I’d be the one who would move to checkmate.

The door slammed open. It was a fitting announcement to his arrival, really, given the thick cloud of frustration that swamped the room as soon as he’d set one foot through the door. I fought my smirk when my eyes fell on him as he stormed across the front of the room. Silence descended so swiftly that I swore I heard the echoes of sentences left unfinished.