The Risque Contracts Series(54)
“I’d like to see you in my office after the exam on Monday.”
Chapter 3
Charlotte
“So, you’re totally fine if I toss out your box of signed books?” My sister’s voice was laced with ironic humor. Understandably so since she knew damn well that I’d kill her if she did any such thing.
“What? No! Not my preciouses.” I ran forward and got between her and the box in question. “I stood in line for hours to get some of these babies signed. They are my most prized possessions. You can’t throw them away.”
“You know I didn’t mean it,” she reassured me. “But I had to do something to grab your attention. I don’t think you’ve heard a word I’ve said. Is it finals? Don’t worry about them so much. You’re set to graduate a semester early when the trend is to take five years instead of four. You’ve already been accepted to your top two grad school choices. In the grand scheme of things, these last few tests won’t mean much, and knowing you I’m sure you’ll ace them anyway.”
“It’s not finals,” I admitted, pausing to gather my thoughts, trying to find the words to properly explain to Elisa why I’d been so distracted. I took a moment to appreciate the beauty of my new fully furnished apartment before walking over to the couch and slumping down onto the soft cushions.
She followed me over and sat down beside me. “It’s time to spill the beans, Charlotte. I’ve let you get away with keeping your lips zipped, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t noticed you’ve been off lately. For months.”
“Crap,” I sighed. “It must be more noticeable than I thought if you noticed, since you’ve had your hands full with Brysen and Gregory.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, a sure sign she wasn’t about to give up on getting me to talk. “Yeah, and if you want to tell me without my hubby listening in and taking over, you better start talking now.” She glanced down at the diamond watch on her wrist, a gift from Brysen at the birth of their son. “They left for their walk to the park five minutes ago.”
“Which means we have maybe five minutes left,” I joked, well aware that Brysen didn’t like to leave his wife’s side. It didn’t get me a laugh from my sister. She just glared at me, tapping her foot while she waited for me to begin my story. I’d run out of time.
“There’s this guy,” I began, and her eyes lit up.
“A guy,” she breathed. “I should have known! I can help with a guy situation a lot easier than I can with the whole grad school thing because I didn’t want to unduly influence you. Tell me all about him. Did you meet him on campus? Is he part of the reason you’re having a hard time picking which school to attend next year?”
“You could put it that way,” I drawled, interrupting her litany of questions. “And yes, I did meet him in class.”
“Is he a senior too? Are you waiting to hear which grad school he’s been accepted to or is he planning to head straight into the job market after graduation? And why haven’t I met him yet?”
“Lissa!” I snapped. “You aren’t making this any easier for me, so I might as well just spit it out. Gabe isn’t a student. He’s a professor. I’m in love with one of my professors.”
“Your professor?” Brysen barked out from behind me. I hadn’t heard the door open when they returned. “What the fuck is his last name? The bastard should have known better than to mess around with one of his students.”
“Watch the language,” Elisa snapped as she rushed over to lift Gregory out of his stroller. “And give my sister a chance to explain before you go all caveman on her behalf.”
“He hasn’t done anything wrong,” I hurriedly explained. “He doesn’t even look at or call on me. We’ve barely spoken to each other, not even in class, which is saying a lot considering professors and students are supposed to interact.”
Elisa handed the baby off to Brysen and sat down next to me again, hugging me to her side. “Is that why you’ve been so distracted lately? You’re suffering from unrequited love?”
“I think so,” I sighed. “There have been moments when I would have sworn the connection went both ways, but I think it’s time for me accept the fact that he would have done or said something if he was even remotely interested in me.”
“Unless he’s been biding his time until you aren’t his student anymore,” Brysen grumbled.
“You mean like you did when you pretended you didn’t want to buy our house so I’d be forced to show you a dozen homes you had no interest in buying?” Elisa teased.