Lover (Court University 4)

(Recalled)

Chapter Seventeen

Bri

I’d agreed to go on a date.

Because I was an idiot.

Like I didn’t completely have enough drama in my life, I agreed to go on a date with a man from the history department. Okay, so it wasn’t a date per se. It was a charity event, and he needed a date.

It was a date.

I’d put it out there I wasn’t looking for anything, though, and Guy had been understanding.

Yes, that was his name: Guy Donahue and Evie had completely vouched for him. I’d met the man during a staff meeting. The three of us had casually chatted after, and Evie had just so happened to mention her son. She’d asked Guy how Ramses was doing in his class. Apparently, Ramses had signed up for Guy’s shortened seminar and mentioned doing so at their last weekly dinner.

Guy had said fine, of course, moving on, and Evie did too. People often chatted and socialized after staff meetings, all of us getting together rare, but after she parted off from Guy, I eased him into conversation.

Now, I was well aware how this looked. That I’d gotten to know Guy just because I’d been checking up on Ramses. I’d mentioned that day at the staff meeting—casually—that Ramses had happened to transfer out of my course and I just wanted to know how he was fairing. I had been ignoring Ramses’s texts at the time (which had stopped eventually). My student was persistent, but not a stalker. Yes, his texts had eventually stopped, and also yes, I’d wanted to know what happened to him. I had just wanted to make sure he was okay.

And so, a friendship with Guy began.

Of course, that was just how it had started. Casual lunches. Guy taught American history, and that was the class Ramses had gotten into since it had started later in the semester. I’d told Guy I didn’t hold that against him, a jab at him teaching American history instead of something as “exciting” as early western civ. I’d been joking, of course, and it had lightened the guilt a little. A friendship with Guy had been intentional. I’d been nosy and wanted to hear any and everything he had to say about Ramses. The casual exchanges hadn’t been much but gave me enough to let me know my previous student was okay and had settled into his new environment nicely. And duh, Ramses did well.

It was Ramses.

Something told me he could adjust in the most turbulent situation, but I needed to know and after I had, I planned to stop the lunches with Guy. The meetups shifted into something less intimate after that, others from the department eating with us, but during those socializations, the charity event came up. Faculty members tended to go since the funds did go back to the school. It was a small event, in Chicago, and that was when Guy had made his move. He needed a date.

And I needed my head checked.

I was not interested in anything romantically, at all, but I’d already committed. I also felt bad about my hidden agenda inquiring about Ramses. Going as Guy’s date would get me off the hook with that. At least, in my mind, so we met up at the event after a three-hour drive. One we’d made separately. I needed those clear boundaries with Guy, and he’d been cool about it.

“Brielle, I want you to meet Blake and Daniel.”

Other staff he’d introduced me to once we’d gotten there, the event, in all places, a VIP box at a basketball game. I hadn’t made the connection that the gathering would be there. Not even with the Chicago address (United Center). I hadn’t been there before, so I’d assumed other events besides sports could be had. Like banquets or whatever. It wasn’t until Guy handed me my VIP badge, I realized we’d be at a damn Bulls game during all this.

Of course, that was where we’d be.

I couldn’t seem to get away from sports, sports people, and the like. It was like it followed me like an angry storm.

Even still, I was civil, introducing myself to Guy’s friends. Outside of the chaos and uproar from the game and its viewers, one would never know we were actually at a basketball game. The VIP box sat well away from the fray, private, and the game itself like wall decor. It played out behind a glass wall, and inside, another world of opulence, riches, and shimmering walls of silk and flashy lighting. The room resembled the VIP lounge at an exclusive club, formal attire required.

I shook Blake and Daniel’s hands above my handbag, tucking it under my arm after the greeting. Guy, Daniel, and Blake fell into cozy conversation, and after I became room furniture, I slid a glass of champagne off a passing server’s tray. The bubbly might help me settle my nerves and forget the fact I was here and didn’t want to be. I just had to get through the night.

“Oh, Brielle. There’s Ramses.”

My gaze darted in the direction of Guy’s point, and sure enough, there was his current student.

And with an entirely different look.

For starters, he’d buzzed his hair, wispy dark curls gone and replaced with an equally dark fade. Their absence did nothing to take away from how classically handsome he was. If anything, his chiseled features stood out more without the distraction of them. He appeared striking without his hair, even older. He had a blond on his arm who he introduced as people swarmed him like a celebrity socialite.

The girl by his side was Penthouse Barbie, fully equipped with a buxom chest and cocktail dress that rested well above her knees. She paired perfectly with him, a young CEO in his fitted suit with the open collar. Tailored, the smooth gray ran down his lean body like butter, his jacket tight and coursing thickly with his muscles. He placed a hand over hers on his arm, grinning when others shook his shoulder or acknowledged him. Was he with her?

Do you care?

Of course, I didn’t. He wasn’t mine, but I couldn’t help but stare. I also had no idea why he was here.