Professor

I’d locked up twenty minutes ago, had brought a change of clothes with me, and was so nervous my hands were shaking as I undid my hair from the ponytail and finger combed it. I should’ve just told him to meet me at my place, or that I’d meet him at the restaurant.

But the thought of him picking me up, making this feel like a real date, thrilled me. So, here I was, looking at myself in the small mirror above the sink in the corner, wondering exactly what was going to happen tonight.

Oh, I knew what I wanted to happen, but whether or not Lucian would be able to control himself was another matter. His willpower was strong, far stronger than mine. Whereas I would’ve let him fuck me right there in his office with students and faculty coming and going right outside his office door, he’d been able to calmly compose himself and talk to his TA like he hadn’t had a finger deep in my pussy just moments before.

I braced my hands on the sink and breathed out slowly. I turned and faced Sherry and saw she had her full attention on me. “This is insane, I know it, but it feels so right. It feels so good.”

She tipped her head to the side and gave me a small smile. “You really are that far gone for him, aren’t you?”

I licked my lips and nodded. “I love him, Sherry, and a part of that scares me because I feel it so intensely.” Maybe I shouldn’t have blurted it out right here, right now, but she was the only one I trusted implicitly to talk with about this.

“Gracie, just be careful, okay? You’re so much younger than he is. I don’t know anything about Professor Goode, but just the way he looks, the way he handles himself, it’s clear he’s always in control, has his shit together. I don’t know how experienced he is in any of this, but I know you. I know how deeply you care.” She gave me a sad but warm smile. “I know that he could really hurt you if he wanted to and he wouldn’t even realize how deep it went. You’re such an open book, your heart so big that I know if you let him fully in and things don’t work out, you’ll be shattered.”

She was right, and I think a part of my fear stemmed from that. But I also wanted to tell her that that wasn’t how it was between us, that I could feel how much he wanted me. That I could feel how deep his feelings ran for me.

They were bottomless. Just like mine.

When I looked into his eyes, I could see that truth, and I had reached out and grabbed it, held on to it like there was nothing else that could keep me stable.

I’d loved him hard, fast, and undeniably. And although I felt how much he wanted me, cared about me too, I just hoped my emotions didn’t drag me down to where there was no coming back.

Sherry hopped off the table and walked over to me. She smoothed her fingers through my hair, fluffing up the locks, and then smiled and took a step back.

“So pretty.” She looked me up and down, giving me an approving hum.

“Not too plain?”

She shook her head. “Just perfect.”

I looked at the clock on the wall and knew Lucian would be here any moment.

“Hey, just be yourself. That’s why he fell for you in the first place.” She walked over to the table and grabbed her purse. “I’ll sneak out the back so it’s not weird, me being there when he shows up.”

I nodded. I didn’t know how public he planned on making this. Surely if people knew about us, he could get in serious trouble. But then again, he was picking me up at the coffee shop, where anyone could see us from school. Which led me to believe he really didn’t give a shit who saw.

“Call me if you need to. If I don’t hear from you the rest the night, I’ll take that as a good sign.” She gave me a white, straight-toothed grin. “But tomorrow I expect details. I don’t care how dirty they are.”

She winked, and I felt my face heat before I smiled and watched her leave out the back door, the lock automatically clicking in place.

This was it.

I walked out of the back room and around the counter just as I saw Lucian step up to the front door. Taking a deep breath, I told myself that tonight would most definitely change everything.

A date with my professor might seem so mundane to some, but it wasn’t for me. It was far from it.

I walked up to the front door and unlocked it, pulling it open and instantly smelling the fresh, clean, chilled air from the outside. A slight breeze picked up, blowing some of the strands of my hair along my collarbones, causing chills to race up my arms and legs.