The Secret (Winslow Brothers 3)

I smother a smile.

“Okay, guys. I want you to look at Ms. Rose and give me some body-positive descriptors that you think might be found in classic literature.” The class titters and several hands shoot up, but Ty doesn’t call on anyone right away. Instead, he adds a warning. “Remember to keep it respectful. Anyone who chooses not to listen to that will get one hundred points removed from their final semester grade.”

A couple of hands go down immediately, and it’s all I can do not to roll my eyes as some of the class laughs.

“Yeah, David,” Ty says, pointing at one of the more innocent freshmen in the front row who still has his hand up.

“Glowing. Healthy,” David offers, and I smile. Okay, that’s a nice start.

“Good. How about you, Amber?” Ty asks, calling on one of the girls who already had her nipples out before me.

“The sun,” Amber says, honestly shocking me by being kind. I half expected her to be angry she wasn’t the one getting the attention from the professor.

“Ah, yes,” Ty crows with a smile. “I see someone paid attention while we were reading Tolstoy. Good job, Amber, you get a kiss.” He grabs a Hershey’s kiss from the shelf at the side of the room and tosses it her way, and she practically drowns herself in the compliments.

That’s when it makes sense why she didn’t go for mean.

“Henry,” Ty calls, picking a guy who always sits in the middle of the back row. “Impress me.”

Henry looks me up and down, to the point that I wish I could reach out and steady myself with a hand to a hard surface to prepare for whatever is about to come out of his mouth.

Please don’t make it inappropriate. Please. Please. Please.

“Smokeshow,” he proudly proclaims.

Oh boy. Suddenly, the room is feeling cold, and I’m acutely aware of just how many eyes are on me. You’re also feeling a lot like you never should have taken off your sweater.

“Ah, man.” Ty lets out a low wolf whistle. “There goes one hundred points right out the window!”

“What? Wait!” Henry looks around with big, shocked eyes. “That’s respectful, Professor! It means she’s beautiful. Attractive. How is that bad?”

The whole class dissolves into laughter at poor Henry’s expense, and Ty shakes his head with a smirk, glancing at me briefly. “Okay, fine. I’m letting you go with a warning. This is your one free pass, my man.”

Henry breathes out a sigh of relief and sags back into his chair.

And I fidget my fingers against my skirt as my palms start to grow oddly sweaty.

“And while I think we can all agree with your assessment of Ms. Rose’s beauty, Henry,” Ty continues, “I have my doubts that we’d find any uses of the word ‘smokeshow’ in classic literature. Frankly, if that’s how you choose to describe women you’re interested in, prepare yourself for years of rejection.”

The whole class erupts again, and Ty takes that opportunity to offer me the chance to take my seat. His extended arm is all the invitation I need, and I head back to my spot, ready to put my cardigan back on.

Mentally, I feel like I’ve been knocked down a peg or two from where I started my seduction scene in this lecture.

“All right, settle down, guys. And let’s give Ms. Rose a round of applause for fearlessly volunteering.” The class claps and a few rogue students let out some piercing whistles, and I throw up a hand from my spot in my chair in recognition.

Yeah, yeah, thanks. Let’s move on now.

Ty smirks in my direction when he notes my cardigan is back on, silently basking in his successful diversion of my attention, and my eyes narrow in response.

Look who has the upper hand now, my mind whispers.

Son of a bitch. I wish I could let it go, but there is just something inside me that can’t let him get away with robbing the power from me. I won’t. I came into this class with the advantage, and I’m going to leave with it too, so help me God.

“For homework, I want you to go back to Anna Karenina and pick out some other vocabulary Tolstoy used. Focus in particular on terms that might seem out of place in modern literature. We’ll go over it first thing on Thursday, and I’ll have a new bag of candy. You’ll want to impress me.”

The class laughs once again, and he waves a dramatic hand in dismissal.

I monitor their exit carefully, waiting patiently for the opportunity to talk to Ty privately, after they’ve all left. It takes them a little longer than I want, but I somehow manage to make it look like I’m busy packing up my belongings the whole time, scooting toward Ty’s desk just as the last student heads out the door.