My Eros (Modern Cupid and Psyche Dirty)

Another gust of wind ripples past us, and my nose itches as I catch another whiff—-

Oh.

That's when it hits me. This scent...it's exactly what the professor said. It's the scent of Carolina roses, and no wonder it's familiar. Just this afternoon, my Naturae professor had the whole class sketching and making our own guidebooks. We're tackling the language of flowers for the entire semester, and the Carolina rose in particular is believed to be a warning from the divine.

Human beware, for dangerous love lies in your path.

Chapter Ten

It's my second day in Rosethorne, and I find myself once again in Professor Lucious' class. He's looking swoonworthy as always, maybe even more than usual. Waistcoats and bowties outside ballrooms can be rather gaudy, but the professor somehow makes it work, even with a mere schoolroom as a backdrop.

He goes into lecture mode right away, and although the stuff he's teaching us about advanced shapeshifting abilities of the fully divine is interesting, my mind keeps flashing back to last night's Fifty-Shade-ish incident. It's frustrating to say the least, and I know I've promised myself to stop obsessing with how surreal things are in this place, but how do you focus on what's normal when it's just one bizarre thing happening after another?

Case in point—-

I found a beast in a labyrinth, but said beast then turns out to be a pervy god with a talent for invading my dreams.

The girls in this school hate me for supposedly flirting with the professor, but they don't seem to care I've been suspected of mass murder.

And the professor, well...

Where do I even begin?

The jerk says I'm certain to eventually bore him, but he keeps dashing to my rescue like a preppy-sexy knight. I catch him crawling out of the woodwork (figuratively, of course) with a half-nymph smooching his knuckles to death, but here he is now, his dark eyes gleaming every time our gazes accidentally clash.

The gall of him, really.

Maybe I was wrong to have run away like I did last night. Maybe I should've just stayed and told him to his face that I—-

Would like to know what the hell was that secret entryway for?

Was jealous as hell?

Wished it were me playing those kinky S&M games with him instead of Isabella?

Yuck, yuck, yuck!

I'm so disgusted at the turn my thoughts have taken that the moment his class ends, I'm out of my chair in a flash. All I want is to be as far away from the professor as possible, and I force myself to keep walking even as I feel his gaze following me.

The rest of the day proves to be a struggle, with annoying memories of Isabella and the professor persistently popping up in my mind again and again. It's a shame, really, since classes in Rosethorne are proving to be a lot more interesting than any of the subjects I've had in my older school. P.E. used to be just the usual ball sports, but here in Rosethorne we're actually scheduled to go scuba diving next week. I've never been much of a water baby, but if what the other kids are saying is true, then the school's lake is supposed to be this underwater world of mystical beauty. It's definitely something to be excited about, but thoughts of it sadly take second place to stupid flashbacks of the guidance counselor playing Anastasia to the professor's Christian Grey.

Nia and I meet up for lunch, and my roommate notices right away something seems amiss. "You look horrible, dude."

"That's so sweet of you to say, thanks."

"I'm just being honest, and you're welcome."

Grr. I wish I had the energy to tell Nia how awful she is, but all I can do is glower and tear another chunk off my sandwich.

"But seriously, you do look horrible."

I nearly groan. "You don't have to keep repeating it. I got it the first time."

Concern flashes over her features, and the other girl leans forward to whisper, "Did he punish you or something?"

I stare at her, bewildered. "Who's punishing whom?"

It's Nia's turn to look perplexed. "Your divine benefactor. I figured that's why you look so awful—-"

"Shit." I groan out loud, and I'm so pissed and frustrated that I actually end up knocking my forehead against the table. "Shit, shit, shit."

Nia asks me what's wrong, but all I can do is shake my head. I can't believe I've forgotten all about the god! He's the reason I went out last night in the first place, but thanks to that gorgeous sexy dazzling jerk of a professor—-

Shit, shit, shit.

By the time classes finally end for the day, my head feels like I've got gorillas thumping their chests inside of it, and all I want is to dive into my bed and sleep. But because this is shaping up to be a really unlucky day, raindrops strike my face the moment I step out of the building's front doors—-