The Professor (Forbidden Encounters 1)
Prologue
Abby
“Merry Christmas, bitches!” some random guy shouts and cannonballs into the pool.
Water splashes into the crowd eliciting a series of screams, groans and laughter. I giggle at the stranger’s antics, but the sound gets lost in the music.
I lean closer to my sister to shout, “This is the loudest Christmas I’ve ever had.”
Lucy turns to me, her honey brown eyes sparkling with delight. “The loudest and the best.”
“You only think it’s the best because we can drink.”
“Hell yes! I freaking love Mexico!” She lifts her glass and I do the same in agreement before taking a sip. Lucy is eighteen and I’m just a year older. Back home, by law, we’d be holding virgin cocktails. I love Mexico too. Last year, I decided that I wanted to experience Christmas in Cancun, away from the small town I grew up in and still live.
Christmases in Oak Valley have become depressing. I needed us to get away, even if just for a week. So I scrimped and saved for a year, and here we are. The delicious tropical heat of Cancun beats the freezing snowy winter in Wyoming. Who needs snow when you can have the beach? There’s this sudden urge to walk barefoot in the sand. I have to soak up every ounce of this paradise as much as I can before returning to the reality of Oak Valley.
“Hey, I want to take a walk on the beach. You want to come with?”
“Um…” Lucy sips from her straw, her attention on the guy who cannon balled and got everyone near the pool wet. The blonde is looking this way too, right at Lucy with way too much interest.
Rolling my eyes, I snort. “I’ll take that as a no. Be careful.”
“You be careful. You’re the one walking by yourself.”
“I can take care of myself,” I retort, head held high as I look out onto the white beaches that seem never ending with bright blue waves crashing against the shore.
Yeah, I’ll be just fine here.
I’m not too worried about my sister. We have learned to take care of ourselves since we have been on our own for so long. Uninvited depressing thoughts surface and I push them back. I guess being in party paradise on Christmas doesn’t really banish your problems. I don’t know why I thought it would.
“Okay, later.” I lift my drink in goodbye, and as soon as I step away, the cannonball guy walks towards Lucy.
Jeez, impatient much?
Pushing through the crowd of revelers, I make my way to the open beach. I’m kind of relieved to be away from the crowd. Things are getting pretty wild at the Christmas party. I bet just about everyone here is on the same mission as I am: too get away from real life.
The warm night breeze feels amazing on my skin. I burrow my toes in the sand and wiggle them. “I’m going to miss this.” I sigh and close my eyes when the waves crash against my ankles. The water is warm and leaves a light caress behind before another waves takes its place.
“I know right.” The deep, honey-like baritone has me gasping and wheeling around.
My electric lemonade sloshes over the glass onto my hand and a good portion ends up on my chest. The ice-cold liquid on my skin makes me squeal.
Great. I’m going to be sticky now.
“Shit. I’m so sorry.” A figure emerges from under the shadow of a palm tree. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
He has a napkin in one hand and a bottle in another. He begins dabbing at my arm, moving upward. Then he nears my chest and freezes. I do too, finally getting a good look at him.
Holy hell on toast.