I ran my fingers through my unruly hair and straightened my glasses. But first I had a class to teach, because that was my job. The fact that I had to keep reminding myself I was a professor was troublesome. I was officially losing my mind. God, I just needed one taste of her. One taste and I’d be able to move on. Right? I looked down at the jeans and tight black t-shirt I was wearing. I didn’t even remember putting them on this morning. Probably because I had been up at 4 am. So much for looking professional.
I pushed through the door and did my best not to look over at Penny. I needed to get through one lesson plan without fucking it up. “Today’s assignment is an easy one,” I said and sat down on the edge of my desk. “Let’s talk about our weekend plans.”
Usually I gave an example, but I wasn’t going to tell my whole class that this weekend I was planning on seducing a student. In every way I’d dreamed about. I was going to literally fuck her out of my system. Instead of delving into those graphic details, I called the first name on my roster and listened intently to their responses.
For the first time this semester I actually felt like a good professor. My students seemed less nervous when they stood up one by one to talk. They were starting to feel comfortable in this environment, which was what I wanted. Maybe my crazy spur of the moment topics hadn’t been so bad. I was feeling good about myself until my eyes landed on the next name on my roster. “Tyler Stevens,” I called.
He stood up, but his eyes stayed focused on Penny. He smiled down at her while he spoke. "I will be spending the weekend wallowing in my room, because this girl I'm crushing on is too busy to hang out with me."
I smiled to myself. So she wasn’t even planning on hanging out with Tyler.
I was itching to finally make eye contact with Penny for the first time today. I’d been a good professor for the past half hour. I was allowed a break in professionalism. "Penny Taylor," I called.
When she stood up, I felt my jaw drop. She was wearing my sweater, a pair of leggings, and her rain boots again. Just like the first time we’d met. Just like I’d imagined her wearing as I stared at my ceiling last night. I quickly closed my mouth and looked down at the roster in my hand. I’d told her she looked better in my sweater than me. And she decided to prove that today. I had her just where I wanted.
"This weekend I'm going on a double date with my roommate and her new boyfriend,” Penny said.
A date? I winced. So much for having her right where I want her. My plans for this weekend disappeared. She was seeing someone. Just not Tyler. Who the hell was this other guy? I wondered if his name was as stupid as Tyler freaking Stevens. God I hated that kid.
"But I'm absolutely dreading it," she added before sitting back down.
I wasn’t sure why she added that. Had she seen my reaction? Did it even matter? I kept my eyes on my roster and called the next name.
When I finished listening to the other students, I wrote "lust" on the board in all caps. For God knows what reason. I was supposed to be talking about preparation and how important it was. People planned out their weekends well in advance. And I was going to relate that to planning out their speeches well in advance. But now “lust” was staring back at me on the board and I felt like a complete tool.
I turned around and tried to think of something to say. "You want your audience to hang on every word that comes out of your mouth.” I glanced at Penny’s full lips. I tried not to picture them around my cock. But it was impossible. It was like they belonged on me. “It's kind of like in a relationship. You want that instantaneous lust you sometimes get." What the fuck am I talking about?
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Penny sitting there in my sweater. She was going on a date with another man, so why the hell was she teasing me like this? She clearly wasn’t as innocent as I originally thought. I realized all my students were staring at me, probably wondering where the hell I was going with this lust topic. Hell if I knew.
"I don't necessarily mean it in a sexual way,” I said. “Although, there is a reason that sex sells."
A heard a few girls laugh and one definitely gave me sex eyes. But not Penny. She was just staring back at me. Didn’t she realize she was torturing me?
"You want to capture your audience's attention. You want them to yearn for more. And that, in my opinion, is the hardest thing about giving an effective speech. Because you can't force lust. It has to come naturally." I wanted to cringe at what I was saying. If I didn’t get fired for sleeping with a student, I’d probably be fired just for being shitty at my job soon enough. I needed to end this class before I turned it into a sex education class or something else completely inappropriate.
I cleared my throat. "Anyway, something to ponder over the weekend.” Please don’t. If I was lucky none of my students had been paying attention. Hopefully they were too excited about their weekend plans to realize I was lusting over the beautiful redhead in the back row. “Class dismissed."
I watched as Tyler started talking to Penny. I tried not to think about the fact that he wasn’t the only guy I was competing with for her attention. Who the hell was the other guy? Was he a student? Was he older like me? Something about that made me angrier than the thought of Tyler with her.
Penny stood up and pulled her backpack over one shoulder. Her hips swayed as she walked up to the front of the classroom. I was pretty sure no one else on earth could look so seductive in rain boots. The rest of the class had filtered out. This was our moment to be alone. Our one moment. But instead of stopping, she tried to pass by my desk without a word.
Not happening. "Miss Taylor, if you would, please wait a moment."
She froze in place. I couldn’t tell if she looked excited or scared that I was speaking to her.
My eyes trailed down her body. "You're wearing my sweater."
"I've been told I look good in it."
I pressed my lips together. Not just good. Sexy as sin. Enticing. Untouchable. I hated that last thought. It made me feel sick to my stomach. "You have a date this weekend.” I hoped that came out casual. Because in reality I wanted to rip the guy’s head off.
She gulped, her throat making this adorable squeaking noise. "And how was yours?" she asked. The adorableness was gone, she was staring at me rather accusatorily.
"Hmmm?" I raised my left eyebrow. What the hell was she talking about?
"I have another class I need to get to."
"So do I." For some reason my heart started racing. I didn’t want her to leave. All weekend I’d just be thinking about who the fuck had their hands on her.
"Well then." She turned.
"Penny?" The tips of my fingers brushed the back of her wrist before I even realized I’d reached out to her. Her skin felt like fire against mine. All the warmth and light from her, invading my senses. I took the deepest breath that I had in weeks. And all I smelled was cherry blossoms. She smelled just like spring.
I watched her shiver, but then she continued retreating from me.
I knew she felt that connection too. How was she walking away right now? How was she going on a date with someone else? Because you’re her professor. You’re too old for her. Everything about the two of us together was wrong.