Lessons of the Past (2 page)

“She’s suddenly busy all the time,” I said. “And she’s always texting someone when they are together. I told him to just come out and ask.”

“Or follow her ass to see the evidence in person. You know she’ll deny it if he just asks.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand how someone could cheat. Just end the relationship.”

“Speaking of relationships…okay, not really. Who was the hottie in the hallway yesterday afternoon?”

“Yeah, not really. That was my neighbor, Stephen,” I answered, twirling my cup around on the table, acting nonchalant.

“You need to run out of sugar. I’d be making up all kinds of excuses to go over to his apartment. And with your slim build and curves, you could have him in a second.”

I smiled and bit my lip. “He did ask me out.”

“Ahh!” she squealed as her feet bounced. “You said yes? Tell me you said yes!”

“I did. Well, I told him to give me a couple weeks because I needed to adjust to my classes.” I glanced away and then back to her. “He’s nice, and understood. I hope he remembers. He is really good looking.”

“Agreed,” she remarked as she stood from her seat. “I better get going if I want to make it all the way to Hickman Hall before class starts.”

I glanced at my watch. “I guess I better, too. Ugh. I’m so not looking forward to this calculus class. I’m horrible with math.”

“I still can’t believe you’re a business major. I’m pretty positive math will be needed.” She laughed.

“Yeah,” I said before I grabbed my bag and we started walking out the door.

We both put our sunglasses on as the morning sun blared down on us. “I don’t know how you run in this heat.”

“That’s why I get up early.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Get up early? Yuck. The only reason I’m up this early is because I have to take this class and it’s only offered at the ass crack of dawn.”

I laughed and shook my head.

“Looks like trouble!” I heard from beside us. I looked over to see Lane approaching. Lane was a good looking guy with short brown hair and gentle eyes the color of caramel. He was built, but had the heart of a teddy bear.

“Yep, here you come,” Courtney replied.

“Morning, Lane,” I offered as a greeting.

“Morning. It’s shocking to see you out and about before noon, Courtney.”

She groaned. “Don’t get me started. I’m already angry about being up.”

He laughed and rolled his eyes as he looked at me, causing me to laugh as well. “You ladies have a great day. I have class in there,” he said, pointing toward a lecture hall.

“Bye, Lane,” we both said in unison as he walked away.

Courtney looked over at me. “He didn’t seem too sad. Seems like his same old self to me.”

“Yeah, but I think he’s pretending.”

“Pretending she’s not cheating or pretending he’s happy?”

I glanced in Lane’s direction. “Both.”

“That’s what I think, too,” Courtney said with a sigh. Lane and Courtney were close, just not as close as Lane and I.

I looked up at the old, brick building housing the dreaded math department and sighed as my eyes landed on the door. “I guess I better go in,” I said. “Get this over with.”

“You’ll be fine.”

“I have to pass this class. I’ve put off taking it, and now, I don’t have time to fail it.”

“I’ll help if I can.”

“Thanks,” I replied, turning toward the steps. “Text me and we’ll have dinner tonight.”

“Sounds good,” she called back.

I trudged into the building before locating the classroom. Walking inside, I found a seat in the back row and sat down.

I pulled out the textbook and a notebook while the rest of the class filed in. I hated that I had to take this class. I realized I was majoring in Business, but I still didn’t like it. I had strong suits and math was not one of them. Reading, yes, but I had no idea what I would do with a literature degree. To be honest, I had no idea what I was going to do with a business degree either. I may have been twenty-one and a junior in college, but I had no clue what I wanted to do when I “grew up”.

The door closed, causing me to glance up, and my breath caught. The sexiest guy—
man—
I had ever seen was placing his messenger bag on the desk in front of the classroom. He had on a custom-tailored, dark suit with a blue dress shirt. His hair was floppy and dark and there was a day’s worth of scruff on his face.

He turned his back and began writing on the whiteboard, displaying the most incredible ass I had ever laid eyes on. That’s when I realized this calculus class was going to be even more difficult than I had originally thought. How would I ever be able to pay attention now?

“Welcome to Calculus II for Business. I’m Professor Rodriguez,” he announced after he turned to face the class. His voice was deep, silky. “I’m going to pass out the course syllabus, which you’ll be able to find online as well, and then we’ll get started.”

He passed out a stack of papers for each person in the first row to pass back and began speaking again. “I expect attendance in this class. It will be part of your final grade. I also expect you to take full advantage of the math lab if you need help. If you cannot find help there, my TA, Emily Lawrence, is available and holds a tutoring session. You can also find my office hours in the syllabus and my email.”

He turned toward the desk and opened a textbook before droning on and on about change and area approximations. I was already lost and it was just the first class.
Fuck my life.
I had professor sexy ass trying to teach me about a subject I would never understand, all while I sat and drooled over him. His voice was so silky, it was hard to pay attention to his actual words. I wanted so badly to reach out and let my fingertips drag over his scruff. Thank goodness I wasn’t sitting up front.

After an hour, he walked away from the whiteboard and dismissed the class. I shook my head, placed my notebook and textbook back in my bag, and began walking down the aisle toward his desk and the exit. He looked up as I walked by and our eyes locked for a moment. The beautiful blue of his eyes sent a shiver down my spine. My pulse quickened and my lips parted, lost in a lust-fueled trance. He was even sexier up close.

The guy behind me gently knocked into me, breaking me from my stupor. I glanced around before looking at Professor Rodriguez again. He quirked an eyebrow and looked at me with amusement in those beautiful eyes.

My face flushed with embarrassment and I quickly strode out of the room with my head down. I hoped none of the other students noticed my moment of humiliation. It was bad enough
he
had been amused by my attraction.

I rushed out of the building, making a beeline for my next class located in the adjacent building. I was sure I looked like a crazy person, but I didn’t care. I needed away from my hot as sin professor.

***

After my second class, I strode into the student union and ordered a turkey sandwich and Dr. Pepper before finding Lane in a corner booth. I walked toward him and placed my tray on his table.

“Can I eat with you?” I asked as I sat down.

He eyed my food and smirked. “Well, I guess so since you’re already getting comfortable.”

“Whatever. You know you want me to sit with you. You love me.”

“You’re right, I do. And I could use the company,” he said, his eyes turning sad.

I smiled, and asked, “How were your classes this morning?”

He shrugged. “Classes. You know. How was your calculus class?”

“Ugh. I will never graduate. I have to pass this class for my major and I’m positive I won’t.”

“Why? Who is your professor?”

I took a bite of my sandwich. “Rodriguez,” I mumbled.

“Rodriguez is great,” he replied. “You’ll pass. Just stop stressing.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes, both lost in our own thoughts. Lane and I had been friends since junior high. He had been there during every single breakup, offering a shoulder to cry on, and I had always been there for him. He didn’t usually cry like I had, but I was there, ready to be a distraction, talking him into doing something stupid. We both understood the need for silence and that things didn’t always need to be said. Sometimes you just needed to be there for the other person without words. Which was what I was doing for Lane.

“I confronted her,” he whispered.

My head snapped up, and I was met with the saddest eyes. Tears sprang to my eyes as I rounded the booth and sat next to him, enveloping him in a hug. “I’m so sorry,” I said as my anger notched up. I wanted to go give Beth a piece of my mind.

“It’s fine. I’m fine,” he replied as he gripped me harder.

I didn’t say anything else until we pulled apart. “I’m here.”

“I know, and I love you for it.” He tried to smile. “She said she was young and didn’t want to settle down.”

“Why didn’t she say anything to you?”

“She didn’t want to hurt me.” He shrugged. “That’s life, though. I’ll get over it.”

“I’ll always be here.”

“I know,” he replied before kissing my temple.

For several hours Monday night, I tried deciphering my calculus homework, but failed miserably. Knowing I didn’t have much of a choice if I wanted to pass this class, I swung by the math lab after my early Tuesday class. And I left there even more confused. The jerk of a tutor kept looking at me like I was an idiot, obviously not understanding how anyone wouldn’t get the material. Well, there are those who tutor, and those who need tutoring, it’s kind of how the whole role works. And making me feel stupid for needing the tutoring had me quickly moving on to my final option: emailing the TA. She had been nice in the email and scheduled a time with me on Saturday morning during her shift in the math lab since I was in class during her normal tutoring session. If she couldn’t help me, I didn’t know what I was going to do. After my embarrassing display on Monday, there was no way in hell I was going to email my hot professor, or even swing by his office for help. Nope. Wasn’t going to happen.

It was Friday morning, the sun barely shining in the distance as my legs came to a halt on the beach behind my apartment building. I stood with my hands on my hips, breathing in and out for a minute.
Today will be better
. The TA would help me—she had to—and I could quit stressing about math and worry about the courses that actually mattered to me.

I bent down to touch my toes before starting my stretches, letting my body relax. Slowly, I raised my back and brought my arms over my head. I always felt weird stretching out on the beach, but I was mostly alone and wanted to avoid getting sand in my carpet if I could help it. Turning to the side, I came to an abrupt stop.

Professor Hot Ass was jogging slowly toward me. I tried to force myself to look away, but he was shirtless, his dark skin and built body on full display. I suddenly felt very aroused, and a small ache formed in my sex, causing me to rub my thighs together.

When he was a mere foot from me, his head turned up and he came to a standstill. I knew I looked like a fool for not moving out of his way, but I was frozen, struck stupid by the
V
of his hips drifting down below the shorts.
Shorts I would love to tug lower with my teeth…

“Sorry, I didn’t see you standing there,” he said, taking his earbuds out. “Oh, Ms. Wilson. I almost didn’t recognize you outside of the classroom.”

I shook my head, cursing myself for being so obvious. “Um, Alex. I mean, call me Alex, Professor Rodriguez.”

He nodded. “And you can call me Javier. Outside of the classroom, of course.” He smiled, and my breath caught.

“O-okay,” I stuttered, cursing myself once more. I hated how stupid I sounded.

He glanced out at the waves then turned his attention back to me. “Do you run often? I haven’t ever noticed you out before.”

“Yeah.” His eyes bore into mine, and I realized I needed to say something more. “I try to run every morning. Helps get me ready and focused for my classes.”

“Me, too,” he replied. “Well, I guess I’ll see you in a few hours for class?”

Licking my dry lips, I said, “Yes. I don’t know for how much longer, though.”

“What do you mean?” he questioned, his eye brows bunched.

“You haven’t seen my homework I turned in on Wednesday?”

“No. My TA grades the homework.”

I nodded. “Ah, well, you’ll know what I mean later then. I have an appointment with your TA on Saturday, so we’ll see.”

He pursed his lips for a moment. “When is your last class over?”

“Four-thirty.”

“Do you work?”

“Um…no,” I answered, confused by his questions. Did he not remember my embarrassing moment after Monday’s class?

“My office hours end at five. Come by my office afterward and we’ll figure out the problem.”

I nodded. “Okay. Are you sure? I’m supposed to meet with Emily on Saturday.”

“I’m positive,” he answered. “With both of us helping you, surely you’ll be able to stay enrolled in the class.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem,” he replied as he started walking away. “See you in a few.”

I stood there, rooted to the spot.
What the hell had just happened?

***

After showering and changing, I met up with Courtney and Lane at the coffee shop, as per usual.

“I say we should party tomorrow night. We’re all single now, and we need to really live. We only have this year and next year before we have to be real adults,” Courtney announced as we sipped our coffee.

“I am a real adult. I have a job and everything,” Lane replied, smirking.

“Still…”

“I’m game,” I chipped in.

She beamed. “Yeah. It’ll be fun. Maybe we can meet up at your place at eight tomorrow?”

I nodded. “Sure. Sounds good.”

We both looked at Lane. He sighed and shrugged. “I guess.”

Courtney placed her hand on his arm. “I promise, you’ll have fun.”

I tipped my cup back and took a swig. “I can’t stay out too late, I have to study.”

“Calculus?” Lane questioned.

“Yeah. I fucking hate that class, but the professor is great to look at, so that’s a perk.”

Lane rolled his eyes as Courtney asked, “Who’s the professor? I might need to take this class.”