Stalked For Love (3 page)

I made my way to Professor Brennan’s office, walking down the crowded hall, with my bag slung over my shoulder and a smile on my face. I took in the scenery, realizing that these would be some of the last memories I would have of college. In the next week I would have moved, graduated, while also preparing to start work soon. I turned the corner, and began approaching the professors’ office.

I knew where his office was, but I’d never been invited inside, until now. Which didn’t make me feel any better about the conditions of
why
I had been invited inside, at this very moment. As I read his name card I swallowed and knocked three times, and waited. I turned around behind me to see some of my peers, who were happily roaming the halls, paying me no attention. They were all just so excited to finally be finishing school, so they could go on about their lives now, including me.

Most of the kids I knew were
told
they were going to college, and there was never a choice for them. But for me, I actually wanted to go, and begged my parents to help me get there. They paid for my tutoring throughout high school, because I was very bad at math, once upon a time. As well as my SAT prep, and here I am. Jessica Moore, an only child who was about to graduate college with honors, and be on my way in life.

I took a deep breath of gratification, and when I turned around to knock again, I was surprised to see that the door was now opened. There he was, looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face.
Professor Brennan
. He was just standing there, holding his door open for me as I blanched, clearly startled.
How long was I daydreaming?

“Um, he-hello Professor Brennan,” I muttered, feeling bashful all of a sudden.

“Miss Moore, how nice to see that you are
still
very much distracted,” he murmured, as he waved for me enter.

I gave him a tight smile as I walked inside, and he closed the door after me. I stood there looking around this office, at his furniture and decor. I took a moment to take it all in, as I stood in the middle of the massive office, looking at the paintings that hung on the walls. There were a few gorgeous Monet paintings, I knew they were Monet’s because he was my favorite painter. There were also a few hanging quotes by Hemmingway, that were carved in some type of stone.

The décor was typical; shiny cherry oak bookshelves lined most of the walls. There was a small couch and table near the window, and a desk and chairs.
Typical.
But as my eyes roamed, they landed back on that Monet painting, and I sighed.

“Beautiful,” I muttered to myself, as I found myself lost in translation, lost in the pure beauty of this gorgeous painting.

“I’d like to think so,” he murmured, breaking me out of my admiration. I cleared my throat and looked over to see that he was standing directly beside me. He was so close that his shoulder was almost touching mine. I then glanced down at his shoulder before looking back up at his face. I quickly noticed that his facial features were soft and inviting, as usual, but his eyes were burning into mine… his stare was almost magnetic.

I could tell that Professor Brennan is a passionate man, because he has such an odd intensity about him. It wasn’t too intense to be deemed scary, but intense enough to be controlled. A man such as himself, probably was disciplined and had very strict parents in his upbringing. He just seemed as if he was very good at holding his emotions at bay, but it also looked as if his intensity could be triggered. I inhaled and swallowed hard at the discerning concentration of his gaze.

I wondered if he was alright, or if something happened with his family that had him so
off
today. He did seem as if he was on edge, when he’s normally cool as a cucumber. I wanted to ask him, but it would be over-stepping my bounds. Surprisingly, my eyes were still locked on his, and I felt a shift. Suddenly, I didn’t feel like I was in the principal’s office any more, I sort of felt like I was in the office of a predator.

“Everything you see in this office is priceless to me,” he muttered, while continuing to gaze at me. I had never heard his voice so soft before, it sounded so intimate, so, alluring.

“What’s priceless?” I muttered, it took me a few minutes to figure out what he was talking about, as we continued to gaze at each other.
Oh the paintings!
Wow, someone could get lost in those eyes of his.

“Umm, shall I sit?” I asked, to break the unnerving eye contact between us.

“Yes, please have a seat,” he gestured to a chair. I walked over and sat in one of the two chairs that were in front of his desk, as he followed me. To my surprise he didn’t go and sit behind his desk chair, he came and sat beside me, in the other chair in front of his desk, the second chair.

“Miss Moore, I saw that you were very distracted during my lecture today. Would you mind explaining to me what was going on?” he asked as I stared straight ahead at his
empty
leather chair. I didn’t know why I felt nervous all of a sudden, but I was.

“Professor, I’m so very sorry that I was distracted. I just…”

“Excuse me, but please look at me when you’re speaking to me, Miss Moore,” he murmured. I turned towards him, looking directly into his eyes, and he then nodded for me to continue.

“It’s just that…I have some big changes happening this weekend, and I guess I’m a little nervous,” I explained.

“What kind of changes?” he asked. I didn’t know why I felt so nervous around him all of a sudden, especially when the school term was just about over. Maybe it was the fact that we never got personal in our conversations. Whenever we would talk, it was always about my schooling. Each and every single lecture, tutoring session, or even his extra credit seminars. Work, Work, Work… well, until now.

“I am moving this weekend, Professor. Well, actually I am almost finished moving my things, and I will be moving in tonight.”

“Oh, well that’s good, no need to be nervous. You’re in transition, and there isn’t anything wrong with that,” he stated, confidently.

“I guess not, but...” I hesitated.

“But?” He urged.

“My life is going to be so different after next week. Having moved, graduated, and starting a new job, all in the same breath.” I exhaled a shaky breath.

“Consider yourself lucky, Jess. It took me almost half a year after college, to have all that lined up before I started graduate school. I remember when I was in transition, I felt overwhelmed and somewhat terrified with everything I had on my plate. Trust me, just because you may start out feeling overwhelmed, doesn’t mean you will stay that way. You’ve worked very hard for this and you’re on your way. You’ve got this in the bag,” he nodded, confidently as he smiled at me.
Did he just call me Jess?

“
Umm,
I didn’t know all that.” I smiled back at him blinking a few times, feeling a wave of fresh air as he spoke about his time in college.

“You really don’t know much about me outside of academia. When we’re together, you’re either studying or I’m tutoring you,” he murmured.

“I didn’t know that I could or, would ever, really get the chance to know you, outside of academia, Professor.”

“Well, maybe you will now. You won’t be my student in four more days, and then… all bets are most definitely
off
,” he replied darkly.
All bets are what?
I felt my cheeks turning red as the blush covered my face, and I turned away from his gaze to get some distance. I knew in my gut that he was definitely flirting, yet not flirting at the same time.
Now this was a surprise. What was going on here?

“Um, Professor Brennan, are you… flirting with me?” I asked.

“Now, Miss Moore, if I were flirting with you… I’m certain that you wouldn’t have to ask me for confirmation on the matter, because you’d already know… for a fact,” he stated.

“Um, okay,” I replied, and tried to calm my nerves as I glanced back at him, to see him staring into my eyes again. I was sure he could see the uneasy look on my face, because hell, even I could feel it. I then swallowed rather loudly, as I tried to distract myself, by focusing on breathing in and out. Which at the moment seemed very difficult to do.

“Miss Moore, you are my student… for now, and I am your professor. Case closed. Now, tell me about this job you’ve secured,” he murmured.

I turned back towards him, to see that he’d crossed his leg. His ankle was resting on his knee, while both his hands were splayed on his thighs, almost as if he was willing himself to keep them there. I blinked up at him, and wondered why he was so inquisitive about my personal life all of a sudden.

He had never even so much as hinted at
anything
outside of academia, and now I wasn’t sure if I could repeat that same statement in truth. I knew in my gut that I had nothing to worry about with Professor Brennan, because he wasn’t a predator. He was always professional and respectful, and he would help me in any way that he could, and he has.

Besides, he has a fan club already, of some of the most willing and most beautiful girls in the entire university, pining after him. So there was no way that he was actually flirting with me. This was a man who had options, and I was sure I wasn’t one of them. Furthermore, I knew that the director of my new internship would be calling him for my academic reference, if they hadn’t already.

So I needed to not piss Professor Brennan off, to ensure that my reference would be a good one. So in-spite of my reservations to talk about my personal life, I found myself spilling my guts to him. To my surprise, he sat and listened attentively as I talked, and I could tell he was very interested in what I was saying. He’d kept a somewhat blank face, but he engaged me when needed, and I appreciated that. But at times, he seemed very distracted himself.
Odd!

It was uncommon for me to talk about myself, not just to him, but to anyone. But then the strangest thing happened once I’d stopped talking to take a few breaths. He had actually started to talk to me
,
to me. I sat there stoned faced while he told me more about his time in college, and his first teaching job out of grad school. He also told me that he was thinking of leaving the university, and I was completely flabbergasted.

The man didn’t look a day over thirty, and had an amazing job that he obviously loved. So how could he just up and leave this place? But if that was what he wanted to do, I wish him luck. He must really trust me to just tell
me
something like that, and although I thought he would elaborate on that revelation, he didn’t. To a great extent, I knew he was just trying to make me feel comfortable, so he may have been lying about leaving the university. Who knows? But what I did know was that today would no longer just be the day I got reprimanded in class for the first time. Oh no, today was so much more than that now.

Today would mark the day when I was allowed to see a different side of Professor Brennan, and even though the whole experience was a little jarring, it was also kind of sweet. But hearing him talk about his personal life, was not as easy as I thought it would be. I was very nervous as we were talking, I was actually trembling. Professor Brennan was just too much to take right now.

Being alone with him in his office like this was overpowering me, but I liked it. I liked that we were talking openly with each other for the first time ever. It was refreshing. I wasn’t sure if knowing anything about him outside of the classroom would be a good thing at all. But, since I didn’t have any plans to return to the college after graduation, I knew we wouldn’t see one another again after next week. Or so I thought.

I had a long drive ahead of me and after I’d packed up the last of my boxes, I’d hit the road. I was so happy to finally be out of that house, so it was a very happy day for me. I was now on the road leaving town, and it felt damned good. I was leaving all the madness, all the noise and all of my stalker memories behind me. I merged onto the parkway and was now passing a sign for Peter’s Bar and Grill. The site of that sign alone had my stomach in knots and my pulse racing. Because now, I couldn’t stop thinking about what almost happened to me, after leaving Peter’s Bar and Grill, just a few weeks ago.

***

A few weeks ago…
I was leaving a bar near campus, called Peter’s. I was with a group of friends, and we all had more than a few beers that night. We were walking home from the bar, and we weren’t even a full two blocks away when I suddenly felt my senses scattering. I started to look around, feeling like something was out of place.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood, as my breathing sped up. I didn’t know if I was over reacting or just drunk, but what I felt was very disturbing, and sent me into a serious state of paranoia. Due to the fact that I could
feel
a pair of eyes on me.

“Hey, what are you looking at?” Sherry asked, while walking to stand beside me. Sherry was one of my roommates and she and I got along the most, out of all the girls the house. She was who I considered to be my best friend. She must had realized that I had stopped walking beside her, and turned to see that I was looking around for something… or better yet someone.

I hadn’t seen
him
again since that first time on the street, which was eleven months ago. He hasn’t made any appearances whatsoever since then, but that didn’t make me feel very good. Because I still had a feeling he was still out there, watching me. I could feel it in my bones, just like I could tonight. Even though my brain was fogged from beer, I could still tell that something was off… I could just, feel it.

“Oh, nothing… I just thought I saw someone,” I muttered, but the anxiety had already begun to overcome me.

“Okay, you have had a few too many beers young lady, as my father would say.” Sherry waved her finger at me, teasing me as her words slurred. We both began to laugh while hugging each other; she was very funny at times. But she was right, I did have a few too many beers, and I’m not a big drinker.

A glass or two of good wine was more my speed, not beer. But there were a few times when I decided to
not
be the outcast of the group. You know the one everyone tries to pressure to chug beer, and not sip wine. To take shots, and not sip wine. To have cocktails, and not sip wine. Yeah, that was the normal prognosis, when I would go out to the bar with friends. Then somehow the entire night would become about; how to get Jess drunk tonight, and
not
off of wine. But tonight, I decided to beat them to the punch. I had planned to forgo my wine, and just drink with them to enjoy one of our last nights out together.

“Yeah, maybe I’ve had a few too many,” I giggled, while looking behind me and over across the street, still feeling an uneasy twisting in my stomach.

No one ever believed me, when I mentioned the guy I’d seen almost a year ago. They all just said that whoever I saw that night, was just a figment of my imagination. But I knew he was real, and I knew what I saw and that’s all that mattered.

The four of us continued to walk home, passing a few more blocks, and then I felt it again. The hairs on the back of my neck stood, my breathing changed, and I knew that
his
eyes were watching me. I just couldn’t shake the feeling, so I stopped walking, and began to glance around again.
Where are you, you bastard?
 

They always say; be careful what you ask for. A moment later, I discovered exactly what they meant. Because as I turned back around towards my friends, I saw someone out the corner of my eye. My head immediately snapped back, and into the face of
him
. It was him… standing right there.

He was across the street in all black again, with a dark baseball cap on, just staring back at me. I found myself gasping as I tried to call out to my friends, to ensure that someone saw him this time, other than me.

But my voice was taken from me, and I was frozen solid. Sadly, my friends were too drunk to notice anything at the moment. They had continued to walk while joking around and laughing, not even noticing that I was no longer walking beside them.

There were quite a few people out tonight on the streets, but somehow, all I could see was him. I just stared back at him, while taking a few things into account this time. He was tall and slim, but not particularly thin, and he was dressed in black clothing. He wore a cap with lettering that looked like it was a “NY
”
written in white. I didn’t even take a moment to think before I dashed out into the traffic, trying to make my way across the street.

With each step I took, the more I found myself wanting to see his face. This man would
not
continue to haunt me, especially when he made such rare appearances. I have only seen him twice in eleven months, but in my gut I knew that meant nothing at all. I knew he was still around, watching me all the other times when I couldn’t see him, which was just
insane
to me.

I was a girl who was only here to further her education, and I wasn’t rich or popular. I was nobody important, so I didn’t understand why he was doing this. It was settled, I wanted to know who he was. My mind was made up.
I was going to see who this man was, tonight!
The danger, and insanity of my actions, didn’t even register to me. I was already numb because of my time at the bar earlier that night, and also from the insanity of this situation.
Who was this man?

Maybe he was just a student in my university, who did this for fun to scare women. Or he could be the maniac who was just released from prison, that I’ve been imagining him to be. Either way, I was not going to take this lying down, anymore. The identity of this man has consumed me long enough. I was going to see who he was, and ask him a few questions of my own.

Why was he following me? What did he want from me? Why won’t he stop this?
I was going to demand answers, right then and right there. I kept my eyes on him, hardly blinking as I walked right into the street. I was
not
going to lose him this time, or be distracted by something as silly as blinking. But the loud sound of a horn, and the screeching of tires, had managed to
actually
distract me, breaking through my beer induced brain freeze.

My head snapped around and I gasped… a huge truck was heading straight for me. The screaming tires, I realized, were from a huge truck swerving. The truck driver was desperately trying to stop his impending impact. It all was happening so fast. Horns blowing, tires screeching, while people were yelling incoherently. Then, there I was, frozen in place, while in the middle of the street.

The shock of it all had me frozen solid, and disabled my motor functions. The only movement I could manage was my throat and my eyes, as I swallowed a mouthful of saliva, while my eyes widened so wide they actually began watering.

The view in front of me was horrific, it was surreal. There were two massive headlights that were rapidly approaching me, head on. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t’ think, I couldn’t even breathe. I was completely paralyzed, as a pair of strong arms grabbed me, and yanked me sideways. I was yanked so hard, that both of us fell onto the pavement with a very loud thud, as my face landed on a hard chest.

Someone broke my fall, and pulled me from an almost certain death.
Who? What? How?
I could hear a heart beating very fast, and I wasn’t sure if it was mine, or maybe the one who just rescued me? I just tried to focus on breathing in and out. I took in deep breaths of air, as a soft and masculine scent began to surround me. While the arms that held me wrapped around me tighter, his nose buried in my hair as he inhaled deeply.

He held me so tightly that I couldn’t move an inch, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to, a part of me loved being held so intimately. Thank God I was still alive, but I felt woozy and my vision was blurry, very blurry. My head felt like it weighed a ton, and my limbs were too heavy to move. It took all of my strength to lift my head, and look into the face of the one who’d saved my life. But I couldn’t see anything but skin and a parted mouth, since my vision was so blurred.

Between the beers and the almost accident, I was still in a state of shock. With the bright lights, commotion, and slow motion of everything all around me, I couldn’t see or hear very much at all. But I could very much feel his
hard
body that not only shielded me, but was also pressed firmly against my leg, as he held me on top of him. But given the urgency of the situation at hand, I can totally understand why he would be so...  tense, right now. At the moment, I was a little
tense
myself.

I could feel his shallow breaths on my face, as he cupped my cheek with his hand. A hand that was surprisingly warm, considering that it was chilly tonight, after days of pouring rain. This man just stared into my eyes with an intensity that looked vaguely familiar, but I could hardly see straight. But what I could see was his forehead rippled with anxiety.
He was worried
.

“Are you alright?” He whispered, close to my ear. I didn’t recognize his voice, but it had warmth to it, with a slight rasp.

“I think so… I...I don’t know,” I muttered.

Just then, he slowly sat us both up from in-between the cars we were nestled under, and helped me up to my feet. We both were standing now, with his front to my side as I looked around at the commotion. He held me closely, with his arm around my waist supporting my body. I took a deep shuttering breath as I looked back towards him, but I still couldn’t see his face clearly. I could only see the front of his cap and the hoodie that covered much of his face. I started to wipe my eyes with my arm, but it made things worse, and my vision became even more blurred.

“Can you stand?” He whispered, close to my ear, and I nodded as he slowly released me. After a few moments of standing on my own, realization began to dawn on me that I could have been hit by this massive truck.
I am such an idiot!
I just closed my eyes and thanked God again, that I was still alive. Looking over at the huge truck, parked awkwardly in the middle of the road, was as terrifying as when it was coming towards me, head on. I then felt a shiver run down my spine at the thought, and then I heard my friends.

They were yelling my name and as their voices grew closer to me, I then turned in the direction of the familiar voices. I then called back to them, as I unclearly saw them rushing towards me. “Oh my God, Jessica, are you alright?” Amber screeched.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Jess? Why did you run into the street?” She cried, wiping at my arms and face.

“You ran into the street. Why Jess?” Tracy asked.

As they bombarded me with questions, I took a few shaky breaths and looked around to see a small crowd gathering around us. I needed to rinse my eyes, the particles in them from the fall made my vison entirely too blurry, and I could barely see anyone clearly at all. As I began to look around, I could vaguely see everyone that was near us, except the one I was looking for. “Where is he?” I whispered, before turning back around to my friends.

“Who? Who are you talking about?” Sherry asked, perplexed.

“The guy… the guy who saved me?” I muttered to her.

“When the truck moved, we saw only you
standing here. I didn’t see a guy or anyone else. Who was he?” She asked, looking even more confused. 

“I… I don’t know.” I stated, really feeling like an idiot. I didn’t ask him one single question, but he managed to ask me two, while saving my life.

“This must be him,” my friend, Tracy, announced. We all turned to look to where she was pointing, and there was a huge man approaching us. Sherry turned her head back to me after she saw him, and grabbed my hand.

“Is that him?” She asked me, as I saw the chubby man in the red hat approaching us.

“No, it’s not,” I snapped, starting to feel pissed off. I knew I wasn’t going crazy.

I knew a man had saved me, and I knew he was somewhere out here. But I also knew that they would never believe me, just like the last time. I could hear an ambulance nearby, and I was glad, because I needed them to rinse my eyes ASAP.

“Excuse me, but are you alright?” The man asked, with a thick southern accent. The man who was driving the truck was the man standing before me, with panic in his voice as he spoke.

“Yes, I’m alright,” I muttered, confused about it all.
I knew someone saved me.

“Oh good, thank God. I am so glad I didn’t hit you… it was a very close call,” he exhaled. But I couldn’t focus, because I needed to find the man who saved me. But I knew if he didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t be. It was always on his terms when I saw him, always.

“I’m glad that you didn’t hit me, too. Did you see who pulled me out of the way?” I asked, hoping he could confirm my scattered thoughts.