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Chapter Thirteen
Naomi
Ever since having lunch with Casey and Jess, I caught myself checking my phone every other minute. I was still waiting for my mom or dad to call me and break the news to me themselves. It was fucked up that they couldn’t tell me like they told Casey and Jess. And therein lied the problem. They forgot about me all the time.
“Hey Nao,” Jacob nudged my shoulder. I was standing outside of the classroom, not ready to go in and try not to stare at Josh or look like I’ve seen him naked.
“Hey, how are you?” I said and we bumped fists.
“Slammed,” he said. “I had three papers to write this weekend and got like three hours of sleep,” he rubbed his eyes and then gestured behind me. “Looks like JJ found a girlfriend. I bet the class will be mad,” he said. My body froze for a second then I turned my head and saw another professor that I knew of, standing way too close to Josh. She taught English and a lot of the guys who took her class thought she was hot. Which, I guess she was, for a short, petit, blonde. She touched his chest and Josh laughed. My breath caught in my chest on an unexpected pang of hurt.
“They’ll trash talk her around campus,” I said, trying to make my tone light but it was hard. Jacob didn’t notice that I was off. We walked into class together. Josh could be seen getting close to another professor on campus. There was no policy against professors dating. I sat down in my usual seat and Jacob sat beside me. If he didn’t want to hide, if he wanted a real relationship he could date his co-worker if he wanted.
“Holy shit, Naomi, look at what she’s wearing,” Jake pointed to a girl who just stepped into class. She wore a blatantly thin white tank top without a bra underneath. The entire class could see her areolas and nipples. What’s worse is the short-shorts she wore with it.
“Why would anyone leave their house looking like that?” I murmured. Jake cracked up.
“To impress JJ, why else? Man, this class is comedy,” he said, chuckling to himself. I sighed and shook my head. I wanted to yell, “He’s taken!” Of course, I couldn’t and I wouldn’t. So women would continue to hit on him and make passes at him right in front of me and there was nothing I could do about it. I pinched the bridge of my nose and opened my textbook to finish reading the chapter before Josh walked in.
He glanced at the girl, who chose to sit in the front, once. Then started the lecture. Josh was always careful not to look at me much, I on the other hand couldn’t help it. He was the professor and it would be weird if I never looked at him while he spoke. After class though, the skimpy dressed girl was the first person in line with questions for Josh. I packed my bag slowly, glad that Jake wanted to watch the spectacle for kicks and giggles too. After she asked Josh her bogus questions she lingered by her desk, slowly packing her things while checking her phone. She was obviously trying to stay behind after everyone left.
“Hey, do you want to stay late to ask him something, just to piss her off?” Jake asked. I smirked, really glad I gained him as a friend this semester.
“Yes, yes, you go first,” I said, grinning. Jake pulled his bag over his shoulder and walked to the head of the class. The girl stepped in front of him to say something to Josh and then he took a deep breath, glanced at me for a split second and then gestured to the door. He took his briefcase and left the classroom with her. Jake turned around, his eyes wide and his mouth in an O of surprise.
“Where do you think they’re going?” he whispered loudly.
“Office hours?” I said. Even though I sounded none the wiser, bile rose in the back of my throat.
“Holy shit, what if they bang in his office?” Jake snickered.
I rolled my eyes and walked to the door. “Come on, let’s go to the library,” I said. All I could imagine was Josh taking that girl to his office and her coming on to him. What if they did have sex? It didn’t help that Jake kept rambling on about different scenarios of Josh having sex with her. According to Jake, the most logical option they’d have is in Josh’s car. I felt sick thinking about it.
Later that afternoon, before I left the parking lot to drive home, Josh called me. I answered after taking a breath. My mind was all over the place, I had the irrational fear that he was going to end things between us. It was irrational, sure, but I couldn’t shake the fear and it made my eyes water.
“Hey, are you working tonight?” he asked.
“No, I work all weekend,” I said. My voice was too soft, too vulnerable. I realized then, how much I was starting to like Josh and I wasn’t prepared for it.
“Mind if I come over?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “See you soon,” I said. We ended the call and I drove home with tight hands around the steering wheel. I took care of Jerry when I got home and opened the fridge looking for food. I didn’t feel like cooking and I didn’t want to keep wasting money on eating out. Josh knocked on the door and I closed the fridge and let him in.
“Hey,” he said, smiling as if he hadn’t seen me all day. He put his hand at the small of my back and kissed me.
“Hi,” I said. I rubbed the center of my chest which felt oddly heavy and warm. I couldn’t shake the feeling of sadness that I had.
“Are you feeling better from the stomach bug?” he asked.
“Yeah much better. It was stress related,” I said. Josh and I walked to my bedroom and laid down. He grabbed my tv remote and started flipping through channels. “Your uh…colleague was really touchy today, huh?” I said. Josh glanced at me and quirked his eyebrow.
“I guess, she always is though. I don’t entertain it but she was being bold in the hallway. She knew I wouldn’t make a scene,” he said. “Same with Erika, the girl who wore a see through shirt. I walked her out of the building because I didn’t want to get stuck in the room alone with her,” he said.
“Oh,” I said. Josh settled on a channel showing Frasier reruns. I bit my lip and glanced at Josh a few times. His profile could’ve been stamped on a penny or etched into marble.
“Do you see yourself…with a family one day?” I asked. “Or did your ex-wife kind of ruin that dream for you?” I asked, it was a question that had been haunting me.
“I definitely still want a family. That hasn’t changed for me. I want kids, the whole nine yards,” he said. I bit my lip to keep from reacting too much, my eyes started to water. I was honestly annoyed, why was I so emotional?
