I see Professor Stirling roll his eyes, and I bite back a laugh. “Yeah, the elevator stopped working.”
“Ah, I see,” the voice responds. “Let me see what we can do about that. I’ll call someone.” And with that, the line disconnects.
I sigh before slowly lowering myself to the ground and leaning against the wall.
“What are you doing?” Asher demands, sounding startled.
I smooth out my skirt as I look up at him. “Oh, I’m sorry, you think that dude is going to get us out of here anytime soon?” I gesture to the intercom. “Yo, something up?” I mimic. “Thatguy is probably blazed out of his mind. We’ll be lucky to get out of here in a few hours.” And my ankle is still a little tender, so there’s no way I’m standing for however long this takes.
“You think he’s smoking marijuana on the job?” he asks, eyes widening.
“How old are you again?” I inquire. “Have you never done that?”
“No.”
“Not even back before you were a professor? What about when you were a busboy or something?”
“No.”
“I think you should try it sometime,” I sigh, settling in for what is sure to be an excruciatingly tormenting time. “It might mellow you out a bit.” He bristles at the jab but doesn’t respond.
Being stuck in an elevator with a hot dude sounds great, but when the hot guy is your professor, whom you shouldn’t have a crush on… well, it sounds more like torture.
“Were you having a meeting with your advisor?” he asks after a few moments of silence.
I nod. “Yep, just planning out the last semester before interning at a clinic for my field experience.” He bobs his head up and down but doesn’t respond. When it seems like he’s about to start pacing in the three feet of space we have, I speak up again. “What about you? What brings you to the admin building?”
“My friend’s convinced their coffee is better, so sometimes we meet here on our breaks.”
“A friend or afriend?” I question without thinking. He widens his eyes, and his mouth drops open just slightly. His startled expression sends a fresh wave of embarrassment washing over me.Way to go, Summer. Can’t you ever just keep your mouth shut?“Um, I’m sorry.” I let out a sharp laugh. “That is absolutely none of my business.”
“No, it’s not,” he responds, but I swear I see a small smile tug at the corner of his lips.
“Well, is it better?” I wonder, trying to get past a mortifying moment that I’m sure will keep me up at night for years to come.
“Is what better?”
“The coffee?”
He chuckles. “It tastes the same to me. I think my friend just wants an excuse to hit on one of the advisors.”
“Oh, I hope he’s hitting on my advisor, Ms. Torero; she could use some… happiness in her life,” I say, sounding disturbingly like Sam.
Asher lets out a surprised laugh. “She is… a bit harsh sometimes.”
“That’s a polite way of saying she is a major pain in the ass.” I watch as he tries to cover his next laugh by running a hand over his mouth. “Sorry, I am just completely out of line today.”
“Rough day?” he asks, finally sitting on the ground across from me.
I shrug. “I just have a lot to do, and being stuck in an elevator wasn’t really on my agenda.”
“Heading to The Pour House to work on that new essay?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Either there or just back to my place to keep Milo company.”
His spine straightens. “Milo?”
“She’s my cat,” I explain.
