Page 8 of Bless My Heart

“It doesn’t matter. It will still reflect poorly on me.”

“I understand. My lips are sealed.” I make a movement like I’m locking my mouth up. “That’s a promise.”

“I can’t give you any special privileges,” she informs me. The flush still hasn’t left her face, and I think I see a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. She’s way too stressed about this.

“I wouldn’t want any special privileges. I’m going to work as hard as I can in this class just like I do in all my other classes.” I know it might not seem like it, but I really am a hard worker. I always have been. I’ve had a plan for my life since before I can remember, and that includes performing well in all my classes.

“Ok. Thank you.”

“I do expect some extra credit since I rocked your world.” She puts her hands on her hips like I’ve offended her. “I’m kidding. Calm down please.” I hold my hands up in defense.

“Hilarious.”

I laugh. She’s cute when she’s mad. “Ok, well, I’ll get out of here. Just wanted to tell you I’m looking forward to this semester.” She gives me a nod, and I wink at her. I head toward the door but stop before I reach the hallway.

I turn back to look at Hazel, who now has her hands covering her face. She’s really worried about this. I know she doesn’t know me, but I made her a promise, and I intend to keep it.

I finally break my gaze and move to my next class.

I only have two classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so after my last class of the day, I head back to the house.

Ozzy arrives shortly after me, and I make us lunch. When I lived at my parents’ house, I hated cooking. Well, hate might be a strong word because I never really had to do it. My mother was a stay-at home-mom, so she did all the cooking. When Ozzy and I moved into this house, we realized quickly that one of us would have to cook. I’ve seen Ozzy burn mac and cheese before, so I knew it was going to be me.

Honestly, I made it a challenge. I had easy general education classes my first semester of college, so I had plenty of time to look up recipes and watch YouTube videos about cooking. By the time Ezra moved in with us, I was on a roll; he was just along for the ride.

After Ozzy and I finish lunch, Ezra barrels through the door, looking like a frazzled mess.

“Hey, man. Long day?” I ask him.

“I feel like I’m in a constant cycle, you know? Study study study. Go to class. Study study study. Repeat over and over. And it’s only the first day of the semester.” Ezra is a pre-med major studying for the MCATs to get into medical school. He’s been talking about being a doctor since I met him, so I’m super proud of him. But, damn, it’s a lot of work. I don’t think I could do it.

“Sucks being smart, man,” Ozzy tells him. Ezra just rolls his eyes.

“Hey, take a break for a bit and come hang out by the pool. You deserve to celebrate your first day of senior year.” The best part of this house is the pool in the backyard. We also have a hot tub and definitely use both as much as possible.

“Yeah, ok. Let me go put my stuff down.” He takes off upstairs to his room.

“I can’t imagine having to study as much as he does,” I tell Ozzy.

“I know. I don’t think I could make it.” We both go upstairs to get our suits on. I’ve known Ozzy since elementary school. His parents were pretty terrible, so he hung out at my house a lot. It was great growing up with your best friend practically being your brother. My parents took him on vacations with us and let him celebrate all holidays with us; he basically lived with us. It only made sense for us to go off to college together. My parents offered to rent this house for us as long as we kept our grades up. We’ve both upheld our part of the deal.

The three of us meet back down by the pool. I jump right in — no point in going slow. That’s never been my style. The guys join me, and we do a few laps before grabbing beers and hanging on to the side of the pool.

“How were your classes today?” Ezra asks.

“Fine. Nothing crazy,” Ozzy says. He isn’t a big talker.

“Mine were…as expected,” I tell them. I want to tell them about Hazel, but I remember how worried she looked and can’t do it. I completely trust my friends, but I don’t know. It feels like I need to keep this to myself for a bit. At least until I’m not in her class anymore.

I can’t help but remember what she looked like pressed up against that bathroom wall. God, she was gorgeous, and she was so responsive to me, too. I’d hit that again without a second thought, but I guess that’s out of the question now that she’s my fucking professor. I mean, what are the odds?

My sister, Stella, walks out back with a girl I’ve never seen before. Stella introduces her as Celine, and she’s got the brightest red hair I’ve ever seen. If my thoughts weren’t currently filled with a certain purple-haired professor, I might think this girl was hot.

Stella has gotten really good at pissing me off. We had an argument this morning about her outfit for school. It was entirely inappropriate, but I called Mom on my way to class, and she talked me down. Stella had a hard time in high school and ended up being kind of a loner. Mom explained that Stella’s trying to figure out who she is and expressing herself through clothes, so I’ve got to let it go.

She’s making it really fucking hard, though, walking down here in the smallest bikini I’ve ever seen. I know Ozzy thinks of her as his little sister, but she just met Ezra. She shouldn’t be wearing this shit around him.

But I bite my tongue and pretend everything is fine. I ask about her day, and really I am glad it looks like she already made a friend. I’m proud of her.