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“Good for you. At least you know what you want.”
“What about you?”
“Girl, I don't even know what I want tomorrow, let alone in four years. I do know though that I want to call Josh.”
“Oh?” I ran my fingers back and forth over our hot pink rug.
“Yeah, he’s cute. I want to give him a chance. Even if it's only for a little bit.”
I rolled my eyes. “You are such a mess.”
“Look who's talking, girlfriend. Hey, you have that economics class tomorrow right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Well, I forgot to mention that the old geezer had a heart attack. Supposedly, he's going to be fine, but will be out for a few weeks. They hired some new guy to take his place, but I heard that he's not a professor, so he probably can't teach. I just wanted to warn you.”
Shit. Econ was already one of my worst classes. If the new guy couldn’t teach, I was screwed. “Great. I hope that I won’t have to retake it.”
“Hopefully he's easy because he doesn't know what he's doing. But, just in case, pay attention tomorrow.”
I turned around to look at her. “You act like I don't focus in class. I’d like to remind you I have amazing grades.”
“Well, you’re whooping my ass in physics, but in Econ, I've got you beat.”
“True. I guess we'll see tomorrow.”
It was nice to just talk about school. To be relaxed for the first time since the judge had been murdered. I was really free.
I arrived to class early, on the off chance Alexis was right that this new guy really had no idea what he was doing. I wanted to make a good first impression just in case I needed to go to office hours or ask for extra help. But when I got there, he was already busy working on papers with his back turned to us. He was definitely younger than I was anticipating, which concerned me even more. I watched him from behind, his crisp gray suit outlining broad shoulders. I found a seat near the middle of the rows, and I sat down. He still didn’t look up at me or the other ten students that had already arrived. I checked my emails to see if Hudson had gotten in touch with me again, but there was nothing. I had ended it, and he listened. But there was a part of me that just wanted him to reach out. For him to touch me again… the roughness of his skin on mine. The class around me grew quiet, and I opened up my notes on my laptop just as the professor was clearing his throat. And then I looked up.
I saw his face and my breath caught in my chest.
Those chiseled features. That strong jaw and dark eyes. They always drew me in like that.
“My name is Hudson James. I'll be your guest lecturer for the next three weeks while your professor is out on medical leave. I'm a business executive and a self-made millionaire.”
It seemed like he wanted to say more. But that's when our eyes met. He stopped and looked directly at me without being able to move his lips anymore.
“Calla,” he breathed, nodding at me knowingly. Apparently he wasn’t giving up that easy.
Everyone in the hall looked in my direction.
Shit. And I thought I was free.
Chapter Twenty
I sat like a deer in the headlights, and sucked in a deep breath. How could this happen? How could my two worlds collide in such a ridiculous way? I felt, for a moment, like I was being set up.
He looked totally cool and collected, like this was completely normal. It was set up, by him. I was sure of it.
Once Hudson had me, he wouldn’t let me go.
I was shaking. Everyone’s eyes were still on me.
He cleared his throat. “So, why don’t you open your books to page 376, it appears that’s where your professor left off. I’m going to give you ten minutes to read the page silently. Then we’ll have a discussion and I’ll assign some homework. Should be an easy day for you.”
Everyone around me opened their books and began reading. I noticed a couple people pulled out their phones and were probably texting each other about Hudson and me. I didn’t move. I sat completely still as he moved around the classroom, falling behind students and watching them read. As he passed by me the whole world stopped. “You’re not reading?”
