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“So you’ve moved around a lot?” He nodded. “Has that been hard?” Was that too personal of a question to ask someone you had just met? Maybe it was.
He cleared his throat. “Sometimes.”
“I get it.” I brushed a piece of hair behind my ear self-consciously. “I lived in New York City for two years. It was… well, I missed home. Hence coming back.” I spread my arms as if to gesture that this was home. Because it was, on all accounts. The city, the school, this place… it felt like home.
He nodded. “I understand missing home, believe me.” And then he must have caught me eyeing the dessert table again, because he asked, “Did you want one?”
“Oh.” I shook my head and then thought better of it. “Well, yeah. I should have grabbed a brownie earlier.” I laughed. “It’s fine though.”
“I’ll get one for you,” he said, and then before I could stop him—or tell him I would get it myself—he departed, coming back a moment later with a brownie wrapped in a napkin.
“Thank you,” I smiled, taking it from him. “You know, they have the best brownies on campus. They’re always gooey and just… perfect.” Why was I gushing over the desserts? This guy definitely didn’t care about my obsession with the sweets on campus, and he was going to think I was just rambling. So much for an intellectual conversation.
He chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.” I noticed he watched me as I took a bite, and I resisted the slight moan I felt as I tasted it for the first time—they really were the best—before my eyes darted back up to his.
We spent the rest of the event in an easy flowing conversation, sharing our experiences working in Chicago and New York, how different it was to live in big cities versus the small ones we had grown up in, the hustle and bustle of life and how it never stopped, and any other topic that came to mind. It all just poured out of me, and I found myself pleasantly surprised about the course of the evening. I hadn’t even realized that I hadn’t looked for Hazel or Lucas in a while when I looked away from Dr. Harper and frowned, seeing that everyone had started to pack up around us.
“Oh,” Professor Harper looked down at his watch. “Wow. Look at the time. I didn’t realize it had gotten so late.”
“They probably want us to get out so they can finish cleaning up,” I whispered to him like I was sharing some big secret, and we both headed towards the door.
“It was really nice chatting with you tonight, Dr. Harper.” I gave him a small smile.
“It was my pleasure,” he said, and then added, “Thanks again for the save.” He smirked. “I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.” At my confused expression, Professor Harper looked at me with an emotion on his face that I couldn’t quite place before continuing. “This was... honestly the best conversation I’ve had at one of these things in a while.” He leaned in close to my ear and murmured, “The rest of the faculty is rather boring, I’m afraid.”
I couldn’t help the blush that crept over my cheeks. “Oh, uh… I appreciate it. Well, I should get going,” I said, looking down at the time on my watch, “I have an early day at work tomorrow. Maybe I’ll see you around.” I gave him a small smile before readjusting my purse strap on my shoulder.
“Good night, Miss Hastings,” he murmured under his breath, so low I barely caught it as I turned to leave, and then I was out the door, into the quiet of the hallway, pacing towards the quiet of the night outside of the business building on campus.
“Goodnight,” I whispered to the night as I felt the flush rush back to my cheeks, thinking about how long we had stood in each other’s company, just chatting. When was the last time I had done that with someone like him?
And why could I not get him out of my mind for the rest of the night?
