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And now she’s taking my class.
I struggle against my pounding heart to keep my shit together—or as together as I can keep it, considering there’s a photo of my student’s pussy on my phone. “During its heyday, the study of human history and the study of nature were interconnected. However, over time, natural history became known as a second-rank form of study in the eyes of scientists and scholars. This semester, we’re going to talk about why that’s the case.”
Alexis’s magnetic gaze tugs on me until I can’t resist glancing in her direction. The anguish on her gorgeous face nearly kills me. She knows this means we’re off-limits to each other now. I can’t touch her, can’t kiss her, can’t be familiar with her to the extent that I’d like to.
My own disappointment weighs on my chest, while somehow making my limbs restless. Perched on the edge of the front desk, I have to consciously tell my leg to stop bouncing. I begin going through the syllabus in detail, pointing out the changes I’ve made to the version they received when they registered.
“Class meets for three hours and you can expect it to take up all three of those hours on the weeks we have field trips, which I’ll provide a schedule for.”
The young man who answered my first question raises his hand.
“Yes, Felix?”
“When you say field trips, do you mean like, outside?”
“I haven’t settled on a definitive list of locations. But I think it’s safe to say that most of them will involve the outdoors, so dress accordingly.”
Felix purses his lips. I finish going over the syllabus and move on to the required reading. We’re an hour and a half into the first class, and I cannot focus to save my goddamned life. Finally, I say,fuck it. What little content I was planning to cover today will be in this week’s reading.
“That’s good for today,” I say. “I’ll send out an email with the field trip schedule. Expect to be out of the classroom for at least a couple of hours next week.”
The classroom clears out quickly, leaving Alexis and me alone. She rises from her chair and comes over to me, close enough that I could reach out and touch her if I wanted to—and I want to. More than anything.
“You didn’t tell me you were a professor,” she says.
I match her sad smile with my own. “You didn’t tell me you were a student.”
“Guess we got a little carried away last night.” She cradles her elbows. “About dinner Friday...”
I can barely look at her when I say, “I’m afraid that invitation has to be withdrawn.”
“Right.” She shakes her head. “Of course.”
I fold my arms, mirroring her stance and pinning my hands to my sides so I won’t be tempted to touch her.
“What if I changed classes?” she asks.
“You’d still be a student at Brookstone.”
She sighs. “Well, I won’t be one for much longer. We can reschedule our date for next summer.”
A spark of hope ignites in my chest and then fizzles. It’s not that I don’t want to wait for her. I’d wait as long as it takes to make her mine. But there’s still her family to consider. Frank would never approve of her seeing me, and the last thing I want to do is drive a wedge between the woman I care about and the important people in her life.
I’m about to point this out to her when a blonde girl and a tall Asian boy with chin-length hair step inside the classroom.
“Is there supposed to be a class in here?” the blonde asks, glancing at the empty tables.
“There is.” I push up from the desk. “I let everyone out early.”
Alexis gathers her things as I run through the highlights of what the latecomers missed. She sidesteps past us on her way out the door, and although I know she has to leave, I can’t help wishing she didn’t have to.
Chapter Six
Alexis
The Esther Holbrook Botanical Center’s main building is a massive metal and glass structure housing over three hundred species of flora—or so the sign says in the lobby.
Palm trees, ornamental grasses, and flowering shrubs line the perimeter of the two fountains I can see from where we’ve gathered by the entrance to the greenhouse. Our numbers have dropped since the first class, which works out since the van Gavin drove us in only holds nine people.
