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“And, Mia,” she stopped me right before the door. I noticed her eyes trail down my outfit of the day. “Please remember, being a professor at Glendale College is a position of integrity. We tolerate nothing that would harm the respectability of the school. Especially after last year’s sex scandal between several professors and young students. You’ll be receiving emails with documents from the personnel office about your promotion, along with the new rules regarding professor/student relationships and more things to sign.”
I completely read every intention behind her words. “Yes, of course, ma’am. I’ll keep my eyes out for the emails.”
My mind raced at the same pace as my feet, carrying me to the classroom. Her statement confirmed my guess of why I kept getting passed over for a professorship position. I was certain it was because of how young I look. Of course, she couldn’t state that aloud, for fear of being sued.
Outside the closed door to my new classroom, I paused along the wall. With a deep breath in and a slow exhale out, I called forth my determination to prove myself at this opportunity. My future looked brighter already.
I donned a huge smile and entered the room, but the first student my eyes focused on was a blast from the past, all grown up into a strong, alpha-looking man. Gulping down the lump in my throat, I released the door handle and took a step forward.
If only my legs actually worked. I didn’t move fast enough, and the door slammed into my backside, sending my shoulder bag spinning around my body. The strap broke off and the force of it toppled me to the floor as my books, all ten colors of my pens, and my Chapstick littered the floor.
Some students laughed at me. My cheeks burned at the grand, embarrassing entrance I’d made. On my hands and knees, I tried to stop the contents from rolling away.
Suddenly, a male hand picked up the one book in my bag that was not classic English literature, my latest romance read with a bare chested, muscled man on the cover. My face heated to an unbelievable level as I snagged the paperback from him and jammed it back in my bag. I mumbled, “Thank you.”
There was a jolt of electric current that shot straight to my core as our fingertips brushed together with every item he handed me, while he continued to help me clean up the mess.
“I really wasn’t sure about going back to college at my age, but now it’s looking a lot more appealing,” the voice from my past said in a deep rumble of a whisper. Close enough to me, I didn’t think anyone else heard, and oh . . . the memories of Teddy Delfino’s voice called forth from the past.
I looked right into his eyes and was speechless. How could a new professor of English Lit survive a first day like this?
3
TEDDY
Mia Reyes was my professor? Holy shit. I never expected to run into her at college, much less as my professor. Sure, potentially I’d run into her family in Glendale Falls. After losing touch with her brother Cruz the past few years, I hadn’t kept tabs on them. Last I’d heard, he was on a ship with a mission off the coast somewhere in the Middle East. And she was busy earning her doctorate.
She fumbled at the podium in front of the class. “I’ll be taking over Professor Smith’s classes this semester. Some personal matters have come up for her and she won’t be returning until summer. So I’m pleased to be here with you. Since this news was just sprung on me, I’ll need a day or two to get my lesson plans together. Today, I’d like to get to know each of you a little.”
Mia always was smarter than both her brothers combined. Her little brother excelled in sports. And Cruz was only ever interested in girls. Often, he’d coerced Mia into doing his homework for him. In high school, she smartened up and started charging him or making him take her chores before she’d agree. But he’d only let her do enough for him to earn B’s and C’s, so as not to arouse suspicion.
I chuckled to myself at those memories, but also at how nervous she appeared now starting up the class. In the middle of writing her name on the whiteboard—Dr. Mia Reyes—she dropped the dry erase marker.
I didn’t exactly mind, though. Watching her short navy blue skirt inch up her thighs as she bent down was a sight. She’d blossomed into a fine-looking woman with long, shapely legs and curvy hips. Not that I ever doubted she would.
Sure, in high school as a developing teen, she was an awkward tall, skinny girl. But her face was unforgettable. Diamond shaped with unblemished skin in a warm tan tone year-around. Her eyes were big and brown, always aware, as if she were learning something in every situation. And her smile—bright teeth framed by full cherry red lips.
Oh, how those lips pouted when Cruz and I teased her too much. And puckered when she was mad at us. Sometimes, I wanted to take them between my fingers and plant my lips over them.
Now those red lips were calling my name. “Teddy Delfino?” She paused her pencil above a clipboard and peered right at me. Our eyes locked.
I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. “Uh, present. And it’s Theo nowadays, if you don’t mind.”
Her eyes shifted back to the page, and she scribbled something. She’d called me Teddy for as long as I could remember, but it was a nickname I shed once I became a Navy SEAL. Teddy seemed a little too fluffy for a buff guy like me carrying out deadly missions around the world. My SEAL buddies took to calling me Trouble, for various reasons. Trouble may have found me often, growing up, but as a SEAL, I learned to make a different kind of trouble for others. No one messed with me.
“And finally, James Williamson?” she called out, scanning the room of thirty students for the one who hadn’t raised a hand yet.
“Here. But you can call me your teddy bear anytime.” A guy behind me joked, and the class laughed. I turned to scowl.
The guy was a mature-looking man like me, older than most students on campus, anyway. He nodded at me and said under his breath. “I think I like the new prof.”
I turned back around. My jaw clicked like the protective older brother-type I was. Hell, Cruz wasn’t around. Someone had to watch over her, so the duty fell to me, apparently.
“That’s completely inappropriate, Mr. Williamson. I expect we can maintain a professional decorum, please.” Of course, she was an adult now and could take care of herself. But it didn’t mean I couldn’t watch out for her just the same.
I’d like to think Cruz and I had a hand in toughening her up for the real world. We’d been typical teen boys, teasing her mercilessly because she always tagged along. At their folk’s insistence, Mia and Diego often went with us to the park to play basketball or wherever. One girl to three guys and you can bet we pulled our fair share of pranks on her. But she dealt some back at us, too.
There were also times we ditched her, tired of “little sister” hanging around. But if she ever needed us, we were there for her, sticking up for her because that’s what we did as her protectors. We could mess with her, sure, but not anyone else.
