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The voice was cultured but accented. Not something like Greek but European as well.
She peeked through the tiny space between the shoulders of her bodyguards and reddened when the speaker smiled, having caught her speaking.
He was young, more impeccably dressed compared to most kids his age. Tall, with black hair and olive skin, the guy was most likely Italian. Or Sicilian. It was either of the two, she was sure.
She gazed up at her guards pleadingly. Don’t make this more awkward for me, you guys.
This was met with reluctant expressions, but finally, the one in the middle – probably the leader of the team – nodded and without a word, they fell back. A moment later, they were gone.
“They’re good at disappearing, aren’t they?” the younger man murmured.
Mairi was startled at the words. “Umm, yes.” She moved a little, and it was enough to have pain shooting up from her sprained wrist.
“You’re hurt.” When Mairi looked up, concern had darkened the stranger’s gaze. “Let me take you to the clinic.”
“Oh, umm...” Mairi knew she was acting like an idiot, but she was truly at a loss on what was the right thing to do.
“If it makes you comfortable, I’m Leon. Full scholarship student here in CU.” He pulled out his wallet and showed his ID, which confirmed everything he had said.
She relaxed. “Sorry. I’m just nervous, it’s my first day. As a schoolteacher,” she added. “And please, if you could just point me to where the clinic is—-”
“Allow me to accompany you, Professor.”
She blinked at the title. None of her students in GAYL, the exclusive all-girls academy she used to teach English in, had called her that. Then, her students liked to call her Ms. Yay. The memory made her smile.
“Professor?” Her younger companion peered down at her face with a curious smile.
Her smile widened. “Sorry. I was just thinking about my older students. They...didn’t call me ‘Professor’.” As they fell into step, Mairi following the student, she explained, “They called me Ms. Yay.”
“Miss Yay?” He was a little incredulous and still bemused.
Mairi almost giggled at the younger man’s surprise. “It’s sort of an expression, and they thought it was funny.”
Following him into one of the smaller buildings on the campus, she continued, “Like how, when I’m happy, I’d say, ‘yay, me’. And then when something good happens for another person, I’d say, ‘yay, you’ and...” She stopped, realizing she had been babbling.
“Well, I guess it’s my turn to say ‘yay me’,” Leon said as he opened the door to the clinic for her.
“It is?” she stammered.
Leon nodded. “Mm hmm...”
She had a feeling she shouldn’t ask, but she asked anyway, “Because?” She had barely finished speaking when Leon suddenly took her hand.
Before she could even protest, he was already pulling her inside the clinic. Her eyes flew to where he was holding her, his grip firm, his fingers incredibly warm.
He stopped moving just as her gaze flew back to his face.
His extremely handsome face, which she only noticed now.
She looked around anxiously, nervous that there’d be someone else. But it was thankfully empty. “Please l-let go.” She tried tugging her hand away, not wanting to take any risks, but the grip on her hand didn’t change.
“Let me tell you first why I’m happy, Ms. Yay.” His husky voice made her even more nervous.
“Yay me...” Leon said, “because I met you.” He released her hand, slowly, almost reluctantly.
“Yay me...because I’ve found a woman I want and...” His lips curved in a mocking smile as he saw the gold band shining on her ring finger. “I don’t let anything stop me from taking what I want.”
Her jaw dropped.
Was this really happening, Mairi wondered dizzily.
In front of her, the younger man took a step away. “Until we meet again, Miss Yay.”
And then he was walking away, leaving her staring after him.
Did that just happen?
In front of her, Leon suddenly stopped, spun back, and before she could react, he stalked back towards her.
His lips touched hers.
Mairi froze.
When Leon pulled back, he was smiling wickedly. “Sorry, Ms. Yay. I just couldn’t resist.”
Chapter 5
“What. The. Fuck. Tell me that didn’t happen,” Velvet exclaimed over Skype, sheer disbelief causing Mairi’s curvy redhead friend to sit up from the leather couch she had been lounging on. And then she started to laugh. “But it did, didn’t it?”
Mairi cried out, “You’re not helping!” The words came out louder than intended, causing the few teachers in the faculty room to turn her way. She ducked her head immediately in embarrassment. Dear God, why couldn’t these cubicle walls be a little taller?
Velvet, seeing her friend trying to turn herself into a tiny ball, laughed harder. “You are so hopeless.”
“I know.”
Velvet rolled her eyes when she caught a glimpse of Mairi’s miserable face on her iPad. “Oh, come on, Mairi. You have nothing to be guilty about. Tell me, did you want to kiss him?”
