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I glanced behind me as the rest of the students plopped themselves down in their seats and silence fell over the auditorium. Of course he was talking to the room at large. He hadn’t even bothered to look my way. His disdain was pure torture. At this point, I would have settled for one of his disapproving glares.
“A quick reminder. The grade you earn in my class will count toward forty percent of your grade in Dr. Patel’s Cogs class. If you have yet to turn in your essay from last week, you have until the end of class to do so.” He strode toward me, though his gaze stayed focused somewhere over my head. “My office hours are on the syllabus. If you have any concerns, come see me.”
My heart did a somersault when his gaze flicked toward me. It was just for a split second, but I was sure he had looked at me. I crossed my legs and tried my best not to think about how hard I came the last time I touched myself thinking of him and his sinful voice.
The temperature in the room went up a few degrees. Or maybe the overhead lights were making it extremely hot in here.I put my laptop aside and removed my jacket, then my sweater. My blouse felt damp on my body. I undid a button, to let some air in, but it didn’t help. Shit. There was no way I could sit through another hour of this erotic misery.
I glanced up at Luca again. He had his profile to me as he lectured on some timeline of modern medicine. I typed a quick note on my screen to remind myself to look up the reading later tonight. Focus. My gaze shifted to his muscled forearms. He had a bit of a tan, even though we were in the middle of winter. Wait. Did he go to the beach for holiday break?
Crap. Did he go alone?
I didn’t care. Luca was free to live his life as he pleased.
Fuck.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I already had my browser up and Google had returned a bunch of results. I clicked on the third link, which talked about a recent conference in the French Riviera. He’d spent a long weekend in Nice.
And just like that, I went twirling down the Luca Gallo rabbit hole. I spent the rest of the hour, switching between the real Luca up on stage and the one on the internet. It seemed for the past couple of years, Luca had managed to make a name for himself in academia. He was leading a research team that had already received multiple accolades.
Maybe I hadn’t ruined his life after all. Maybe.
The man was smart, hot as heck, and influential. Being related to the Italian mafia hadn’t hurt either. If it hadn’t been for me, he could be running a whole department right now. I never even apologized to him. That was another lie I told. When Aunt Vittoria asked if I had offered my regrets, I said I had. Though I was too chickenshit to even try.
Enzo was right. Only spoiled brats acted the way I had. I wanted to think I had changed. That I’d grown out of it. But sitting here, basking in Luca’s raw energy, I knew I was still in love with him. My obsession for him hadn’t subsided one bit.
“Looks like we’re out of time. We’ll wrap up this section next Friday. Have a good weekend.” He waved then removed his mic.
He gripped the side of the podium with long fingers, and I almost jumped out of my seat. I had to get out of here before I did something stupid. I took in a deep breath, then started to throw my books and sweater into my backpack. Before I shut my laptop, a notification popped up on the screen. My grade for the essay had come in.
Son of a bitch.
He flunked me? Why?
I did all the research. I answered every question. And Enzo proofread the whole thing over lunch. What did I do wrong? I sat again and clicked on the link to see if he had left any comments or notes on the margin. There were none. Just a big fat F, in red ink no less. I recognized his writing. He personally failed me.
He was being unfair. Was this revenge for what I did? He couldn’t do that. I shot to my feet and walked up to the stage, but he was gone. I returned to my seat and rummaged through my folders to find the syllabus. Professor Gallo had office hours starting in ten minutes. Without giving it another thought, I sent Enzo a quick text.
Me: hey, I’m staying for a few minutes. I’m missing some notes. But there’s a girl here who’s letting me copy off hers.
Enzo: k, should I wait?
Me: no, I’ll see you at home
Before I lost my resolve, I gathered my things and headed out. Luca’s temporary office was in the same building, three floors up. I first stopped by the bathroom to pee but also to calm down and splash some water on my face.
When I glanced at my reflection, I gasped. My cheeks were flushed, and I had sweaty hair plastered to my neck. Jeez. That guy just had a way of unhinging me. Going to his office right now was a bad idea. But I needed a better grade. He had to understand.
I fixed my hair up into a ponytail and wrapped my sweater around my waist. I was glad I had worn a skirt with tights. Otherwise, I’d be burning up. More than I already was.
“Don’t be a coward.” I told the girl in the mirror. “You can handle him. He’s just another guy. No big deal.” I grabbed my bag and went in search of room four-twenty-five.
I imagined myself pacing outside his office as I climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. But to my surprise, as soon as I got there, I knocked on the door right away. When he said enter, I turned the handle and walked in.
CHAPTER3
Once Upon a Time
Donata
