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Josie yelped when I picked her up and tossed her on the bed. Her raven hair exhaled around her like a halo. “You need some company tonight?” I whispered, kissing her cheek and then her jawline. “I’d love to sleep next to you again.”
Josie closed her eyes and smiled. “Of course—,”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Josie shoved against my chest. “Oh no! I forgot about dinner!”
I chuckled. "Kissing me will do that to you!"
"No!" Frankie yelled from my room."Close the door before you start dirty talking."
Chapter Nineteen
Josie
Professor Howard’s class consisted of mostly girls, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know the reason. I felt like an intruder when I sat in the corner of the room and helped him with his handouts. Most of the girls didn’t seem to notice me, but the ones that did toss me dirty looks.
I could taste their judgmental stares and whispers.
I watched him carefully, taking notes, even though it wasn’t my class, and tried my best to keep quiet, but it didn’t last long. “Ms. Lee,” Professor Howard said. “Stand up.”
Nervously, I stood, pulling at my cut-offs and tucking my hair. I looked relaxed compared to the majority of the class. They wore cute skirts, low-cut tops, or jeans that molded to their curves, not to mention a full face of makeup in the evening.Who has time to go home and reapply makeup before class? Not me. Not that I even bother with it most days.“This is Josie Lee, she is going to intern for me this year.”
Someone’s hand shot up in the back. He turned his attention toward the back. “Yes, Ms. Bailey?”
“I thought you held a contest. Did I miss it?” she asked, frantically looking through her schedule.
He chuckled. “No, actually this year, I picked Josie from the art contest they held a few weeks ago in the quad. She is a master in graffiti art. It’s something I’m not familiar with and I want to bring diversity to my classes.” He turned toward me. “Would you like to show them what you brought?”
No, I wouldn’t.
He noticed my hesitation and walked over to me. “It’s amazing. I looked when you passed out the papers,” he whispered.
Sighing, I grabbed the canvas from behind my seat and turned it to face the girls. A few were awed over it and others stared blankly. “Is that Maverick Booker? Do you have a thing for him?” someone in the back asked.I should have known this class of vultures would know him.
Heat crept up my neck. He’d said I could call him whatever I wanted, but I felt like a five-year-old sayingthat’s my boyfriend. “It looks just like him,” someone else said.
“It’s him,” I said bluntly.
No one said anything while I put up my canvas and took my seat.Someone cue the cricketsbecause I didn’t owe anyone an explanation on my personal life.
Professor Howard noticed my anxiety, and before anyone could ask again, he said, “Josie is excellent at this type of art, and it’s becoming very popular. She’ll be helping me teach my art class on Saturdays if anyone is interested. I’ll send out emails to you about times and dates. That’s it for today. See y’all Thursday.”
They began to gather their things, some stopping to talk to Professor Howard on the way out and others pissed about the internship. When the last girl shut the door, I let out a harsh chuckle. “Wow, Professor Howard, can we sayfan girl? There wasn’t one boy in your class.”
His dark brow lifted and a smile crawled up his mouth. “I don’t know what you mean.”
I rolled my eyes. “They didn’t care about my piece, just your internship,” I said, swinging my bag over my shoulder. “You crushed a bunch of souls tonight, Professor Howard—,”
“Call me, Derek and the right girl won. You deserve this. Your work is great.”
He leaned back in his chair and tapped the end of his pen against the desk. “So, you weren’t alone in the library on Saturday, were you?”
Oh crap … I’d forgotten about that.
I opened and shut my mouth before looking down. “Well … no.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I won’t turn you into the librarian, Josie. I just—you have talent, don’t let some freshman crush dictate your choices or your life.” He stood up slowly and grabbed his grade book. “Plus, you deserve to be taken out, not ravished on the second floor of the library.”
