Chapter 12
I woke up the next morning…[EDIT] SEE NOTE IN CHAPTER 2
I did not lie when I told Niall that I'd had a long swim that morning. I had gotten up, fully intending to put my life back on track, and put her out of my mind. I made my way to the indoor pool on campus, and swam a punishing two-thousand meters. I wanted to exhaust my muscles, and my mind. I wanted to stop thinking about, and reacting to, her. After my shower, I realized that I'd forgotten to pack my boxers; I cursed and promised myself that from now on, I was going to be in control of my life once more.
I had only been in my office for a few minutes, and had just turned on some music, my iPod playing the soothing sounds of Chant, when I heard the door open and then slam shut. I spun around in surprise, prepared to give whoever had dared a tongue lashing, but my words died before they reached my lips. She stood before me, a vision of righteous anger. Her eyes sparked, and her cheeks were flushed. She was stunning, and for a moment everything fell away, and I felt naked before her. Then she marched over, threw a stack of blue books on the couch and snarled, "Grade your own exams."
Her scent assailed me, and my nostrils flared in an attempt to take in more of her. I felt my control slipping. No, no, no! I told myself repeatedly. I had sworn to stop this. I needed space. I needed to get away from her enticing smell, and the heat of her body. I stepped away from her, went to my desk, and put on my professor's persona. "Ms. Stackhouse," I began, but she was having none of it.
"How dare you?" She fumed at me, and took another step closer. I stepped back again, behind my desk, trying to maneuver it between us. Dear God, please don't come closer. I prayed. This is what I was trying to avoid, why I'd sworn not to meet with her in private anymore, but she followed me.
"You can't do that! You can't…
[EDIT] SEE NOTE IN CHAPTER 2
…said, "I'll see you in class," and then she walked out.
I sat there for a moment, completely stunned. She walked out on me! At first I was angry, and then I chuckled ruefully. Quid pro quo. I set the rules for this game, and she had just outplayed me. For fifteen years, I'd been the one who walked away. I had always been polite to women. I was never disrespectful, and I never left a woman unsatisfied, physically anyway. I enjoyed women too much to treat them like whores, but I was always the one who left before morning, and I'd never brought them home, or to my office—with the exception of Felicia, of course. Sookie Stackhouse had knocked me off my axis and set my world spinning, and I didn't like it. I needed to be in control, and she had completely upended me. I didn't know how I was going to react the next time I saw her. My lack of restraint around her was frustrating in the extreme, and a feeling of panic began to set in. Fuck. Class. I looked at the time, and realized I had less than an hour to prepare.
I slowly organized my notes, put on my robe, and by the time I reached the room, it was time for the lesson to begin. I walked in and immediately found her, sitting in the front row. Her hair was up in a ponytail, her lips were shiny with gloss, and she looked like the quintessential, wholesome, girl next door. Looking at her sitting there, pen in hand, notebook in front of her, you would never suspect that less than an hour before she'd been on her knees with my cock in her mouth.
I felt my dick coming back to life at the sight of her, and immediately averted my eyes. I spent the next hour studiously avoiding putting her in my line of sight, and relaxed into the rhythm of the lecture. As I spoke, I felt myself regain my composure and my control. Perhaps I could do it. Perhaps now that I'd had her, she was out of my system. It wasn't sex, well, according to our former president it wasn't, but I had allowed myself to enjoy her, and now I could walk away.
The hour ended, and I turned to gather my things. I smelled her as she walked by, and I forced myself to ignore it. When I finally did turn and head for the door, I was greeted by the sight of Bill Compton walking her out of the room. He was holding the door open for her, and his hand was on the small of her back, his thumb caressing her. A bubble of rage rose in me. He leaned in to tell her something. I couldn't hear what he said, but I saw her nod in agreement, and then he smiled, and it took everything I had not to knock the smile off his face. That's when I realized, I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of just walking away.
I went back to my office, but I couldn't stay there. Everywhere I looked I could see her, smell her, feel her, and it was driving me crazy. I decided to have another quick swim before dinner at Niall's. I had to work off some of this anger.
Dinner at Niall's was delicious, as usual. Niall was a gourmand, and even a simple family dinner was a feast to be enjoyed with several bottles of perfectly paired wines. It was exactly what I needed to get my mind off Ms. Stackhouse, at least for a little while. Claudine distracted us with a story about one of her clients that had us roaring with laughter. She was an editor for a publishing concern, although she saw herself as little more than a glorified fairy godmother, who spent her time hand-holding and coddling, whenever a writer took offense to editorial commentary.
I stood to help her clear the table, but she insisted I sit with Niall. As she disappeared into the kitchen, he asked me if I'd thought about his offer. Truth was, my mind had been so wrapped up in the events of the morning, and then trying to ignore them, that I hadn't given it much thought at all.
"I don't know, Niall. You understand how difficult it could be for me to leave. It's an amazing opportunity, I know, but I just don't know if I can make it happen."
Niall sighed. "I know my boy, I know. Think about it though. I will do whatever I can to help you."
"Thank you, Niall. I appreciate it."
He waved away my thanks. "Eric, you're like a son to me. You and Claudine, you are all the family I have. Family takes care of each other. I know you know that. Better than anyone."
Hours later…[EDIT] SEE NOTE IN CHAPTER 2
