He laughed. “I did order desert, though.”
I smiled as I walked with him wherever he was going. I didn’t even realize when we were at the reception.
“So, what are you doing down here?”
“The internet doesn’t work in my room.”
I fake gasped and made fun of him, “you use the internet? I thought a God like you only reads books.”
My history professor smiled, his dark eyes seeming more like pools of honey now, despite the dim lights in this room. His smile was beautiful. And it was for me which made it even more special.
“A ‘God’ like me stays humble by doing peasant’s activities.”
I playfully shoved him. “Go to sleep, big man. It’s presentation day tomorrow.”
“Your presentation is next day. You still have a day to prepare.”
“Yes… but you will have to partake in both, so you need more sleep than me.”
“You are actually obligated to attend the first presentation as well, even if you’re not presenting,” he winked and I melted, then I realized I didn’t have a free day tomorrow. None of us had.
He spoke to the lady at the reception. She told him to turn on the router.
“Not very techy, are you?” I made fun of him.
“Even my daughter can use technology better than me.”
“So expected. Why do all forty years old something don’t know how to use a computer?”
“Thirty eight.”
We walked back to the elevator together, I was barely holding the snacks anymore. They must have hated me for waiting so long.
“You know what?” I said as he waited for me to continue. He leaned against the wall. “I would like to meet your daughter.”
He smiled very genuinely. “I am happy you want to. She is a sweetheart.”
“Trust me, I know. I have a younger sister.”
“Really? I didn’t know. What’s her age?”
As the doors were about to close someone opened them again. Isaac entered the elevator with us and I wanted to die.
Isaac had seen us. I hoped he didn’t notice we were too casual with each other.
“My sister is just 16.”
My professor’s gaze darkened. He knew my family was abusive, he was the only one who knew that outside of my family and old school counselor.
Isaac looked at us, I tried to ignore him. He eyed Mr. Reynolds in his casual outfit.
“So, Mr. Reynolds, what is it like to be such a young professor? Most are over fifty.”
What a weird question. My heart started beating fast. Had he noticed us too closely?
Even my professor looked uncomfortable. “There are plenty of professors in their forties.”
Now he didn’t feel the need to say he is thirty-eight anymore, I laughed in my mind.
Isaac pushed it, which annoyed the shit out of me, “maybe in other colleges, here they are all one second away from dying. I guess being a young professor has its perks.” He looked at me. His icy eyes set on my body more than my face. Now I was really worried. Isaac knew something. We hadn’t been careful enough.
The elevator stopped at a lower floor and he got out of it. We both took a relaxed breath after the doors closed.
“What a prick,” I said. “Do you think he knows?”
“He might suspect, or it is just his perverted mind.”
“Both, I’d say.”
He pr**sed the same floor as mine. So, we had the luck of being on the same floor. I wanted to ask which number but I refrained.
“There is nothing wrong with us being friends, Nadia,” he said and my heart warmed up.
“Are we friends? Despite everything?”
“It’s an unusual friendship but I think we are. You know I will always be here for you if you ever need to talk.”
I smiled and thanked him, letting him knows it was the same for me. Even if he had to talk about his wife. He let me leave the elevator first like the gentleman he was and I stopped at my door to see which room he was going to.
305. Pretty close. I waved at him, struggling with those snacks, before he closed the door.
When I went into my room, I was met with yelling. “What the f**k took you so long? I don’t even wanna eat anymore,” Penelope said.
“Same… really. I’m already feeling sleepy,” Charlotte replied.
“The vending machine got stuck four times,” I lied so easily.
They rolled their eyes and went to their beds, the TV was turned off. I put the snacks on the bedside table.
I went to take a shower and I couldn’t help but smile about the good conversations I had with him lately. I wished I could have this forever but I couldn’t help but wonder when it was going to be over.
I’ve been here for two days already and yesterday I only spent it perfecting my presentation. I stayed up half of the night to finish studying it. The ha*dest part was having to do it in the bathroom to not disturb my best friends. There were a lot of thoughts rushing through my mind. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was alone in my room.
When I looked at the time, it was 1 pm. I gasped. How could I have slept over so much? Why did no one wake me?!
The presentation was at 3 pm and I didn’t know who was first.
I grabbed my phone and saw a thousand of messages from Seb and I realized-even worse after all this mess-that I ignored him since I was on the bus. f**k. But I couldn’t think of that now. I had to get ready, find my friends, eat and repeat my presentation until 3 pm.
I looked in the mirror and I looked terrible, literally terrible. I didn’t even bother putting on makeup and brushed my hair hurriedly, but it was too puffy.
I got dressed quickly and realized I forgot my bra, but f**k it, no one was going to see it anyway. Not like I had the biggest boobs. They were average.
My phone rang again. I wanted to call my friends but I decided to answer Seb, to not worry him too much.
He changed to videocall, I accepted. “Where the f**k have you been?”
Judging by his pixelated angry expr**sion. He was livid. I would have been too. Two days without giving a sign of life?
“You know we didn’t come here to have fun, right?” I said.
“Don’t f**king talk down on me.”
My lack of sleep made me irritable. I hated his stupid attitude. “Maybe I have to so you understand I’ve been busy. I have an important presentation in one hour.”
He spat out each word, “you could have texted at least once. You had time.”
I rolled my eyes.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.