Professor Cline Revealed by J. M. La Rocca Page B

look at Eve. She ate the apple, she was adventurous.”
    I raised an eyebrow at her. “She’s also the reason we have periods,” I deadpanned.
    She laughed, “Shit, you’re right. That was a bad metaphor to use. But seriously, do all the women in the world a favor and go to dinner. If he told you not to stress about it then don’t. I’m sure he doesn’t want to get caught, either. I know he’s your professor, but you can’t help who you’re attracted to. And you guys did meet before school even started.”
    She had a point, but I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do. After I’d left school for the day, I’d told myself I’d just leave the building after class on Wednesday. I wouldn’t stay behind and wait to see when he wanted to meet. Avoiding problems was obviously my thing, but the professor didn’t seem like someone I could avoid.
    We ate our food in silence while thoughts ran through my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about him: his unruly, sandy-blonde hair; his scruffy, chiseled chin; and his pouty lips. The way he called me ‘Ms. Blake’ in that deep tone of his was enough to give me chills of excitement.
    One dinner. I can always leave after if it isn’t something I want.
    “Okay,” I blurted. “You’re right. I can do something adventurous, but I just have to be careful about it. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to want anything serious, so I highly doubt it would be an ongoing thing anyway.”
    Victoria smiled. “Do you have any idea how jealous Becky is going to be when she finds out?” she asked as she got up from the table. “Hang on, I’m going to call her and tell her to come over.”
    I rolled my eyes and laughed. It looked like I would be staying for a while.
     
    ~*~
     
    I was a nervous wreck as I got ready the next morning. I felt like I was in high school again, trying to dress nice for the boys to notice me, but I had no idea what to wear. I didn’t want to overdo it, so I went with something comfortable. I put on a thin-strapped, soft pink dress. It scooped low in the front and had buttons in the middle going down to the waistline where there was a string tie to cinch it around my small waist. I figured it would be appropriate for school and for going out to dinner later that night, but only time would tell.
    “Are you all right?” Melanie asked as she was getting her coffee.
    I looked over at her and smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
    She shook her head and shrugged. “You’ve just been tapping your foot since you sat down.” She looked down at my leg then back up at me.
    I crossed my legs at the ankle and fixed my dress. I’d talked to her a little bit about Mason—Professor Cline—the previous night, but not in too much detail. I felt bad for not telling her everything, but I honestly didn’t want to be judged. I knew she would think going to dinner with him would be a bad idea, and I really didn’t want to hear it.
    “I know I’ve already told you this, but if you need to talk, I’m here.”
    I gave her a reassuring smile. “I know, Mel. Everything is good, I promise. I actually feel better now that I’m not there anymore.” I didn’t need to elaborate. She knew I was talking about Tim and everything I said was true. It had only been three days, but I was actually feeling better about myself, not living there anymore. It was like living in that relationship had been suffocating me. I refused to mention that my attraction to Mason had anything to do with why I was handling everything so well. He was the perfect distraction for that part of my life.
    “Have you called Mom?”
    “No. Not yet,” I answered, scrunching my nose. “I honestly don’t want to make the call. You know how she is. If I call her and tell her and she says I told you so, I swear I will threaten not to come home for the holidays.”
    Melanie laughed. “Then you better not call and tell her because you know she will.”
    I laughed as I stood from the table and