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They’re playing it cool. Did they talk about this before? How they’d act if they interacted on campus? In this kind of situation?

Not likely. They probably didn’t think they’d be in a meeting like this. He’s not her professor, after all. Just her dad’s best friend. Her employer.

It’s incredibly naughty.

That deep jealousy starts to swerve in another direction.

I spread my hands to take us back to why I actually believe Barlowe will be helpful. “I know we’ve talked about this before, but I want to ensure that your excursions, the hobbies where you test your creativity, skills, and strength, don’t become gimmicky as the story progresses. So I want to discuss the balance of hammering home your point in challenging yourself with the personal connections you’re developing this semester so far.”

Sofia’s shoulders wiggle almost imperceptibly. How she wakes up when posed a challenge is such a big part of her appeal. Someone who can be corrected without being a pushover.

She would work so well in my bedroom. She would suit my needs.

Finally, I see Barlowe nod, as if he understands why I’ve dragged him into this officially. It’s a difficult line to navigate.

“Any objections to showing him your first two weeks, revised? If you have it with you.”

“Of course, I do.” She pulls a thumb drive from her bag and offers it to me without hesitation. Sofia has to lift from her seat and bend over my desk to dip her cleavage at me.

“Always prepared.” I don’t waste time, plugging it in and turning the monitor for us all to see it.

The revised edition shows more of the flirty Professor Orion Knight, and she’s clearly annoyed with him, but the film he’s gotten her and the Film Club on set for is impressive.

The new section with the pole dancing creates an interesting repetitive pattern of her falls. She even splits the screen into three vertical frames centered on her, and they show herprogress, even though it’s near nil. Her laughter gets bigger each time.

She’s added a new splice of Jordan making sexy faces at Barlowe’s back after the class. Sofia’s face goes pink as it plays, but she doesn’t squirm. Would she if I played the rough cuts from her most recent week for him?

I’m playing with fire, and I know it.

Barlowe flashes her a heated look, but it’s so quick I wouldn’t have caught it. Only I’m looking for it. It’s not the first glimmer of heat I’ve caught in Barlowe’s gaze.

Am I just as bad? It makes me want to comb through her raw film to see if I look at her like that. It feels like I might.

It’s also clear that I need to do something about it. And if I do, would it end up in her rough cuts or on the editing floor?

Birdie gets a cameo, as she said, full of giggles and inside jokes, plus a moment where Birdie is trying to teach Sofia about creating textured brush strokes. It’s something she attacks with gusto, but it doesn’t come out nearly as polished as Birdie’s.

The rest of the video is baking with her son, Noah, and coffee time with her dad. It has progressed into a slice of life documentary.

Finally, she sits in front of the camera, which we get a glimpse of from her POV, and she talks about her hopes for this. “I guess my goal here is to prepare myself for what happens next. I’m going to graduate with my degree. At the same time, my son’s going to be old enough to go to school. A lot will change, and I guess, getting used to the unknown will help me through it.”

The Sofia on screen shrugs and smiles. “Okay. See you later, dorks.” She leans forward and blacks out the camera with her hand as a transition.

Silence stews.

Barlowe clears his throat. “Wow, Sofia. That was nicely done.”

The way she beams at him grates at my heart.

“I do have a few notes, though.”

Set and ready, she nods, and he begins a discussion that takes us nearly an hour to work through. At the end of it, Sofia is full of ideas, primed and ready to get to work.

I return her flash drive to her and dismiss her.

“Thank you both. I find this really helpful.” She waves at us both and nearly prances out the door. The tightness of her jeans is not hiding the way her ass jiggles on the way out.

When the door closes behind her, Barlowe and I sit in a tense silence, staring at each other.