Page 56 of Beautiful Trauma

Again?Aren’t you sick of me yet?

I nearly snorted when I read Henry’s text. Fat chance, I thought to myself. To Henry, I said,Hell no. Remind me to give you the spare key I revoked from my parents.No remark came back immediately, and I second-guessed myself.Too soon?I asked. I was both relieved and nervous when those three dots popped up, letting me know he was responding.

Beside me, Pres chuckled. “Someone’s got it bad.”

Henry’s message finally popped up.Hell no.

Which was he saying no to? I thought I knew, but I wouldn’t pass up the chance to tease him.You’re not coming over, or you don’t want a key to my place?

Henry’s response was immediate.I meant it’s definitely not too soon. I probably won’t be there until a little after ten. Are you sure it’s okay?

See you then.I breathed a sigh of relief then tucked my phone away.

“Looks to me like you have plans,” Pres said, flashing a disappointed grin.

“Looks that way.” I couldn’t say I was as disappointed as he was. My relationship with Prescott Stone was complicated. As much as I’d appreciated his friendship during one of the darkest and most humiliating times in my life, seeing Pres reminded me of the heartbreak and pointed out what a hypocrite I’d become. Dating a student is something I’d vowed never to do. If he found out, Pres would eagerly point it out to me.

“You don’t have time for a quick drink with an old mate?” Pres countered, playfully batting long, dark eyelashes that made his eyes appear even bluer. “Just one tiny drink?”

I rolled my eyes at Pres’s pouty expression. “I might have time for a quick drink if this meeting ends early enough.”

“Alas, there is hope,” Pres replied eagerly.

I hoped my smile didn’t give away the mixed feelings I had about Prescott’s presence. My tenure at the University of Cincinnati was supposed to be my clean slate, a chance to return to my parents’ beloved hometown and start over. I never factored in a fragment of my troubled tenure in Connecticut following me. “We’ll just see about that,” I said. “Dr. Bronson hasn’t even arrived yet, and the meeting was supposed to start five minutes ago.”

“I’m betting on everyone keeping the questions and responses to a minimum so we get out of here faster,” Pres countered smugly.

Looking around the room, I could see that Pres was right. The other professors in the department were checking their phones or watches and fidgeting in their chairs. Most of them hadn’t taught over the summer, and they were clinging to their freedom for as long as they could. This department meeting was a reminder of the ticking clock counting down the number of days left. An image of Marisa Tomei’s Mona Lisa Vito stomping her high-heeled boot on the wooden porch to signify her biological clock ticking came to mind, and a huge grin spread across my face. Henry would love the analogy.

Pres whistled softly, snapping me back to the present. “You’ve got the wandering-mind and private-smile thing happening. You’ve got it bad, my friend.”

I might not be ready to broadcast my relationship with Henry, but denying the feelings existed felt wrong. “I do.”

Pres’s big smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, and the uneasiness in the pit of my stomach grew. “You deserve it, Ezra.”

I opened my mouth to force a friendly response, but Dr. Bronson entered the conference room. A collective sigh of relief echoed as the forty-something African American woman made her way to the seat at the head of the table reserved for the department chair. Instead of her usual bespoke suit, Regina wore a Little League baseball jersey with white capris and wedge sandals.

“I know. I know. I’m late and this is the last place you want to be with the summer break winding down, but my son’s baseball game went into extra innings, and I couldn’t walk away. If I had, I would’ve missed my baby boy driving in the winning run. I would have never forgiven myself.”

A couple of the older, stodgy professors weren’t at all moved while the rest of us congratulated her. Regina reminded me a lot of my mother—passionate about her career but fiercely devoted to her family. She turned around to pick up a stack of files on a small corner table, and the lettering on the back of her jersey made me smile. #1 Mom. She had been very open about her struggles to conceive a child, and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that motherhood would always come first.

“Let’s get started,” Regina said. “I’ll see if I can’t get you out of here earlier than planned to make up for my tardiness.” That made the stick-up-the-ass professors look happier. “First off, I’d like to introduce our guest lecturer for the year. Dr. Prescott Stone, will you please stand up and introduce yourself to your fellow science professors?”

Prescott smoothly stood up, and every eye around the large table turned to him. At nearly six and a half feet tall, he was hard to miss. When you add in his dark hair, tanned skin, and piercing blue eyes, you got a strikingly handsome man who garnered attention everywhere he went. Even hetero men took notice and responded positively to him. I knew the minute he aimed his megawatt smile full of perfect white teeth at the people around the table because they all sat a little straighter. I grinned and waited for him to reveal his biggest weapon.

“Good evening, everyone. I’m not one to stand on formalities with my colleagues, so Prescott or Pres is fine, or Professor Stone is also perfectly acceptable if it makes you feel more comfortable,” he said, his British accent sounding even smoother and more charming than usual. I saw a few mouths part and witnessed others fidget in their seats. I’d admit to having had a similar reaction the first time I saw him. Pres held his audience’s rapt attention as he gave the highlights of his education and experience. Having an Oxford scholar join the department was an impressive achievement. “That’s enough about me. I can see some of you are barely staying awake,” Pres wryly said like he found it awkward to talk about himself. Self-deprecation was another tool in his arsenal; he whipped it out to ease people who were intimidated by him. It paired dashingly, as he’d say, with his urbane charisma to literally charm the pants off anyone he wanted.

“Thank you, Professor Stone. We’re excited to have you join our team,” Regina said, nodding at him. She wouldn’t refer to him by his first name until she got to know him better. “I want to go over the schedule for the next few weeks. Labor Day is the second, and I’ll give you the third off to recover, but I want everyone here on the fourth to meet their teaching assistants and go over your expectations with them. Normally, teaching assistants are grad students who can assist you with teaching responsibilities, but we shook things up this year and hired a few undergrads for those who don’t plan to utilize their assistants in the classroom.” She glanced in my direction because I always taught my own classes, and I was the one who approached her with the idea of hiring undergrads for professors like me who didn’t need as much assistance.

The grumbling among the elitists in the group rankled my nerves because they were discounting these students without even meeting them. Any of them should consider themselves lucky to have Henry’s sunny smile and eagerness to please brighten up their days. I suddenly remembered the way he’d started my morning off by sliding beneath the sheets to swallow my cock. His smile after he sucked me off wasn’t sunny; it was downright wicked.Don’t go there, Ez. Not the place to get a boner. Not the kind of eagerness to help Henry will be offering.

“These are quality students that I’ve personally interviewed. I’m asking for volunteers, but I won’t hesitate to assign these assistants where I see fit.” Regina opened the top file folder. “Beatrice Dexter is a third-year, undergrad student majoring in a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology. She was recommended by Professor Donovan.” Regina then started reading off the notes she’d made about the attributes she liked best about Beatrice during her interview. Smart, funny, eager to learn, and arrives early were the keywords that stuck out to me. “Any volunteers?”

I raised my hand. “Beatrice sounds like the perfect assistant for me.” As much as I wanted to work with Henry, I didn’t trust either of us to behave.

“Thank you, Ezra. Next up is Josef Adnon,” Regina said, quickly moving on to the next candidate to keep the meeting moving.

I glanced over at Pres, who quirked a brow because she referred to me by my first name while addressing him by his preferred title. Regina had a unique approach to running our department. She knew there were many grumbles about a younger, minority woman with less tenure being awarded the position, so she went out of her way to be respectful if they afforded her the same treatment. Some professors in the department would be highly insulted if she addressed them as anything less than doctor, where others preferred she use the title of professor. Then there were the ones like me who liked more casual interactions with their colleagues.