Page 67 of Brighter Shades of Light

“Mr. Miller? A moment please?” Sebastian gathered the scantrons from his desk and bound them with a rubber band.

Sliding the strap of my backpack over one shoulder, I walked over to him, hanging my head. In front of him, I looked up and was stunned at the level of concern in his eyes.

“You appeared to struggle a little on the test,” he said, zipping his bag. “Is everything okay?”

“I froze up toward the end. Don’t know what happened.” I put my hands in my hoodie pocket. “I just couldn’t focus with all the quiet.”

“You know the material. I know you do.” Sebastian watched me a second before picking up his messenger bag and walking out from behind the desk. “Keep your chin up. There’s always the extra credit if you need it. My goal as your professor isn’t to see you fail but to challenge you.”

I had made near perfect scores on all the online assignments and quizzes, so I knew I wouldn’t fail the class even if I did fail the exams. But it was a kick to my ego. It made me feel dumb when I got a graded test back and saw I bombed it.

After looking around the room and seeing we were alone, I tilted my head toward him. “A kiss would make me feel better. Heal my wounded pride, Dr. Vale.”

Sebastian’s gaze fell to my lips, and he moved forward, his mouth nearing mine.

My face heated, and my heart skipped a beat. I had kissed him so much yesterday that my lips were swollen by the time I got back to the dorm, making me look like Cody the Duckbilled Platypus or something. But I wanted to kiss him again. And again.

As if realizing what he was about to do, he stopped and stood up straight. He glanced around the empty room with worried eyes and stepped away from me. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Miller.”

“Same to you, Dr. Vale.”

He exited the room without another look in my direction.

I couldn’t blame him for his reaction. It was stupid of me to even ask it of him. After the final exam in December, we wouldn’t have to worry about getting in trouble anymore. We’d be free to do whatever the fuck we wanted.

Professors were allowed to date students according to the policy handbook, but only if the student wasn’t in the professor’s class. Once the student was out of his or her class, relationships were fine.

Tristen had told me about a girl in his Philosophy class who was actually married to the head of the theater department. They had met when she took her Introduction the Theater class, and they got engaged a few months after the semester ended.

So, it wasn’t unheard of. Sebastian and I just had to be careful for a while.

Less than two months.

On my way to my next class, the disappointment over the exam faded away. Life was pretty damn awesome right now, and not much could keep me down. I was never one to hold on to shit anyway. Let it go and move on.

By lunchtime, I was finished with school for the day and went into the dining hall. Marcus, Keith, and Tristen were sitting at a table, and I joined them after grabbing a burger. They talked crap, as usual, and I chimed in on occasion.

“Wanna go out tonight?” Keith asked. “I could use a drink or five.”

“I’m game,” said Marcus.

“Same.” Tristen looked at me. “What about you?”

“Sure.” Friday nights were for my buddies, and Saturdays were for my man. “I can be DD.”

***

The night out with them was what I needed. Rachel joined us, too, and we sat at our normal table in the bar. Marcus pulled her chair closer to him, and they flirted and downed their drinks. They even got up and danced to some country song that played overhead.

Keith called them out on the flirting once they sat back down, and Rachel giggled before laying her head on Marcus’ chest.

It wasn’t uncommon for midshipmen to date. Our schedules were so specific that it made dating civilians hard. Not impossible, seeing as how I made time for Sebastian, but it was easy to get attached to someone in your unit who you saw every day. There was a kind of understanding you couldn’t get with someone on the outside.

Tristen drank his beer, eyeing Rachel and Marcus over the top of it before focusing on me. “They’re totally boning.”

I snickered. “If they are, it’s none of ya business.”

“True.”