Page 6 of Teach Me
“Probably a student.”
“So? Even better. Then he’s off-limits to you.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“You’re dour.”
“I’m not dour, goddammit.” I broke into a laugh. “I’m fuckingbusy. I just got done revising three chapters in the span of two days on top of reworking every syllabus for every class I teach.” Somehow, the winter holiday break always had me scrambling to get back into the swing of academia more so than summerbreak, despite the fact that I mapped out my coursework in the summer.
“Dour,” John insisted in a hiss. “How’s the book going, by the way? Poised to be the next Malcolm Gladwell yet?”
“Please tell me I have better hair.”
“You have way better hair,” John said solemnly, a true friend if I ignored his smirk. “Unless we’re comparing it to mine, of course.”
“We’re not.” I flipped him off. “Book’s good. Set to release this fall, if all goes as planned. My agent keeps floating some kind of publicity tour, but we’ll see.” How I could speak with such nonchalance about a project that had consumed me for years gave me pause, sometimes, but I chalked it up to superstition and not wanting to count my chickens before they hatched. It’d taken me a year to find an agent for the book in the first place. Another year for it to be accepted at a publishing house. Part of me was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, I supposed, while the rest of me was squealing internally like the kid fromA Christmas Storyfinally getting his Red Ryder BB Gun.
“I better get the first signed copy.”
“You will,” I promised him for the twentieth time.
John filled me in on the cases he’d been working on, his various hookups, and we chattered like hens until Cameron paused by our table and dug through his apron, producing two tickets he set on the table. “No hurry on this. Just want you to have them when you’re ready.”
I pulled out my card and handed it to him. “I’ve got both.”
“Aren’t you feeling generous today.” John grinned.
“I know you’re struggling on that lawyer’s salary. It’s the least I can do.” I offered him a wry twist of a smile.
Cameron chuckled and headed off with the card, and John pulled his jacket on. “Same bat channel and bat time next week?”
“Yeah, unless I get a wild hair and we try that new brunch place.”
“Your homework this week, Prof, is to come to our next session with a story that has a more satisfying ending.”
I chuckled. “I think you should do the homework and report back to me instead.”
“My dog always eats it.”
“You need to get a dog first before you can use that excuse.”
John sighed dramatically. “I probably should at this point.” He put his fist out and bumped mine. “I’m gonna go. I’ve got a stack of files on my desk, and apparently, the firm has decided not to recognize such things as weekends or free time anymore.”
“See you next week. Don’t work too hard.”
“I’d like to workanythinghard other than case files at this point,” he tossed over his shoulder as he headed toward the door.”
A moment later, Cameron returned with my credit card and a receipt that he set on the table before patting the pocket of his apron. “Hang on, forgot the pen.”
“I think I’ve got one.”
“Oh, here we go…” He pulled out a purple pen with a fluffy ball on the end and made a face. “Sorry, some kid left this earlier. Lemme just?—”
I reached out and plucked the pen from his hand with a smile. “This is fine. Does it make me looked distinguished?” The fluff ball bobbed in the air as I signed the receipt with a flourish.
“Very professorial.” I glanced up sharply, and Cameron’s brows shot up like he’d said something wrong. “You are a professor, right? At the U?”
“I am. Have I had you in a class before?” I thought I might have remembered him, if not for his attractiveness, then because of his perky demeanor. Those types tended to stand out for me among the sea of listless credit seekers in my larger classes. Ifhe’d been in one of my smaller classes, I absolutely would’ve remembered him.