Page 1 of Teacher's Pet

Prologue

NATHAN

His smile curled up, his bottom teeth grazing his pouty lips.His attire was more modest than usual, a casual hoodie, but his posture was open, as if inviting trouble.

No skintight jeans tonight, no—heclearlyreserved those for my class only.

I gripped my whiskey as he leaned closer to the man buying him yet another raspberry margarita. The man he was entertaining was a nobody, older, greying at the sides, clearly trying to ply his prey with alcohol.

And Ryan was playing along, even slurring his words a bit for the game. His eyes were slightly glazed over as he spilled some margarita onto the man's finger and licked it off, but I knew he was just playing the part.

I downed my drink, the alcohol burning my throat, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, not because I was interested, but because I was worried.

That man was too old for him.

Not your problem.

I signaled the waiter for another drink.

“Wow, slow down,” Carol grinned, winking at me. “Here, want mine?”

Carol shoved her peachy margarita into my hand. I grinned back, hoping it didn’t look as forced as it felt, and chugged it.

“Someone’s thirsty,” Carol teased, her hand grazing mine as I returned the cup.

I forced myself to ignore the obnoxious flirting at the bar, or the way the man was putting on his coat and standing up.

“Needed a drink; the semester’s going to be hell,” I retorted, dragging my eyes away from him.

“Hear! Hear!” Michael cheered, coming from the bar, momentarily blocking my peripheral view and handing us new drinks.

He slid next to me, hand around my shoulder. “Hey man, look at the bright side, no more Lilly! Cheers!”

I rolled my eyes but clashed my drink with his anyway.

I looked over, but Ryan was gone.

Did he leave with the man?

Did Ryan know how dangerous that was?

He could be raped, or killed… how long did he even chat with him?

“Earth to Nathan…” Carol singsonged, and I averted my gaze to her deep blue eyes.

“What?”

“Jesus, man, you're so distracted. Is this about Lilly?” Michael tsked, drinking more alcohol.

I knew going out with them was a bad idea. I usually didn’t, since I wasn’t a fan of what alcohol entailed. People getting sloppy and loud after a few drinks, some even reckless, and doing that in a college bar? No thanks. Usually, I'd be homemaking a home-cooked meal for Lilly. My wife. Or my ex-wife now.

Or at office hours with a certain somebody.

A snide voice echoed in my brain.

I clutched my drink, my mind still reeling from when she asked for a divorce. What really irked me was the situation around it. It was completely my fault.

“Leave him alone,” Carol scolded, tucking a brown strand behind her ear. “Nathan doesn’t have to talk about it.”