Page 61 of The Love Interest

Fiona gets up to shut the door.

I try to stand up, but all the blood in my body has gone to the monster erection. I’d be really proud of myself for being hard as a teenager right now if I didn’t have to walk home in a blind, frustrated rage. I can’t believe I let it go this far.

“Please don’t go.” She reaches for me, but I step away from her, holding my hands up to stop her.

“We. Can’t. Do this.” I find my coat on the floor and stumble out of the room, trying to take deep breaths and exhale slowly. Willing myself to keep going until I’m far enough away from Fiona that my brain can respond to her instead of my dick.

Cleveland, maybe.

29

FIONA

Okay, I guess Emmett was right.

It was not a good idea to have any kind of sexual relations while I’m his student.

This has been the longest, most awkward workshop in a series of long, awkward workshops.

There has been zero eye contact between Professor Ford and me today. He hasn’t even made eye contact with my nipples because I’m wearing a turtleneck with a vest over it. You’d think he’d be happy about that, but guess what?! He’s not.

You’d also think that after our last encounter, he’d do me a solid by wearing a ski mask and dark sunglasses and gloves. So I don’t have to see his handsome face and beautiful eyes and those fingers,dear Lord those fingers. And that mouth. He should just wear a paper bag over his head.

Also, he should have stayed on Saturday night and fucked me.

But I can’t be completely mad at him either. Because orgasms. I have envisioned about thirty-seven different ways that Keiko should die, but then I just feel guilty because she’s going through a breakup and is pretty miserable. I think. It’s hard to tell because I’ve never seen what she’s like when she’s happy.

“You have any big plans for winter break?”

Someone is talking to me. It’s Beowulf. People are standing up, so I guess class is over.

“What?”

“You out of town over winter break?”

“Yes. Going home for Christmas.”

“When are you back? Just asking because I’m organizing a writers’ retreat at my family’s place upstate. Easy train ride from Manhattan. Super chill. There are six beds in the house, and it’s really quiet. Great place to write and just hang for a few days. Starting the twenty-sixth.”

“Oh wow, that sounds great. But I’ll be in California until the twenty-eighth.”

“Okay, well, I’ll check in with you anyway. In case your plans change.”

“Yeah, thanks. Thanks for thinking of me.”

“Always,” he says, winking and giving my arm a little squeeze.

Somebody needs to tell him he can’t pull off the winking thing. Or the arm squeeze thing.

I look up and happen to catch Emmett staring at Beowulf. He appears to share my opinion about the arm squeeze. He looks mad. Madder than before. Like, really mad.

“Miss Walker, can I speak to you in my office for a moment, please?” I’m the only Miss Walker in here, as far as I know, but he’s not even looking at me.

“Me?”

He’s still not making eye contact with me. “Yes. You.”

“Oh, Professor Ford, I need to talk to you too,” Veronica coos as she approaches him.