Shit. I can’t do this. I can’t pretend that I don’t know her for an entire semester. That I don’t know her intimately. We need to discuss what happened and make a game plan for the future. It’s not like we knew who each other was when we had sex. Or when she ghosted me.
Heather stalks along the room until she’s in front of Daisy’s row. “Let’s see if you pass this time. Or if you’re too busy pretending the teacher has the hots for you that you forget to study. You know he’s never going to notice you, right?”
This is going to go up in flames. If word gets out that I was with Daisy, and I get fired, my dad will lose his shit. And any chance I have of convincing him to expand the business will die. I’ll be out on my ass. And the company? He’ll will it to a charity.
“I don’t have the hots for the teacher. And you need to mind your own business.” Daisy slings her backpack over her shoulder.
The students have filed out of the room, leaving only Heather and Daisy squaring off, with Daisy’s friend gawking at them like she’s never seen them before.
“Right.” Heather rolls her eyes. “You just followed him around like a lost puppy at the wedding.”
Zoe’s eyes widen as she jerks her head around to meet mine. Her mouth drops open, and she immediately snaps it back shut and grabs Heather’s arm. “Hey, why don’t you tell me all about the wedding. I wanted to go, but we were out of town, and you know how Daisy is about explaining the finer details about things. I’m so mad I couldn’t make it.” She leans in and waggles her eyebrows. “And how about the bachelorette party? Was it a blast? Did anyone do anything scandalous?”
“Oh, my God, yes.” Heather’s eyes twinkle. “You should have been there. You won’t believe what Julia did.”
“What?” Zoe leads her to the exit. When she reaches the door, she glances over her shoulder, giving Daisy a look like she owes her after their conversation.
The second the door snaps shut; Daisy tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I had no idea you lived here in Kansas City. I thought you flew in for the wedding.”
“I did.” The muscles in my neck and back ache from the tension. The last hour has been the longest of my life. “I was in New Orleans for business when Wyatt called and begged me to come back and fill in for Douglas.”
“I see.” She crosses her arms over her chest and leans her hip against the closest desk. The faint hint of coconut swirls around her, making my fingers twitch with the need to touch her.
We’re six feet apart, but you could toss the Grand Canyon between us.
“If I would have known you were from here, I would have never….” Her face turns bright red as she adjusts her backpack higher.
My teeth grind together. “So, you would have gone home with the bartender instead?”
“No….” She licks her lips and shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“That’s bullshit. He’s from town. Or one would assume he’s from this area. And you would have gone with him? Instead of me?”
How dare she imply he would’ve been a better catch than me. The things I did to her blew her mind. Didn’t they?
Sweat beads on my forehead. She left. She left without saying a word. And told me to have a good life. Clearly, it wasn’t that good. A renewed wave of anger floods over me. It doesn’t matter that seeing her again would be the stupidest thing I could ever do. I’m no longer thinking rationally. I want to prove to her that no one could ever rock her world like I do. Did. Want to do again.
“Well….”
“That’s fucking bullshit.”
Her eyes meet mine as jealousy curls deep in my gut. “What would have made him a better choice?”
“He wouldn’t be a complication. This is a complication. It’s bad enough that my sister and my bitchy cousin know who you are and that Wyatt is your cousin, but now….” She waves her hand in my direction. “And now…. You’re my professor for a class I must have.” She inhales as her voice quivers with unshed tears. “A class that I had to drop once already because I didn’t understand it. And now….” She gulps, and a tear slides down her cheek. “And now. I must retake the class.”
“You’ll pass the–”
“You don’t understand.” She rakes her hand through her hair. “If I don’t pass this class, I won’t have the requirements for medical school. My entire life, I’ve been working toward going to medical school. I can’t give it all up for a mistake.”
A fucking mistake? I march to the chair, snatch my jacket off the back, and brace my shoulders. “I didn’t happen.” I spin to face her. I’ve never been anyone’s mistake. “I left the reception, returned to my hotel, and fell asleep. You were nothing but a random person I felt sorry for at the wedding, but when I talked to you, I got bored and left.”
She clutches her chest as pain shoots through her eyes.
I tip my chin up as my jaw flexes. “It wasn’t a mistake. It never happened. I’ll see you in class on Wednesday. You’d better be prepared to learn because I don’t grade on the curve.” I brush past her, putting our night firmly in a box, locking it away, and dropping it into the bottom of the ocean. Where it will never see the light of day. I won’t repeat errors in judgment.
Chapter Ten
Daisy