Chapter 2 : The New Professor

Rory's POV

As I made my way back to the party, it was nearing 1:00 AM. I couldn’t believe I’d spent two hours at the hotel with… Nope, I was not going to think about that or Scott.

When I approached the house, I noticed most of the cars that had been there were gone with just a few stragglers here and there. The front door was locked, but I wasn’t worried. Needy knew I had the back way into her house memorized.

Letting myself in through the garage door, I slipped through the trashed house and up to Needy’s room. She was in there with several friends who’d been at the party, and it looked like they’d all fallen asleep wherever they could get comfortable in Needy’s huge room.

I grabbed a pillow and blanket off the foot of Needy’s overstuffed bed and made myself comfortable on it with her like we usually did. Enveloped in the darkness and silence, I was alone with my thoughts.

Had I really given myself up to a stranger?

That was completely unlike me. Technically, it wasn’t a stranger. It was Scott. But I hadn’t known that at the time.

Was that even worse? I knew Needy would lose her mind if she found out. Maybe it was just some subconscious scheme to get back at Justin for cheating on me.

Even as I had that thought, I shot it down.

Something had drawn me to Scott that night, and I had to believe it was something more than revenge.

Acting on impulse had never been my style. I never wanted to be drowning in a sea of embarrassment and remorse. Scott had always been the object of my secret fantasies with his undeniable charm and handsome looks.

Now I wanted nothing more than to erase the memory. Tired of being stuck in my head, I forced myself to sleep.

***

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of coffee. I sat up rubbing my eyes, only to see Needy start stirring next to me.

Oh great, what was I going to tell her?

“Hey,” she mumbled. “Where did you go last night?”

“Um…” I trailed off for a second, deciding to tell her half-truths. I looked around to make sure the other girls were still sleeping. “I found out that Justin cheated on me and needed space.”

“He what?” She gasped, eyes wide. “Oh my god, how did you find out? Are you good?”

“We were fighting and he just said something that got me thinking, so I point blank asked him. I broke up with him.”

“I’m so sorry.” She smiled sympathetically. “But you don’t need him. He was your high school boyfriend. You’re in college now!”

“Thanks, Needy.” I knew she was trying, but I still felt guilty about not telling her everything.

“Come on, let’s go to school and get your mind off things.” She threw the blankets off.

Perfect, just what I needed–a distraction.

***

“I’m so excited about this film appreciation class! ”"Needy said as we walked toward the classroom. “Plus, the professor is very handsome.”

I couldn’t think about anything but what had happened last night. Scott was the only thing on my mind. I looked down the hall and there he stood as if I’d conjured him with my thoughts.

With horror, I realized he was wearing school colors and had a faculty badge.

“Is your dad our new professor?” I blurted out.

“Yeah! Isn’t that great?” Needy clapped her hands together. “He’s a big deal in the film world. He’s won a ton of international awards and stuff. He likes giving back to the school by teaching the film appreciation classes now and then.”

What else could this man do? He was a billionaire businessman who ran a successful film and TV company. He was completely loaded, a single dad. And he wanted to give back? My chest ached thinking about him again, and I ignored it.

“Dad’s turning into a silver fox too. I bet half the class will be all over him.”

“Sure,” I mumbled, keeping my eyes glued to the ground.

I could feel his gaze on me, warming the parts of my body he’d set on fire the night before. I glanced up, accidentally looking straight at him. He glanced over at Needy quickly and I ripped my eyes away while silently praying that he would walk away.

I felt his eyes on me again and this time when I looked up, our gazes held. My mind wandered back to our last encounter, and I wondered if he’d felt the same emptiness when I’d left as I had. Considering his reputation, it seemed unlikely, which just made the emptiness in my chest grow.

“Hey, ladies.” His deep voice reached us as he walked over. “Ready for today’s lesson?”

As he asked, his eyes lingered on me, quickly traveling the length of my body before locking with mine again.

It took effort to respond. “Yeah.”

“You’ll do great.” His voice was soothing and reassuring. “I believe you will enjoy this class..”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I’m a quick learner.”

His eyes darkened. “I’m certain you are.”

My breath caught in my throat, my body heating as I remembered last night's “scene.”

His eyes dropped to my lips, lingering before he caught my gaze again, a smile on his face. “Go to class now.”

I glanced at Needy to make sure she hadn’t picked up on anything. She was just smiling as usual.

I took one more quick glance at him. It was no wonder that I hadn’t recognized him at first. Needy and I were friends in middle school, and I had been to her house, but I only saw him a couple of times because he was always on business trips.

Later, when my mom remarried, I moved away, and it wasn't until college that I returned to Phoenix. Over the years, he’d changed so much that I couldn't recognize him at all.

When her father turned to speak to Needy and another student, I made a swift retreat into a side hallway to avoid any more awkward moments with Scott. I knew I couldn’t stay so close to him and not be drawn to his every move.

It would tip Needy off, and I wasn’t brave enough to tell her the truth. Even thinking about it left me afraid of breaking her heart.

“You don't have to be afraid of our new professor. He is a very nice person. And if you have good grades, he will like you!” Needy guessed at my reasoning and I decided to go with it.

“I’ll get over it. I just got a little more embarrassed than I expected.” It wasn’t a lie.

“Well, you can forget about it now. Come to my dad’s class with me!”

“Okay, great.” I sighed.

Reluctantly, I followed her back down the hall to the classroom. I somehow managed to make it through the class without too much distraction, paying more attention to Needy than to the gorgeous man at the front of the classroom.

Once it was over, Scott was thankfully preparing for his next class, so we left and I followed her across campus to the parking lot.

It was so difficult to act normal.

We found Needy’s expensive blue sports car and climbed in, throwing our bags into the practically non-existent backseat. Needy started blasting music, raising her voice to be heard over it.

She sang her father’s praises for the entire drive to my rental house, lavishing him with compliments even though he wasn’t even there. She and Scott were so close, and it was endearing.

I’d always been envious of their relationship. Even though Needy just had her dad, it was more than I had considering both my parents had abandoned me in one way or another. I’d always wanted someone I could be close to, if not a parent then a partner.

The more Needy talked about her dad, the more my thoughts trailed to the night before. He had been my middle school crush. The age gap was so significant that I never imagined they would end up together. Sure, things were a bit different in my wildest dreams, but they’d always centered on him.

I still couldn’t believe it had actually happened.

I tried to shake the thoughts of Scott from my mind. I didn’t want to be constantly distracted by what had happened between us when I was sitting in a public place with his daughter and my best friend.

But it was impossible. The mere thought of my intimate moments with Scott was enough to send a shiver down my spine, let alone when I considered the intimate images and sensations my brain kept supplying.

I felt my body growing hotter, and I needed to keep it under control.

Lying in bed that night, I was so restless that I couldn’t sleep anymore. Too much had happened over the past few days. My mind still reeled from my breakup with Justin, but l also couldn't stop thinking about Scott.

Scott was different. Not only was he incredibly sexy, with lips so plump l wanted to kiss him for days, but he was old school. He seemed like the kind of man who knew how to wine and dine a woman, to treat her special and never cheat on her with some mystery girl like Justin had done to me.

I didn't know Scott that way, but my mind constantly wondered how he would treat me and about all the wonderfully sinful things he could do to me.

I didn't understand the rush of emotions he brought over me. l wasn't the bad-girl type, and yet everything about him made me want to submit to him down on my knees.

I was an idiot to think a man like Scott McFarland would be interested in me, though. He would definitely be surrounded by many high-class women until one caught his eye.

I wanted to be that woman.