She looks hurt, and though it’s not what I intended, it might be what’s best. Having a crush on your teacher isn’t anything new, but I can’t allow her to think there’s a chance anything could happen again. I have to control this.
Nova forces a smile as she stands up. “You’re right. I’m sure I’ll meet plenty of older guys at the party this weekend.”
I swallow the growl that threatens to erupt. “Just be careful,” I ground out.
“See you Monday,” she replies, walking away.
10
“Okay, who do we think is cute?” Ayanna says, standing next to me as I lean up against the wall in the living room of one of the frat houses.
I take a sip from my red Solo cup. “Uhh, I’m not seeing anyone.”
“What?” she screeches. “What about TJ? White guy in the red and black striped shirt?” she says, pointing him out.
“Nah.”
“Okay. What about Miles? Light-skinned black guy over there between those two chicks. Ew. Are they all making out? Okay, never mind about him.”
I almost spit out my drink. “What about you?”
She smiles, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Luca.” Ayanna points him out in the kitchen. “My Puerto Rican papi,” she says with a laugh. “My dad would be so happy.”
“I take it your dad is Puerto Rican?”
“Yep. Mom is black and doesn’t care who I date as long as they treat me right. I mean, my dad cares about that too, but you know, he wants to keep the Puerto Rican genes going.”
“I got you.”
“What about your parents? You’re obviously mixed too.”
“My dad was also Puerto Rican, and my mom was German and black.”
She pauses. “Was?”
I nod once. “They died several years back. It’s okay. Don’t feel bad about it or anything.”
She nods, and thankfully lets it go. “Okay, let’s get a refill. Luca’s by the keg. And I see a cutie for you, too.”
I go with her, because I don’t want us to be separated, not because I want to see this cutie…who’s not really that cute. But I’ll be a good wing woman.
Lorenzo’s playing beer pong with a few other guys and Aiko left about an hour into the party. She’s still not too comfortable in this type of scene.
My mind briefly wonders what Elijah is doing now. I know it’s concert night, so I imagine he’s in a crowd of people, headbanging or jumping up and down. I laugh thinking about it. It’s so not him.
Ayanna turns around. “What’s funny?”
I shake my head. “Do you know of any concerts around here?”
She tilts her head. “No. I don’t think so.”
“Oh, you talkin’ about The Unwanted? They’re playing a couple hours away,” Luca chimes in.
“The Unwanted?”
“Yep. Rock group. They’re a pretty big deal. Especially around here.”
“Why’s that?”
“They grew up here. Born and raised in little ol’ Gaspar. Now they’re rock stars. It’s pretty cool.”
He shrugs and goes back to his drink, leaving me to wonder if my math professor knows them. Maybe they were students.
A couple hours go by, and Ayanna leaves with Luca, so I make my way back to my apartment—sober and bored. After a late-night snack, I open my laptop and do some internet sleuthing.
Typing in The Unwanted produces tons of articles, varying from tabloid photos and articles, artist interviews, and music videos. After clicking on some images, I study the pictures of the band members. All of them are attractive in their own way and they all look pretty young.
I click on a Wikipedia page and read a bit about each member. When I come to Merrick Kingston, I pause, my mouth agape.
Merrick Kingston. Born in Gaspar, Ohio. Twenty-two years old. Three brothers. Parents died when he was just a kid.
They’re brothers.
“Wow,” I say on a breath.
After that, I spiral into the rabbit hole of internet articles. I come across something about the death of their parents. It’s a local news article. I hesitate, feeling weird about finding this information out via a late-night internet search. A search I’m not even sure why I’m conducting.
I let my eyes graze over the article, spotting certain words like car accident and survived by four sons.
I close the computer, unwilling to dive any deeper into his life like this. It doesn’t seem fair to find out his tragedies this way. My curiosity about my hot math professor and one-night stand got the best of me, and considering his dismissal of me yesterday, I shouldn’t even care about what he’s up to or what he’s been through.
Yes, he’s beyond gorgeous. Being in his class is the highlight of my day, and when he looks at me, my body grows warm as butterflies take flight in my stomach. I’ve never had a reaction to a teacher like that before. Actually, I haven’t had a reaction to anybody like that before.
While I told him my type was older guys, that was mostly just to get a reaction out of him. Instead, he showed his disinterest by quickly mentioning other students I could be into. I guess I shouldn’t take it to heart, and I suppose I don’t. He’s my teacher, of course he isn’t going to want to be in a relationship with me. It’s probably the number one rule in the university’s rule book.
Maybe I should continue to enjoy him as eye candy, but not bother getting to know him or pushing my luck by flirting with him. He seems like the type to only get annoyed, not turned on.
I call my sister, not thinking about the late hour.
“What’s wrong? You okay?” she asks immediately.
“Hey, yeah. Everything’s fine. Were you asleep?”
I can hear her sigh of relief. “I may have dozed off while watching this documentary about serial killers.”
“You’re such a weirdo.”
She laughs. “It’s fascinating.”
“I guess.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
I huff.
