“Ill-behaved? You seemed to rather enjoy my behavior….and I certainly enjoyed yours,” Matty rolled out of bed, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the blanket fall to the floor. He came from behind and wrapped his arms around me and began to kiss my neck, his naked body rubbing up against my back. I felt myself starting to melt against him; it took everything I had to pry myself away. But the thought of being late distressed me so much that I was able to quickly refocus, reluctantly stepping away from Matty and pulling on a pair of capri pants along with a button front blouse. I grabbed a pair of flats to put on once I was downstairs.
“Do you want to stay here until I get back?” I asked. “Could you take care of the dogs?” I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to feed them breakfast. “Oh my God, I’m a terrible dog mom! My babies must be starving!” Guilt ran through me and I wanted to cry. I had completely let myself go with Matty last night, and now look at the consequences.
“Leah, it’s okay,” Matty reassured me as he sat down on the edge of the bed, still making no effort to cover himself. “I woke up hungry a few of hours ago and fed them; we had a nice breakfast together. Your babies and your fiancé are all fine.”
“I have a fiancé!” I said stupidly with a happy grin on my face. “And it’s Matthew Boyd. I am marrying Matthew Boyd. I am going to be Leah Boyd! Professor Leah Boyd. Oh my God, I’ll need a new plaque for my door. And my desk. And new business cards!” Clearly the events of the night before and the stress of the morning were making me downright loopy. Matty just laughed and watched me as I dumped the contents of my clutch back into my regular purses. “Okay, I’ll be back around one, two tops. I gotta go!”
I quickly went over to Matty for one last kiss before running out of the bedroom and down the stairs. I called out a “good-bye” to my dogs before dashing out the front door and racing to my car. I pulled into my parking space on campus with twenty minutes to spare, which sounds like a lot, but I still had to walk to the English department building, up to my office, throw together the illusion of some notes, and get to the meeting.
By the time I made it to the small conference room, I was a sweaty mess. I threw open the door to see my colleagues already seated, clearly waiting for me. “Well, hello there!” I said in a bright, loud voice with an insane smile on my face. “So sorry I’m late!”
“Yes, it’s very unlike you, Professor Andrews,” Professor Jenkins, who was the head of the English Department, and my direct supervisor, said. “We were just about to start without you.” Jenkins was an older, by-the-books man; and by the look on his face, he wasn’t too happy with me. I slunk down into my seat and opened my portfolio, feeling like a student who was tardy to class. I was resigned to the fact that I was going to have to pull information for the meeting right out of my head.
Douglas was seated next to me and leaned over to ask, “Everything okay?”
“Oh, fine, fine. I just had a late night; and then my alarm didn’t go off.” The look on his face reminded me that he knew about my date and was no doubt figuring out why I hadn’t been on time this morning. I turned away from him, forcing myself to focus on the meeting at hand. I managed to make it seem like I had some semblance of what I was supposed to be sharing with the group. No one seemed to pick up that I was basically making it up as I went along. The good thing about college professors is that they are often so caught up in their own thoughts that they aren’t always tuned into what is happening around them.
I had anticipated the meeting lasting at least two hours, but thankfully we were done in less than ninety minutes. Jenkins quickly left the room, which allowed everyone to relax and chat. However, while my fellow professors weren’t in any hurry to leave, I frantically gathered up my belongings, desperate to get back home to Matty.
“Leah, would you like to grab a coffee?” Douglas asked. “Or maybe even lunch?”
My heart sank at the look of desperation in his eyes. I don’t know why I’d been hesitant to acknowledge this little crush he clearly had on me. Maybe because I just knew we would never make it as a couple. Douglas was a good friend; I silently berated myself for taking advantage of his friendship and not working harder to cool things down. He was so persistent, though, always showing up with a smile and willing to just talk. He had asked me to get coffee and lunch many times before, and I had usually accepted. But now I was realizing that he likely saw those get-togethers as something more than just two co-workers grabbing a drink or a bite to eat.
“I’d love to, Doug, but I actually have to get home. I have a lot to do. Rain check?” I asked as I grabbed my belongings and exited the room quickly, not waiting to hear his reply. I felt bad just cutting him off, but with my relationship with Matty firmly solidified, I knew I would have to be more careful with Doug. I wasn’t sure how he would take it once Matty and I were married, but I also
