“I don’t think I need to, Rose,” she says. “It’s pretty obvious what’s happening here.”

  I wince. “Yeah, I was afraid of that.”

  “Still going to meet with him?”

  “I have to,” I say. “As an educator, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

  “And I would totally agree with you if the guy hadn’t already tried to slip you his banana.”

  “I’ll keep it professional and we’ll stay on topic the entire time. If he tries to steer the conversation toward anything other than covalent bonds—”

  “Mm, bondage!”

  I ignore her. “I will stop him and set boundaries. You know? Real talk.”

  “Or — and hear me out — you could just bang him.”

  I roll my eyes, ignoring the comment, until my gaze falls on a familiar face a few rows away. He’s wearing a baseball cap, one that shadows most of his face, but I’ve known the man since the first day of my freshman year. I’d recognize that jawline just about anywhere.

  Dr. Payton Zach leans a closer to the girl sitting beside him to whisper in her ear. Her shoulders twitch with giggles beneath a mane of styled blonde hair. Even from back here, I can tell she’s young — too young for him. I don’t recognize her, but I definitely recognize the Beta Kappa letters printed on the back of her shirt.

  She’s a student.

  “Rose, you still there?”

  I blink, pulling my eyes away from them and back to the field. “Yeah, I’m here.”

  “Dammit.” Daisy sighs. “I thought maybe you’d actually gone and done it.”

  “Nope.”

  “Wuss.”

  The crowd ignites with applause. I look to the field in time to see John burst through the defensive line with the football cradled in his elbow. I gasp, watching with glee as he sprints down the field, leaving everyone else behind to score a well-earned touchdown.

  “Woo-hoo!” I shout, clapping my hands with the rest of my peers.

  “Johnny! Johnny! Johnny!”

  The crowd chants his name. John instantly takes notice, seizing the opportunity to dance in response. The ladies around me scream even louder for him.

  I bite my lip.

  “Just think, Rose,” Daisy teases. “That could be your end zone.”

  I grunt. “Stop that.”

  “Sorry. It’s kind of hard to stop once I get going.”

  I watch him dance until he’s forced to stop so the game can continue, but he gets in a few more eager hip thrusts before rejoining his teammates.

  My smile stretches wider, reacting to his silliness. I think of his academic profile. John Kirby is strange, that much is obvious. I thought I had him figured out, but now I’m not sure what to think of him.

  I’m more tempted than ever, but I’m not about to tell Daisy that.

  I look for Dr. Zach again, but he’s gone. That girl he was with is, too.

  Definitely tempted.

  CHAPTER 10

  JOHN

  She’s nervous.

  Rose didn’t glance at me once throughout the entire lecture today. She would scan the room, like she always does, but right before her eyes would find me in the front row, she’d veer off in the opposite direction as if one look at me would turn her to stone.

  Then, right after she dismissed us, she bolted out the door before anyone else could. She usually sticks around in case someone has questions.

  The only possible explanation I can think of is our little tutoring session this afternoon.

  I’d be lying if I said this didn’t excite me a little.

  I step off the elevator onto the fourth floor, right down the hall from the TA office. The door is open. I can already hear the gentle sounds of keys tapping through the silent corridor. I slow down my stride, nearly halting before peeking around the door frame inside.

  Rose sits at the desk, her eyes squinting at the monitor through those adorable glasses. I admire her for a few moments before knocking on the open door.

  “Hey, Ms. Hawthorne.”

  She glances up and smiles. “John, come on in.”

  Stiff posture. Crossed knees. Even her voice is stilted and rehearsed. Like a damn corporate secretary. She’s obviously determined to keep this meeting as professional as possible.

  Well, I’m officially turned-on.

  I begin to close the door behind me, but she lurches forward.

  “Can you leave that open?” she asks. “It can get pretty warm in here. No windows.”

  “Sure.”

  I release the door and sit down in the chair across from her. It squeaks loudly as I casually lean back. One of the four legs wobble beneath my weight. The science department must pawn whatever broken equipment they have onto the poor TAs. Even the computer looks about a decade old.

  Rose folds her hands on the desk. So stiff. “What exactly do you need help with, John?” she asks.

  I chuckle. “Honestly, it’d be easier to list off what I don’t need help with.”

  “Well, you aced your quiz last week, so you must be following the basics all right.”

  “I aced it? Really?” I feign a little shock. A little awe. “That’s awesome.”

  She reaches for the textbook on the desk. “We’ve already gone over Atomic Theory one-on-one, so you should have that down.”

  “I do.” I nod. “Atoms. Very tiny.”

  “And you didn’t have trouble identifying the parts of the nucleus or their charges.”

  I stare across the desk at her, finding myself completely entranced as she rattles off basic Chemistry 101. She obviously loves teaching this stuff. Her voice steadies the more she speaks, abandoning that nervous edge she had before. She still avoids looking directly at me for longer than a second, though.

  I clear my throat. “Is it coming easier?” I ask.

  She stops cold. “Excuse me?”

  ‘Teaching.” I smile. “You don’t seem nearly as pink up there anymore.”

  “Oh.” She fidgets in her chair. “Yeah, it’s getting easier. A lot easier, actually.”

  “I can tell.”

  She targets the textbook again. “Okay, so—”

  A ringtone cries out from the bag on the edge of the desk. Her cheeks brighten at the sudden pop song invading the tiny room.

  “Sorry—” She grabs the phone from the bag and silences it.

  “You can take that if you need to,” I say, eager to prolong this meeting for as long as possible.

  “No, I’ll call her back later.”

  “Her?”

  “My sister.”

  “You have a sister?” I ask. “Older or younger?”

  Her fingers twitch against the textbook. “Younger. By about three minutes.”

  I raise a brow, genuinely interested in the idea that two versions of her exist in this world. “You have a twin?”

  “Yep.” She nods. “Let’s try to stay on topic, John. I’m sure you have other classes to prepare for.”

  I lean back in the shrieking chair. “No, actually. I’m wide open today.”

  She holds her breath as she skims the book in her lap. “How about Stoichiometry? Would you say you have a firm grasp on that?”

  “Are you all right, Ms. Hawthorne?” I ask. “You seem stressed.”

  “I’m fine.”

  She looks down, hiding the blood invading her cheekbones. She must like it when I call her that.

  Noted.

  “Are you getting enough cardio? A few minutes on the treadmill three times a week significantly reduces stress—”

  “John.” Rose closes the textbook. “What are you really doing here?”

  I shrug. “I need extra help in chemistry.”

  “I really don’t think you do,” she says. “In fact, I think you’re following the lectures just fine, and one glance at your transcripts proves that.”

  I bite my cheek. “You checked my transcripts?”

  “You have a 3.98 GPA. With grades like yours, you’re the one who should be tutoring.”

  I lean forward and flash a wink, grasping at any hope I have of turning this moment around. “I’d be down for some role-playing if you’re into that kind of thing...”

  She fights her smile. “John, come on. Don’t play dumb.”

  “I’m not.”

  “You have a natural gift,” she argues. “And, if you ask me, you’re wasting your time pretending to be someone you’re not just to get attention from girls.”

  I sit back, but she already struck the nerve. “Girls don’t bother with nerds,” I say.

  Rose shakes her head. “Any girl who would reject you because of your intelligence isn’t worth the effort.”

  “I beg to differ.” I laugh. “In my experience, the fun ones care way more about brawn over brains.”

  “Is that all you care about?” she asks. “What tomorrow’s one-night stand thinks about your washboard abs?”

  “Yes.”

  “You don’t have to be a big dumb jock to get laid, John. You should just be yourself.”

  I laugh even harder, though I don’t mean to. This entire thing has derailed from what I planned. Might as well check out and move on.

  Rose Hawthorne is officially off the table.

  I grab my backpack as I stand. “Yeah, maybe I’ll try reciting the Periodic Table at the next Delta Xi party. See how many pairs of panties get tossed my way.”

  Rose furrows her brow. “That’s a real shame. There are plenty of girls out there who would be interested in a guy like that.”

  I pause in the doorway, sensing opportunity. “Like who?”

  She hesitates, looking down once again. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.”

  “Like who, Ms. Hawthorne?”

  “I hope you found this helpful,” she says. “I’ll see you in class.”

  I close the door. It latches with a loud thud and Rose flinches in her chair.

  “Stand up,” I say.

  She doesn’t move, but her chest heaves beneath her cardigan.

  “I said, stand up.”

  “John…” She takes a deep, calming breath. “I think the two of us need to establish a few boundaries here—”

  I take a wide step toward the desk and she jumps out of her chair.

  “John, stop.”

  “Why?” I ask. “You obviously don’t want me to.”

  “That’s not true,” she says, her voice breaking. “Even if it were, what you’re doing is very inappropriate.”

  I take another step around the desk. “I know.”

  She moves in the other direction. “If you know, then you should stop.”

  “Ask me again and I will.”

  We circle the desk, Rose purposefully staying on the opposite end the entire time we move.

  Her eyes shift toward the closed door. “Please don’t do this here.”

  I smirk. “You don’t want me to do this here?”

  “No.”

  “Here?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’d be happy to meet up with you somewhere else then.”

  She cringes. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “But that’s what you said.” I sidle the other direction. Rose jolts to the side, caught off guard by the sudden change in momentum. “You said, don’t do this here.”

  “Don’t twist my words! You are a student.”

  “So are you.”

  “But you’re my student. I’m your teacher. There are rules against this.”

  “Against what?” I ask. “Be specific.”

  “Penis fruit!”

  I stop. “What?”

  “Your banana. The banana! That banana you gave me was not appropriate.”

  “I just wanted to make sure you were getting enough potassium, Ms. Hawthorne,” I quip, purposefully looking her up and down. “You’ve been very twitchy lately.”

  “John.”

  “Did it help?”

  She exhales a frustrated sigh. “This is ridiculous! You have to leave. Now.”

  I take a single step forward. She doesn’t budge. I take another step, now close enough to see her shaking fingers. “It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than me,” I say.

  She doesn’t reply.

  “I want you to say it,” I say. “I want you to tell me, in very specific detail, what you and I can’t do.”

  Rose rolls her eyes at me, but halts as I rest a finger beneath her chin. “Don’t do that,” she whispers, not nearly as protesting as she wants it to sound.

  I lean in closer, letting my breath slide over her cheek. “We’re not allowed to touch each other, right?” I glide my fingertips down her neck. “I’m not allowed to do this…”

  I hover near the hollow of her throat, noticing the rapid thump of her pulse on her neck.

  She releases a sigh, warm and inviting. “John…”

  “Tell me to stop again,” I say, waiting. “Tell me not to touch you. To taste you.”

  “John.”

  Light and breathless. But not a no.

  “To kiss you,” I say, our mouths an inch apart.

  Rose licks her lips. Definitely not a no.

  I wait. I give her another second to stop me, to prove me wrong, but I’ve never been more right in my life. She wants me to touch her as badly as I do. To taste her.

  To kiss her.

  I brush my lips against hers, inviting her to kiss me first. And she does. Soft and shaking, Rose purses her lips. We kiss and the smallest sound echoes from her throat. The smallest moan.

  I move my hand from her throat, gently drawing a line down the center of her cardigan as I kiss her back. She doesn’t stop my hand from cupping her breast. Her nipple pokes against my palm through the thick fabric between our skin. My cock throbs, so close to victory. My blood pounds in my ears, the hard tapping echoing loudly as—

  “Rose?”

  No. That’s not me.

  “Are you in?”

  That’s the door.

  We push away from each other before the door opens. Luckily, the student is so mousy, their head doesn’t breech the threshold until we’re both sitting in our chairs.

  “Oh—” The girl sinks back a bit. “I’m too early. I’m sorry!”

  “No, Kendra, it’s fine,” Rose says, calm and professional. “Come on in. John, do you understand better now?”

  I catch the hidden hint in her tone. “Yes,” I answer. “I get it. Atoms. Very tiny.”

  “Right.”

  “Right.” I rise from the chair, grabbing my backpack to hold in front of my tented crotch. “Thanks for going over my quiz with me again.”

  “My door is always open.”

  Liar.

  A cute one, though.

  “I’ll see you in class,” I add to them both as I exit into the hallway.

  Yes, Ms. Hawthorne. I understand.

  I cannot rest until I have you screaming my name.

  CHAPTER 11

  ROSE

  Fuck fuck fuck.

  “Thanks again, Rose,” Kendra says as she rises from her chair.

  Fuck.

  I wave my hands. Thankfully, they’ve stopped shaking. “I’m here to help, Kendra. It’s my job.”

  That’s right. This is my job. Helping Chicago North students pass their chemistry classes is my job. Not making out with them in a shared office space.

  Fuck.

  She lops her backpack strap over her shoulder. “I’ll see you in class — and I’ll pay extra close attention next time. I swear.”

  I smile. “You’re doing great.”

  She murmurs a reply and escapes into the hallway, leaving the door wide open in case another student is waiting to come in. For a moment, I freeze, wondering if John stuck around, but no one appears.

  I exhale hard, relieved. Is this relief? Or regret?

  Fuck.

  It’s definitely something, I guess.

  I instinctively reach into my bag for my phone. It’s a good time to call Daisy back.

  Three missed calls. But they aren’t all from Daisy. Two are from an unknown number.

  I swipe away the notifications. Before I can set my phone down, it vibrates in my palm. Same unknown number calling.

  I answer it. “Hello?”

  “Finally. Took her long enough.”

  I shoot out of the chair, quickly crossing the small office in two strides to double-check the hallway. It’s empty with only the quiet sounds of voices creeping out of the classrooms down the hall.

  “John?” I say.

  “Window.”

  “What?”

  “Look out the window.”

  “My office doesn’t have windows.”

  “The hallway one.”

  I walk toward it, looking down at the lawn outside. John is leaning against a tree, his handsome jawline shaded as he grins.

  “There you are,” he says, his head craned to look at the fourth floor windows.

  “How did you get this number?” I ask.

  “It’s in your email signature.”

  “It is?!”

  Must remove that ASAP.

  “Ms. Hawthorne, I—”

  “No,” I say over him. “Stop. Please stop calling me that.”

  “But it’s your name.”

  “Not the way you say it.”

  He chuckles. I shiver. “I want to kiss you again.”

  My breath catches. “John—”

  “Once wasn’t enough.”

  “I can’t talk right now.”

  “Then listen,” he says. “You’re right. We’re not allowed to do this, but I don’t care and I suspect you don’t either.”

  I don’t reply.

  “I’m not allowed to tell you how I sit in class every day with a huge…” He chuckles instead of saying it. “I’m not allowed to tell you I’ve thought about taking you over your desk a thousand times since the first day of classes.”

  I swallow hard.

  “You’re not allowed to tell me how much that turns you on,” he continues. “But I can tell. You want this. You want me.”

  I force myself to stand taller. “John—”

  “I want you, too. You’re my obsession, Rose,” he whispers. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you’re not thinking about giving in to this just once.”