Professor Cline Revealed (The Professor #1)

by J. M. La Rocca

  “You’re telling me that after your night out with Professor Hottie, you didn’t jump at the chance to tell me how it was,” she scoffed. “You’re killing me. I’ve been dying to know how it went. I have no man, so I’m living through you right now. Spill the beans.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek as she spoke. I didn’t know what to say. I really didn’t want to tell her what happened and live out my embarrassment again. “Nothing happened,” I finally said after a few moments. “We had dinner together, but something came up and he had to leave.”

  “Ugh, man, that really sucks. Are you guys going to meet up again?”

  I shook my head to myself. “No, I doubt it. I’m actually glad things didn’t go as I thought they would. I don’t think it would have been a good idea. I’m already feeling weird about seeing him on Monday now.”

  That wasn’t a lie, because I didn’t know how I was going to face him in class. I knew it would take everything I had to focus on the lesson and not his body or how he’d felt pressed against me. Although, all I really had to do was think about how he’d left me there, but I couldn’t get the way he made me feel out of my head.

  It was a catch-22.

  “Does he know you’ve changed your mind?” Victoria asked.

  I sighed. “No, but he will. That is if he brings it up again, which I’m not counting on. Anyway, I have to go get ready for work. Are you guys coming out tonight?”

  “Yeah, that was another reason why I was calling you. We were invited to Dean’s place. You remember that nerdy guy with the thick, black glasses Becky had a thing for sophomore year?”

  “Yeah.” I laughed.

  “Apparently he got offered some swanky job which pays a helluva lot and he’s throwing himself a party.”

  “Oh, well, have fun and be safe. I probably won’t get out of work until around two, like usual.”

  I was always missing the fun nights out.

  “Wish you were going,” she pouted into the phone. “Next weekend we’re having a girls’ night. So, make sure your ass is off. You need it.”

  I smiled at her words. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I already know I’m off, so go ahead and start planning something. Nothing too extreme. Maybe I’ll see if Mel wants to go out, too. She needs a night out. She works way too much.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Bye.”

  I brought the phone down into my lap and stared at it. I wouldn’t think about what Monday was going to be like. First, I needed to get through the weekend.

  ~*~

  I arrived at Costello’s around six and headed to the employee lounge in the back of the club where Tiffany and Erica were already changing into their uniforms.

  “Hey, girl,” Erica greeted me. “I thought you were going to be taking some time off, now that you’re in law school. Shouldn’t you be studying or something?”

  I rolled my eyes and laughed. “I’ve been studying for the past two days. I’m only going to be working every other weekend,” I stated as I opened my small locker. “I need the money. I can’t just quit.”

  I placed the bag, which carried my work clothes, on the floor and started taking my clothes off to get dressed for the night.

  “I completely understand that,” Erica said.

  “How are your classes going?” Tiffany asked.

  “They’re good so far. It’s a lot to take in, but I work better when I have a lot to do. The busier my mind, the better.” I grabbed my low V-neck white tee from my bag and placed it over my head.

  After putting on my black thigh-highs, I slid my black skirt over my hips and zipped it up. We were allowed to wear anything we wanted to the club as long as it was a white top and black bottoms, but it needed to be conservative. Aaron, the manager, always looked us over before we went out onto the floor. Tiffany had joked that it was his favorite part of every night. Who would get pissed about having to look over the staff to make sure they weren’t showing too much cleavage? He would always say, ‘We’re running a nightclub, not a brothel. We don’t need to show the customers all of your goods.’ I knew he loved his job.

  When we were all dressed and ready for the night, we made our way out to the bar area. Aaron stood at the bar talking to Max and Janice, the bartenders, so we waited until he was done to get his approval. I thought it was time he finally trusted that we knew what was deemed appropriate, but it was his way of always keeping control of the situation.

  When he was finally done, he turned from the bar and glanced our way. He looked us each over with a nod and we were finally on our way to get our duties done before the crowd entered.

  After situating each section and wiping down all the tables, we were ready for the night.

  The crowd started to trickle in around eight and it was in full swing from there. The weekends always brought in a big crowd and I loved it. The more people there, the faster the time went by.

  The one thing I loved about Costello’s was it was known for its regulars. It was a place for business professionals to kick back and have a good time, a place that didn’t involve a bunch of dance music, but a mellow atmosphere.

  I had just dropped off some drinks and was headed back to the bar when I looked to my right to see a group of men entering. I stopped and stared as my heart sank to my stomach. Piercing blue eyes stared back at me.

  The men walked in and headed toward the back wall, leaving Mason trailing behind them. He gazed at me as he made his way past. I couldn’t deny the spark that ignited every single time we were around each other.

  He smirked as he finally passed and broke eye contact, breaking me from my trance. I took a deep breath and frowned as I made my way to the bar.

  After what happened Wednesday night, why would he show up to my place of employment? He knew I worked there. Was he playing games?

  I placed my tray down, unloading my dirty dishes onto the bar, and told Janice my order. I turned my head and looked behind me to see where the group was sitting and sighed in annoyance as I closed my eyes.

  They were in my section. Of course.

  Images of that night flowed through my mind. The way he’d pressed me against the window. The way his hot breath felt on my neck. His touch, which sent waves of pleasure through my body. But the image which stood out the most was that note. Two little words.

  My body flushed and a heavy feeling danced around in my stomach as I dropped off drinks to a few customers. I could feel his eyes on me, but I never turned to look. I didn’t want to acknowledge him at all, but I did play up my interaction with the customers. I always flirted the tiniest little bit to ensure good tips, but I may have upped my game at that point. I knew it was childish, but I wanted to feel empowered. After what he’d done to me, I needed to feel wanted, even if it was fake.

  Placing the empty tray under my arm, I headed to Mason’s section. You never realized how hard it was to not look someone in the eye when they were staring right at you, until you were put in that situation.

  I smiled at the guy he was sitting next to as I approached.

  “Good evening, gentlemen. What can I get for you?” I asked, looking at the other three men while avoiding Mason’s gaze entirely.

  The guy next to Mason laughed at something one of the men said before he looked up to me.

  “Here we go. We can ask,” he leaned forward to read my nametag, “Emma, here, her opinion.” He laughed as he moved back in his seat.

  The guys laughed again and I raised an eyebrow as I placed a hand on my hip, waiting for him to speak again.

  “So Steve here has bet me $100 that every night club keeps a tally on how many times a couple is found fucking. Can you help me win this bet, cutie, because Costello’s doesn’t seem to have a lot of hidden places to fuck in secret?”

  My mouth parted at his question and my eyes immediately darted to Mason. He had a grin on his face as he looked me over.

  “Um…” I stood there with flushed cheeks and wide eyes as I looked at t
he men, not knowing how to answer the question.

  “See, man,” the guy said to Steve. “Pay up.” He waggled his fingers.

  “Hang on a minute,” I blurted with a smile as an idea formulated in my head. If I was going to play this game with them, I’d make it interesting. Especially since Mason was sitting right there. Yes, it was immature, but I didn’t care. “Are you referring to customers or employees?” I asked with a smirk and the men burst out laughing, except for Mason.

  I turned to look at him with a smile on my face and he didn’t look happy. I wanted to ask him what was up his ass, but that would go against trying to ignore him, although I wasn’t doing a good job of it anyway.

  “Both,” Steve said with a laugh.

  I smiled. “Yes, but you didn’t hear that from me,” I said with a wink. “Now, tell me what you want to drink before my boss comes over here and drags me away.”

  The men gave me their orders, including Mason, and I left to service a few tables before heading to the bar.

  I caught my eyes drifting to his table every chance I could, and I knew then that the night was going to last longer than usual. Then school popped into my head. If I couldn’t focus on work, then how the hell was I going to focus on school when he was the one teaching the class?

  Letting out a heavy breath, I gave my order at the bar and waited.

  “Everything all right, Em?” Erica asked as she stood beside me, unloading her tray.

  I gave her a small smile. “Yeah, it’s great. We’re packed tonight, huh.” I looked around the bar and only a few tables were vacant, but the night was still young.

  “More money, honey,” she said with a wink as Janice placed some drinks on her tray. “When are you taking your ten-minute break?”

  I looked at the clock and noticed it was already ten-thirty. “Um, I can take it after I drop these drinks off.” We all got two ten-minute breaks during the night since we worked over six hours.

  “Sounds good. Let me know when you get back on the floor,” she said as she took her tray and walked off.

  Max placed drinks on my tray and I headed off to my customers. I could go all night without taking a break, but rules were rules. All I did was sit in the back, anyway. I’d much rather stay busy and help the time go by faster.

  After dropping a few drinks off, I headed toward Mason’s table, staring at him on the way. I couldn’t divert my eyes. Trying not to look at him was taking way too much effort.

  I got to the group and placed their drinks on the table. They were engrossed in a conversation so nobody paid any attention to me, except for Mason.

  “I’ll be taking a short break, so if you need anything before I get back, please flag one of the other waitresses down,” I said with a smile, then walked off.

  I needed to get some water. My body was flushed and I felt overheated being so close to him.

  After dropping my tray off at the bar, I headed toward the back room. I figured I’d get some water then use the restroom before I went back on the floor. That should take up at least part of the ten minutes so I didn’t have to sit back there doing nothing.

  I walked through the door and flung it behind me, but it didn’t bang closed. Instead, it clicked softly. I spun around to look at the door and jumped in fright with my hand over my chest. Mason was standing there, leaning against the door with a smug look on his face.

  “What the hell are you doing back here? You aren’t allowed in here.”

  He gazed at me without saying a word as I stood there, heart racing. His eyes roamed over my body, then back up to meet my eyes.

  “I wanted to speak with you.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and stared down at the floor. “There is nothing to say.” I didn’t want to have that conversation. It was bringing up that dreadful feeling I was trying to forget.

  “Oh, but I think there is.”

  I looked up to see him slowly walking toward me and I scoffed. “Are you serious right now? There is nothing to say. You said plenty the other night. Your actions spoke louder than any words you could have said.”

  He stopped a few feet away from me, lifted his hand, and softly brushed a strand of hair away from my face.

  “I wanted to apologize for my actions. Something came up and I had to leave in a hurry.”

  “And yet, you still had time to write an ‘I’m sorry’ note. What the fuck, Mason? I gave myself to you. Do you have any idea how embarrassed you made me feel? You didn’t even have the decency to tell me you were leaving. Who does that?” I shook my head and averted my eyes to his chest. All the feelings I’d pushed aside from that night were rising back up. “You know, I’m glad you walked out. I really am. It’s better it happened that way. I shouldn’t have let things get that far anyway. You’re my professor, and my career means more to me than some random fling.”

  I made a move to walk past him, but he grabbed me around the waist and pushed me against the lockers. I gasped and looked up at him in shock.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  He brought his mouth down to mine and captured my lips. I tried to push him away, but the fight was useless. I knew he wouldn’t relinquish his hold on me. He opened his mouth slightly and ran his tongue against my lips, and I opened up to him. It was an involuntary action. It was as if I had no control over my body when he was that close to me. I wanted him to take over, even though a part of me was telling me to kick him in the balls and run.

  I moaned and his hands slid down to my backside and squeezed, but then reality crept in and I snapped out of the trance. I can’t let this happen. I brought a hand up and pushed him away, breaking the kiss.

  “I can’t do this.”

  He lifted his arms and leaned against the lockers, caging me in.

  “I know you feel it, Emma. I want to see you again.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not interested anymore,” I stated sternly as I looked into his eyes.

  He dropped his head and chuckled. “I know you are. I can see it in the way your body reacts to mine. Your hooded eyes… shallow breaths… the blush on your beautiful skin… the light sheen of sweat on your forehead. You want this just as badly as I do, maybe even more.”

  I couldn’t deny the way he made me feel, but I didn’t want to own up to it.

  “Maybe I’m just nervous.”

  He smirked. “You’re turned on.”

  The man was going to get the better of me. I didn’t want to give in, but I couldn’t deny how turned on I was.

  “You’re something else, you know that? And I don’t mean that in a good way.”

  “Meet me tonight. Let me make it up to you,” he pleaded.

  I looked up and frowned. There was no way I could go back to his place. I couldn’t forget how humiliated he’d made me feel.

  I shook my head and looked down at his chest, avoiding eye contact. “I can’t go back to your place, Mason. Do you have any idea how you made me feel? Like nothing. Like I was some piece of trash you could just leave behind. I’ll never understand how men think they can just walk all over women. It’s pathetic.” I moved to duck under his arm, but he lifted it and gently placed a hand on my shoulder, holding me back.

  He tilted my chin up to meet his gaze and I noticed the frown on his face, as if he was also having an inner battle.

  “This isn’t me, Emma. I don’t corner women in backrooms. But I’m telling you now that I’m not giving up.” He paused as he looked over my face, rubbing his thumb along my bottom lip. “You don’t want to go to my condo? That’s fine. I have somewhere else we can go.” He dropped his hand down to my hip and moved closer to me. “I can feel the heat coming off your skin, Emma. I know you’re turned on.”

  I closed my eyes as he nuzzled his face in my neck and slid his hand down to my upper thigh, under the hem of my skirt. My breathing quickened again and so many things ran through my mind at once. Why am I letting him do this? Why does this feel so good? Would he take me right here?

  I
should have pushed him away, slapped him across the face, but every word he spoke was the truth. My body couldn’t hide how he made me feel. And even though my body was reacting in that moment and I was letting it happen, it didn’t mean I would let it happen again.

  His fingers gently caressed the inside of my thigh until he reached the center and cupped me.

  “You’re so hot for me, Emma. You can’t deny it.”

  His hot breath on my ear sent a shiver down my body as he moved my panties to the side and caressed my lips with his fingers, causing a soft moan I wasn’t able to hold back.

  “You’re wet for me, too,” he said, nipping at my earlobe. “So fucking wet,” he murmured softly as he pulled back.

  He removed his hand and then grabbed mine. He brought it down and placed it on his bulging erection, causing me to gasp as he roughly rubbed my hand down his length.

  “This is what you do to me, Emma,” he groaned.

  I bit my lip and gripped him through his jeans as he gently rocked his hips into my hand.

  I was so turned on my clit pulsed with need. I’d never been that carried away before. A part of me wanted to let him take me right there in the backroom, but I couldn’t go that far. I still couldn’t forget what he’d done to me no matter how turned on he could make me. I wasn’t going to let another man walk all over me.

  I lifted my hand and pushed his chest, causing his arm cage to fall.

  “I can’t, Mason. Not after what you did,” I said as I looked into his eyes.

  He furrowed his brow and closed his eyes before bowing his head in what seemed like defeat. Then he took a deep breath and looked up at me.

  “I don’t know you, Emma, but I want to. I don’t see you every day, but an image of you flashes through my mind when I’m not near you. You’ve consumed my thoughts. You handed me your trust and I crushed it. I’m an asshole, but I want to make it right. There’s something about you, Emma. I want to explore it, and I don’t give up easily.” He lifted his arms to cage me back in and I leaned back against the lockers and let him. “One more night is all I’m asking for. Then I’ll never approach you again if that’s what you request.”