Cammie Healy - Jennifer Foor Page 0,2

did I consider he might have a special interest in me. I was like every academically driven student he’d had before.

Suddenly, the subject was changed. “What would you say to some extra credit? Of course, I’ll let you retake the exam, because I’ve got a feeling you can pass it with your eyes closed.”

I practically cut him off mid-sentence. “I’ll do whatever I have to. I’ll write essays, I’ll do research projects. Anything.”

He snickered to himself, finally leaning back in his leather office chair. “We can start with the test. Meet me here Friday night at seven. That will give you time to get your head straight.”

I dried my eyes and managed a smile. “That would be great. Thank you again. I’ll be here.”

“Go on now. I’m sure you have somewhere else to be.”

I gathered my things and hurried out of his office to get to my other class as promptly as I was able. During my walk I thought about the professor and how generous he’d been. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he knew personal details about my schedule and life, but assumed it was how a good teacher should be with his students.

He’d mentioned me as being promising. Maybe I’d been put on some list by the dean. Whatever the case, I didn’t want to disappoint.

Later in the day I arrived back at my dorm room hell-bent on going over the entire syllabus for my course thus far in order to ace my retest. In the back of my mind I felt annoyed with myself. I’d never gotten this overwhelmed and scatterbrained. Low and behold, my roommate, Jasmine Conner, bless her heart, was in the middle of a heated discussion with her boyfriend. It was so intense not even my headphones could block it out. I did my best to gather my things without distracting them and leave before I was somehow involved in the conversation. I hated when they asked me to pick sides. In the three and a half years I’d attended, Jasmine and I had spent a total of one week doing things together. Once she met friends with similar interests I was kicked to the curb, not that I minded. That one week I spent with her gave me the college experience in full, and I never wanted to go down that road again, or drink another energy beverage mixed with vodka. The sight of those things still makes me dry heave.

Jasmine, a beautiful bi-racial grad student, had been dating the same guy for the past six months. They fought just so they could have make-up sex. They were predictable, more like a ticking time bomb you wanted to steer clear of.

On nice days like this one, I preferred to pick a spot under a shaded tree where I could be comfortable for maximum studying. Unfortunately, there was a celebration going on across the field, causing a lot of traffic. The distractions weren’t going to allow me to concentrate the way I needed to. Even though I was fully aware the entire test was already crammed into my overworked brain, I was determined to go over every single topic on the syllabus.

Lucky for me, I’d asked for high tech headphones to block out any unwanted distractions.

Nearly an hour later, I’d gotten through a few chapters, fighting my inability to stay focused when so much was going on around me. Up until someone shadowed me from the bright sun, I was determined, but this person was about to change everything, and I’m not just talking about a quaint study location.

Chapter 2

Just when I thought I had everything under control, I heard his voice.

“Miss Healy, I see you’ve found an interesting place to spend your weekend.” Professor Willis mentioned. He was wearing a warm-up suit with a bottle of water gripped in one hand. His knuckles were tight, revealing his gold-toned wedding ring on his left finger. When I lifted my hand to deflect the sun coming up over his shoulder, I noticed how disheveled his hair had become. Lines of sweat were traced down either side of his cheeks. He’d obviously been running or something that required him to perspire more than usual.

I smiled, offering a subtle answer. “It beats my dorm room, which is currently occupied by more than one person.”

He smirked. “Have you tried the library?”

I rolled my eyes. “One would think I’d love those kind of places, but contrary to stereotypes, I hate them. I don’t like