Chapter Five - Sophia

It’s chilly in the lecture hall, but it’s full like it always is for Dr. Henry’s class. He’s very knowledgeable, especially since his class is Criminal Procedure, and it’s one I’m most deeply invested in.

Ava and I are seated in the middle row, and we never change spots. We’re not too close to the lectern and Dr. Henry’s hawk eyes. He’s a stickler in his class for people drifting off, but students learn very quickly not to as he puts them in the hot seat, and usually they never recover.

“Professor Henry is looking better and better, or is it just me?” Ava giggles as I shake my head in wry amusement. She’s had a crush on the professor from the start of the year, and I can’t understand it. He’s the sweater-vest-wearing type of professor, lanky, olive-tanned, and very serious. I peg him to be in his early fifties and not from America. That might be the contributing factors, I reason. She seems to have a thing for Poindexters. All I know is he’s a retired criminal lawyer, and I’m often the one peppering him with all kinds of weird and wonderful questions, much to the dismay of my classmates who think I own a pair of goody-two-shoes. The way I figure it, if my parents paid for my education, then I plan on getting the most out of it, even if they are dead. I would still want them to be proud of me in the afterlife.

Today, though, is not my best. My mind is back in the past to one week ago, right after Destiny Bar to be exact. The same night a tall, dark, hot, brooding stranger rocked my world and my couch until I came. I’ve reached orgasm by myself but not with someone else. No. Fiona was the first one of us to let go of her virginity, even though Rachael and I were more experienced in the dating aspect than her. Now I understand why she wanted to talk about it all the time after Ruslan.

But this brooding stranger was the same one who slipped out of my door saying goodbye as if we had just shared a burger together and not swapped bodily fluids. Tapping my pencil that I normally use to take notes against my teeth, I wriggle in my seat. There was no chat after the mind-blowing sex. Not that I can categorize it as anything else. I don’t have anything to compare the action to.

Professor Henry’s mouth is moving, but admittedly, I can’t hear the words coming out of it. I’m too focused on the lack of words coming out of Andrei’s mouth last week. He had a body worth sinning for, and the huge serpent dragon on his back spoke of a history I wanted to know more about. I only caught a glimpse of the ink spanning over most of his back when he thought I was still asleep and desperately putting his clothes on to leave. One of my eyes remained open as I watched him review a message on his phone.

Maybe I was stop number one and there was some other girl he fucked that night. His real person waiting for him. I want to be mad about it, but I can’t stop thinking about the ripples of pleasure that flooded my system when his mouth did unspeakable things to my pussy. I would smile, but I can’t do that either. Why wouldn’t he text or call me if he had a good time?

How did I become that girl for one night? I gave it up for a stranger! A hot stranger, granted, but one who didn’t give a shit. Probably does it all the time, Sophia.

Coughing, I stare around the room for a minute, hoping nobody can read my wandering and frantic mind. Frowning, I stare at Professor Henry watching his lips move again, but his whole body turns blurry as my thoughts return to last week. On my couch. Underneath a hot, tall man who turned me into a melting slush pile. Me. Sophia.

I didn’t even know the guy’s surname, and I told him about my dead parents. D’oh. What a fuckup. What if he was lying to me about his just so he could get a lay? And where does he work? In distribution? Fuck.

“Ms. Hearst! It seems we’ve caught you in the middle of a daydream. Do you care to tell the class about it? I asked you a question.”

The abrupt call of my name yanks me out of my head, throwing me right into the frying pan of many curious eyes in the class. “Ah sorry, Professor. Could you repeat the question?” I fire back, sitting upright as Ava’s eyebrows raise in question.

“I asked you, what is the latest act passed in Illinois?”

“Umm, latest act? Do you mean the Pretrial Fairness Act? Is that the one?” I ask, barely able to recover, but knowing I’ve scoured papers and the news enough to be aware of changes going on in the state. Unimpressed, Professor Henry’s mouth presses into a thin line.

“Yes. That’s the one. You’re lucky, Ms. Hearst. And what does this mean for the state?”

Clearing my throat, I answer confidently, even if my heart has tried to make a leap out of my chest. “It means it should be a fairer system, and those charged with the state’s lowest level offenses most likely won’t be placed in a holding cell. No bail effectively.”

Professor Henry paces, but I can tell I’ve annoyed him enough not to let up on me yet. “And what kind of charges would those be, Ms. Hearst?”

Turning my mouth up to the side, I blow out a slow breath. “Misdemeanor charges like speeding, littering, weed possession, and I’m sure there’s a few more.”

“Hmm. Good. You’ve done your homework. Do you think this is a good move, Ms. Hearst?” Professor Henry peppers, placing a hand on the lectern.

“Er, I think it could be, but I think they would still have to assess on a case-by-case basis depending on prior charges of the alleged, but it could stop the unnecessary clogging up of jail cells, paperwork, and money being spent by Chicago law enforcement.”

“Ah-ha. Common sense prevails. Like your answer. Next time, though, pay attention in my class, please. Either that, or we want the details of the daydream.”

Sweat forms in patches under my arms as the class breaks into low chatter and laughter. My cheeks flush as I think about Andrei’s hands digging into my forearm. There was no way in hell I was going to tell the class about my delicious one-night stand, and the fact the man stole my virginity.

I make it through the class alive as Ava and I walk together afterwards. “What were you daydreaming about back there? You completely zoned out! I’ve never seen you like that before.”

Not knowing what to say, I evade the question, hitching my backpack higher on my back. “Are we going to Urban Bar?” If Fiona was joining us, I could have a conversation with her. I remembered being in awe of her giving away her virgin card to a stranger at the same bar, but she ended up marrying the guy. This isn’t the same. Andrei didn’t even crack a smile at the door before he left. He just performed all sorts of pleasurable acts to send my body to climax and then bounced.

“Yes, but don’t skip over my question,” Ava begs, her eyes a little too bright for my liking.

“Am I on the witness stand or something here?” I joke.

“Yeah, you are, and when we get to Urban Bar, you’re going to tell me everything!”

That’s exactly what I do when we sit down at the back of the half-empty coffee shop in the booth. “You remember when I told you I left because I was bored and didn’t want to talk to those guys?”

A baffled look covers Ava’s face as she sips her cappuccino. “Yeah. I remember. Barely, I was drilling back shots after that.” She grins with a funny groan. “But I paid for it the next day. Go on.”

“I bet. Well, that wasn’t the whole truth.”

Ava gasps, putting her cup down. “What? Spill. Who did you go home with?” She guesses right, a dopey smile lifting on my face, but it’s a painful one without a happy ending.

“The guy from the alley.” I sip my green tea, waiting for her to realize who I’m talking about.

“The tall guy? The badass guy with the leather jacket?”

Her hands fly out covering mine. “Shit! What happened? Why didn’t you call me?” she asks, exasperated and miffed all at the same time.

I shrug shyly. “I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking about calling anyone, but we slept together. I’m no longer a virgin.”

Ava looks skyward for a second, taking a minute to process. “And how do you feel? Was it good? Bad? What?”

“It was more than good.” I lean forward. “So good, but I don’t think it was anything to him,” I say, surprised my voice has a hint of regret hanging to it.

“Right,” she responds sourly, retracting her hands. “Probably not. He looked way older. Like in his thirties. He was probably out on the club prowl, ya know.”

“Ouch! Way to make a girl feel good,” I scold mildly but mainly because it’s true.

“Hey, I’m looking out for you. Am I wrong, though?”

“No. You’re not,” I reply wistfully. “He hasn’t called, and it’s been a week already.”

“Precisely. He was dangerously hot, though, so there’s that. Not a bad person to lose your V-card too. I just don’t want you to lose focus on some douchey guy.”

“You know what—you’re right.” Reformed from my daydreaming, I breathe out, changing the subject. “I’m meeting up with Dr. Perri for my research project, and I can’t wait!” I squeal, barely able to wait to sink my teeth into my project.

“Now that’s more like it. Speaking of danger.” She giggles. “Forget the club guy, there’s going to be so many more climbing out of the woodwork once you make it to the top as a lawyer.”

Maybe there might be, but as of now, Andrei is the only one I can’t stop thinking about….