7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Oliver

I 'm sitting in the library with Ronan to the left of me and another student, Mike, to my right. I'm reviewing the expectations that I gave them earlier on the research assignment, answering any questions either of them may have. After helping Mike figure out the direction he wants to go with his paper, he gathers up his materials and tells us goodbye.

Once he's out of sight, I turn toward Ronan, giving him my full attention. "How are you doing with this assignment?"

"Good. Well, better now that you explained it more."

Ronan comes to me after class, stating he needs further help, but from what I can tell, he doesn't need much guidance. However, for some reason, I can't tell him no or bring up the fact I don't think he needs my support. Each time he comes up to me after class and asks if we're meeting in the library, the word ' yes ' blurts from my mouth before I can stop it.

He fascinates me, and I want to know everything about him. Not only does he make me laugh, but we converse so easily. I can talk to him about anything and not realize an hour has flown by. His passion for literature is infectious and I love hearing him ramble about the assignments I give him.

This is sooo wrong, these feelings I'm having toward him, but I can't help it. I love talking to him. I love hearing him talk about what he's researching and how he's going to write his papers. The little pieces he throws in about his life have me hanging on each word, craving to know every little thing.

I want to know more about him. I want to know about where he comes from and what his plans are for the future. Not only him, but his roommates and the best friend who's also in my class. But all I know of him is his name and how he can write the hell out of a research paper.

Ronan drops his pencil on the floor, both of us bending and reaching down to pick it up at the same time. My hand brushes his and goosebumps dot my skin, a shiver running through my body. My eyes meet his, his brown eyes staring right at me. We're so close, his soft breath fans against my face. Sitting back up, I scoot my chair an inch away, trying to give myself some room to breathe.

Fuck .

I shouldn't be reacting to my student this way. It's wrong.

"So, what made you want to become a professor at a university? I mean, out of all the different jobs, why this one?" he asks, putting our attention onto something else, and I'm grateful.

"I also liked the idea of being a teacher. When I first graduated college, I thought I would want to teach high school, but after interning there for a couple months, I hated it. I ended up at a community college and I loved it there. However, I wanted something a little more challenging so I went back to school to get my doctorate degree. I was able to achieve it in two years, once I completed a dissertation. Then I applied for jobs at different universities. I truly do love it, though. Teaching college students is completely different from high school students. High school students have to be there taking my class, college students want to take my class."

"Wow. You must really love literature," he says, a hint of awe in his voice.

"I do." We both laugh, his snicker causing my heart to skip a beat. "Why are you taking my literature course?"

"I want to be a literature teacher." His answer stuns me. He's talked about loving literature, but to know he wants to spend his life teaching it the same as me? Another little snippet I tuck away for later.

"So, you want my job."

"Kinda. But I want to teach high school. I was one of those kids who loved being in that class."

We both chuckle again, my eyes locked on his face. Ronan is a gorgeous man. He's once again wearing a black T-shirt with black jeans and black combat boots. Whenever he smiles, it lights up his whole face and I can't help but stare.

"What makes you want to become a teacher?" I inquire, trying to calm my racing heartbeat.

"Very similar reasons to you. I know I want to teach, and I know I don't want to teach little kids. I had a great experience in high school and I want to pass that onto someone else."

"I think it's a really great idea," I tell him honestly. I think he would thrive as a high school teacher.

We sit in comfortable silence, both of us returning to the papers that are in front of us. Even when we're not talking, I enjoy being in his presence. Which is so fucked.

"Alright, I'm going to head out, unless you need me for something else?" I ask, not knowing whether I'm hoping he wants me to stay or hoping he says he doesn't need anything from me.

"Oh, okay. I'll see you on Thursday?"

"Sounds good."

Tossing all my stuff into my messenger bag, I put it onto my shoulder before walking out of the library.

What the fuck is wrong with me and what am I going to do?

The next day, I'm sitting in my office when there's a soft rap on the door. Lifting my head, I wait to see who walks in. Nate strides in a few seconds later, two bags of food in his hands.

"Got us lunch." He wiggles the bags in his hands and I grin.

"Fuck, thank you. I completely forgot." I tend to do that; getting so wrapped up in whatever I'm doing that I forget to take a break and eat something.

"It's all good. I just got what you ordered last time." He sits down in front of me.

"Thank you. Let me know how much it was and I'll pay you back."

"No problem." Nate takes out a burger and fries handing them to me. "Damn, I can't wait for the break."

"Only one more week." Next week is already Thanksgiving and I'm looking forward to having the week off. We don't get many holidays off, but we're guaranteed to get a week for Thanksgiving and then three weeks for winter break. "Do you have any plans?"

"I'm going to spend the day with my parents, but other than that? No. Get some relaxation in for most of the time. What about you?"

"No. I was planning to head home to Chicago, but I figured I would save that for winter break. So, I'm hanging out here. Maybe try to find some new places I haven't been to yet."

"We'll have to plan a day to do something."

"Yeah, man." Taking a bite of my burger, I dip my fries into some ketchup before tossing those in my mouth, too. "Thank you again for grabbing the food." I say around a mouthful.

We eat our food, making small talk about our plans for the rest of our day. We're cleaning up our trash when there's another knock on the door.

"I'll grab it on my way out." Nate says.

"Thanks Nate." He walks over to the door, opening it and moving to the side when a woman steps in.

"Ah. Good afternoon, just the two men I was looking for." Dean Grey walks into my office, Nate trailing back in behind her.

"Good afternoon, Dean Grey." Standing up, I reach my hand out to shake hers. She takes a seat on one of the chairs in front of my desk while Nate takes a seat in the other.

"Good afternoon, Oliver. Nate. I was just coming in to check and see how everything's going. It's been a few weeks since my last check in, so I figured it was time."

Dean Grey has made it her personal mission to check in with me, Nate, and the other new professor a few times so far this semester. She has truly made me feel welcome in a place that is so big and crawling with so many people. She has this sense of family about her and I'm grateful I moved here for this job.

"I'm doing great," I tell her.

"Same here," Nate pipes in.

"Good, good. It's almost Thanksgiving break. Which means it's almost time for finals and that's when everything gets crazy around here, so I wanted to take the time to reach out today. Please don't forget that my door is always open to you."

She leaves my office just as quickly as she appeared; the door closing softly behind her.

"Well, I guess I'll actually leave this time." Nate laughs heading back toward the door again.

"See ya later, Nate."

Stepping through the door to Brewz, I stop short, inhaling the aroma of coffee beans that surrounds me. Brewz is down the street from BU, and today's the first time I've decided to try it. I'm not a big coffee drinker, but there are days like today when I crave something filled with caffeine.

I step to the back of the line, glancing around at the shop around me. There're floor length windows allowing the sunlight to brighten the whole room, with chairs and couches throughout. There are also little tables all throughout the room. I'm scanning through the crowd when my gaze lands on Ronan and his friend Noah. They're sitting at a small table by the window, both of them mid laugh.

My palms grow sweaty, so I quickly wipe them on my slacks before looking away. I avoid making eye contact as I make my way to the front.

"What can I get for you today?" the young woman in front of me asks.

"Hi. This is my first time here. What is a customer favorite?" My eyes track the menu on the wall behind her but nothing really screams out to me.

"The iced caramel macchiato with drizzled chocolate is pretty amazing." His voice hits my ear and I have to suppress the tremble that wants to work its way through my body.

Turning around, I smirk at Ronan, who's standing really close behind me. "That sounds like it's filled with a lot of sugar."

"Oh, it is, but it's also so damn delicious. I promise if you're wanting the best at Brewz, it's the best."

"What if I don't like sweet?"

Ronan licks his lips, my eyes immediately tracking the movement. My dick twitches in my pants and I chide myself on reacting to him this way.

"I'm sure I could help you find some things that aren't sweet as well." He winks at me before his eyes get wide.

Holy shit. Was he trying to flirt with me?

"Oh, uh… Sweet sounds good." I turn back to the woman at the register, telling her I'll take what he said. I use my phone to pay before turning back toward Ronan and getting out of the way.

"Do you come here a lot?" I ask as we stand by the window.

"I'm here most days. Plus Noah—" He jerks his head in Noah's direction, still sitting at the table. I look over to where he's sitting, but he's not looking at us. He's typing away on his phone. "He works here, so some days I'll stop by to see him while he's on break."

"Do you not see him a lot at home? I thought he was your roommate, too?"

"He is. But he's got a new boyfriend, plus school and work. Our time together has been pretty limited." He shrugs, glancing a quick look over at Noah. The barista hands me my drink, then turns on her heel and walks back behind the counter. "Try it. I want to see if you like it."

Nodding my head, I bring the straw up to my lips before taking a small sip. Flavors explode on my tongue and I moan loudly, the sound escaping my mouth before I can stop it. Ronan's eyes go wide again and he shifts them away from me.

"This is really good." I take another sip of the drink, this time holding in the moan that wants to break free.

"I'm glad I could help. Do you have any plans for Thanksgiving?"

"Not really. I'm planning to hang out at home. Watch some movies." Fuck, I sound really boring.

"So, basically, what you did for Halloween?"

With a belly laugh, I shrug. "Basically. It's a little different when my family lives in another state. What about you? Are you going back home?"

"Uh, no." Ronan glances toward the table where Noah is sitting, then turns back to me. "Noah isn't able to fly home for the holiday, so my roommates and I decided to stay here as well so he's not alone."

"Wow, that's pretty damn amazing of you all."

"I would do anything for him."

"Thank you again for helping me with this." I lift the drink up before taking another sip. "I have to head out, but I hope you have a great Thanksgiving break and I'll see you once we get back to school."

"See you later, Professor Carson."

My eyes cast down his body one final time before I force myself to walk through the doors. The little bits I get with him outside of class aren't doing anything to diminish the flame that burns inside me for him. Yeah, he's damn sexy, but there's more to it than that; he fascinates me. It's his passion for learning, the fact he seems genuinely interested in listening to what I have to say. There's something so different about him that keeps him on my mind way more than he should be.

Once I reach the sidewalk, I walk down the street heading back toward BU. Reaching the faculty building I get into my car and head to my apartment.

I cook myself a frozen dinner I find in the back of my freezer, then sit at the counter scrolling through my phone. I feed Ember and then she takes off, doing whatever it is she does. Once I finish eating, I slowly clean up my mess, then hand wash the dishes. I have a dishwasher, but I'm trying to stall and kill some time.

Wiping down the counters, I spray it twice, cleaning it thoroughly. Turning in a circle, I realize there's nothing else for me to clean in the kitchen. Deciding to take a quick shower, I rush to the bathroom and strip down before stepping under the spray. The water starts turning cold from how long I stand under the spray and I reluctantly get out.

There's no point in trying to stall anymore.

After dragging black sweats up my legs, I snatch the towel off the counter and dry my hair. I walk toward my couch, grabbing my computer on the way.

I pull up the FAN-tasy site, debating whether to try joining another live session. Sweat forms on my forehead, my skin prickles, making me realize I'm still not ready yet.

Blowing out a breath, I shake my head irritated at myself. Maybe next time I'll be more sure. I click on masked_menace's profile, seeing he's uploaded a new video. I don't care to watch anyone else. On the days he doesn't upload a new video, I either watch nothing or I rewatch one of his videos.

"Hey baby, thanks for joining me." His deep muffled voice comes through the speaker and I lean back on the couch pushing my pants down and grabbing ahold of my shaft.