Page 7 of When Hearts Collide
Apparently seeing the light dawn in my eyes, Jocelyn waggles her brows, her earlier sullen mood disappearing.
“Yep, I see you know who I’m talking about. He’s the face of the family, the one most often featured in the press other than his playboy younger brother, Rex. And more importantly, he’s hot, like movie-star hot.”
Her eyes take on a dreamy, faraway look as she lets out a wistful sigh. “I’ve seen him from afar before and I’ll never forget those cheekbones, that jawline, and those broody eyes. A man has no business looking that good. He’s not even human. He’s a god. So what if he’s a cold asshole.”
I blink, trying to hold back a snort at the lovestruck expression on her face. “I’m sure he’s just a man, not some kind of higher power.”
Jocelyn shakes her head and gapes at me, her mouth dropping open.
“Have you been listening to anything I just said? He’s definitely not just a man. But seriously,” she leans closer, “word of advice from his past students… He’s a stickler for the rules, as serious as Sunday school. He’s strictly a ‘look, don’t touch’ type of guy. He’s completely off-limits. So, keep your hands to yourself. Rumor has it some girl cheated on an exam and then tried to ‘make it up to him’ by taking off her shirt during office hours and he not only lit into her, made her cry, but also got her expelled. He hates cheaters.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “You guys don’t have to worry about me. Men are the last thing on my mind right now,” Especially after my douchebag ex, Lloyd. “I just want to ace this class since it’s one of the funnel classes to the Education Honors Program at NYUC.”
“NYUC?”
I nod. “New York City University Carlisle. Most everyone outside New York calls it NYU, which gets confusing because of the other NYU in the city.”
“Huh. I didn’t know there were two NYUs.”
“See?” I smirk.
“So, what’s with this special education program thing you’re talking about?”
“Their honors program is the best program for education majors in the country because it merges business and education curricula together and focuses on real world, practical applications of the education degree.”
I bounce on my feet again. “It’s a big deal for my major. If I do well in this class, I have a very good shot of getting into that program when I go back home next year.”
If the professor can write me a letter of recommendation, that’ll go a long way too.
And I’ll be one step closer to accomplishing my dreams to first be a teacher then work my way into education policymaking, so I can make a difference in the lives of the many disadvantaged youth in the country or perhaps even in the world.
The sky is the limit, really.
I, of all people, know how critically important a good teacher is to students in poor neighborhoods and unstable family backgrounds. After what I went through when I was younger, when Mr. Roberts showed me the importance of counseling and family support services, which are sadly lacking in disadvantaged neighborhoods, I realized the only way for me to make a difference is through policymaking.
So, the last thing on my mind is men. Distractions from my goal.
No, thank you.
But tiny wings flap inside my heart when I think of my parents’ romance, one that withstood time and surpassed Mom’s death. Maybe with the right person at the right time…
Glancing up, I see Jocelyn already moving about, pouring herself a coffee, and getting ready to head out the door.
I holler just as my phone rings in the background, “Thanks for the heads up, Joss. I’ll see you in class later today!”
She flashes me a peace sign before slamming the door with a bang, the walls shaking from the force.
I scramble to my bedroom, push aside my current knitting project, something I enjoy doing in my free time, to pick up my phone on the desk before it stops ringing.
“Hey, Adrian.” I huff out a big breath, a little winded from leaping over piles of books by the entryway of the kitchen and scrambling over the laundry basket in the tiny hallway of our two-bedroom apartment.
The space is small and bare bones, but I love it—even though I’m sure my brother would much prefer I live in somewhere fancy with around the clock security.
Adrian’s face appears on the screen. His normally stony face, one completely befitting his moniker by the press, “The Shark,” relaxes a smidgen, and I swear I can see the beginnings of a smile on his lips.
“Why are you out of breath?”
“Well, hello to you too, brother. You look great today. Why thank you, dear sister. Did you have lunch yet? No, I haven’t. Ah, I see. Excited for your first day of school? Defi—”