Page 18 of Academically Yours
SIX
Matthew
I knew I had been thinking about Noelle Hastings more than I should have been, but as I looked up as I walked into my night class that Wednesday, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There she was. Sitting in the back row, coffee cup in hand, smirking at me. And what was Noelle doing here? She wasn’t enrolled in my class, but she was there anyway, with a mischievous look in her eyes.
Seriously… What were the odds she would end up here? Was this… was she here on purpose?
“Hello class,” I said, clearing my throat. “I hope you all did the assigned reading from last week—as you know, we have our first quiz at the beginning of the next class, and I expect you all to do well on it. Like we discussed, the only thing you’re allowed to use is the formula sheet that I provided last week, but don’t forget you’ll have to know how to apply it correctly to pass.”
I watched the heads bob in the room, agreeing with me, and I watched Noelle stare at me with interest. I was… enthralled, simply by her being, and I couldn’t help but want to smile as I watched her pull out a notebook like she was going to take notes in my class. My graduate-level finance class had no impact on her and I was sure wouldn’t interest her at all. Yet, it made me stand a little taller, and speak a little more confidently just knowing she was in the room, watching me. I tried to ignore her as I lectured my class on the topic of the day, but every once in a while my eyes drifted over to hers in the crowded room. I knew she had a busy schedule—she had told me she had a night class on Wednesday nights as well, but she was here.
As class wrapped up, I wished all my students a good night and reminded them about our plans for class next week. I didn’t even see her approaching, too busy putting my laptop and books into my bag and getting ready to leave for the night.
But the sound of footsteps and the clearing of a throat distracted me, and by the time I heard, “Professor Harper?” I was looking up into her chocolate brown eyes and at her lovely, freckled face.
Shit. Had my head jolted up at the sound of her voice too quickly? Had I been staring at her too long? Hopefully, she didn’t notice. Was that weird? Was I overthinking all of this? Probably.
I cleared my throat. “Noelle. Hello,” I finally said, trying not to seem inane. Probably wouldn’t be good to outright admit that all I could do was think about her… yeah. So instead, I said probably the dumbest thing I could think of, considering she’d shown up to my class randomly. “Did you enjoy the lecture?”
She nodded, pursing her lips slightly. “I have to admit, I wasn’t planning on sneaking in, but then my class finished next door, and I saw you inside last week… And my curiosity got the better of me.”
“Well, I’m glad you did,” I said, again—like an idiot—because I was happy to see her, and then further dug myself into this hole because I wasn’t able to use my rational brain when it came to this girl. “It was nice to see you.” When had I ever said something like that to a student? Ugh. But she wasn’t a student—not really, and she wasn’t mine, anyway.
And she blushed. I loved it when she did that, watching it spread over her freckled cheeks. Oh, God. I was totally obsessed with this girl, wasn’t I? “Learn anything interesting?” I asked, hoping to distract her back into her talkative self and not let her slip into that over-thinking brain of hers.
“Oh yeah.” she grinned. “That I was absolutely not made to be a finance person.”
I smirked. “Some people tell me it’s an acquired taste.”
“And what do you say?” she asked me, looking so sincere as she held her book bag in front of her.
“I like numbers,” I finally said. “They make sense to me.”
“That’s how I’ve always felt about words.” Noelle laughed. “I guess that’s why I majored in English the first time around.”
“Do you write?”
She nodded. “When I have time. I… I’ve been thinking about it a lot.” When I raised an eyebrow, she continued. “Writing. Maybe trying to publish something.”
“I think that would be incredible, Noelle. I’m sure you’re an incredible writer.”
Noelle’s lips tilted up in a small smile and I delighted in it—making her smile. She gripped her bag a little tighter and then bit her lip. “I should… I better get going.” She looked down at her watch. “I have an early day tomorrow. I’ll see you around?” She laughed a little to herself, and then she settled her bag back over her shoulder before turning to leave.
“Good night, Miss Hastings,” I murmured as she walked out of the door and away from me. I couldn’t decide if I hated the sight or loved it. And had my eyes been glued on her back the entire time until she was out of my sight? Maybe. The way her sweater dress hugged her curves, her hips… Fuck.
I needed my best friends to smack some sense into me. I needed them to tell me to cut it out, to set me up with another woman who would maybe last a date or three so I could get Noelle out of my head and make it through this semester intact.
Two weeks. I had known her for two weeks. Two weeks that somehow felt like an eternity, because I didn’t want to go back to a time when I had never laid eyes on Noelle Hastings. And I couldn’t get the image of her blushing out of my mind. Dear Lord, seeing her face flame red was… wow. Watching it spread over the freckles on her nose and cheekbones…
I frowned as I sat in my truck after class, hitting my head against the steering wheel of my truck. God. Seriously, it was like someone possessed my body and had taken control of my mouth. That seemed to be the only acceptable option for me to say such stupid things.
Yup. I was definitely way in over my head here.
~ ~ ~
“Matthew. Dude. Get out of your head,” Cole barked at me from the weight machine next to me. “You’ve been super distracted all day, dude.”
Tanner, spotting for his brother, chimed in. “Yeah, what’s up with you?”