Page 26 of Academically Yours
“No problem,” I nodded. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Noelle’s eyes bore into mine for a long moment. “Did you mean what you said?” she said eventually. “Are we friends?”
Oh, God. In that moment, I forgot how drunk she was, and I noticed how her voice wobbled as she spoke; little tears still trickling down her face. She sniffled again, and I resisted the urge to wipe away her tears.
“You tell me, Noelle,” I said softly.
“Well, I’ve never been friends with any professors before, but I think I might like to give it a try—” She swayed on her heels, and I darted forward to catch her, ending up with her in my arms, peering up at me with her huge eyes.
I was touching her. Holy shit, I was touching her, and I couldn’t help but notice how right she felt in my arms. I wanted to tuck her in and pull her in tight to a hug, but I knew we weren’t there yet, so I loosened my hold and guided her backward.
“Woah there, sweetheart,” I said, placing her back on the stool. “I think it’s time for you to get home.”
Her blonde friend nodded and dug through her purse to get her car keys out. “I can take her home, the rest of you can stay here—”
“Oh, no,” I said, surprised by the sudden calmness in my voice. “I think you’ve all had a little too much to drink. I can take Noelle home; I live right near campus.” They all raised an eyebrow at me, but I insisted: “I only had one beer tonight, and I’m not going to do anything, I promise.” I held my hands up. “I just want to see Noelle back home safe. So, you all stay and have fun, or get yourselves home safely, but I’m going to get her home.”
I watched Noelle as she continued gnawing on her bottom lip. “Is that okay with you, Noelle?” I asked her, waiting for her nod of confirmation before I turned back to her friends, daring them to say anything else. As long as she was okay with it, that was enough for me.
I knelt in front of her on the barstool, slowly placing my palm on her knee. Goddamn, I was touching her again. Why could I not stop myself from touching her? “Noelle, what dorm are you in so I can get you home?” She nodded, leaning in to whisper the name into my ear.
“What was your name again?” her black-haired friend asked me as I focused on Noelle in front of me. On her tear-stained, freckled face, and brown eyes swimming with emotion. On her ginger locks, that were spilling onto her face. I had to resist pushing them back behind her ear. And of that damned black dress, which gave the other assholes in the bar insight into a little too much of her curves, her cleavage almost spilling out the top.
“I’m Matthew,” I said, addressing the three other girls. “I’m a professor at UP.”
“Oh, you’re—” the blonde one exclaimed, before the brunette one, Gabrielle, elbowed her.
“Sorry about her,” Gabrielle apologized. “This is Charlotte.” She indicated to the blonde. “And Angelina.” She waved towards the black-haired girl. “We’re Noelle’s best friends. If you’re going to take her home—” I nodded, and she acknowledged that I wasn’t going to budge on this— “Can you text us when she’s home safe? Normally she doesn’t get this drunk, but you’re right, I think she had just a little too much tonight…”
“Sure, of course. I’ll text you from her phone when she’s back safe.”
“Don’t fuck with our best friend, or we’ll find you,” Angelina added, crossing her arms over her chest. She was kind of intimidating, but I liked that she cared that much about Noelle.
“I don’t plan on it,” I assured them, and then I offered Noelle, still way too drunk and very clearly out of it, my hand. And when she slipped her hand into mine, leaning onto my arm and letting me steer her out of the bar?
Well… it just felt like this was exactly the place I was supposed to be tonight.
I helped her into the front seat of my truck and buckled her in. Before I had even crossed back over to the driver’s side, her head was resting against the window, eyes closed. I chuckled and began driving to campus. I left the music off as Noelle slept quietly and drove in silence to her dorm building, which was luckily only a few short miles from the bar.
“Noelle,” I called as I pulled into the spot in front of her dorm building—an all-girls dorm, several floors high—and tried to gently rouse her awake. When she didn’t stir, I got out and went around to open the passenger side door. “Noelle,” I said, trying to resist my urge to touch her again to wake her up. She mumbled a little under her breath, but I soon came to the realization that she was not going to wake up, so I did the only thing left to do. I scooped her into my arms. Feeling like I was violating a bit of her privacy, I dug through her purse till I found her university ID card, her phone, and her keys inside. I very well wasn’t going to be able to let myself into the dorm with my ID, after all.
As I walked across the grass towards her building, she stirred in my arms slightly, only to bury her head further in my chest. “You’re so warm,” she murmured into my shirt. “Can I stay here forever? Feels like heaven.”
I laughed, hoping she wouldn’t remember this in the morning, because I was quite sure she would die of embarrassment knowing she said that to me. But I couldn’t help but think about the beautiful blush she would have if she did realize it, and it made me smile.
As I got to the door, I brushed a piece of hair off her cheek, tucking it behind her ear, and placed a small kiss on her forehead. “I know, sweetheart,” I said, feeling it too. “I know.”
Goddamn. When she had asked me if I was her friend at the bar, all I wanted to say was yes. Yes, I wanted to be her friend. I wanted to be so much more than that because I couldn’t deny how attracted I was to her. But a relationship, was I even ready for that? I didn’t know. I just knew that I wanted to be with her, to get to know her, to see her every day, and have her smile at me. And for her to never let another man touch her again.
As I slipped inside the front door, the dorm was decorated just how I imagined it would be—somehow, I could feel Noelle’s influence in all of the displays around the lobby—I was grateful for the girl who sat at the desk and noticed me holding Noelle.
Because I honestly had no idea where I was taking her or where her room was.
“Oh!” the girl exclaimed.
“Hi,” I said, sheepishly, making sure to keep my voice low. “Can you point me to Noelle’s apartment? She had a little too much to drink, and well…” I did my best imitation of a shrug, unable to raise my shoulders fully with Noelle in my arms still.
The brown-skinned girl nodded. “Right. I’ll take you there.” She eyed Noelle in my arms. “I’m Hazel, by the way. Noelle’s Assistant Hall Director.”