Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Blaise

Morgan was a-no show and as soon as I realize she isn’t going to be in attendance my body relaxes, and I begin to breathe a little easier. It doesn’t hurt that I have Carden sitting on one side of me and Braeden on the other though I will admit it is a bit distracting having them sitting so close to me. I can feel their body heat radiating off of them which for some crazy reason is a turn on! Like I said, distracting.

Other than that little issue the class was uneventful and seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye. After the professor dismissed us, I say goodbye to the twins and head back to the dorm. My goal is to lay down for an hour and then go and grab some lunch and sit under the red maple while I eat.

I of course fall asleep hard and wake up with barely five minutes to spare. “Shit!” I yell at myself as I scramble out of the bed. Spinning around the room I search for a hair tie. Seeing one on the dresser I scoop it up and quickly twist my hair into a loose bun. I grab my bag and run like a bat out of hell to the elevator.

The doors ping open, and I dash out into the lobby and make a bee line for the exit. Sprinting into the classroom I see the seat I was in on Monday is vacant and drop into it. Glancing at the professor’s desk I see Braeden dressed in all black from his tee shirt and jeans to the combat style boots on his feet.

He looks sexy as hell until I see the smirk on his face. His arms are crossed over his chest as he casually leans against the dark wood and laughs silently at me with his golden eyes. Discretely, I make a hand gesture, and this causes a bark of laughter to burst from him but he’s quick to catch himself and schools his features stoically shifting his gaze to the door at the same time, so no one realizes he was laughing at me.

“Alright everyone,” Braeden says loudly. “Professor Seedling is running a little behind, but she has instructed me to start the class for her. She requests that we continue to work on the potion we started on Monday. Please grab your items from the shelves and we will begin.” Everyone stands and in an orderly fashion makes their way to the shelves to grab their stuff. We all listen attentively as Braeden explains how to turn our powdery substance into a paste like salve.

I stare in awe, mesmerized by the ease and grace in how he goes about demonstrating everything. His movements are captivating, and only too late do I realize I haven’t been following his directions. Mentally I slap my palm against my forehead in a ‘duh, shit!’ moment. Thankfully the professor strolls in spouting apologies for her lateness.

“Lovely, lovely. Job well done Braeden.” Professor Seedling says as she gazes out over the classroom. “Everyone’s potions look like they’re progressing nicely, well, except for Miss Salvino. Do you require some assistance dear?” she asks as she peers into my mortar.

I duck my head trying to hide the blush crawling across my face but give a slight nod that I do. “As I suspected. Would you be so kind Mr. Callaghan as to lend this young lady a hand?”

Trying to control the smug grin that wants to spread across his face, Braeden says he would love to and then steps over to where I’m standing to assess where I went wrong. “Yikes,” he says in surprise, and I sigh dramatically. My concoction should be a vibrant yellow in color not the dull grey that sits in front of me. He chuckles for a moment, and I glare at him.

“What’s so funny,” I huff out.

Braeden stops laughing but a grin is still across his face. After a couple of seconds, he’s able to give me a more serious look. “So, your grandparents really never told you who you were before getting the letter to come to the academy?”

With a frustrated sigh I shake my head no. “I take it my potion isn’t salvageable then?”

He looks at my mixture once more making a face at the same time. “Afraid not, sorry.” His eyes light up a second later as a thought pops into his head. “I could see if Professor Seedling would allow us to use the room on Friday and we could redo the potion so you can get a passing grade for it?”

“Yeah? That’d be awesome!” I smile up at Braeden for the offer. “I do have one class in the late afternoon but otherwise I’m free.”

“Okay, I’ll see when the room is available. You may as well put your items away. She’ll be letting the class out in a few minutes.” After he tells me that he goes and stands by the professor’s desk and a minute later she tells everyone to clean up essentially dismissing us.

Leaving the classroom, I meander across the yard to make my way back to my room. From now until eight o’clock tonight I’m free to do as I please. Placing my bag on my bed, I stuff my key card into the pocket of my dress and head back outside.

I love libraries and have been dying to check out the one on campus. I don’t own many paper backs anymore because of my kindle but I still love to look at old books. There’s just something about the smell, like I’m breathing in history, ya know?

Walking into the room I take a deep breath inhaling the smell that only old books can offer. There are two floors in the library. The first floor seems to house new, modern books and an area towards the back where people can use computers. Off to the right as you enter the first thing, or I guess person you see is the librarian. He’s an older guy with snow white hair and looks like he should be retiring at any second. He greets me with a nod as I pass by him, and I do the same. Just pass the desk where he is sitting is a staircase and I excitedly bound up the steps to the second floor.

I could definitely get lost in here for hours. Perusing the romance section of the 19th century, I had just plucked Pride and Prejudice from a shelf when I heard whispers on the other side of the bookcase. Pushing a couple of books out of the way, I peek in between them to see if I can see who is doing such a horrible job of whispering. I should have known it would be Morgan. Stars! How I hate her. I don’t recognize the guy she’s chatting with, and I think he is either a junior or senior (not that it really matters).

Ugh! I hate that I can only hear a few words of their conversation collectively. “When... Friday night... accordingly.” Suddenly they stop speaking and I see Morgan grab the guy’s face and begin to make out with him. For a second, I’m shocked to witness the PDA but then I realize why. Footsteps can be heard creaking across the old wooden flooring. Morgan is smart. She’s kissing the dude as a distraction method so if anyone catches them, they will think it was just two kids fooling around instead of anyone assuming she might be up to something. I must say it worked though because a husky voice tells them that this is a library and not a hotel and then I hear Morgan giggle and say; “come on Rob, let’s go somewhere a little more private.”

I roll my eyes because Morgan’s voice sounds so fake but whoever broke up their PDA seemed to have bought the scene he had witnessed as genuine because I hear the person chuckle. Are guys really so gullible? Shaking my head, I turn my attention back to the book in my hands and crack the cover open but am once again distracted as a husky voice comes from behind me. “Hey, Blaise.” Shivers run over my body at hearing Gavin’s voice. At the same time, I drop the book and squeak out a startled ’yeep’.

“Professor you scared the crap out of me!” I whisper-shout at him. He laughs but then swoops over to pick up the book now lying on the floor. I, however, didn’t know he was going to do so and bend over at the same moment to retrieve the item. BONK! “Ugh,” and “ouch” fall from our mouths simultaneously. We both stand back up rubbing a spot on our foreheads with mirrored expressions of pain on our faces.

A strand of hair has come lose from my scrunchie after our ‘accident’ and I don’t think he even realizes what he is doing until after the fact, but he brushes the lock of hair from off my face tucking it behind my ear. Gavin’s eyes go wide, and he quickly drops his hand to his side. “Sorry,” he whispers.

Gazing into his eyes I whisper back that it is okay and take a step closer to him. Moon and stars, I’m so attracted to the guy. Gavin takes a small step closer to me and I see want and desire flash in his eyes. He cups my cheek in the palm of his hand, and I lean into his touch. Placing his other hand on the opposite cheek I gaze into his eyes. I’m sure he can see the desire in my eyes as well because he licks his lips and asks, “may I kiss you?” Barely the slightest nod is given before he bends over and crushes his lips to mine.

Breaking the kiss abruptly, I step away from him as I remember we are in a very public place and could be caught at any moment.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’ve um, I’ve got to go.” Gavin says in a rush of words leaving me dumbstruck and bewildered. As the shock of what just occurred slowly subsides, I return the book to its proper spot and decide to leave the library.

Making my way back to my room I flop down on my bed to rummage through my bag. Pulling out my phone, I unlock the screen and pull up Clover’s name. I stare at the flashing text indicator for a moment before locking the screen back up and placing it on my nightstand. I realize as I’m getting ready to text Clover that I can’t tell anyone what happened between me and Gavin because he’s a professor. Fuck!

Needing to disperse of some frustration albeit sexual, I don’t have a way to do so, so, I change into my running clothes and after stretching make my way back outside and begin to jog along the sidewalk around the entirety of the campus. It didn’t help. Not. One. Bit! Tiredly I climb back into the elevator and watch as the machine rises to the fifth floor. I’m in need of an ice-cold shower, stat!