One Night With My Alpha Professor by Eve Above Story

Chapter 35 Audrey

It was nearly midnight by the time I stumbled down the hallway toward my room; the other dorms were raucous and lively, music thumping through the walls. A typical noisy Friday night, meaning that sleep would elude me.

Although, if I was being honest, I didn't think that sleep would have come easily even if the dorms had been utterly silent. I kept replaying the incident in Edwin's office over and over again in my mind, going over every little thing he had said and done. The pizza. The whiskey. Two truths. My virginity. Sexual pointers. An engagement. And a lie.

The thought of it all made me shudder, and in that moment, I made a pact with myself: I would not put myself in a position with him like that again. We were professor and student, nothing more, and it was inappropriate. I should have just refused the day off and taken a stack of papers back to my dorm to grade over the weekend.

It would have been better for both of us that way.

When I finally reached my door, I fumbled with my keys for a moment before managing to unlock it. As I swung it open, however, something large and hairy suddenly dropped from the top of the doorframe. I looked up just in time to see a massive tarantula hanging right in front of my face.

"Oh my god!" I shrieked, stumbling backwards. The spider landed on my shoulder, its spindly legs scratching at my skin, and I frantically brushed it away. "Get off me, get off!"

Tears were already streaming down my cheeks as I staggered into the hallway, swatting at my hair and clothes. I was in such a frenzy that I fell straight to my butt on the floor, still shrieking and batting at myself.

My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out everything else. I could feel spiders everywhere now, all over me, and I

couldn't breathe-

"Oh. My. God!"

The sound of laughter made me whip my head up. Through my panic, I could make out the blurry forms of two all-too-familiar girls: Linda's new friends, both of them holding up their phones as they cackled at my agony. "Are you getting this?" one of the girls snickered. "She's totally freaking out!"

the other girl cooed at me, clicking her tongue. "It's just a tarantula. They're

Harmless? Harmless?

squeezed my eyes shut and shot to my feet. I dashed into my room without a word, slamming the

through the wood. "Show everyone how tough you are!" I swallowed hard, my back pressed against the door. Even with my light off, I felt utterly exposed and naked-the

once I was certain that they were

rushed over to the mirror and checked myself-thoroughly-for spiders. I checked my entire room with a flashlight, too. Of course there had only

collapsed onto it, and buried my face in my pillow. There was no holding back the sobs that now wracked my

stupid friends for doing that to me. How did they even find out how deathly afraid I was of spiders? It was a secret that I kept close to my chest;

as a kid and run screaming to my mom's room, crying that there were spiders

didn't know how bad it would be; surely they just thought it would be a funny prank, something

no idea how it would keep me up

of the tarantula from my mind, along with Linda's friends' jeering laughter. Instead, I focused on something else...

stormy eyes and the way his lips curved up when he smirked. I pictured his long, black hair and aquiline nose, the

could practically feel his arms wrapping around me, his breath fanning across my ear

course...

I pulled my blanket up to my chin and let myself drift off into a deep,

spiders scurrying across the

I cried out in a panic. "Help me,

the dim glow of his desk lamp. He didn't even flinch at