One Night With My Alpha Professor by Eve Above Story

Chapter 41 Audrey

I paced back and forth across my dorm room, the floorboards creaking beneath the carpet with each step. My hands repeatedly came up to clutch my hair, and my brow was knit so tightly together I thought it might get stuck like that for eternity. "I just don't understand how he thinks he actually has the authority to tell me and cannot date," I growled under my breath. "I mean, the gall!"

h** I can

Tina, who was perched on my bed with a bag of chips in her hand, watched me curiously. Popping another chip into her mouth, she replied, "That's f**d up, Audrey. He's not allowed to do that."

I let out a wry laugh. "Yeah, I know. But he's such a stubborn a** that he refuses to see how ridiculous it is."

My friend was silent for a moment. When I turned to look at her, she was watching me intently.

"Maybe you should tell the vice dean," she said after a few beats. "Tell her that Professor Brooks is trying to dictate your personal life outside of class. He'd likely get a scolding, and maybe you could switch to another professor for your teaching assistantship." For reasons I wasn't ready to admit to myself, I snorted derisively at the thought of working under another professor.

"No. I want to work for Edw-I mean, Professor Brooks."

Tina blinked at me in surprise for a moment. "You don't have to switch. But you could still talk to the vice dean about it. She'll put him in his place."

My throat worked helplessly for a moment as Tina's words sank in. Telling the vice dean... It was the most obvious, logical course of action here. I would have been lying if I said that I hadn't already considered it. And yet...

"No," I murmured with a heavy sigh, sinking back down onto the edge of my bed. "I... I can't. If anyone finds out about what happened between us on New Year's Eve..." My voice trailed off; I couldn't even finish the words.

Not that I needed to, of course. Tina understood the implications, and her hand came up to gently rest on any shoulder. "I get it, Audrey," she said softly. "You two could both. get in trouble. Especially him."

lose his job or anything like that. So I

shook my head, my stomach too sick to eat anything. "You can't let him walk all over you

at the corners of my lips. Edwin, jealous... As much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at the idea. Not that it pi**ed me off

don't know," I said after a few moments of silence. "I won't allow him to get in the way of my personal life, but I also can't put my teaching assistantship in jeopardy. So I guess I

head, and it made my checks flush hotly. When I looked over at her, the knowing

as if my stomach bottomed out. Ever since that picture with us in the background had been posted, people were in a frenzy. Other students were 'shipping' us, calling us the 'background lovers. But when it came down to answering

pretty crazy since that

to turn. There, standing behind me in the crowded, noisy cafeteria, was Gavin-holding a cup of coffee in one

us.

swallowed hard and managed a tight smile despite the dozen or so eyes that were on us. "Yeah. I

over toward the stairwell with a silent question in his eyes. I nodded and followed him, just glad to get out of the line of sight of the other gossipping students, even though I knew that us

lovers!" I heard a voice hiss amongst the crowd. "I wonder

one brazen and loud, cried out. "Are you two dating yet?" I felt like I might be

as we made our way over to the space below

down onto the bench that adorned the dimly lit space. "They're like vultures circling roadkill," I

though to say something, but then shut it again, instead sipping his coffee and sliding onto the bench next to me. Neither of us spoke for a few moments-we hadn't spoken since the party. Since he had tried to kiss me and I, out of panic, had resorted to a peck on the

turning to me. I felt my stomach twist into a knot, but I managed to keep my shoulders pulled back as I turned to face him. "I think we should talk about this." "What's up?" I asked, even though I

do you think

left my head reeling even though I had expected it. Before I could even formulate a response, Gavin was holding his