One Night With My Alpha Professor by Eve Above Story

Chapter 245

Audrey

"You keep staring at that place," Avis laughed. "Why don't you just go in?"

"Hm?" I whipped my head around at the sound of my friend's voice, momentarily causing my neck muscles to ache in protest. Avis was smirking at me from behind her sewing machine. "Oh... I wasn't staring," I lied. Avis giggled and shook her head as she returned to her work. "Yeah, okay. It's not like you've been folding the same piece of cloth and sighing wistfully at the window for the past five minutes."

My cheeks flushed red at that. I quickly turned away from the large window, trying my best to shove the image of the empty storefront out of my mind.

"You really

could go, you know," Avis said as she pushed the fabric through the sewing machine. "I'll be fine here. You've helped enough today."

I shook my head and sat down in the plush armchair, picking up a needle and thread to get to work repairing the beading on a dress for one of Avis's clients. "No, no. I promised to help, and I'm here to help." Avis rolled her eyes at my insistence, but ultimately couldn't argue with the promise of more help.

This was our usual Saturday routine; I liked helping my friend, so I'd come by and give her a hand with her tailoring orders for a few hours. Avis always offered to pay me, but I always refused, telling her she could just buy a coffee for me instead. Truthfully, I just needed something to do on Saturdays. Something to get me out of the house because I was, for all intents and purposes, still an unemployed bum living under Edwin's roof.

as his wife and his Luna, yes. And I had more responsibilities now as the Silver Star, that much was true.

But I still hadn't quite decided what I wanted to do for a career, and I was growing more and more indecisive by the day. And so that storefront across the street from Avis's place sat empty. Taunting me.

It wasn't empty today, though. Today, there was an open house going on, and there was a steady stream of potential buyers making their way in and out of the empty old thrift shop. I wondered if a new clothing shop might open, or maybe a coffee shop, or-

Tem."

sound of Avis clearing her throat had me whipping my head over again, only to find her now standing beside me with her hands on

orders finished?" Before I could answer, Avis yanked the dress and

a hand through my silver streak. "But I can't

had an adorable wrought iron arch and gate at the front, followed by a few steps leading up to the shop's ornate hardwood door. I could already picture little string lights weaving across the alley and potted plants lining the

look at the place with her. "If I was going to open a boutique, I think I'd pick that

amused look. "That's it," she said, setting aside the dress and grabbing me by both shoulders. "You're going over

me toward the door. "Besides, I need to finish this dress and you're a distraction. So go." Before I could answer, my friend was-quite literally-booting me out onto her front stoop and

front window-to which she flipped the bird at me in response-but marched across. the street anyway. Avis was right; I'd just be looking. I didn't need to commit to anything. And besides, I likely couldn't afford this place even if I wanted , oh, how I wanted to afford

to.

But,

place was exactly as I remembered it, although instead of being stuffed to the

yellow sunlight seeping in through the large windows that looked out onto the street. A long mahogany counter lined one wall, an old brick fireplace lining the other. "The ceilings are

I

the floor. She was II smiles and professionalism, and held a pamphlet out to me as I approached. The pamphlet had her name on the

said, taking the pamphlet and following her gaze up toward the bronze-colored fleur de

that I'd made myself, my beat-up Converse, and the little top I'd knit by hand

looking," she teased. "You know, we'd be happy to work with you if there's anything not to your liking. The price is

like this... I imagined it would be quite a penny. And it was, I realized, when Mary

Oh," I muttered.

Way