Chapter 4 Ihated Tuesdays. From the back of the class, I focused on the board where Professor Harding wrote out the answer to yet another math problem I didn't understand. I copied his precise numbers and letters in my notebook, sighing in relief when he dismissed the class. "Don't forget about the test on Friday. All of today's material will be on it." He gave the warning with a solid look in my direction. Great. Of course, he knew I was failing. He was the one writing my grades down after every test and quiz. I shoved my books and notebook into my messenger bag and stood. Delilah sighed beside me. "Am I crazy, or is he even hotter today?" I looked away before she could see me blush. "Miss Vogel, a word, please." Professor Harding stood at the front of the room, his brown blazer and striped tie giving him a distinguished air. Or maybe it was the silver in his hair. He was only forty, but the color had begun to fade, which I thought gave him a devilish appearance that matched the steel color of his eyes. As long as I didn't look too deep into those eyes, I'd be okay. I tried to look away, tried to watch where I placed my feet so I didn't trip and fall down the steps in front of everyone. But it was too late. I'd locked eyes, and he pulled me in with his very own force of gravity. My mouth dried to ashes, and I found speaking impossible. Delilah tried to hiss something in my ear, but her words refused to register. The class emptied, most people too concerned with getting outside to bother sticking around to hear why the professor wanted to talk to me. Except Delilah. She lingered at the door until Professor Harding sent a look her way that caused her to yelp and duck into the hallway. I closed the distance, my legs feeling wooden and heavy. "I understand you're in need of tutoring." He said it plainly, no hint of remorse and no dancing around the truth. I nodded, still unable to convince my mouth it could move. "I'm willing to tutor you." I blinked. Waited. Blinked again. "I'm sorry?" His lips twitched in a mockery of a smile that somehow unglued my tongue from the roof of my mouth. I tried again. "What do you mean?" I'd always thought he was intimidating. He never cracked a joke or smiled. And now that I stood right in front of him, with nowhere else to look but his face, I realized he was far more handsome up close. "You need a tutor for my class. Who better to tutor you than me?" He shrugged, and I guess it was meant to look casual, but he winced a bit, ruining the effect. My breath stuttered out. "Um. Thanks?" I didn't mean for it to come out sounding like a question, but honestly, how could I not? "You're welcome. I expect you to show up for every lesson. And every class. If you put in your best effort, so will I." He turned halfway toward the board. "And I expect to see you sitting up front from now on." "Yes, sir." I squeaked out my reply and bolted for the door, almost plowing over Delilah. She caught me while staggering to the side. "What was that all about?" I gulped air like I'd been oxygen deprived the whole time I stood in front of him. "I'm failing his class. He offered to tutor me." Delilah's eyes narrowed. "How very kind of him." Her emphasis caught my attention. "What do you mean?" "Oh, nothing." She fluffed her long hair, teasing the blondish ends she maintained in the sorority house bathroom on a religious basis. "Just that you're incredibly lucky." She winked. "Maybe I should start failing too. See if he offers me a little private tutoring session of my own. I'd be sure he didn't regret it." Delilah had never been shy about voicing her fantasies for the silver fox of the Dream Team. She thought he was the most handsome. I heard about her fantasies every single time we had a math class. I'd even dreamed about him one night after hearing her detailed explanation of what she wanted to do in bed with him. "I'm sure you would." I looped our arms together and led her from the building despite her constantly looking over her shoulder and bemoaning the fact that she hadn't considered failing to gain his attention. We made it to the sorority house as a whole group of girls rushed up the steps and in through the front door. Delilah eased away from me and jogged ahead. "Wait until they all hear." "Delilah, no." I ran after her. "Please. "What? It's not a big deal, Harmony. So you're failing math. Who cares? It's the private tutoring I want to talk about." She grabbed my arm, laughed, and raced into the house, shouting at the top of her voice. "Harmony has a private tutoring session with Professor Harding!" The squeals and shouts from our sorority sisters echoed throughout the house. I huffed and rolled my eyes but gave in to the pressure of Delilah pulling on my arm as she dragged me into the living room. Leighona was the first to bounce into the room and flop onto the couch in her graceful way. "What do you mean?" "I mean." Delilah sat forward and grinned. "Harmony is going to spend time alone with Professor Harding." "No way." Angie, one of the newest sorority sisters, dropped next to Leighona, bouncing her on the cushion. "No joke." Delilah winked at me. "Lucky girl." Samantha and Jessica rushed in next, each of them taking the chairs on either side of me and Delilah where we sat on the love seat. The sight of them gaping at me while they laughed and talked about Professor Harding made me uncomfortable. I crossed my ankles and pulled them in tight against the bottom of the love seat. I knew better than to try and leave the room. They wouldn't stop talking, and at least this way I'd hear every word. They'd gossip later, well out of my earshot. I could almost hear them already, talking about the poor girl who couldn't afford to fail her classes and had to take favors from the teachers. It was the nature of those supposed favors they drooled over. "He's so hot." Delilah fanned her face with her hand. "I'd jump in bed with him anytime. No bad grades required." "I've always thought he was intimidating." My voice came out softer than I intended. It always did when I felt cornered. I should be strong. Powerful. Assertive. Who was I kidding? The only time my voice had any power was when I sang. It was like a different person took over my body then. Why couldn't I harness that power and use it in my day-to-day life? "Intimidating? Yeah." Jessica crossed her legs and draped her arms over her knees. "I can see that. But you have to admit, he'd be worth the risk. That body ..." She faked a swoon and flung herself backward into the chair. She made a good point. Forty wasn't that old, but Professor Harding's silver hair was the only indication he was a day over twenty-five. "He must work out like all the time." Samantha smacked her lips together and tossed her black curls over her shoulder. "Did you see him last week when he took off his blazer?" Delilah whistled. "That man has some serious pecs." "Then there's Professor Bellington." Leighona shot a look my way. "You had a meeting with him yesterday. Anything you'd like to share?" I swallowed past the dryness in my throat. "Mrs. Collins told him about my grades." Leighona's eyes narrowed. "And?" "And nothing. He probably just needed to know if he was going to have to find a new understudy for you." I made it clear I had no intention of taking her place. The sudden silence made my skin twitch and prickle. I'd reminded them of the competition Leighona put between us when Professor Bellington cast her as Cosette and me as her understudy. We didn't talk about it much, but the tension never really went away. I glanced around the room, taking in the girls in various states of uncomfortable poses. This was supposed to be a fun, giggling, girl-fest, and I'd ruined it. I had one chance to lead the conversation back so they'd all leave happy. "I've always thought Professor Rossi was the most handsome of the Dream Team." "Ohh." Jessica fanned her face just like Delilah and squealed. "Good choice. He's definitely delicious with those dark curls." Delilah gave an approving nod, and my tense shoulders relaxed. The conversation continued as they talked details about each of the professors. I understood their appeal. Each man had a distinctness and a composed aura that never failed to make my toes curl when I attended one of their classes. Professor Rossi always tried to make class fun. He was energetic and exciting, and very expressive. And when he spoke Italian, his gorgeous accent made every girl in the room swoon. "I bet he speaks Italian in bed." Leighona arched a perfectly sculpted brow. "Talk about melting my panties." Jessica continued to swoon. I'd grown tired of the conversation, but I couldn't leave yet. The clock behind Leighona ticked down the hour. We had a sorority meeting tonight, and she'd probably go straight from the giggle-fest to the meeting. "If you had to pick, which one would you sleep with?" Delilah asked Samantha. She pursed her lips, tapping them with one long, pink nail. "Tough call. Can't I sleep with all of them, then decide who gets a second round? Just because they're gorgeous doesn't mean they're great in bed." "Good point. But I'd have to go with Rossi. That Italian badness has to know how to have a good time. He's too passionate to be lazy in bed." Leighona watched me the entire time she spoke, the look in her eyes almost daring me to argue that I'd called dibs. Not. Happening. I had enough to worry about with my grades. There was no way in hell I'd throw the complications of a relationship with any one of my professors into the mix. I'd get expelled for sure, and that would be the end of my career. Leighona checked her phone. "We might as well get started since everyone is here." The doorbell rang, and Jessica jumped to answer it. "That'll be dinner. I ordered Thai." I tried to hide my grimace by standing and going into the kitchen. Thai food always made my stomach ache. I'd told them once, and they all made soothing noises, but that didn't stop them from ordering it every other month for our meetings. I grabbed a water and a few protein bars from my stash in the pantry. Leighona hadn't mentioned my supposed PMS, but I'd noticed all the chocolate mysteriously disappearing overnight. Was it me, or was she holding a serious grudge against everything I did? The rest of the night became a blur of sorority talk, laughter, and no shortage of concern on my part. I hadn't even wanted to be part of a sorority. While I enjoyed having a place to stay and most days were chill in the house, there were times when the whole busyness and chatter annoyed me. Mom always said I'd grown up too fast, without a childhood. Hard to be a kid living in our situation. A single mother returns to the city she left seven years ago after breaking up with her ex to seek treatment for her son’s leukemia. Upon learning of her return, the ex immediately searches for the lo...