I told her about Brian.
“Just tell Mason, Em. As of right now, the worst that could happen is he’d break things off. Maybe Brian was just trying to be a nice guy. You know, there are still guys out there who are good. And yes, I say all of this when I have no boyfriend, but I still have hope.” She smiled. “If you feel like this isn’t something you can handle, then don’t. Break it off now. Mason seems like a dominant and controlling guy, so you need to be careful. I know I told you to go for it in the beginning, but I don’t want this to turn bad for you, okay?”
I gave her a small smile and nodded. “You know, you always make me feel better.”
She laughed. “That’s what I’m here for, babe.”
*
The next morning, I couldn’t get Brian’s conversation out of my head, and it made me anxious about getting to class. I was extremely nervous about talking to Mason. The problem was I didn’t want Brian to see me alone with him since he knew what happened. It made me uncomfortable and it felt like I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to be, which in that case I technically was. I just didn’t want to look bad, so I had no idea when I’d be able to talk to him. I’d have to wait and see if he called me after class, or I could call his office line at the school and leave him a message, but I didn’t think that was appropriate.
I just had to wait and see what happened.
I opened the door to the classroom and my eyes focused on the man sitting behind the desk. It didn’t matter how many times I’d seen him, my body still flushed every time.
He was typing on his laptop when I walked up to the desk to sign my name. I tried not to be obvious as I glanced up at him as I wrote, but I couldn’t help it. He looked different. It could have been the pissed-off expression he wore as his fingers flew over the keyboard.
I stood there for a moment as I watched him. It was as if he didn’t even notice my presence, not that he should, but I felt a slight hint of disappointment. Women wanted to be noticed, especially by the guy they were sleeping with.
“Can I help you, Ms. Blake?” he asked in a stern tone.
My eyes focused on Mason’s expression. He looked at me with a furrowed brow, almost the same expression he’d had when he noticed me on Monday. I was dumbfounded. What happened between then and now for him to act the way he is? How can I find him attractive if he treats me like that? I understood that in a classroom setting, we had to act as if we didn’t know each other intimately, but that didn’t mean he had to be an asshole.
I shook my head and turned away from his desk, then looked up to see Brian already in his seat staring down at me. I averted my eyes and made my way up the stairs, all the while trying to stop myself from looking back at Mason.
“Good morning,” Brian greeted as I set my things down and took a seat.
“Good morning.” I gave him a small smile.
I sat down and took my things from my bag when he started to speak.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry about yesterday, okay?” I opened my laptop and turned to look at him. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I know you told me to pretend the conversation didn’t happen, but I wanted to at least apologize. I usually don’t blurt out things like that and this might actually be a little forward for me to say, but I think you’re beautiful and I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
I bit my lips together to try to hide my smile, but it didn’t work. “Thanks. And I’m sorry for being rude. You just kind of caught me off-guard, ya know?”
He nodded and looked down front, drawing my attention. Mason was looking up at us with an insidious expression.
“I’m thinking he’s not in a good mood again today,” Brian said as he leaned toward me.
“It would appear that way.” I shrugged and started reading over my case notes, or at least pretended to do so.
It was going to be another day of being unfocused, unless I let myself get lost in the case again. I wasn’t sure how I was ever going to get through the class with Mason teaching it.
“Let’s get started,” Mason stated. I looked up from my notes to see him perched against the front of his desk. “I want to hear your thoughts on the assignment I gave you.” He glanced around the room as he spoke, but then his eyes landed on me and stayed there. “Ms. Blake, you and Mr. Weller seemed to have partnered up. What have both of you come up with?”
A pang of anxiety washed over me as he called my name. Out of everyone in the room, he had to call on me first? I looked over at Brian then back down at Mason. It was as if my vocal cords had been taken from me, and the words I wanted to say weren’t coming out. My mind went completely blank as he stared at me, waiting for me to speak. Anger built in the pit of my stomach and I could feel my face flaming from embarrassment.