Chapter 89

Joseph’s POV

Fuck!

She was falling in love with me.

My heart nearly stopped. I knew I shouldn’t be listening to this conversation. I knew I should have left. But my feet remained planted, and I couldn’t seem to bring myself to walk away. Not yet at least. I needed to hear more of what she had to say.

“I know it’s crazy, but I can’t bring myself to let him go,” Tessa said, and I knew, from the muffled sound in her voice, that she was burying her face in her hands. “He has this mysterious side to him that leaves me starstruck. It’s exciting and makes me want more of him.”

She liked the side of me that was a vampire. She enjoyed the potential danger that I brought her.

The knot in my stomach tightened.

“You want to be dominated by Professor Evergreen,” Ruby teased her.

I didn’t like that another student of mine was talking about me like this. They shouldn’t be talking about me like this.

Tessa only laughed in response.

Now was not the time to talk to her. I needed to before she figured out that I was there. I turned away from her door and went back outside. I stood on the curb for a moment longer, staring up at the window that had a faint light shining through. The window I knew belonged to Tessa.

My heart remained heavy.

Tessa, girl, what were you doing to me?

I sighed and took out my phone. I knew I couldn’t hold off this conversation any longer. I needed to do this sooner or later.

I opened a new text message thread with Tessa and sent her a message.

“Lunch tomorrow?”

…

Tessa’s POV

My stomach was practically in my throat when Jospeh texted me, I wasn’t really expecting him to but I just received a message asking if I wanted to have lunch with him tomorrow.

I was frozen when I read the message, unable to speak or move. Ruby had to grab my phone from me to read the message and then she gasped, looking at me with wide eyes.

“That’s amazing news, right? It means he finally wants to talk to you,” Ruby said with a grin, handing me my phone back.

“Why now?” I asked, meeting her eyes. “He had a lot of chances to talk to me. Why does he want to talk to me now?”

“Maybe he’s coming to terms with his feelings for you,” Ruby shrugged. “You said it yourself that you don’t know where you stand. You two broke up and then hooked up. You didn’t really talk about it.”

I nodded. I wasn’t able to tell her the truth that we weren’t dating previously.

“I guess so,” I said.

I sent him a text saying, “Okay.”

I put my phone away and unpaused the movie, pouring myself another glass of wine.

…

The next morning, I groggily slid out of bed and walked out of the bedroom to find Ruby passed out on the couch. A smile tugged at my lips as I went into the kitchen and grabbed a pop-tart before making my way over to the couch to wake her.

At first, I shook her with my hand. She groaned and swatted me away, murmuring something I couldn’t understand.

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing and this time I nudged her with my foot. I nearly kicked her off the couch, but she woke up and caught herself before she got too close to the edge.

She peered up at me and narrowed her eyes.

“Are you trying to break my neck?” She asked, staring at me in shock.

I laughed and shook my head.

“I’m trying to wake you up. We have school soon.”

She groaned and allowed her head to hang over the couch.

“Fine,” she muttered. “Can I shower here?”

“Of course,” I said, biting into my pop tart.

She gave me a kind smile as she walked past me and toward one of the bathrooms. While she was in the shower, I began to make Joseph lunch. I kept it basic just in case. I made a turkey sandwich with leftover soup and a small side salad. I also included some fruit for dessert.

By the time I was finished making lunch for Jospeh, Ruby was already out of the shower. She came out of the bathroom with her wet curly hair sticking to her face. She wore a white blouse that rested loosely above her belly button and her sleeves hung just below her shoulders. She wore a pair of tight jeans as well, which complimented her figure nicely.

I went to take a quick shower and get dressed. Once I finished Ruby and I headed to school.

I had yet to see Joseph this morning. He sent me another text earlier in the morning telling me to meet him in his office during lunch hour, but I was a little bit worried he wasn’t going to be there.

I tried to ignore the pain of anxiety I’d been feeling all day, trying to brush it out of my head. I tried my best to participate in class and concentrate on my studies. But now lunch was nearing, and that anxiety was only growing stronger.

Ruby tried to reassure me, which I appreciated, but it wasn’t very helpful.

I made my way up the stairs and into the faculty offices, holding onto the lunch I made for Joseph this morning. Once I reached his door, I knocked a couple of times, swallowing the heavy lump that had formed in my throat.

“Come in,” he said in almost a tough.

My heart skipped a beat and I tried to settle it before I opened the door. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Joseph sat at his desk, looking even better than before. His usual neatly done hair was a little messy like he’s been draping his fingers through it and tugging at it in frustration. His chest heaved up and down, drawing my eyes in.

“I made you lunch,” I told him softly.

He gave me a soft grin and motioned for me to sit with him.

I put the lunch on his desk and opened it for him to see it. Then, I took a seat in the chair in front of his desk.

“You didn’t bring anything for yourself?” He asked, raising his brows.

I shook my head.

“I have lunch, but I’m not too hungry,” I told him honestly.

He looked at me curiously for a moment.

“How are things with your blog going?” He surprised me by saying.

I snapped him a look.

Was he serious right now? How could he be asking me about my blog when we have so much more to discuss?

“I haven’t really checked.”

“Maybe you should,” he said casually, picking up the sandwich and taking a bite. “Mmm, this is good. You sure you don’t want some?” He asked, holding the sandwich out for me to take.

I shook my head.

“No, it’s okay,” I said in return.

Was this all he wanted from me? A casual conversation? He didn’t want to talk about anything that happened between us.

He was looking at me for a moment longer, measuring me with his eyes. It seemed like there was something more he wanted to say to me, the main reason why he wanted to have lunch, but he was keeping himself back. He was afraid to tell me what was on his mind and what he needed.

I wanted to reach out and touch him, to tell him that it was okay. But just as my fingers twitched alive, I heard a knock on his door.

His body tensed as well as he broke his gaze from mine to look at the door.

“Come in,” he said, his tone hard and a little annoyed sounding.

The door opened slightly, and I saw Emily’s head poking into the office. She smiled wide when she saw Joseph at his desk, but then her smile fell when she saw me.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you had someone in here with you,” she said, staring between us before her eyes rested on Joseph. “I was just seeing if you wanted to have lunch. But I see you already—”

She tried to finish her sentence, but I shot up to my feet, stopping her word flow.

“You should have lunch with her. I’ll see you in class, Professor,” I said, trying to keep the pain off my face.

I’m not sure why I did that, but I knew I needed to get out of there.