AFTER HOURS: MY DEAL WITH PROFESSOR BANCROFT

CHAPTER 11

JULIA

I was in a daze as I walked through the front doors of my dorm.

Up the stairs, and through the doors of my room. I collapsed on my bed, my mind still filled with thoughts of the evening.

The unexpected encounter refused to leave my head. And I found myself replaying the sight over and over again.

And the heat burned under my skin.

The door opened and I turned my head slowly. Nina stood at the door, a flushed look on her face.

"Julia?"

I didn't move as I watched her shuffle towards her bed and slip in.

"We looked everywhere for you" she grumbled under her breath.

"I left"

"Why? How did you get home?"

My mind went back to Professor Bancroft again and the heat spread to my face.

"A friend dropped me"

I didn't hear the rest of what Nina was saying as she pulled the covers over her head. I returned my gaze to the ceiling and fell asleep to the thoughts of the night.

And the ghost touch of something I'd never have.

I woke up the next morning with a kind of energy I'd not had in weeks. I dressed up for class with a smile on my lips and anticipation.

Professor Bancroft's class was sometime during the afternoon and I was eager to see him.

The morning went by fast. I was hardly paying any attention to the lectures or Nina.

And when the time for Professor Bancroft's class came, I took a seat at the front of the class.

Something I'd never done before.

I had no idea where the boldness came from but I didn't allow myself to overthink it.

I knew the moment he entered the class.

A hush fell over the room and conversations ceased. The sound of expensive shoes hitting against the polished floors echoed throughout the room.

"Guilt" his deep voice rang through the classroom. My eyes stayed on him as he moved about.

"We discussed obsession, love, and lust in the last class. And today, we'll discuss guilt and its individual ties to the above named" his eyes raked over the classroom.

I waited for it to get to me but at the last moment, his gaze shifted again, landing on the center of the class.

"Why did we have to sit here" Nina muttered under her breath.

"To pay attention" I answered back and she grumbled.

"We..." Professor Bancroft's eyes shifted again and she froze beside me.

But when his eyes purposely skipped over me again, I knew it was intended.

Professor Bancroft was purposely ignoring me.

Annoyance crept under my skin.

Why was he ignoring me?

"It's better if we're up front" I said loudly. A few heads turned my way and even Nina turned pale beside me.

"Julia!" She nudged me. I ignored her, keeping my eyes on the professor and waiting for him to turn.

He didn't.

He kept his attention on the rest of the class, talking like we weren't even present. My fingers tightened around the pen in my hold.

If he thought ignoring me was going to make what happened disappear, then he had another thing coming.

The class dragged on. And so did my stare at him. I was certain he knew I was staring.

But I underestimated his willpower to ignore me. Not for once did he look in my direction.

"For your weekend assignment, I want your individual explanations on guilt in relation to obsession, lust, and love"

As soon as he was done talking, Professor Bancroft grabbed his books and marched out of the classroom.

Chaos erupted right after, everyone talking at the same time. I grabbed my things with one goal in mind.

"Come on Julia, let's head over to the cafe. I need to see Jared and be on my way home"

I only gave Nina half of my attention as I zipped my backpack.

"You go ahead..." I'll meet up with you later.

"Why? Where are you going?"

"To see a friend" I yelled over the noise in the room as I rushed to the door.

The hallway was already crowded, Professor Bancroft's figure disappeared through the double doors and I muttered under my breath as I pushed through the crowd.

After two minutes of my struggle, I broke through the double doors and headed straight for the professor's office.

And when I arrived at his door this time, I didn't knock. I pushed the door open and stepped into his office.

Both of us froze as we took in each other.

Professor Bancroft had a cigar between his fingers but quietly set it down as soon as I shut the door.

"You're supposed to knock" he gritted at me.

"I was in a hurry" I breathed out softly. His expression stayed neutral as he spoke.

"What do you want Miss Walker?" I didn't miss the edge in his voice as he spoke.

"To speak to you"

"Office hours are by four. And if you need anything, I'm to be informed on time"

I shrugged slightly. "Sorry about that. Since I'm already here, then we can just..."

"What do you want?" He gritted his teeth, cutting me off.

"I already told you. To talk to you"

"What about"

"Last night..." his sharp intake of breath filled the office space. His eyes blazed hotly as he glared at me.

"We do not discuss what happened. Not here... not ever"

The bite in his voice made my stomach pool with desire.

"I can't stop thinking about it"

"Miss Walker..."

"It made me think a lot" My voice dropped without any effort. The muscles in his neck bulged.

"And I realized what you've been saying. About feeling"

I wasn't a stranger to the pleasures of the flesh. But never had I felt something as intense as I did when I watched him.

And I knew, more than I cared to admit. That if I experienced that myself, it would reflect in my writing.

The same one he'd condemned... and wanted to change.

"Julia!" He snapped, the heat in his eyes enough to tear through the outer layer of my skin.

And I was willing to let it.

"I'm ready to make a new deal with you Professor"

"You're playing with fire" He growled. I watched him lose his usual composure under my gaze and I felt a rush of power.

I'd rattled the almighty professor. But that wasn't my end goal.

"Teach me professor" My voice was soft... pleading. His gaze narrowed.

"Teach me what it means to feel"