Chapter two: The last person he Expected
814 Words
The lecture hall was already filling up when Professor Adrian Hale walked in.
The quiet chatter among the students faded almost immediately as he stepped inside. It always happened like that. Adrian carried an aura of authority that made most students straighten in their seats without even realizing it.
He placed his briefcase on the desk and began arranging his notes calmly.
Another normal lecture.
Or so he thought.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice steady.
A few students responded lazily, still waking up from the early class.
Adrian lifted his gaze to scan the room.
And then he froze.
Two rows from the back sat the last person he ever expected to see again.
Her.
For a moment, his mind refused to process what his eyes were seeing.
Nafisa.
The same dark hair. The same soft features. The same woman who had been lying beside him only hours ago.
Except now she was sitting among his students.
Adrian’s grip tightened slightly on the edge of the desk.
No.
This had to be a mistake.
But as if sensing his stare, the girl slowly lifted her head.
Their eyes met.
The recognition was instant.
And then she quickly looked away.
⸻
Nafisa Carter wished the floor would swallow her whole.
The moment the professor walked into the room, her heart had nearly stopped.
It couldn’t be him.
It simply couldn’t.
But the moment she saw his face clearly, every memory from the night before came rushing back.
The bar.
The drinks.
The easy conversation between two strangers drowning their heartbreak.
And the reckless decision that followed.
Her fingers tightened around her pen as she stared down at her notebook, pretending to focus on something—anything—other than the man standing at the front of the room.
Professor Adrian Hale.
Her professor.
Her face burned with humiliation.
Of all the universities in Dallas, of all the classes she could have registered for…
Why this one?
Why him?
She hadn’t even written a single word in her notebook since the lecture began.
Her mind kept replaying the same terrible realization.
She had slept with her professor.
⸻
At the front of the classroom, Adrian forced himself to continue the lecture.
His voice remained calm, but his concentration was completely shattered.
Every instinct in him screamed to look at her again.
And every time he did, he saw the same thing.
Nafisa refusing to look up.
She kept her eyes on her notebook, her posture stiff as if she were trying to disappear into the chair.
Adrian exhaled slowly.
Professional.
He needed to remain professional.
Last night had been a mistake. A moment of weakness between two strangers who were both hurting.
Nothing more.
And it had to stay that way.
The lecture continued, though Adrian barely remembered what he said.
For Nafisa, the hour felt endless.
Every second stretched painfully as she counted down the minutes until the class ended.
Finally, Adrian closed his notes.
“That will be all for today.”
The room immediately filled with the sound of chairs moving as students gathered their bags and headed toward the door.
Nafisa remained seated.
Her heart pounded as she watched the room slowly empty.
She could leave.
Pretend none of this had happened.
But something told her that avoiding the situation would only make it worse.
Taking a deep breath, she stood and walked toward the front of the room.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
Adrian was already watching her when she reached the desk.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The silence carried the weight of everything that had happened between them.
Finally, Nafisa cleared her throat.
“Professor…”
The word felt strange after last night.
Adrian leaned back slightly, studying her expression.
“I didn’t know you were my professor,” she said quietly.
His response came immediately.
“Neither did I.”
The tension between them thickened.
Nafisa let out a small, awkward breath.
“This is… really awkward.”
“That’s one way to describe it.”
She hesitated before asking the question that had been lingering in her mind since the moment he walked into the classroom.
“So… what happens now?”
Adrian’s expression hardened slightly, the professor in him taking control.
“Nothing,” he said firmly.
“Last night was a mistake. One that will not happen again.”
The words felt colder than Nafisa expected.
But she nodded.
“Understood, Professor.”
She emphasized the last word slightly before turning away.
Adrian watched her walk toward the door.
For someone he had only met the night before, her absence left the room feeling strangely empty.
And something deep in his mind warned him of a dangerous truth.
Seeing Nafisa Carter every day in his classroom was going to be far more complicated than pretending nothing had happened.
- Writer
