Chapter 53
Anna
“You should finish that,” Travis says, nodding at the half-eaten piece of toast with butter and raspberry jam.
When I don’t grab it right away, he scoops it off the plate he brought into his bedroom ten minutes ago, right as I woke up. He holds it up to me.
I can’t help but laugh. “Are you gonna hand-feed me now?”
“If I have to.”
His mouth is a straight line. So very serious. But I see that flicker of amusement in his gunmetal-blue gaze.
I chuckle and roll my eyes, then take a bite of the toast.
“You need to eat,” he says.
“I did eat.” I look at the empty package of Sour Patch Kids on the plate.
“More than just candy,” he says. He grabs the glass of water from his nightstand and hands it to me.
I take a long drink, my tummy fluttering. I like this part of being Travis’s girlfriend. I mean, I like all of it. But this part of it—when he’s in caretaker mode—is especially swoonworthy.
The way he makes sure I’m eating and drinking enough. That watchful warmth in his eyes when he looks at me. No guy has ever doted on me before, and I adore it.
I take the toast from him and finish it. He kisses my temple, then slides his arm around me, pulling me closer against him as we sit on the edge of his bed.
When I finish the toast, I wipe my mouth with a napkin. “There. Happy?”
He nods, the edge of his lips curling up in an amused half-smile. “Very happy.”
“I think I like this new life of living as a human sex toy in your bed.”
He chuckles. “Glad to hear it.”
I’m wearing his jersey again. The whole time he’s been sitting next to me as I eat, his gaze keeps drifting to it. It’s so cute how much he likes seeing me in it.
“This is very on brand,” I say.
“What do you mean?”
“The way you make sure I’m nourished after you fuck my brains out.”
He fights a smile.
“It’s the perfect balance of roughness and sweetness, which is totally you,” I say.
“That’s how it is with me. If I’m gonna fuck you, I’m gonna feed you too.”
I fall over laughing. He helps me sit up again, then kisses me softly.
“I also just like taking care of you,” he says. “It’s an urge. I have to take care of the woman I’m in love with.
My insides go gooey. “Lucky me.”
His gaze drifts back to his jersey. I can’t wait to wear it to a game when the school year starts next month, and he’s playing again.
Thinking about the Hollis U hockey season starting up reminds me of what Travis is dealing with right now. How his confrontation with his dad could cost him his shot at playing pro hockey.
“I don’t mean to bring up sad things, but…how are you feeling about San Francisco and what happened with your dad?” I ask.
He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “About the same. I’m scared to look at social media.
I know it’s making the rounds. Part of me wonders if I should reach out to the Seagulls rep and explain myself—explain what happened.
But part of me worries that as soon as I do that, it’ll just prompt them to get rid of me, like I’m sure they’re already planning to do.
” He looks down at the floor. “Part of me wants to just wait for them to call me or email me when they’re ready to cut me loose.
That way I can feel part of the team for longer, before I lose it all. ”
I wrap my arms around him, hugging him tight. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“It’s okay. This isn’t your fault.”
I lean back to look at him. I wish I could make this better. I wish I could make all this pain and ugliness go away.
He holds my face in his hands, his eyes soft and warm. “Whatever happens, I have you. That’s all I need.”
My heart feels like it’s on the verge of bursting. Despite what he’s going through and how awful this all is for him, he’s thinking of me.
I kiss him. A buzzing noise breaks us apart. We both look around. When I see it’s my phone, I pick it up.
“It’s just an email alert,” I say. I’m about to ignore it and darken my screen when I see the name pop up.
Professor Sullivan.
“Everything okay?” Travis asks.
“Professor Sullivan just emailed me.”
Why is he reaching out to me?
I tap the email. When I read it, I gasp.
Are you available to meet with me today? I’d like to speak to you about what happened yesterday in my office regarding your claims about Colin. He is no longer involved in this project.
I stare at the message, stunned. “No way.”
I show it to Travis.
“Why does he want to meet…” I trail off when the shock fades, and my brain puts it together. “Wait, does he want me back on the project?”
“It kind of sounds like he might,” Travis says.
“But he adored Colin. He’s his star grad student. He’d never cut him loose.”
Travis grabs my hand. “I think you should meet with him and hear what he has to say.”
I let out a breath, nervous. “Yeah, you’re right. I should.”
* * *
When I walk into Professor Sullivan’s office, he’s squinting at his computer screen.
I knock on the open door. He looks up at me.
“Anna. Please come in.”
I close the door and sit down in front of his desk.
“Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice.”
“Of course. What did you want to talk about?”
He folds his hands on top of his desk. “As I stated in my email to you, Colin’s been dismissed from this project. He’s been removed as my TA. The biology department is also in the process of suspending him.”
“What?” I say sharply, then clear my throat. “Sorry, I mean…you dismissed Colin? And you’re suspending him?”
Professor Sullivan nods. “Yes. We take matters like this very seriously.”
“Matters like this?” I sound like a parrot, the way I’m repeating everything he’s saying. I’d be embarrassed if I weren’t so stunned.
“Yes. Matters in which a student is accused of such deplorable behavior.”
I’m quiet as I soak in what he says. So he…believes me over Colin?
“You believe me over Colin?” I say, voicing my surprise.
“Yes. I do,” he says. “I’ll admit, I was quite shocked to hear you speak about him that way.
But I was even more shocked to hear the way he responded to you after you left my office.
” He purses his lips like he’s disgusted.
“I won’t repeat what he said. But what I will say is that it made me realize that he wasn’t the upstanding young man I thought he was.
And when I dug a little deeper, I found out just how wrong I was about him. ”
“Can I ask what you mean when you said you dug deeper?”
“After I asked Colin to leave my office, I spoke to a few of the female students who I work with, who also have worked with Colin. I asked them if he had ever made them uncomfortable or had been inappropriate with them. And well…” He sighs, worry etched in his frown.
“It turns out that you’re not the only one he’s spoken to inappropriately.
He’s made multiple female students uncomfortable. ”
My stomach falls to my feet. I didn’t even think about the possibility that Colin could have done this to other women.
I shake my head, tears burning in my eyes. I swallow hard, trying not to fall apart in front of my professor.
“I’m so sorry for what he did to you, Anna.” He hands me a tissue. I manage a quiet “thank you” as I dab at my eyes.
“I’m a little emotional processing all of this. Sorry.” I can’t look at him. I’m too embarrassed.
“Please don’t apologize,” he says in a gentle tone. “I can’t imagine what it must feel like going through something like this.”
I look up at him and nod, grateful that he’s being so kind. And then I feel a stab of guilt for how quickly I wrote him off. How I assumed he’d side with Colin.
“I’m sorry for the way I stormed out yesterday, Professor Sullivan. I guess I just assumed…” I work up the nerve to say this next part. “I assumed you’d believe him over me.”
“Because I’m a man?” he asks in that gentle tone again. I nod.
“And well…Colin was pretty beloved in the biology department too,” I say. “I just figured everyone would side with him.”
“I understand why you’d think that. That’s often the case, unfortunately, that men get the benefit of the doubt.
” He sighs again. “But I just want you to know that I try my hardest to advocate for my students. I treat everyone fairly. And when one of them comes to me with a concern, I take it seriously.”
“I see that now. I’m sorry I doubted you,” I say.
“It’s okay. You’re a young lady navigating a competitive, male-dominated field of study. It’s understandable that you’d do what’s necessary to protect yourself.” He clears his throat. “I also wanted to meet with you to ask if you’d reconsider rejoining my research team.”
Again, I’m speechless. “Really?”
“Yes. You’re smart, hardworking, and you have incredible integrity, which I witnessed first-hand. All of my comments prior to yesterday’s incident hold true. I think you’d make an excellent addition to this project.”
I start to smile, feeling relieved and so happy.
“I’d love to.”
* * *
When I walk back into Travis’s place, he’s sitting on the couch.
He stands up the second he sees me. “How’d it go?”
“I’m back on the research project.”
He scoops me up and kisses me. “Fuck yeah,” he says against my mouth.
When he puts me down, I tell him everything that happened in the meeting with Professor Sullivan. When I finish, I’m breathless. I shake my head.
“I just can’t believe it,” I say.
He tucks my hair behind my ear. His smile is warm. “I’m so happy for you, sweet thing.” He kisses my cheek, the hinge of my jaw, my neck. “So damn proud of my girlfriend.”
There’s a flutter in my tummy hearing him call me that. I don’t think it’ll ever get old. I close my eyes and hum softly.
I think about Travis’s situation with the San Francisco Seagulls. I hope with everything inside of me that somehow it all works out for him. Because he’s an incredible hockey player and person, and he doesn’t deserve for his shot at playing pro to be derailed because of someone else.
A minute later, my phone buzzes with a text from Poppy.
Did you see what your brother did???
When I see the screenshot, I gasp.