1. Koi Pisces Hall
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
I was going to be sick. I was literally going to be sick to my stomach.
Heat flushed my face, and my stomach churned violently.
Fear took over my insides, and every possible nightmare that could come true ran rampant throughout my brain.
I felt as if everyone were watching me, and they all knew my secret, but that couldn’t be.
However, it did feel as if my past was coming back to haunt me, something that I could not tolerate.
I rushed down the hall, slipped out of the doors into the courtyard, and then crossed over to the administrative building.
I almost ran into my office. I immediately sent a message to my students, cancelling the rest of my classes.
There was no way that I could get through the rest of the day.
I wasn’t even sure that I could get through the rest of the school year.
Gripping the edge of the desk, I inhaled deeply and held my breath for five seconds before I exhaled. I repeated the action several times. When I was finished, I grabbed my phone and called Chelsea.
Frustration settled in when my call went directly to voicemail. Knowing Chelsea, she was sleeping in late this morning. She ran an art studio and often held late-night classes. She would turn her phone off on those nights.
I thought about calling Primrose, but I knew that she was at work. As an event and corporate caterer, she would not have time to take my call.
“God, how did I get in this place?” I whispered as I dropped my head in my hands. The only answer that came to me was that this was my punishment for being a ho this summer. I knew better, but I’d done it anyway. I had promised myself no regrets, but that was before the bottom fell out.
A knock sounded at my door, causing me to bolt upright. I grabbed a mirror from one of the drawers on my desk and checked my appearance. Satisfied that my outward appearance did not reflect the turmoil that I was going through, I called out, “Come in.”
The door slowly opened, and my stomach heaved once more.
The object of my despair stood in the doorway with a casual smirk.
A black fitted tee stretched across his muscular chest and arms. I could see the tattoo sleeve on both of his arms. It had been those tattooed arms, his outstanding height of six feet, six inches, and that thick bushy beard that had been my throne for one wild night this summer that let me know my worst nightmare had come true.
His build reminded me of the late basketball shooting guard, Kobe Bryant. He moved with grace and used his hands with a dexterity normally reserved for athletes.
I was approaching my classroom when I spotted him at the door.
He was checking something on his phone and looking at the numbers on the side of my door.
He had slowly lifted his head to look at the door again, and I was assured that it was the same man who I begged to fuck me like he was catching a case.
The moment my fears were confirmed, I turned in the hallway and rushed out of the building and to my office.
“You didn’t tell me you were the next Jackie Joyner-Kersee,” he teased.
“You think this is funny?”
“I think this is fate, baby girl.”
“No. I’m not your baby girl.”
“Oh, no? You had no problem with me calling you that on a hot summer night when I was all in your guts.”
“Why are you here?”
He spread those beautiful arms out at his side and tilted his head slightly. “What does it look like? To finish my education.”
“Finish?”
He chuckled. “Yeah.”
“I thought you were against college.”
“Never said that. I argued against it because we were debating lots of shit that night.”
“So, you were in college then?”
“Yeah.”
“Here? At this school? I would have seen you.”
“No. I just put in for my transfer for my final year at the end of last school year.”
“But why? Did you know that I was here?” It sounded crazy, even to my ears. He had never known my name, what I did for a living, or where I lived. I had not once told this man that I lived in Georgia or that I was a professor at Cherokee Springs University.
Yet, it still created panic inside of me.
I had a stalker before, and I didn’t want to go through that experience again.
Patrick Stenson was a guy I went on three dates with, when I was nineteen, during my freshman year of college.
Unfortunately, I learned a little too late that he wasn’t a student at all.
He was a much older man who worked in one of the coffeehouses.
When I learned that he lied to me about his age and who he was, I told him that I didn’t want to see him anymore.
He started following me around campus, waiting outside of my dorm, and showing up in the most unexpected places. He became obsessive and threatened anyone who came near me. I got a restraining order to keep him away.
I prayed that this wasn’t about to be a similar situation, especially considering all I had been through with a student two years ago.
“No. I didn’t know you were here. Hell, I didn’t even know that you were a professor until today.”
“I never gave you my name. So how did you realize that your professor was the same woman from this summer?”
“I didn’t. I saw a flash of movement, and where I’m from, .
. . you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times.
So, when I see people moving quickly, I take heed.
They were parting like the Red Sea for ya li’l fine ass.
Don’t get it twisted, Professor. I don’t make a business of remembering the shape and form of every woman I’ve been with through the years, but that little Pisces tattoo on the back of your neck was very familiar.
I followed you through the crowd from a distance. ”
He licked his lips, and I grew warm. I recalled him outlining my tattoo with his fingers while he fucked me from the back.
He had leaned in and licked it, causing my arousal to grow stronger and my nipples to harden.
Today, I wore my hair in a high, side ponytail.
It was easy for anyone to see my tattoo.
“This isn’t going to work.”
Shrugging, he challenged me. “Why can’t it? The only way it won’t work is if you and I decide that it can’t work. No one can dictate that except for us.”
I thought about his words, and while I knew he had a point, I had something heavier weighing on my shoulders.
“You’re a professional, we’re both adults, and it was one night. We can handle ourselves beyond that. It’s not like I’m here trying to have a repeat. My focus is to finish school, get this degree, and then I’m out.”
I carefully weighed his words, the sincerity of his expression, and the earnestness of his tone. “Okay. Please, don’t tell anyone about what happened between us, Sig. The fallout would be devastating for me.”
He smirked. “It’s Salem.”
“Huh?”
“Like Pisces was a pseudonym for you, Sig was for me.”
“Pisces wasn’t. It’s my middle name.”
“Oh. Well, Sig is my initials. Salem Iman Gates. Don’t worry. I don’t believe in sharing what I do in the bedroom. I’m a grown ass man, and I’m not into childish behavior. I have nothing to prove to anyone except for myself.”
“Good. Do you promise that you won’t create any uncomfortable situations for either of us?”
“You got my word.”
“Thank you.”
Regardless of his promises, I knew that it would be hard for me to stay focused with him in my classroom.
Despite his handsome appearance, there was a rough edge about him that drew me in.
It wasn’t just the tattoos that covered most of his body, including his neck and the one over his left eyebrow, but it was also the scars that he sported.
“No problem, beautiful. I’m not into creating chaos but crafting beautiful experiences.” He stood and walked to the door.
“Oh, Mr. Gates. I’m not sure if you received the email or text alert, but class is canceled.”
“I got that as I was walking down the hall a few minutes ago.”
“Good. Have a great day.”
“You too, beautiful.” He turned and grabbed the door handle but didn’t pull it open.
He released it, turned, and walked back to my desk.
Placing his fingertips on the edge of it, he leaned closer.
“Professor Pisces . . .” My breath hitched in my throat.
“We will make it through this semester with peace and energy between us, but it ain’t over.
After I graduate, I’m coming at you with everything in me.
I’m not letting ya li’l ass walk away that easily.
Your taste is very addictive, baby girl.
” He licked his lips and then walked out of my office, closing the door firmly behind him.
I released my breath, and I came in my panties.