Chapter 7
Cara
It’s the second day of a new semester, and I’m already hating it.
Don’t get me wrong, I love school and learning in general.
Plus, the university life away from my mother and all her demands is precisely where I want to be.
But this is my last semester before graduation, and it’s jam-packed with tough courses.
I’m forced to take a class on corporate tax, one of my least favorite subjects on the planet, and my mother has made her expectations perfectly clear. I need to get top marks.
Not sure how I’m going to do that when I know I’ll be face-planted asleep on the textbook because the shit is so boring.
The only good thing about this semester is that my mother allowed me to pick one elective class all on my own.
It was tough to choose, but the moment I saw Mythological Creatures 101 on the list of courses, I just knew this was the one.
Reagan picked it too, which means this will be our first class together.
To say I’m excited is an understatement.
We’re on our way to the lecture hall when Reagan says, “Did you hear about the professor?”
“Just that he’s new and a total hardass.”
“Well, I also heard he’s hot. Like melt your brain hot. If it’s true, fair warning that you’ll have to tutor me because I doubt I’ll be able to listen during class.”
I laugh. Even though she’s hopelessly in love with Carter, my best friend loves looking at nice things, and that includes men. She’ll always go back to her boyfriend, though. They’re so in love, it’s kinda gross sometimes.
“Take this as my formal agreement to let you copy my notes. Trust me. It doesn’t matter how hot he is; this is the only class I’m taking for me, so I’ll be paying attention for the both of us.”
“That’s so sad,” Reagan says, pouting. “But deal. I’ll ogle while you learn.”
As we walk into the classroom, my eyes immediately find the professor everyone is talking about.
Damn. They aren’t wrong about his looks, because yum.
I’m pretty sure I hear Reagan moan a little, but I can’t look away from the man standing at the front of the room.
He has thick dark hair, artfully styled to stay out of his face, and glasses that do strange things to me.
He looks like a mix of hot nerd and jock.
He’s wearing dark navy pants with an ivory button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular forearms. One of his wrists is wrapped. Is he injured? Maybe my idea of the nerdy jock isn’t too far off.
As if he can feel my perusal, he looks up from the page on his desk. My eyes lock with his, and suddenly I’m too hot. God, he’s beautiful.
He takes off his glasses without looking away from me. His eyes are an odd shade of light hazel, almost golden. There’s something familiar about them, but as hard as I try, I can’t figure out why. I keep staring, so transfixed that I don’t notice everyone else has already taken their seats.
“Are you going to sit so we can start, or do you intend to stand there and gawk for the duration of class?”
His words jolt me out of my trance. “Sorry,” I mutter before finding Reagan and dropping into my chair, face flaming as I hear a few students laugh.
“You okay?” Reagan asks, careful to keep her voice low.
“Yup,” I squeak, even though I’m far from it. The room falls silent, and my gaze finally returns to the front of the class.
“I’m Professor Lucian, and this is Mythological Creatures 101.
If you chose this course thinking it would be an easy A, you may want to consider transferring.
When you’re in this room with me, I expect your full participation and attention on the coursework.
” His gaze roams around the room before settling on me.
“If that’s not something you can manage, there’s the door. ”
God, what a terrible day.
I slept late and had to race out of the apartment to avoid being late for my first class.
I didn’t even have the chance to test out a name for the dog I can’t wait to go home to.
Then, during lunch, I came home to an empty house and nearly had a meltdown.
It wasn’t until I found my massive, nameless pet in the hallway that I could breathe properly again.
I swear I held onto him for five whole minutes, apologizing repeatedly for my stupidity.
Never again will I forget to shut the door tight.
It hasn’t even been a week, but this creature already has such a tight hold on me, and it really hit me just how much I dislike coming home to an empty house. Being alone was never something I had an issue with before, but now that this dog is here, that’s changing.
I’m changing.
When I left for afternoon classes, I felt a little more human—and like maybe the day was turning around. Then I met Professor Lucian.
What a fucking asshat.
I really tried to ignore his obvious disdain and focus on the interesting topic of mythological creatures, but I couldn’t shake the look on his face when he caught me staring.
Almost as if he were mad. Surely I’m not the first student to be awestruck by his good looks?
In fact, I know I’m not, but he had no issues with their eyes on him, so what’s so bad about mine?
Forget him. Focus on yourself and your best friend and the dog waiting for you at home.
After class, Reagan joined me on my trip to the local animal shelter. I told her she didn’t have to come, but I think she felt bad for me after my utter mortification earlier and has been trying to cheer me up.
Happy Hounds Animal Sanctuary wasn’t what either of us thought it would be. The place was more like a spa for unwanted and stray pets than it was a typical shelter. It made the advice even more trustworthy. The owner clearly loves animals.
Reagan carries the Thai food we picked up on the way home while I’ve got the bag of dog food and treats the owner, Coop, recommended for a dog this size. We only grabbed the small bag this time since I didn’t think I could carry the massive bag all the way home.
I set my things down in the hall and unlock my apartment door while Reagan rambles on about how attractive the owner of the sanctuary was.
“Listen, harlot, all I’m saying is, objectively speaking, he’s hot, and you could certainly do worse.”
I wave her through the door while I pick up the things I’d just set down and join her. “I’m not on the market, Rea, you know this.” The big dog doesn’t greet me at the door like he usually does, and for a second, I fear he got out again.
He’s probably just shy around Reagan, that’s all. Don’t panic yet.
“Do you think Coop is short for Cooper?” Reagan asks as we move into the kitchen.
I laugh and grab plates for our food. “I don’t know.
Probably. What else would it be short for?
Chicken Coop?” That only makes me laugh more because, fuck, could you imagine?
I’ve heard some awful names, but Chicken Coop would take the cake.
Ugh, this shouldn’t be so funny. I’m definitely exhausted.
“Hey, I think you found his name,” Reagan says, pointing at the dog. “He came out the moment I said Cooper.”
I rush over to him and crouch down so we’re eye to eye. “What do you think, buddy? Does Cooper sound like a good name?” He sniffs me, like really sniffs me, burrowing his nose into every crevice of my clothes and making me giggle.
“Wow, I’ll take that as a yes.” I give him a squeeze and a kiss and then say, “Come see what I got you at the store, Cooper.”