Chapter 33 Dane
DANE
Icross the campus, heading in the opposite direction Ethan was going. Naturally I keep stealing glances back over my shoulder to see if he’s still within view.
Of course he’s not because the moment he saw me looking at him, he sped up like an escaped convict needing to flee the country.
I’ve done everything he asked. Okay, he asked one thing. But still, it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my entire life.
Restraint that I’ve had to endure these last few weeks, watching him and Hannah come in and out of my classroom. Handing me assignments with nothing but statistical numbers and meaningless words, as I pray for some sort of olive branch hidden on the paper.
A penciled heart, a ‘we miss you’, or maybe a “I’m sorry we left you alone in Paris after the best night of our lives” note. Perhaps their fucking phone number.
That would be nice.
But, nothing.
Nine more months.
I only teach for nine more months. If a woman can literally grow an entire human from a tiny little nucleus into a ten-pound baby with a functioning brain and beating heart, I can certainly reset mine within that time, right?
Yes. Yes, you can Dane Campbell. You’ve been through worse.
Wrapping my hand around the cool, metal door handle, I pull it open and hold it for a couple of students walking out with coffee cups in their hands.
“Thank you, Professor Campbell,” they say in unison.
I nod and smile, then step in through the doorway; my eyes instantly lock on those familiar ocean blues surrounded by chocolate brown waves.
Jesus Christ, I can’t catch a break. Both of them are fucking everywhere.
Campus. Coffee shop. My fucking dreams.
She immediately dips her chin back into her text book and I swallow thickly as I continue to the counter. There’s a line so I’m stuck standing in it, directly in front of her table, as I stay completely quiet.
Her face is buried in her book that she hasn’t turned the page on since I walked in so I know she’s just staring at it, taking nothing in, and I want nothing more than to talk to her.
“Next,” I get called up to the counter.
I request my usual as I hand them a ten dollar bill, “Cappuccino, please.”
Stepping aside, the pick up counter is even closer to her table. Now I’m standing so close I can smell that signature citrus scent she carries around with her.
I suck in a deep breath as if trying to imbed it in my nasal cavity when I hear someone call out, “Excuse me?”
I turn around and there’s a man leaning around Hannah. “Is this chair taken?”
I don’t think he wants to sit, I think he wants to take it for another table, but I’m not taking the risk either way.
I can’t help myself as I round the corner of the square table, hitting my leg on the pointed edge, before flopping down on the seat like it was musical fucking chairs.
“It’s taken.” I smile up at the guy, praying he doesn’t recognize me, before looking back at Hannah who’s wide eyed and shocked.
“Hey.” I face her direction, turning my back to Mr. Seat Stealing Guy.
“Hi.”
“How are you?” I ask, my voice raspy like I haven’t talked in a while but it’s just nerves.
She stares at me for a beat, her eyes working through different emotions. I can tell by the way her brow furrows, then relaxes before her lips press into a tight line.
If she wanted to, she could just push me off the table, especially after what she’s heard about me over the last few weeks. I’m not stupid. I hear what the students say about my past dating history. My one-date Dane reputation now seems to be a running challenge for some of them.
Her now knowing all of that along with the fact that I paid to have the hostel at no vacancy so I could be alone with them for days, just adds another reason why they shouldn’t trust me.
“I miss you guys,” I sign, telling her the words that have wanted to spill out for weeks.
Squinting her eyes as if in pain, she tilts her head then looks away.
My hand immediately shoots forward. My fingers pinch the corner of her chin to turn her face back to look at me. I don’t want her to avoid my words or my gaze because I’ve never felt so strongly about a statement before.
A glass shatters in the background and I yank my hand away, realizing I’m in a very public place with a fucking student.
I palm my face in frustration and lean my elbows on the table.
“I’m enjoying your class,” she signs and I swear to god a euphoric explosion ignites in my chest.
Small talk is fine. Any talk is fine.
An unnaturally huge smile beams out of me.
“Yeah?”
She nods, short and quick, and I can see a smidge of a smile.
Her hand covers the column of her neck, lightly roaming over the scarred area of her skin and I can tell she’s just as nervous as I am. Fuck, she’s stunning in all her ways. I love that she’s confident but timid at the same time. I love how loud she speaks without saying anything.
“Hannah—” The words get caught in my throat and I pause. “Can we—”
“Professor Campbell, your cappuccino is ready!”
I whip an unavoidable glare at the barista before turning back to Hannah, then glance down at my watch. Shit. I have to go.
Rubbing the nape of my neck, I lean closer to her. “I have to go, I’m meeting a friend and I’m late.”
The column of her throat rolls as she swallows and I don’t miss the annoyed look in her eyes before turning away from me.
“It’s a guy friend,” I spit out immediately, as if to tell her it’s not another woman but she side-eyes me and I realize she knows it doesn’t matter if it’s a guy or girl. “A platonic guy friend.” Jesus, I sound like an idiot.
“It doesn’t matter.”
But her body language says otherwise, and as much as I hate that she’s feeling bothered, I really fucking like it.
“You’re jealous?” I sign with a smirk.
“No.”
“You are. Admit it.” I press my shoulder into hers.
“Stop it.” She palms my shoulder back playfully, finally smiling at me.
“Oh, you like me.” Her fun loving look instantly fades with my statement.
“That was never the problem.”
Annnd she pours ice over my playful banter in a reminder that, although I didn’t really lie to them, I didn’t really tell them the truth either.
I nod once with a tight-lipped smile before standing and grabbing my cup at the pick-up counter.
Turning back, I stop at her table. I want to sit back down but I won’t. This might have not been the exact way I wanted this to turn out but the fact that we’re talking at all, well, it’s a start and I’ll take what I can get right now.
Even though she’s still mad, this little conversation gave me more hope than I’ve felt in the last two months.
“See you tomorrow, Poe.” I wink as I turn toward the exit; I don’t miss the blush that appears on her cheeks at the sound of her nickname.
I’ve been focused solely on ignoring them, trying to forget everything that happened and getting over the fact that I fell so hard for them so fast.
But now, I feel revitalized. Thinking of all the ways to prove to them that I’m not the person they think I am.