Chapter three
Gianna
I woke up this morning with my grandmother on my mind.
I spoke to her yesterday and wanted to call her this morning, but I was running a little late for my first class.
I made a mental note to call her during my break between my third and fourth class, around noon.
I just wanted to see if her headache had gone away.
I had just made it to my second class and quickly sat down.
My professor had his back turned and was writing on the board.
I reached in my backpack to pull out my textbook and my phone started ringing.
I cussed myself because even though we were allowed to bring our phones in class, our professors often warned us to put them on silent. I had forgotten to turn my ringer off.
Professor Alexander quickly turned around and narrowed his eyes in my direction.
“Miss Martinez…”
“I know. I’m sorry Professor Alexander. I’m turning it down now.”
He turned his attention back to the board as I pulled my phone from my back pocket. Seeing that it was my Aunt Trudy, I knew I had to answer it. She rarely ever called me, so for her to be ringing my line now, it had to be an emergency.
“I’m sorry Professor Alexander, but I need to step out and take this,” I apologized and stood up.
“Make it quick, Miss Martinez,” he stressed.
“Yes sir.”
Soon as I stepped outside, my phone stopped ringing. Before I could call my aunt back, the phone started ringing again. “Hello,” I answered.
“Gianna, it’s Aunt Trudy, I’m sorry to call you right now honey, especially since you’re probably in class…”
“It’s okay, Aunt Trudy. Is something wrong?” I asked as I held my breath while waiting for her to say something.
“I’m afraid so. Mama had to be rushed to the hospital this morning…” she said.
“Oh my God!” I cried as my heart immediately felt like it fell from my chest. “What… what happened?”
“We aren’t sure yet, honey. She’s in with the doctors now. I went to the house this morning to check on her because she wasn’t answering her phone. When I got there, she was lying in bed unresponsive,” my auntie emotionally explained. “I thought… I thought…”
“Oh my! Is she gonna be alright though?”
“I’m not sure. The doctors are doing everything they can, but I wanted you to be aware of what’s going on.”
“Okay. I’m gonna go pack a bag and I’ll be on my way as soon as I can,” I said.
“You don’t have to leave school yet, honey. Let us find out what the doctor has to say, and then I’ll get back to you.”
“NO! I’ll be on my way within the next few minutes!”
“But don’t you have only a few weeks left of school? You have final exams coming up,” she reasoned.
“I don’t care about that Aunt Trudy! Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more important than Maw Maw! I’m about to leave, so I’ll see you soon!”
“Okay baby, please drive carefully.”
“I will.”
I hung the phone up and rushed back inside. I walked up to Professor Alexander and said, “I’m sorry, Professor Alexander, but I have to go.”
“What do you mean go? I’m about to start class!”
“My grandmother is in the hospital!”
“Oh no! Is she gonna be okay?” he asked.
“I don’t know! I have to go to Louisiana!”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. But you do know that final exams are coming up, right?”
“I know that Professor Alexander, but what do you want me to do? I have to go see about my grandmother!” I stressed.
“Well, just turn your next two assignments in as soon as possible. You can email them through the university’s website. You have the information, right?”
“Yes,” I said as I rolled my eyes.
“Okay, good. If you haven’t returned by Friday, we will figure out the next steps then.”
I couldn’t believe he was talking to me about assignments right now.
I just told him that my grandmother was in the hospital.
Why did he think my assignments were a priority for me?
As of right now, I didn’t give two shits about those assignments.
The only thing that was on my mind was getting to New Orleans to make sure my grandmother was alright.
“Thank you, but those assignments are the last thing on my mind!” I stated firmly.
I shook my head in disbelief because he had a lot of nerve.
I went to my seat, grabbed my backpack and left the room without another word to my professor.
I knew that him and everybody else in that classroom could tell that I had an attitude.
As I sprinted across the campus to my dormitory, I prayed that my grandmother would be okay.
I made it to the dormitory and hopped on the elevator to the third floor.
Once inside my room, I quickly packed my things before rushing back out the door.
Once I got behind the wheel, I said a quick prayer for me to make the drive home safely.
Driving from Houston to New Orleans was at least a six- hour drive that I wasn’t looking forward to, but it was one I planned to make anyway.
My grandmother meant everything to me, so I didn’t care what I had to go through to get there.
I probably should have taken a plane, but then I’d have to leave my car parked at the school. Since I didn’t know how long I’d be away, I decided it was best to drive home. Two hours into my drive, my phone rang. I saw my professor’s name pop up on the screen.
“Hello.”
“Are you okay?”
“Now, you’re concerned about how I feel,” I responded sarcastically.
"C'mon now, are you really going to give me a hard time when I was just doing my job?” he asked innocently.
“Since when is showing compassion not part of your job?”
“You’re right, and I’m sorry. But are you alright?”
“I’m fine Jonas. I’m just worried about my grandmother.”
“I know, babe. I just want you to know that I’m thinking about you. I’ll also be praying for your grandmother,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Be careful and hit me up when you make it to New Orleans babe. No matter what time it is,” he urged.
“Yea, okay.”
We ended the call and I continued to drive. So, even though I hadn’t been dating anyone, I had been sleeping with Professor Jonas Alexander for almost three months. Of course, it was a secret because relationships between staff and students outside of the classroom were forbidden.
Sometimes, I wished I could tell somebody about us, but then he would lose his job.
I didn’t want that to happen to him, so we kept everything between us under wraps.
I often wondered how I could have allowed myself to get involved with my professor.
Then I thought back to the afternoon quickies and secret rendezvous and it reminded me of why I hadn’t ended things with him yet.
As I drove down I-10 heading east, I thought about how we became involved. I never meant to start sleeping with my professor. It just happened…
I had gone to Jonas’ office a couple of times for his help on the assignments. I had to admit I felt a physical attraction to Jonas from the moment I met him. We actually met at a student/ faculty mixer a month before I started his class. I walked into the mixer, and he was already there.
He was tall, about 6’4 with smooth brown skin the color of creamed coffee, and pretty light brown eyes.
He was fine as fuck and he spoke so articulately that I hung on his every word, just like the other females in the room.
I had to force myself to pull away from that man because it was like he had me under some kind of spell.
When I saw that he was going to be my professor for my anatomy class, I knew that he was going to be trouble. That man was too damn sexy to be teaching that particular subject.
The first day of class, he was dressed in a button- down Polo shirt, a pretty maroon tie and a pair of grey slacks with maroon stripes.
My kitty was clawing at my panty as soon as I walked into class, and he said hello.
That smile he gave me was dazzling, like he had just shined his teeth or something. That was back in January.
I visited Jonas’ office for the first time at the beginning of February. We went over the assignment, he explained a couple of things I needed to know for the upcoming project, and I left.
I got a B+ on that project but didn’t sweat it because I knew I had done my best. I went to his office again at the beginning of March for help with another assignment.
The scent of his cologne that day had me on tens as soon as I walked in.
Standing close to him had me wanting to touch him in a manner I knew I shouldn’t.
“You okay?” he asked as he looked over at me.
I smiled as I tucked my hair behind my ear. “I’m fine,” I said breathlessly.
He stood up tall and looked down at me since I was only 5’6. “You sure about that?”
I licked my lips as the heat from his stare made my anxiety and nervousness reach their peak. “I’m fine. I think I understand the assignment now,” I said as I tried to break the hold he had on my eyes.
“C’mon Gianna, you and I both know why you’re really here,” he said as he licked his lips.
“Huh? Wh-wh-what do you mean?” I stuttered as I inhaled deeply.
I was standing against his desk with my butt pressed against it while he stood over me.
He placed his hands on each side of me and lowered his face to my level.
Now we were staring directly into each other’s eyes.
The intensity from his gaze caused me to swallow hard because this was my first time being this close to a grown man who wasn’t my daddy or uncle.
Of course, I had been around dudes before, but boys who were the same age as me.
This was a grown ass man with a nice smile, full beard, a fresh faded haircut, and luscious lips. “Do I make you nervous Gianna?” he asked. Shit, he knew darn well that he was making me nervous. That must be what he wanted to do.
“Why do you think that?” I asked as I sucked in my breath again.
He leaned in closer to me and said, “You know Gianna, I’ve had my eyes on you for a while now…”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”