I swam up through the layers of sleep slowly, groggily, wincing at the bright light filtering in through a gap in the curtains. It was strangely bright for saying how early it was...
Hold on... what time was it?
I opened one eye, grimacing as the full effect of my hangover hit me like a sledgehammer square on in the face. I certainly didn't need this today of all days.
Then I caught sight of the digital display on my alarm clock and my heart practically stopped. In my inebriated state I'd passed out without setting it to wake me up in plenty of time to make it to my morning lecture.
"Fuck, fuck,
FUCK
!" I cursed with growing intensity, jumping up out of bed and stubbing my toe hard on the leg of my desk as I hurriedly rushed to the shower.
I was a whirlwind of energy getting ready, somehow still managing to look presentable albeit a little flustered as I arrived breathless and flushed at the lecture room, pausing to listen at the door as I curled my fingers around the handle. Tom was in full flow, I could hear the deep tone of his voice as he addressed the class, but then I was fifteen minutes late... at least. He was going to be livid with me. But maybe the fact that I'd submitted my essay early would go some way to placating him.
I took a deep breath before I pulled open the door and slipped inside.
"Miss Hewson... kind of you to grace us with your presence...
finally
."
His tone was sarcastic and there were a few hushed whispers and giggles from my class mates but apart from that the room was silent as fifty pairs of eyes turned to look at me. I smiled awkwardly as I looked at Tom from across the room, trying to weigh up exactly how much trouble I was in.
"I'm really sorry... I just... I was errr... I stayed up late... working on my essay."
I added the last few words proudly, hoping my efforts might have pleased him and maybe he'd go easy on me but unfortunately this didn't seem to be the case. His eyes blazed harshly even though a hint of a smirk played at the corners of his mouth.
As usual he looked disarmingly gorgeous in that casually understated way of his. Today he was wearing a checked shirt and his signature fitted black trousers. His luscious thick dark hair fell forward on to his face and I watched as he swept it back with a hand.
"Your...
essay?
"
He said the word slowly, questioningly, which instantly made me nervous. Maybe I didn't actually submit it. I was sure I'd pressed 'send', but then after the amount of alcohol I'd consumed last night anything was possible.
"Yeah," I said uneasily, edging towards the back of the lecture room where I'd spotted an empty seat. "You did get it didn't you?"
"Oh yeah I got it alright. It made for very interesting reading. I'll be needing you to expand on some points you made though. We can do that after you've enlightened me on why you seem to think it's acceptable to disrupt my lectures by showing up late every single time. Come to my office straight after class, okay?"
He held my gaze whilst I slid into the vacant seat, a look on his face that set me on edge. I'd never been summoned to his office before and I started to internally panic. Maybe my bad attitude and persistent slacking had earned me a formal disciplinary this time. Nerves jangled in my gut and lingered there throughout the whole lecture, making it impossible to concentrate.
"Five minutes Grace... my office. I'll be waiting."
Those were Tom's parting words as he brought the lecture to a close, fixing me with a stern look before he pushed through the door, leaving me feeling anxious and jumpy.
"Good luck, I think you're gonna need it! Murphy looks well pissed off with you."
A gleefully teasing voice sounded from my right as I started to pack my textbooks away into my bag.
I turned to see Erica standing there. She was a model student, consistently gaining the highest grades on every piece of work, always on time and ready to contribute insightful thoughts in class discussions. In fact she was everything that I wasn't, and her blatant smugness caused my already frayed nerves to increase.
"Mind your own business!" I snapped at her.
"Your days are numbered, I'm telling you!" She sniggered spitefully.
Five minutes later I found myself standing outside Professor Murphy's office, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, my hand raised up and poised, ready to knock and alert him to my presence. My heart was racing and I took a few deep breaths to try and calm myself down. If I was about to be given a formal warning or even worse have my studies terminated, I wanted to try and fight my corner calmly and objectively. Show Tom that I could change and ask him to give me another chance.
And I was going to do this on my personal and intellectual merits alone this time. Absolutely no flirting or immoral seduction tactics.
None.
None at all.
My knock rang out loudly in the empty corridor and there was a slight delay before a deep voice emanated from behind the door, urging me to 'come in'.
I creaked open the door to see Tom sat behind his desk, arms folded in front of him on the desktop. It wasn't a welcoming pose and my heart sank. Maybe Erica was right. I closed the door behind me and stepped forwards tentatively as Tom gestured to the seat opposite him across the desk.
"Sit down Grace."
As I took a seat he leant back, reclining in his chair, his eyes flicking down to take all of me in. True to form I wasn't conservatively dressed. I was proud of my figure and a firm believer in the saying 'if you've got it, flaunt it.' Today that meant a tight-fitting tank top and a tiny pleated skirt that was bordering on indecent. Sat opposite Tom like I was now I could only imagine the view that he'd get if I uncrossed and crossed my legs. I did it anyway, taking my time, satisfied to see his gaze lingering a little too long where it shouldn't.
"Am I in trouble
Sir?
"
I made sure to add a little emphasis to the last word, recalling his instruction from the day before. A show of his authority which did more to encourage me than caution me, a hint of dominance that set my pulse racing.
What the fuck are you doing Grace?
