Seems like a nice enough group.”
She nodded, looking between Benno and me. “Cool. I will. I’ll discuss it with my advisor.”
“Who’s your advisor?” Benno asked.
A half-hearted smile spread over Senna’s pretty face. “Krishelle Abalone. She’s… interesting.” She laughed awkwardly.
The name sounded vaguely familiar, but when I looked at Benno, I knew why.
His complexion had gone pale, the pleasant expression erased from his face. “No shit,” he said.
Wow. Didn’t take him for one to swear in front of students. Unless there was more to the story.
Oh, right. Now I knew why that name was familiar. “Benno, was she the one who—”
But he looked at the clock and cut me off. “Hey, we’re running out of time. Let’s get down to business, Senna.”
Right. My cue to leave.
“Nice meeting you, Senna. Hope to see you in French.”
“Thanks. Bye, Professor Baldwyn.”
When I closed the door to Benno’s stuffy office, I took a deep breath in the deserted hallway.
God, I hope she signed up for my French class.
Chapter 13
PROFESSOR CHASE BALDWYN
Just a few hours later, Benno, Jamie, and I met at the fitness center to start our long-distance run.
“Must be my lucky day. Seeing Benno twice in one eight hour stretch,” I said, slapping him on the back.
Jamie scoffed. “I don’t call that lucky. Who wants to see that bastard even once in a day?”
Benno cuffed him on the shoulder as we entered the center.
“Guys, did you know Senna works here at the front desk a few days a week?” Benno asked, lowering his voice.
Both Jamie and I whipped around and looked at him.
Okay. I clearly wasn’t the only one smitten with the woman.
“Really?” Jamie asked. “Hey, did you tell Chase about her?”
Benno looked around. “I will. But not here. Let’s change and then get outside where we can talk.”
Once in our running gear, and with a bandana tied around my forehead, the three of us met on the grass outside the fitness center, where we began our pre-run stretches.
“Hey, Chase, you make any progress on your adoption research?” Jamie asked, reaching for his toes.
I stopped, looking up at the blue sky. “Nah. I think I’m going to drop it.”
“Really? I thought you’d found your birth parents,” he said.
“Yeah, I did. My father is apparently deceased, and my mother didn’t want to meet. So it’s dead in the water.”
Benno stopped his stretching. “Jesus. I’m sorry. That’s terrible.”
It was terrible. And I didn’t want to think about it any more than I already had.
I straightened my legs in front of me and reached for my toes. “Jamie, Benno tells me you’re thinking of opening a bar. What’s up with that?”
His face brightened. “I am. And believe it or not, I looked at a potential space yesterday.”
Jesus. He wasn’t wasting any time.
“Hello, Professor Adler,” some hot young thing called out.
Jesus, that bastard had more women throwing themselves at him.
He just waved, barely turning his head to see who it was.
Jamie looked at me and laughed. “It’s hell being the sexiest professor in the West. Just ask Benno.”
“Eh, fuck off, both of you,” he said.
“Ben, what are you going to do with all that undergrad pussy being thrown at you? You got some leftovers for Jamie and me?” I laughed.
He scowled at me. He was fun to goad.
“Anyway,” Jamie said, “I may have found a space.”
“Wow. You’re on fire,” I said.
He shrugged. “If I don’t get my full professorship, and it doesn’t look like I will, I need to find something else to do. And I’ve always wanted to open a bar. Don’t ask me why. I know it’s crazy.”
“Well, if my adjunct position doesn’t turn into something permanent, I might just join you,” I said.
“That would be awesome, Chase,” Jamie said, fist-bumping me.
Benno got to his feet. “C’mon guys. The sooner we get started, the sooner we’ll finish.”
We both groaned. He was right of course. The worst part of a ten-mile run was right before you started, when you could think of every reason in the world why you shouldn’t go, and only one reason why you should.
Because once you started, it actually wasn’t that bad.
Once we were off with a slow jog, I looked around to make sure we were alone. “Okay, now. What was up with that gorgeous student of yours, Benno? Christ, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”
Jamie and he looked at each other, with Jamie shaking his head.
“I went to Club V with some friends for a birthday last week, and a gorgeous woman did a dance for me.”
No. Fucking. Way.
Was he