was giving me the once-over. But a lot of people around here do that.”
Seriously. I never suspected academics to be so small minded and judgmental. Thank god they weren’t all like that.
“I emailed you my paper, but I wanted to give you a hard copy as well, and thank you for coffee the other night.”
His jaw twitched and he looked at me for a moment, clearly choosing his words. Good. Maybe I’d gotten under his skin, as well.
He smiled. “I… I enjoyed it. Maybe too much.”
What the hell did that mean? Actually, I didn’t need to ask.
I looked down at my hands. “I feel the same way.”
Awkward.
Time to change the subject. “Why was that woman giving me dirty looks?” I asked, hoping to break the spell.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, Senna, some students at the university are looking for shortcuts to good grades. In place of doing their coursework, if you know what I mean.”
“So… was she making that assumption about me? Because if she were, I’ll go give her a piece of my mind.” I stood to go.
Adler put his hands up. “Wait. Just hold on. She may have jumped to some conclusions, but that’s based on what she’s seen. It’s based on what we’ve all seen in the academic world.”
Really? Some students were so dumb they had to hook up with their teachers to get by? How’d they even get into the university to begin with?
But I didn’t care what the other students did. All I knew was that I didn’t have to do that to get by.
“Do you think that describes me?” I asked him.
His mouth fell open. “No. Hell, no. I think that’s one of the reasons I like you. You’re tackling the work like you were meant for it.”
Meant for it. I liked the sound of that.
And I’d take it as a compliment.
“Okay, then. Because if you thought otherwise, I’d be very upset.”
He smiled, cocking his head. God, I wanted him to kiss me again.
“Senna, if I thought that, I wouldn’t be spending the time with you that I have. I see your desire to learn. I like that about you.”
He likes me.
God, the room was hot. I needed to get out, and quick. If I didn’t, I might just be throwing myself at Adler, and I didn’t see how that could be a good thing.
I stood to leave. “I appreciate your support, Professor Adler. It means the world. I haven’t had anyone believe in me like that—”
I stopped myself. He didn’t need to know any more about my particularly sad story than he already did.
“I have to get to math class. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded slowly, a half smile making his face more delicious than it already was.
“Well, have fun. And tell Professor Carter I said hello.”
I pulled Alder’s door closed behind me and hustled over to the math building.
How did he who I had for math? There were more than a dozen instructors. Lucky guess?
Or was there more to it?
Chapter 21
SENNA
“Can you take an extra shift tonight?” Zin asked the moment I arrived at the club.
Was she kidding?
“No. Sorry. I have schoolwork to do. And an early day tomorrow.”
She scowled. But it wasn’t my problem. She needed to hire more reliable people.
“Godiva? You available?”
Godiva turned from the makeup mirror where she was applying glitter to her boobs. “Sorry, Zin. I have to relieve the babysitter.”
Sadie came to the rescue. Thank god. I couldn’t have dealt with Zin’s dirty looks all night. “I can stay, Zin. But just remember, you owe me,” she added with a scoff.
Zin didn’t think it was funny, but then she never thought anything was funny.
“Thanks, Sadie,” I said after Zin had left. “I just can’t pull it off tonight. I have homework and stuff.”
She shrugged. “No problem. I could use the extra dough. Hope it’s a good night,” she added, turning back to her mirror to adjust her platinum blonde wig.
I hoped so, too. The schoolwork was piling up, and I wanted to cut back to two shifts per week. But to do that, I had to make more on the nights that I did work.
“How’s the crowd looking?” I asked.
Both Sadie and Godiva shrugged. “Haven’t had a chance to look yet.”
Since I was ready to go, I wandered up to the stage and peeked from behind the curtain. The house was full, with some of the regulars sitting front and center. That could mean good tips. But I knew to never