gorgeously decorated trees displayed in the front window.
The sight of so much beautiful holiday cheer made me feel all cozy and happy inside, but it also made me sad. I was still considered a kid by a lot of people. I mean, I knew nineteen really wasn’t that old. But my age didn’t make me any less of an omega. An omega who had dreamt of having babies since the moment he hit puberty.
I knew I was being ridiculous again. I had lots of time to meet someone and fall in love and make a family. And I also knew that not everyone else in the world had a partner, but it sure as hell felt that way. It felt like everyone but me had someone in their lives to love and at least one child of their own.
I dragged my feet as I climbed the stairs of the liberal arts building where my creative writing class was held, then crept as quietly as I could into the auditorium. I even held the door as it shut to keep it from making any noise. Professor Lewis still noticed, of course. The room was silent. Everyone was hunched over their desks, scribbling away furiously, like they were in the middle of an assignment. An assignment I should have been doing.
“Mr. Brady,” he said, his words echoing throughout the room. “Can I see you up at my desk please?”
I was still coming down the stairs, so I just carried my backpack and bottle of water with me to Professor Lewis’s desk. I kept my head down as I made my way across the room. I could feel the eyes of a hundred students on me. And between that, my hangover, and the sinking feeling in my gut I was sure I was going to throw up at any second.
“You do realize you’re not going to pass this class, don’t you, Mr. Brady?”
I kicked the toe of one of my sneakers against the linoleum floor. The squeak echoed throughout the silent room. I was so ashamed of myself I couldn’t even look Professor Lewis in the eye. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ve just been having a hard time this semester. If you could give me another chance, I’ll make it up. Everything. All of the homework and assignments. I promise.”
There was a long silence. So long I wasn’t sure what to do, so I finally looked up into his eyes.
Professor Lewis cleared his throat. “I’m not going to waste any class time discussing your absenteeism. I’d like you to come to my office after class. We can continue this discussion then.”
I was so relieved I had to lean up against his desk for a moment to steady myself. I seriously thought this was it. That I had screwed up so royally I was going to lose everything I’d worked for from the beginning of the semester. “Thank you, sir. I’ll be there.”
“In the meantime, please complete the assignment on the board. You have,” he looked at his watch. “Fifteen minutes.”
I turned and quickly went to my seat. Somehow, even though I was still hung over and tired, I had a renewed feeling of excitement. Professor Lewis wasn’t going to fail me. I knew I could make everything up to him. I could do it. I just needed to get my head straight.
I looked up at the board and read the assignment. A five-thousand word essay on what I wanted for Christmas. I couldn’t help but smile. It was the sort of assignment that was assigned to children in kindergarten and grade school, yet here it was as one of the final assignments of freshman-level creative writing.
I knew Professor Lewis wanted more than words about presents and decorations and lights. He wanted creatively constructed sentences with depth and feeling. He wanted us to approach a hum-drum, and seemingly ordinary assignment from a new perspective. He took simple ideas and forced us to turn them around in our heads until each one of us dug, and shaped, and polished our very own diamond.
Well, that was one of the reasons I loved him, anyway. Carl was definitely right. I had the hots for Professor Lewis. I had since the moment I saw him at the creative writing symposium I attended when I was signing up for my freshman schedule. And my infatuation grew with each class of his that I’d attended.
He was perfect. So intelligent and funny and sexy in that hot daddy sort of way. And