15
Jamie
At the end of class,Taylor is waiting for me outside the room. His back is pressed against the wall and he has a huge grin on his face. “Hey, Professor. Great lecture today.”
I arch a brow, locking the classroom door behind me. “How much of it did you actually listen to?”
“Enough to know I need to read that chapter over again.”
I laugh. “Have another class today?”
Shaking his head, he glances around the hall, taking a step closer to me. “Nope, do you?”
“Nope, only one for the day. Want to grab some lunch somewhere far away from campus?” I ask with a chuckle.
“Sounds like a plan to me, I'm pretty hungry.”
I follow him down the hall and he stops halfway, glancing back at me with arched brows. “Wait, isn't there some rule against going to lunch with your hook ups?”
“I'm not sure, but people gotta eat, don't they?”
He nods in agreement and as we walk through the parking lot, we make sure to keep a bit of distance between us. After getting in my car, we head to a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant on the other side of town.
“You sure this is far enough? You don't want to go to the next city to eat?” Taylor asks jokingly as we walk inside the restaurant.
“We can always keep that in mind for next time.”
“Oh, so there will be a next time.”
Shrugging, I pull out his chair before taking the seat opposite of him. “I wasn't aware you only eat on certain occasions.”
“No, but I mostly eat alone and occasionally with my best friend, Luca. My ex was always working, a.k.a. fucking other people.” He tilts his head to the side, pausing for a few seconds. “I guess in a way we can say he was having lunch with someone else.”
I laugh. “Is that what we’ll call what we do together now, having lunch?”
“It sounds better than the alternative.”
I nod in agreement, taking a sip of my water. “By the way, your ex was an idiot and was definitely missing out.”
A smile plays on his lips, confirming everything I said. The guy really was an idiot. I bet he missed out on a lot of Taylor's sweet smiles and never did much to earn them. Guys like Taylor have always been out of my reach. He’s normally not the type of guy I go for, and guys like him didn't go for me. Taylor hung out in different places than I did. He went to frat parties and out on blind dates. I normally stay inside and read until I fell asleep. Our first few encounters would have never happened if it wasn't for me letting my brother drag me to a place I'd never go otherwise. Then Taylor and I would have never hooked up and we wouldn't be sitting across each other now eating and flirting. He would have been just another student and I don't do things like this with the people I teach. My interactions with students rarely happened outside of class and when they did, they were mostly over email regarding grades and exams.
Taylor licks his lips after swallowing the last bite of his taco. “Okay Professor, tell me why you chose to be a chemist.”
“I guess it's the only thing that ever really made sense to me. When I first took a chemistry class, I felt like I was home. I can't explain it. It all started with my fascination with chemical reactions as a kid. Like why ice melted in water or why water evaporated into vapor. Science has always been my passion. What about you? Why aerospace engineering?”
“Why not?” He chuckles, shoving a tortilla chip covered in salsa into his mouth.
“I'm sure you have more of a reason than that.”
“I guess I'm kind of like you. I became obsessed with the design of rocket ships ever since given a toy one when I was a kid. Then I fell in love with all space crafts. I went to a space convention with my mom for my tenth birthday and never felt more at home. I’d always enjoyed space shows and knew it was something that interested me, but I’m also afraid of heights. Seeing things up close and getting to run my hands over them lit something up inside me. I've never been more excited about anything else. After the museum, all I could do was draw the spacecrafts I saw going up into space and I would tell my mom that one day I would help design a real one.”
I smile, loving how passionate he gets when talking about his dream. He lit up the whole room with the excitement burning brightly through him. “Sounds like you're off to the right start. Anything is possible when you have the passion and determination.” The more Taylor shares, the more I'm reminded about how we’re in different stages in our lives. He’s just starting his life and I'm somewhere in the middle of mine. I've already lived the college life, done the serious relationships and everything in between. Taylor has so much to experience, and he wouldn't want someone like me holding him back. Eighteen years is a lot to swallow and another reminder nothing serious could come from this even if we wanted it to.
“Also, having scholarships to help pay for school doesn’t hurt either. Dropping your class would have risked me losing my financial aid, so thanks for talking me into staying. How about we get out of here and enjoy a different kind of meal,” he says with a wink.
“Sounds like a plan to me and I’m glad I talked you into staying also. I’d hate for you to lose your school funds.”
When we get in the car, Taylor climbs over my lap with a mischievous grin on his face.
