“If Darren really is my… you know… I have to get away from him as fast as possible. He’s way too young and hasn’t even declared a major in three years of college. He’s a second year Junior. If I have to keep touching him…”
“Could just be lust. You’re a hot young man yourself. Maybe you just need to… grease the wheel a little.” Doc liked to tease me, but I knew he cared.
“I’m not a monk. But the way he made me feel was like the Earth changed direction and flew completely off-kilter. I felt so…”
“Tingly? Stomach clenched? Dizzy? Your ass started begging for his pole, and your mind couldn’t find a reason why?” Robert listed them off so quickly that it made him feel like a real MD instead of a Ph.D.
“Yeah…” I whispered.
“Maybe you’re pregnant, too!” Doc laughed heartily. “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”
At that moment – my stomach clenched as if someone had just punched me in the gut. I must have made a face because Doc took a step back.
“Are you about to puke too?”
“No, it’s… I only had one beer, but…” The last time I felt this way – hell, the only time I felt this way was just a few days ago. I glanced around, afraid of who I might see. Sure enough, Darren was walking about ten feet behind me. “Oh, shit.”
“He’s here?” Doc looked up and peered over my shoulder. “Which one?”
“Blonde – trains with the Hulk on the weekend.” I leaned forward and ducked my head in case he saw me. I was probably the only person he knew at the party. “Yeah, that’s him.”
Doc whistled lowly. “He’s… uh… Yeah, he is totally an alpha. Look how he struts. Damn… And that feeling came over you again?” The sympathy in his voice almost made me burst into tears.
“Yeah… Not as bad – but yeah.”
“There’s been a study of pheromones that’s really interesting. When you’re one on one with your other half – the pheromones hit you harder. When there are a lot of other people around you, it gets muddled – easier to handle. But I think you may be…”
“I don’t want to be right.” I groaned. “I mean, I want him to smash me so hard I can’t walk for the next week, but I’m not ready to… you know? He’s a fucking child.”
“He doesn’t look like a child to me.” Doc chuckled. “If you’re not ready, then… I don’t know what to tell you. Staying away from him now – well, it might not go as well as you would want it to. It could make things worse.”
“What? Is it some fucking magical curse?”
“Nope. Just good old-fashioned biology wrapped in your body’s desire to procreate. Trust me, it’s… Once it gets under your skin… What are you going to do?” He seems to be talking about his own situation, but I take the advice anyway.
“I’m going to tell Dean Remington that I can’t teach him.”
“That’ll go well.” Doc frowned.
“I have to make him see that we’re not a good fit.” I stood up straight and glanced around. Dean Remington was in line for the bar, and he looked to be alone. “And I’m going right now.”
“I’ll sing at your funeral.” Doc nodded and walked towards the bar on the other side of the room. He knew I needed to do this alone – or he didn’t want to witness the carnage when I failed. Either way, I screwed my courage to the sticking point and headed over to the dean.
He was about halfway down the line. I slowly sauntered over to him and noticed a couple of music professors looking down their noses at me. I mean, I was, in their eyes, cutting the line. Maybe I would order a beer to celebrate if things went my way, then whatever they were thinking about me would be true. My stomach did that funny lurch again, and I glanced over my shoulder. He wasn’t there.
“Dean Remington,” I said as jovially as I could, as if we were actual friends.
His glance reminded me quickly of my place. “Thomas. I was just…”
“Can we talk for a second?” I tried for sweet, and it came out desperate.
“Now?”
“Yes, sir. I need to talk to you about… I really think you need to find a new… I’m not the right fit, and… it’s my new student, Dean. I really…”
Dean Remington held up his hand. “I was just…”
“I don’t think that I’m the right person to…” Large brown eyes and curly blonde hair – biceps that were threatening to rip out of the sleeves of the button-down shirt he wore – stood on the other side of Dean Remington. I swayed as his gaze raked over my body.
