Beautiful Mistake(12)

“They are?”

“It’s a good lesson on understanding the method of delivery and leads perfectly into the upcoming lessons on synthesized music.”

“Wow. Okay.” I furrowed my brow. “So, you let the students take home two hundred pair of Bose headphones? The professor didn’t do that when I took the class a few years back. The college has certainly upgraded from the crappy headphones they used to give out in music-recording class.”

“They’re mine, personally. Not the college’s.”

I did the math. That was at least five thousand dollars for one lesson. “What if you don’t get them back?”

“It’s never been an issue.”

I smirked. “Because all the students are afraid of you.”

“Unlike the smartass TA,” Caine muttered.

Charlie had his hands full with trays of wings, so he used his ass to push open the door that led from the kitchen. I slipped out of the booth to grab them from him.

“You should have whistled for me like you usually do. You shouldn’t be carrying trays with your back.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt your date.”

“It’s not a date.”

He looked over at Caine and shrugged. “Looks like a date to me.”

“It’s not,” I said flatly. “We’re working on lesson plans for class.”

“Whatever you say,” Charlie trailed off as he headed back to the bar.

I set the trays down at our table and noticed Caine’s beer mug was empty. “Want another beer?”

“If you’re joining me.”

“I don’t drink.”

Caine’s brows furrowed, but then an understanding crossed his face, and I realized what he’d thought.

“I’m not an alcoholic, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Okay.”

I really didn’t want to elaborate, but he was waiting for me to speak again.

“I grew up around alcoholism. At one point, I found myself drinking a little too much when my life was spinning out of control. I didn’t check myself into rehab or anything—I’m not a formal friend of Bill with a lifetime membership card or fancy sobriety chips—but I try to limit my drinking to celebrations and special occasions.”

The reason I didn’t normally elaborate was because people looked at me with sympathy in their eyes when I made such a statement. Oh. She had a bad childhood. Oddly, that wasn’t what I found on Caine’s face. His seemed to have admiration for what I’d just said, and I wasn’t sure what to do with that. It made me uncomfortable.

“So…I’ll grab you another beer, and I’ll have an O’Doul’s to join you.”

He smiled warmly. “Sounds good.”

When I returned to the table, I redirected the conversation back to work. “I was thinking—when it’s time to collect the Bose headphones from the class, I’m not touching Mr. Ludwig’s set. They need to be disinfected first.”

Caine’s beer was at his lips. “He was drawing you today, you know.”

“Drawing me? He was sketching headless women with great bodies.”

He sipped his beer. “And your point?”

“He wasn’t drawing me.”

Caine narrowed his eyes, and I got the feeling he was weighing whether or not to say whatever was on his mind. Apparently, he decided to go for it.

“You have two freckles on the left side of your neck.”

My hand flew to my neck. He was absolutely right, but my hair was covering them. “What are you talking about?”

“You have a tendency to push your hair to one side—the right side. I noticed them the other day when we were in my car.”

“Okay…”

Caine caught my eyes. “The sketches your friend was drawing. They had necks, but no heads.”

“Yes. I noticed them. They weren’t exactly appropriate to be drawing during class. But he’s a really good artist.”

“Yes, he pays attention to detail. All of the women had one thing in common.”

My eyes widened. “No.”

Caine nodded. “Two freckles on the left side of the neck. He was sketching you.”

“But he’s never seen me naked.”

“He has an imagination.” Caine’s eyes dipped down for a glance at my cleavage. They gleamed with wickedness when they returned to meet mine. “Pretty damn good one, I’d say.”

That caused a flutter in my belly that quickly traveled south.

Oh, God.

I tried to shake it off with a joke. “And this is why I don’t date frat boys. Needless to say, I won’t be collecting beanie boy’s headphones or sitting next to him anymore.”

“Good call.” Caine smiled. “Stick to men.”

He was right. Although I was starting to question whether my sticking to men meant getting stuck on one in particular.





Rachel



It was that time of the month. Not the dreaded time, but the time I actually looked forward to. Davis’s monthly texts came in like clockwork. I looked down at my phone.

Davis: Next Wednesday 7pm? Miss you.

On the first Wednesday of every month, my three old college roommates and I got together for dinner. Davis had been one of the roommates for the last two years of college. We’d had a thing for a short period—but the timing wasn’t right for him.