Beautiful Mistake(30)

“My ex. Well…sort of. We had dinner tonight. He wants me back.”

“So that’s what this is about?”

“Well, it’s not about you,” I lied.

“Really? He sat back with an arrogant smirk. “Because it sounded on the phone like it was about me. Well, about Professor Tight Buns anyway.”

There was at least one good thing about alcohol; it kept me from flushing when I should have been embarrassed. In fact, it kept me from even realizing I should have been embarrassed.

“So what? You have a tight ass. That doesn’t make you the be-all and end-all. I have a pretty nice ass myself. Only you’re too much of a jackass to notice it.”

Caine rubbed at his lip with his thumb. “Is that what you think?”

“That you’re a jackass? Yes.”

He leaned forward. “I meant you think I haven’t noticed your pretty nice ass.”

His voice had grown husky, and I felt the guttural sound of it between my legs. I swallowed and shifted in my seat, staring at him. He took it as license to continue speaking when I kept quiet.

“You have a tiny little waist. When you wear jeans, there’s a gap in the back. When you lean over, I can see your G-string. You like to match it with your shirt. Wednesday you wore a blue shirt and had on a baby blue G-string. The day you taught class and were giving out headphones, you bent over nicely to distribute them to each row. It’s why I got up to help you with the boxes. You didn’t think I was being chivalrous, did you? That day, you had on a thin white blouse and a lacy white thong. I really liked the white lace.”

My mouth was hanging open.

Caine leaned in a little closer. “So you’re wrong if you think I haven’t noticed your pretty nice ass. For two reasons: First, it’s not a pretty nice ass. It’s a fucking spectacular ass. And second, I’ve noticed it. Every damn day since you walked out of that bar bathroom. In fact, I watched it sway from side to side until you were out of sight that night—even though you’d just told me off.”

“I had no idea.”

“Clearly.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“What should I have said, Rachel? You’re my teaching assistant, and I’m your thesis advisor. Plus, even if that weren’t the case, I actually like you. You’re not a casual fuck I’d stop calling when I was done with you.”

That was harsh. I didn’t want to think of Caine in that way. But then I remembered the faculty meeting. “Like Professor Pink?”

His brows drew together. “You mean Ginger Ashby? Professor Ashby who was wearing a pink suit today? What about her?”

“You two seemed cozy.”

Caine looked away. “We’re not sleeping together, if that’s what you’re asking.”

If they weren’t currently sleeping together, I knew they had a history. I could tell by the way she touched him, the way she looked up and batted her fake eyelashes.

“But you did sleep with her?”

“It was a long time ago. I don’t make the same mistake twice.”

I wasn’t sure if he was referring to the professor specifically or sleeping with someone at work, in general—not that it mattered.

Ava came back to the table to check on me. “Everything okay, Rach?”

My smile was sad. “Everything’s fine.”

She put my phone on the table. “Your phone was ringing.” Ava looked at Caine. “I put it in my purse so she wouldn’t regret something she said to you. Guess that worked well.” Caine smiled, and she turned her attention back to me. “I’ll be at the bar if you need me.”

The moment Ava walked away, my phone began to ring. Davis’s name flashed on the screen. Caine saw it and looked up at me. “You need to get that?”

It stopped ringing, but when I scrolled, I saw Davis had texted, too. He wanted to make sure I got home safe.

“I’ll just send him a quick text to let him know I’m okay.”

I felt Caine’s eyes on me as I typed.

When I was done, he said, “You want to talk about it?”

I wanted to see if I could get a rise out of the composed professor. “We used to have sex. Then we stopped. Now he wants to start again. Oh, and he wants to take me to dinner, too.”

The clench in Caine’s jaw was clear. “And how do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know. I’m confused, I guess.”

“About what?”

“He’s a great guy. When we broke up, I was upset at first. But then I sort of got over it. At least I think I did. I didn’t sit around and pine for him anyway. I feel like I would have if he was the right guy. You know?”

Caine looked into my eyes. “I think the right person would be difficult to move past, yes.”

“But maybe I haven’t actually moved past him yet. I haven’t…you know…since we broke up.”

“Had sex?”

“Yes.”

Caine’s eyes sparkled. “Hence the re-virginized vagina?”

Even in my drunken-ish state, I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation. “You heard that?”

He nodded with a sly grin. “How long ago did you split up?”