Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 234281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1171(@200wpm)___ 937(@250wpm)___ 781(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 234281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1171(@200wpm)___ 937(@250wpm)___ 781(@300wpm)
She had already spent a few hours there in the past days, and while Diana had found the time illuminating, it hadn't felt...enough. Something was missing. Something that she had this unshakable conviction of finding somewhere else, but what it was exactly escaped her. She only knew she would recognize it when she found it...
Life's the biggest bully of them all.
Like now.
Diana jerked up in her seat, the words she had heard from one of the women making her heart thud against her chest.
I know right? It just keeps kicking you down, and it never gives you a break.
Before she could think twice of what she was doing, she was already leaning down to tap on one of the women's shoulders and hearing herself say, "Hi."
The two women turned to her in wary surprise. "Yeah?"
"I'm, umm, Diana, a student from Helder Meer. I was wondering if I could interview you..."
"For what?" The Hispanic woman was visibly bewildered.
"That depends," her blonde friend joked at the same time. "How much will you be paying us?"
Diana didn't hesitate, quoting a figure that had the two women gaping, and because she really wanted to make it happen, she added right after, "Free dinner, too."
The blonde threw her head back with a laugh. "For that kind of deal, hon, we'd change our names and rewrite our life stories for you."
Him
THE PROFESSOR COULDN'T reach for his phone fast enough when he saw it vibrate and slide towards the edge of his desk.
Diana: Good night, Professor.
He inhaled deeply and told himself to play it cool. There wasn't any need to reply, and he liked to think she wasn't one of those snowflake types that he thoroughly despised and who would find offense in just about every fucking thing.
So forget what you read and get back to work.
But instead his fingers started moving.
Matthijs: It's two in the morning already.
Diana: I know. :(
The sad face at the end was cute. It shouldn't be, but that was how he found it, and the realization had him cursing under his breath. Goddamn it to hell, but he really had it fucking bad for this girl.
And then a thought occurred to him, and his face hardened.
Matthijs: Out partying late?
He had never fished for information his entire life. Not fucking once. And if she let it slip that she was out partying with another guy and she was stupid enough to come to his class tomorrow hung over, he just might kill her. Then kill himself afterwards because he had never had a thing for girls who lived to club, and Diana had him so blind with lust that he had failed to see the truth about her.
A moment later, her answer in text arrived, and his tension slightly eased as her words dispelled his worst fears.
Diana: I'm working on V2.0 of my proposal. I have a scary professor to impress. I don't want him mad at me again.
Matthijs: Only a heartless bastard could be mad at you.
Diana: Oh, I don't think so. He can get mean and cruel, and he has a way with words that can rip you into pieces, but I don't think he's heartless. TBH...I think he's rather hot.
Matthijs: And I think you're a masochist.
Diana: *blush* If anyone else had said that, I'd totally find it creepy. But when it's you...
The professor scowled. Don't say it. Don't fucking say it. Don't. But he was already reaching for his iPhone, and as he hit Send on his message—-
Matthijs: It turns you on?
Her reply had arrived at the same fucking time.
Diana: It turns me on.
And upon seeing it, the professor was back to cursing in seven languages. He drove his fingers through his hair in a fit of frustration and clenched and unclenched his fist. But neither helped, and his body, which far from cooling down had instead turned into a tightly coiled mass of sexual need.
Diana: Oh. Wow.
Matthijs: This doesn't change things.
Diana: But it does. Because whether you like it or not...You're already close to choosing me.
The professor, being no idiot, knew when to pick his battles.
Matthijs: I'll see you tomorrow.
Diana: But I want to talk some more. :(
Matthijs somehow found the strength to turn his iPhone off for the night. If he didn't, those cute emojis of her would end up getting him to do fucking anything.
Leaning back against his seat, he closed his eyes wearily and thought to himself, What the fuck am I doing? Hadn't he told her - and himself - that nothing could happen between them? So why the hell were they still playing this game and acting like they had a fucking future?
He briefly considered finishing the rest of his work, but burning the midnight oil - once a favorite hobby of his - had lost its appeal, and he eventually ended up lying in bed, staring sightlessly at the skylight above him as sleep continued to evade his clutches.