Read Chapter 1 of Kiss & Tell…

99�� FAN PRICING UNTIL AT MIDNIGHT, SEPTEMBER 15TH Chapter OneLondon

I flipped through the catalog and waited for something to jump out of me. Nothing. Zero. Nada. I sighed and tossed it on the scarred coffee table in Mia���s apartment. I let out an exaggerated sigh and pouted, then waited for her to ask me what was wrong.��

���Out with it,��� she said on cue.��

���I can���t find a class,��� I said with frustration. ���I can���t believe I���m trying to take another class. I worked my ass off thinking I could skate this last year, and now I���m told I have to have three more credits to be full-time. If I���m not full-time, bye-bye loans and scholarship.���

���If you weren���t so dedicated, you wouldn���t be in this situation,��� she teased. ���You���re just too smart for your own good.���

���I was afraid I would burn out,��� I told her. ���I wanted to get as much done while I was fresh and motivated. I think it���s dumb I have to take a class I don���t want or need just to keep up my end of the deal. You would think the scholarship people would be happy to save a few bucks.���

���Ah, but then the university would lose out on a few bucks,��� she said with a laugh.��

I rolled my eyes. ���They have me by the balls.���

She laughed at my crude expression. ���I suppose they do. There has to be something in there.�����

She grabbed the catalog and flipped through the pages. ���How about photography?���

I curled my lip. ���Too complicated, and I don���t like people.���

���True,��� she said. ���Basket weaving?���

My brow arched. ���Do I look like the type of girl that sits around and weaves baskets? What the hell kind of skill is that?���

She was laughing as she flipped through the pages. ���I don���t think you���re going to find anything you actually like. Let���s switch gears. Have you heard about the hot teacher?���

���What is that?��� I asked.��

���It���s not a what, it���s a who.���

���And what about him?��� I questioned.��

She was focused on the catalog. ���Here! Professor Cooper teaches architecture. It���s a beginner class, and there are no prerequisites. You could take that class.���

I looked at her like she was crazy. ���Architecture? Like buildings?���

���The class description says it���s more about sketching,��� she explained. ���I don���t think you get to start planning skyscrapers in an introductory class.���

I grabbed my laptop and pulled up my search engine. ���What���s his name?���

���Cooper.���

I typed his name into the staff page and grinned. ���Well, hello, Mr. Cooper.���

���Let me see!��� Mia exclaimed.��

I turned my laptop toward her. ���I think I have a sudden interest in building skyscrapers.���

���He���s hot,��� she gasped. ���How is he a professor? He���s too young.���

I pulled it back to read his bio. ���He has a small architecture business, and it looks like he only teaches this one class right now. Damn. That is a man I could have some fun with.���

���See if you can get in his class,��� Mia encouraged.��

I cocked my head to the side and zoomed in on his picture. ���He looks familiar.���

���Because he looks like a model or a movie star,��� she said. ���Like a young Brad Pitt or maybe even a Leo a la Titanic.���

���I want that man,��� I said.��

���London, he���s a professor,��� Mia reminded me. ���You can look, and you can flirt, but you cannot have.���

I grinned and quickly signed in to my account to add his class to my upcoming semester. ���We���ll see,��� I said with a shrug.��

���London, don���t you dare! I was only kidding. He���s eye candy. You can���t have him.���

���Says who?��� I asked and hit the Submit button.��

���Says the rules!���

I rolled my eyes. ���You can���t say that. There���s this little thing in my brain that goes on red alert when someone says I can���t do something. I can���t help it. I see it and I want to go against it.���

���You���re a little rebel, I get that, but this is different,��� she lectured. ���This is a rule for a reason. You can���t sleep with the professor.���

���Why not?���

���First of all, you don���t even know if he���s single,��� she said.��

I shrugged. ���Not hard to find out.���

���Okay, and what if he���s gay?�����

���Again, easy enough to find out,��� I answered.��

���What if he doesn���t like sassy twenty-one-year-olds with giant attitudes?��� she countered.��

���I���m not asking him to marry me. I just want to take him for a ride or two, depending on how the first one goes.���

���Again, what makes you think he will want you?�����

���I didn���t exactly fall off the ugly tree,��� I snapped.��

���No, but what if you aren���t his type?�����

I rolled my eyes so hard it actually hurt a little. ���He���s a man. Seriously, do they really need a type? I���m hot, I���m young, and I���m offering.���

She burst into laughter. ���We should really work on your self-esteem.���

���You know it���s true,��� I said. ���Obviously, I won���t make a move until I actually see him. That could be an old picture.���

���You think he���s trying to catfish someone?��� she laughed.��

���Maybe not, but if he���s aged or got a little paunch, he might want to use a more flattering picture,��� I reasoned.��

���But that isn���t the case, because he is known as the hot teacher,��� she replied. ���Like everyone talks about the hot teacher.���

���How come I���ve never heard about him?�����

���I don���t know, because you don���t talk to anyone,��� she quipped. ���Everyone is afraid of you or wants to beat you up. There is no happy medium with you.���

���I don���t like people,��� I said without remorse. ���Most of them are just kind of assholes.���

���And this is why I���m your only friend,��� she said. ���Come on, I���m hungry.���

I checked the time. It was just after three. ���We could hit happy hour at the bar. Wings and nachos?���

Her face lit up. ���As if you have to ask me.���

���Can you believe this is it?��� she asked as we walked toward the bar that was about a block away from my apartment.��

���What���s it?���

���We���re in the home stretch. Two semesters. One year. Well, like eight months, then we are done. We���ll be legit adults.���

���I think we are adults,��� I said.��

���Are we?��� she asked with her nose scrunched. ���I mean, in years maybe, but we���re not actual adults.���

���I���ve been an adult since I was three,��� I said without any bragging.��

���True,��� she agreed. ���You started working on that chip on your shoulder at a very young age. I guess it���s no wonder it���s as big as it is now.���

���I won���t deny it,��� I said. ���It���s part of me. It cannot be surgically removed. It is there for good.���

We found a table in the bar that was already bustling with other college kids that were back in town and gearing up for the school year. I always liked this part of the year. Everyone was full of energy and excitement. They were all fresh-faced and ready to conquer the school year. This was going to be my fourth year. I knew the excitement was going to fade, and the happy, young people milling about town were going to look like they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.��

We ordered our usual fare of wings and nachos. We were splitting a pitcher of beer and just having a laid-back afternoon. I grabbed a wing and glanced around the bar. My eyes scanned the many faces. I always watched people. It was born of curiosity and mistrust at the same time.��

���Have you looked into getting a job at one of those firms?��� she asked.��

���Small potatoes,��� I said. ���I want to go big. I like working online from home.���

���You contradicted yourself,��� she said.��

���How?���

���You want to go big, but you want to work from home,��� she said. ���How does that work in your head?���

���I want to work for a big firm, but I don���t want to work in an office with a bunch of people,��� I explained. ���I want to take on the hard challenges. I don���t want to be the geek in a cubicle trying to find grandma���s pictures that she lost on her hard drive.���

���You want to be the people on TV.��� She grinned. ���Tracking down child pornographers or hacking into a bad guy���s cell phone. It is very exciting.���

���I have been keeping an eye open for cybersecurity at police departments,��� I said. ���I think police or FBI or something like that is what I want. I���m sure all the Harvard and Yale grads are getting those cyber security jobs. Little people like us aren���t going to get the good stuff.���

���Speak for yourself,��� she said.��

���You���re just going to go into private practice. You don���t have to apply for a job.���

���I don���t think I can graduate and start my own practice,��� she quipped. ���I need to work at one of the established practices for a bit and get some reviews. Then I can go on to open my practice and have therapists work for me. It���s going to be a big investment.���

���Do you think you���ll stay here, or are you thinking of heading to Boise?��� I asked.��

I wasn���t sure I wanted to move from the little town I���d been calling home for the last three years. It was bigger than the rural town I grew up in, but not so big there was traffic and a lot of crime.��

���I don���t know,��� she said. ���I go for a second interview at the therapy center for kids on Thursday.���

���That���s awesome. I know you���ll do well.���

���I hope so,��� she said. ���I���m anxious to get started. When I went in for the initial interview, I got to spend some time in the play therapy room. I am so anxious to get started helping the kids that are struggling.���

I smiled at my best friend. She had such a big, warm heart. She was my opposite. She exuded warmth while I had a layer of thick ice around me. I hated people, and she wanted to help everyone. It was probably why she liked me. Tolerated me more like. She didn���t know how to turn anyone away. She was kind, but she did not take guff. Again, that���s how our friendship worked.

���This year feels like it���s going to be pivotal,��� I said.��

���How so?���

I shook my head and chewed my chicken wing. ���I don���t know,��� I said. ���It���s just a feeling. I just know this year is going to be a big one. I can���t explain it. I don���t know if it���s a job that one or both of us is going to get, or maybe it���s just the fact it���s coming to an end.���

���You���re very philosophical today,��� she said.��

���I have my moments.���

���Maybe you���re going to meet your forever man.��� She grinned.

���That is not an option. I don���t want or need a forever man. I do, however, need a man. It���s been a very long, dry spell.���

���Uh, it���s been like two months since you broke up with Vincent,��� she reminded me.

���Yes, but I quit letting him have sex with me at least a month before I dumped his ass,��� I said.��

���You are such a man.���

���Mmm, not so much. I like sex. That doesn���t make me a man. You like sex.���

���Yes, but I���m not jonesing to get laid,��� she laughed. ���You act like it���s been years.���

���I���m young. I have a very healthy libido. I���m not going to have this face and this body forever. I need to use it before I lose it.���

���Yep, you���re a man in a cute little woman���s body,��� she laughed.��

���I just say what other women think,��� I said. ���Women are trained to be demure and shy. I say fuck that. Why do guys get to have all the fun? You know you think the same way.���

���I���m not sure about that, but you do you.���

���If only I could do me,��� I sighed.��