Literature, lust and love - Professor Romanoff

TWENTY

"Pop quiz tomorrow, people, surprise!" Natasha called out halfway through the lecture.

I stifled a laugh behind my fist as I heard groans and murmurs coming from my classmates and Emily turned around and glared at me. I mocked a shocked look as I glanced at Natasha, who was already looking at me. Just the meeting of our eyes made my stomach flip and I could see her smiling softly to herself.

"Okay, okay!" Natasha's voice brought silence back into the room. "Because I'm being so mean to you all, you can have the next hour of my lecture to go home and study. So leave," she said, waving her hand towards the door as everyone jumped up. "Miss Dunn, stay behind."

She looked at me as if this was a new idea, but I had been prepping for my Russian test all morning. Emily knew this so gave me a thumbs-up as she waltzed out of the classroom, clearly planning on going to see Alex. I picked up 'Frankenstein' and put it away in my bag, and moved to a desk closer to the front. I shuffled into the seat and got out my pens and dictionary, straightening them out on the table until they were in the right position. I saw Natasha move closer to me out of my peripheral vision and looked up as she stood still in front of me.

"Hey, baby," she whispered, despite the lecture hall being empty.

I raised my eyebrow at her, "Do you address all of your students like this, Miss Romanoff?"

"Shut up!" Natasha laughed and shook her head at me and I smiled widely back until the test was placed in front of me. I felt the nerves seep through my veins, and my fingers started to tingle. Natasha saw me get nervous so cupped my face and placed a chaste kiss on my forehead. "You can do it, Desi. I believe in you."

I nodded, and looked down at the paper, hearing Natasha's heels clip further away until she sat down at her own desk. With a deep breath, I opened the first page and got into the zone.

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"How did the exam go?" Emily asked me as I sat down in the cafe next to Alex.

"I think, okay. I guess I'll find out from Tasha on Friday."

"Oooh, Tashaaaa," Emily mocked as Alex slapped her hand to stop her. I smiled appreciatively at my best friend before retaliating.

"You're one to talk, what is this!" I jab at Emily and Alex's entwined hands and Alex's face turns into a beetroot.

"Fine! I won't mock you if you don't mock us," Emily sighs, running her free hand through her hair.

Alex still looked like a deer in the headlights so I nudged him gently with my shoulder. "Relax, Al, I'm happy for you both. At least you get to see each other over Christmas break. A two hour train to Sacramento is so much more feasible than a 5 hour flight." I pouted, sinking into sadness thinking about being gone from Natasha for four weeks.

"The time will fly by so quickly, especially with your mom's cooking, Des." Alex comforted me and Emily nodded eagerly, having heard of my mom's special cookies from Alex.

I blinked and realised that I was bringing the mood down. "Yeah, you're totally right, Al. Anyways, I'm going to go and study for tomorrow. See you, guys." I stood up and waved goodbye to the pair and trudged back to my dorm room.

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I walked into English with Emily the next day and noticed Natasha bite her lip as she saw me. I shot her a smile but she was too focused on my body to notice. I giggled softly to myself and made my way to the back of the room. Everyone filtered in and got settled, glancing down at the tests that were placed on our desks.