The Professor

Chapter Nine | Dessert

I submerge my legs in the bath water and check for any missed hairs. Tonight has the potential to be the most important night of my sexual awakening and—dammit—I will not fall victim to a cheap, store-bought, razor. I borrow Nic's exfoliator and scrub my skin until everything feels smooth. By the time I'm done, I'm silky soft to the touch and smell like a fucking meadow. I moisturise my legs and blow dry my hair, running the straighteners through it afterwards.

"You look nice," offers Nicole, nibbling on a strawberry.

I smile, happy to see she's sticking to her meal plan.

"Thanks."

"You off on a date?"

I figure there's no point lying. "Yeah."

"Me too."

"Where?" I ask, hoping that by focusing the attention on her date, she won't ask too much about mine.

"There's a comedian on at the SU. We're meeting there for drinks."

"That's nice," I say.

"What about you?"

"Just watching a movie at his house."

I momentarily imagine James casually lounging on the sofa, hands down his pants.  The other guys I've been on dates with fit the picture perfectly, but the same cannot be said for my professor.

Thank God!

He's more sophisticated and—well—mature. It has nothing to do with his age. I still don't know how old he is exactly, but the way he acts not only brings forth a unique wisdom, it also sets him aside from anyone else I've ever met.

"Do you want me to do your make-up?" she asks.

"Would you? I'm useless at this stuff."

She takes hold of my foundation sponge and gets to work.

"You have nice skin."

I disagree.

"You would get away with just using tinted moisturiser."

"I prefer a full coverage," I admit.

"Why?"

"I hate my freckles."

She stops what she's doing to look at me. "Well, don't! They're beautiful."

We carry on chatting nonsense while she applies my make-up and by the time I get an alert from my Uber driver, I look great. I quickly change into a yellow summer dress and pair it with my denim jacket, anticipating the cool night air. Nicole offers me some of her perfume and I decline, not wanting to smell like her when I'm planning on spending the night with her brother. The thought momentarily fills me with guilt. Nicole and I are fast becoming close friends and I'm pretty sure there's rules about this sort of stuff. If I sleep with James, there's no going back. And Nicole might not be cool with it.

"You look amazing!" she compliments, spying my white, lace bra strap. "Nice underwear! I bet you're glad I persuaded you to get that bikini wax now."

I laugh as I pop a mint in my mouth and gather my belongings. "Maybe?"

She walks me to the front door, checking her watch.

"When are you meeting your fella?" I ask.

"Not for another hour yet. Will you let me know when you get there?"

I nod.

"And if he's a creep, text me quoting, 'purple dinosaur.'"

"Why purple dinosaur?"