Professor Series - Sebastian Stan 🩵

Fourteen

Tyler threads his fingers through mine as he leads me back into the party, entering just as a man had turned, almost spilling his champagne all over my dress. "I'm so sorry. We weren't paying any attention." I hear a warm chuckle coming from above me as I glance up to notice our Dean. "Oh gosh, Dean Jennings."

He shook his head, "no harm, no fowl. You go to NYU?"

I nodded, "that's right, Anna Sloane. In my last semester." I offer him my hand which he accepts, shaking firmly. His features were soft, with silver gray hair and big blue eyes, something almost familiar about him when he laughed.

"Nice to meet you Miss Sloane." He nodded to Tyler, "Mr. Baxter."

"It's time to go dad." I turn to see the man interrupting, tall and blond, a younger replica of his father. Attractive, sharp jawline and dimples.

"Of course, Greg." The Dean motioned to us, "this is Anna and Tyler. Both in their last semester at NYU."

Greg offers us both a polite smile, shaking Tyler's hand before lingering with mine. "Nice to meet you."

They both start to turn to leave, but the Dean glances at me once more, "we haven't met before, have we Miss Sloane?"

I shrugged and shook my head, looking at Tyler for help but he only shook his head too. "Sorry sir. Fortunately, we have not."

This time he full on laughs, causing me to smile. "Right. Have fun tonight, kids."

And with that he was gone and Tyler was leading me to the dance floor with his arms around my waist. "Well that was awkward, right? It wasn't just me?"

Tyler chuckles, "verifiably awkward for sure."

"You've met the Dean before?"

He shrugged, "just through stuff like this."

"He seems nice." I rest my head on his chest, pushing thoughts of the Dean out of my head as I watch Sebastian re-enter the party with his wife. She seems intent on trying to pull him to the dance floor but I can see how uncomfortable he is, pulling his arm out of her grasp until she huffs and stomps away from him. She definitely seemed like someone that wasn't used to being told no.

"I can't talk sense into you, can I?"

Tyler's voice breaks my attention from Sebastian, forcing me to look up at him, "you mean Sebastian?"

"Unless there's another unattainable older married man that you have a crush on."

I groaned, pulling away so I didn't have to look him in the eyes, "it's not just a crush, Ty. It's more than that. I can't explain it really. When I crashed into him on the sidewalk it felt like a crack in my reality split open. We were meant to meet. I feel it, he feels it. You've never felt anything like that before?"

Tyler sighs, pushing my head back to his chest before resting his head on mine, "I have..."

I close my eyes, hearing in his words what he meant, who he was talking about. "Ty..."

"Shh. Let's just finish this dance so that I can take you home."

I sigh, letting him lead me to his father to say goodnight before leaving the party. "It was nice to meet you Mr. Baxter."

Steve nodded curtly at the two of us, looking at Tyler. "Some of us are going up to the ski lodge next weekend. You should bring your girlfriend. Greg Jennings and some of his friends I think are coming too. It'll be fun. I think Sebastian and Vanessa are too."

Tyler groaned, "I don't know dad." He looks at me, wanting me to answer and I don't know what to say but smile at his father.

"We'll certainly think about it Mr. Baxter. We are still in school after all, homework and everything."

Steve scoffs but nods, "sure. Goodnight."

I drag Tyler away from his father, my hand in his, "why is he so invested in us coming?"

"I have no idea. Would you like to go? He owns a giant house a few hours up north. Snowboarding, skiing. We can see if Chase and Lindsey want to come too if that would make you feel more comfortable? Could be fun."

I shrugged, "that might actually be fun, yeah." Once we were in the car, I glanced over at Tyler, "do you think I'm wrong to be a little upset Chase and Lindsey didn't tell me about them?"

"Um.. I don't know. You have feelings for Chase?"

I groaned, staring out the window. "If there was no Sebastian, I'm not sure how I would feel about Chase."

Silence hung in the air for a while as Tyler drove before he finally broke it, "if there was no Sebastian, what about me?"

"Ty.." I turned to look at him but he kept his eyes on the road, "that's why I said I'm not sure how I would feel about Chase. Because there's you too." I reached over to grab his hand, "I feel more comfortable talking to you than I do Lindsey sometimes. And we've been friends for years. I don't feel comfortable choosing between you and Chase on a hypothetical Ty."

He sighed and nodded, bringing my hand up to his lips to kiss the knuckles, "it would be me. We already know."

I couldn't help but laugh as he did, breaking the tension in the car with that one comment. I continued to watch him as he drove, knowing he was probably right.