𝐌𝐫. 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐳 | ✎

Chapter 4

𝐅 𝐎 𝐔 𝐑

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  𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀

Soulless black eyes stare back at me. But this time, they aren't void, they hold a sense of emotion.

"How do you know my last name?" His voice is deeper when he whispers, "You're my.. my Biophysics professor." I say trying to control my breathes.

"Alright, that doesn't matter right now." He shakes his head. "I need to get you to calm down for me, okay?" He says gently and I nod in response. "Follow me." He breathes in and I repeat after him. After a few seconds he breathes out and I do the same.

We go at it for a few seconds until I seem calm enough. "Good girl."

"Thank you?" I gulp looking elsewhere.

I just realized our faces are centimeters apart. He realized this as well and backed up sitting opposite of me. His legs are too long due to his height so he man spreads while sitting so he can feel more comfortable.

I wipe away my under eyes to see black ink. Yikes, I need waterproof mascara. I remove purse sized wet wipes and wipe away the mascara.

He gazes to the right and I can't help but look down to see the bulge in his pants. I quickly look away observing the stash of books on the shelf.

"Do you normally get panic attacks?" He turns to look at me. "Uhm, no not really." I shake my head staring back at him. He nods, "What caused it today?" He stares deep into my eyes. No matter what I do, I cannot hold eye contact so I end up looking away after two seconds.

"Nothing." I say and he cocks up an eyebrow clearly catching my lie, "You don't experience panic attacks for no reason, Ms?" He questions, "Taraji." I respond. "Ms. Taraji." My last name rolled off his tongue so smoothly. It's commonly hard for people to pronounce my surname but he got it on the first try.

"I panicked because I bumped into somebody and dropped all my books." I blabber quickly. "Who did you run into?" He questions again. His gaze never wavering away from me. "I'm not telling you." I say and he stares at me in amusement.

"You're not going to tell me?" He says and I nod, "And why is that?" He tilts his head to the right observing me.

It's important that I don't get Blake and Trevor in trouble for hitting them and dropping a book stash. There is a good chance he'll make fun of me in the dean's office, and the complaint will be taken off his resume. It's also worth not jeopardizing his football career, which is almost promising.

"Is it the gentlemen over there." He points to the left and I see Blake and Trevor sitting on a round desk laughing with one another. "Yeah." That came out as a faint whisper but I know he heard it.

"And you think if you complain about it, the dean won't do a single thing?" He says and I don't say anything. He sighs, "You think I don't know about what Riley did to you Freshman year?" He furrowed his eyebrows which makes me furrow mine as well. "Excuse me?" I say and that slightly catches him offguard.

"Excuse my straightforwardness, Ms. Taraji, but I did a background check on Woodland Hill's before accepting their offer to become a Biophysicist Professor at their campus."

"Oh."

"Do you live on campus?" He questions and I shake my head.

"I should take you home." He looks me up and down. "Uhm." I respond not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry. Would you like me to drive you home or I could call an uber for you? Whichever you find comfortable." He rephrased.

"You can drop me home, I don't want you to spend money on an uber." I give him a light tipped smile but he didn't reciprocate.

He analyses me with his stoned face, "Alright, follow me." He says and I pick up my books following behind him.

I take bigger steps than usual because the man striding in-front of me is mad tall. I'm guessing around 6'5 and he towers over my 5'9 frame.

He stops at a black Mercedes-Benz and opens the drivers door getting in. I round the corner and open the passenger door. I sit in the comfortable red leather seats and put on my seatbelt. His intoxicating scent fills my lungs as he begins driving.

"Where do you live?" He questions focusing on the road, "Crescent Avenue 3182." I say and he nods.

It doesn't take him long to get there but by the time we reach, It's dark out. I can't blame LA. It's unpredictable.

I hop out of his car as soon as he parks on the side of the road. I step my feet onto the concrete sidewalk, "Goodbye." I say but he does the last thing I expect him to do: He walks past me and rings the doorbell. I softly furrow my eyebrows in confusion and before I could say anything, my mother opens the door.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Taraji." He says as she steps out, "I am very sorry we met under these circumstances but you deserve to know that I dropped your daughter from the library. She experienced a panic attack." He explains, his face remaining a stone void of emotion.

My mothers face turns into one of worry, "A panic attack? What happened?" She latched her hands on my cheeks, "That is for her to tell you." He says. "Thank you very much. I appreciate your kindness." My mother smiles, "No worries." My mom looks taken aback my his voice, "I will be taking my leave now." He says giving a curt nod with no smile making his way into his car.

My mother allows me to step into the house first and she follows behind locking the door. That is when we hear his engine roaring through the neighborhood.

"Who was that, Aurelia?" My mother asks, "My professor, Mr. Sanchez." I say and she nods. "First day, new teacher?" She asks examining my face. "Mhm." I hum. "He is quite handsome." She thinks to herself, "Mom." I say dismissing her thought and she chuckles.

"Come here, baby." She pulls me into her loving arms.