Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
I open my mouth, but no words come out. It was hard enough to speak coherently while standing in front of one hot guy. Now, there’s a second one in the mix!
My English class has a TA. He didn’t start until the second week of classes, which was honestly for the best. If he had walked in that first day, I might have had a heart attack.
Mark Kingham, the TA, could be a male model. It’s crazy to me that both our professor and our teaching assistant are hot enough for the runway. What are they feeding people in this part of New York? We certainly don’t have these kinds of guys in Queens, that’s for sure.
Seeing Mark and Professor Boynton next to each other reminds me why some girls in class have a group text about them. No one can believe that we got so lucky with not just one, but two attractive men teaching the class. Having them as teachers makes it hard to pay attention to the lecture, that’s for sure.
Maybe that’s why I did so poorly on the paper. I’ll admit, I spend more time staring at the two hot men than paying attention to what they’re saying. I should work on that.
But that’s easier said than done. In fact, I’m not doing a good job at it right now.
How long have I been standing here? Crap, I did it again. They’re both going to think I’m insane!
“Hi, Mr. Kingham,” I greet him belatedly.
“It’s nice to see you. What brings you by?”
“I wanted to talk about my Scarlet Letter paper.”
Professor Boynton nods. “I thought I might see you. Why don’t you come in, and all three of us can discuss it?”
All three of us? Is that how office hours normally work? I thought it would just be the professor and me.
Then again, the way my thoughts have been wandering and the way his eyes are fixed on my low-cut shirt, it’s probably for the best that we have a chaperone.
As the professor and Mark step aside, I take in Mark’s appearance in more detail. At first, I was so distracted by his dark eyes and shiny hair that I didn’t notice his clothes are as rumpled as Professor Boynton’s.
What the hell is going on?
“You haven’t come to office hours before, Ms. Maple,” Professor Boynton points out. “Why not?”
“Honestly, I haven’t gotten a B before.”
Professor Boynton laughs. “That’s a good enough reason, I suppose. I suspected you might come after I handed back the work this week.”
“Why?”
“Because, like you said, you’ve never gotten a B before.”
I pull the paper from my bag. I’ve read it over a hundred times since I got it back, and I still have no idea why I earned such a terrible grade. It’s been driving Jessica mad. I’m sure that’s part of why she wanted to make sure I came to office hours today. If nothing else, it’ll give me the closure I need to move on.
“I thought it was a good paper…”
Professor Boynton nods. “It is a good paper, Ms. Maple.”
“Call me Mari, please,” I interrupt. “I hate my last name.”
“But it’s so delicious!” Professor Boynton responds. There’s a heat behind his eyes that causes my cheeks to flush. Is he talking about my last name or about something else?
Obviously, just my last name. He wouldn’t make a dirty comment to a student, especially not with his TA present. Would he?
“It’s a weird last name,” I try to explain. “I don’t know.”
“You’re talking to a guy with the last name Boynton. I get it. Mari it is. You can call me John.”
“I don’t know about that…”
“Please. Office hours are informal. John is just fine.”
“And like I’ve said a hundred times in class, please just call me Mark. I hate being called Mr. Kingham. It makes me feel a lot older than I am.”
“You’re not old at all!”
Mark chuckles. “I’ve got a few years on you.”
That may be true, but he doesn’t look it. Mark could easily pass for a fellow student. He claims to be thirty, but no one believes that for a minute. I’d say maybe twenty-five. I guarantee he gets carded whenever he enters a bar or tries to buy alcohol.
Must be nice to age so well. I take after my mother. My curly brown hair is forgettable, just like my brown eyes. At least I have curves. My boobs and my butt are my best features. I’m glad the outfit Jessica picked out for me accentuates those two parts of my body and hides the extra fat on my stomach.
I may feel ridiculous, but according to the gaze of the two guys looking at me right now, I look damn good. I’ll have to thank Jessica for the outfit.
“Anyway,” John continues, pulling my attention from my looks, “why don’t we discuss this paper? Like I said, it’s good.”