Free Your Gravity: Part One by L. G. Castillo

attention, shall we begin or should we continue with the mating rituals that seem to be plaguing class today?”
    “Jerk,” Travis muttered. “Old Coop is a pain in the ass.”
    “Shh!” Gianna turned in her seat scowling. “Just because he won’t give you an extension on your assignment doesn’t mean he’s a jerk.”
    “Says you,” Travis said. “You’re just defending him because he likes your other talents.”
    “Not that you’ll ever know.” She huffed, turning back around.
    “Talents?” I whispered.
    “She meets with him every week to, you know.” He made a lewd hand gesture, forming his hand into an “O” and then pushing his tongue against the inside on his cheek.
    “Is my lecture interrupting you, Mr. Brandon?”
    I glared at Cooper. I knew it! That would explain why he was so nice to her.
    “Nope, I’m done.”
    “And you, Ms. Ashford?” His eyes met mine. This time I held my own and didn’t move an inch. I was not letting that man get to me. “Are the ramblings of Mr. Brandon more entertaining and educational than my lecture?”
    Narrowed blue eyes glowered, so different from the ones I’d seen only a few minutes ago. Maybe whatever I saw earlier was a hallucination, or maybe he had a nicer twin brother who also happened to be a chemistry teacher, because this dude was an asshole. Whatever thoughts I may have had about him actually being kind and sweet flew out the window.
    “No, sir.” I gritted my teeth, surprised that I was annoyed. And I wasn’t sure what was more annoying—having Cooper embarrass me in front of the class again or knowing that Gianna was living my wet dream.

Chapter Eleven
    I was a total masochist . There, I’d said it. I’ve heard that admitting your problem was the first step to recovery. There was no doubt I got off on pain, because over the last couple of classes I couldn’t take my mind of Cooper, and I was actually worried about him.
    Ever since he’d barked at Travis, he hadn’t brought his class back to Jitters. The only time I saw him was in class. And he looked so different from the stunning, well-dressed professor I’d first run into. His scruff was unkempt and thick, hiding his beautiful chiseled jaw. His clothes were wrinkled, as if he didn’t care. His hair looked like he didn’t even bother to put a comb through it. Though that just-rolled-out-of-bed look made him look even sexier. But what worried me the most was the haunted look in his eyes.
    I chewed on my pencil, watching him pace the length of the auditorium as he went over his lecture. Even his voice had lost its spark.
    Other students picked up the changes in Cooper and the gossip was fierce.
    “He’s drinking again,” Gianna said to Red.
    “How do you know?”
    “I could taste it on his breath.”
    My hand itched to slap that smug smile off her face. I’d resort to drinking too if that tongue had been in my mouth. Who knew where that thing had been?
    “He did the same thing last year around this time of the month,” she continued.
    Red giggled. “You make it sound like he’s having PMS.”
    Gianna laughed. “No, seriously. He lost someone close to him around this time of the year. I think it was his fiancée.”
    “Oh, wow. Yeah, I heard about that. Did he tell you anything about her?”
    “We don’t exactly do a lot of talking when we’re together.”
    In another minute, I was going to hurl my breakfast. Tofu scramble in all its glory all over Gianna’s skin-tight silk let-me-show-you-my-nips blouse.
    “Midterms can be picked up at the front, next to a box of tissues set aside for those of you who may need it. And I anticipate many of you who will.” Cooper’s gruff voice echoed in the auditorium as he plopped them on the table.
    Boy, the man was making it hard to feel sorry for him.
    Gianna was the first up front. She looked down at her paper and frowned. With hands folded over her chest, she clicked her shoe on the floor, waiting to get Cooper’s attention.