Free Lessons From the Professor by Shyla Colt Page A

fast?
     
     

 
    Chapter Ten
     
    “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like hell.”
    Sutton snorted as she took in the concerned expression on
Leigh’s face.   It had been almost a month
since she’d last heard from
Sidney
,
and the tension in her condo was mounting by the day. She and Carissa were like
ghosts, as they moved around the small space in silence.   Every day she expected her Mother to call
ranting and raving about all the things she’d heard from Carissa. That worry on
top of her job and the sleepless nights filled wondering what
Sidney
was up to had taken their toll.
    “I feel like it, too,” Sutton said. She sighed as she leaned
her head against the locker.
    “What’s going on? James said
Sidney
has had a bee in his bonnet for the
past few weeks, too. I can’t help but think the two are related.”
    “We had an argument, and he said we both needed time to
think about what we wanted to get out of our relationship.”
    “Why would he say that?”
    “Carissa—”
    “Oh God! I know she’s your
sister, but I could kill that wench. She’s so jealous of you she can barely
stand it.”
    “We had it out. She’s convinced I resent her, and I’m jealous of her worry free way of
life.”
    “Ugh.”
    “My thoughts exactly. It’s like a
battle-field in the house. We avoid one another as much as possible and don’t
speak when our paths do cross, and at any moment I expect my Mom to call and
read me the riot act.”
    “Why?”
    “Carissa saw me in my training collar and went off on a jag
about how she finally had dirt on the lily-white golden child.   Dealing with her and that mess on top of this
separation from
Sidney
is a bit much.”
    “What happened?”
    “I’m really not sure. I guess I hesitated to call him my
boyfriend, and he thought it made me ashamed of him somehow.”
    Leigh sighed and shook her head.
    “You know something.”
    “I do, but it’s not my place to say. Just don’t give up on
him, Sutton. He has a good reason for over-reacting.”
    “I can understand that to a point, but how long does he
expect me to wait?”
    “You can always go to him.”
    “
Sidney
didn’t strike me as the type of man who wanted to be chased.”
    “Don’t we all want to know someone cares about us enough to
bring us back when we pull away?”
    Sutton smiled. Leigh had a point.
    “You’re right; I can at least give him a call and feel
things out.”
    “There’s my girl.”
    “Thanks, Leigh.” She turned and hugged her close.
    “That’s what I’m here for. We’ll get together on your next
day off for some girl time.”
    “A pedicure sounds like heaven about now.”
    “You’re on.”   Leigh
said.
    They finished dressing in comfortable silence and headed up
toward the exit. They were just a few yards from the exit door when she heard
someone call out her name.   Damn!   Sutton let out a groan before she pasted a
smile on her face and turned around.
    “Thank goodness I caught you. There’s a handsome older
gentlemen here to see you.”
    A grin lit her face as she turned towards Leigh who shared
her enthusiasm. She made a shooing gesture and Sutton turned on her heel and
rushed towards the front desk.   She’d
never been so happy to be called back onto her floor after a twelve hour shift
in her life. The heels of her sandals clacked against the off white tile as her
stride ate up the length that separated her from
Sidney
. She’d never expected something like
this from him.
      She rounded the
corner of the hallway and skidded to a stop.   The man who stood a few feet away from her was not the one she’d
expected to see.   Even from the back she
would know
Jackson
anywhere. He was well over six feet, with broad shoulders, a trim waist, and
wheat colored hair he kept cropped close to his head. Her heart pounded in her
ears as her stomach soured.   Her feet
felt like they were glued to the ground, and time seemed to slow down as he
turned to face her. She saw a