Page 10 of Beneath the Beauty (Beauty 2)
Damn it.
She truly hadn’t wanted him to follow her, but…well, part of her did want that. Wanted him to tell everyone they were together and that he cared about her, not Melinda. But that would have ruined everything for both of them, so she was happy he’d let her go.
If only she could believe that.
She just felt so pushed aside, almost used, even though she didn’t have a reason to be, not really. Blake hadn’t done anything wrong, and neither had Professor Jenkins. Erin was the third wheel, the young, poor college student who had seduced him.
When was the last time he’d seen another woman before he and Erin had hooked up? And she had paraded around his house twice a week, fawning over him with a ridiculous crush. No wonder he’d given in and had sex with her.
That didn’t mean he’d want to continue. It didn’t mean he should.
Maybe he was better off with someone like Melinda. She could help establish him in the real world better with his colleagues at the university. She had the financial means to match him, the right image to stand beside him. He wouldn’t have to hide his relationship with her. Would they also have noontime sex in his office?
It made Erin want to throw something.
She waited around the corner in the hallway. Once Professor Jenkins left his office, Erin could clear the air with Blake. There would be a simple explanation. He would reassure her. It played out in her head so neatly. But they had retreated into his office and closed the door.
Her phone vibrated from the front pocket of her backpack. She pulled it out to see her mother’s smiling face on the small, dim screen. Her stomach dropped. With a lingering glance at Blake’s office door, she pushed through the doors leading outside, blinking as the sun blinded her.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Are you okay?” The worry in her mother’s voice made guilt pool in her belly. She usually called once a week, sometimes more. But ever since she’d started seeing Blake, it had gotten harder to talk to her mother and still keep her secret.
“I’m fine. Of course I’m fine.”
“I know you’re busy, honey. I just worry.”
She knew exactly the moment when her mother had lost all faith in Erin’s ability to judge people or make it on her own. Erin knew because she doubted herself too.
A change of subject was in order. “School’s starting next week. One more semester.”
She heard the smile in her mother’s voice. “I’m thrilled for you, sweetie. You deserve this. What are you doing now, working?”
“No, I’m on campus.” Where I just got done having sex with a professor. That would not ease her mother’s worries. Pointing out that it was a relationship would only make things worse, not better. And now that Erin had time to reflect, she realized how impulsive she had been to do so. A very bad idea with a thankfully happy ending.
It was just…she’d never had much opportunity to be spontaneous and silly. She worked, she went to school. She wasn’t complaining. Her mom had it harder, after all. But for the first time in her years at the university, Erin had felt young.
“I met with my advisor this morning,” Erin continued. At least that much was true. Her visit to campus hadn’t been solely a booty call. “We went over some of the requirements for my final paper. I’m going to work on my outline tonight.”
“I’m sure you’ll do great, sweetie.”
Erin winced. Such faith, and here she was trying to have fun. This wasn’t a game. “How are you, Mom? Work going okay?”
“Oh, you know. Work’s work.”
She sensed the hesitation. “Something’s wrong. Tell me.”
Her mother laughed. “I never could hide much from you. Just my knees acting up.”
“You need to go to the—”
“To the doctor. I went. He wants me to have surgery.”
Erin stopped in her tracks. The crowd of people sluiced around her as she stood in the middle of the sidewalk. If her mom had actually visited the doctor without being cajoled and forced into it, she must be in a lot of pain. “Surgery?”
“It doesn’t matter. You know I can’t afford it.”
“They don’t have any sort of programs or something, for low-income patients? A payment program?”
