Lost Wolf (Curse of the Moon Book 1) (9 page)

"Nice. See you later."

"We'll go shopping tonight."

"For what?" I asked.

Sasha rolled her eyes. "For a better bag. Just try not to ruin your reputation today with that ugly thing."

"Won't dating Carter make up for that?"

"Let's hope. I have a reputation to manage, also. Can't be roomie of a geek."

I threw my other pillow at her and went downstairs. The TV blared from the living room, but I had the kitchen to myself. I dug my frozen waffles out of the freezer and ate them quickly. I was surprised I had any appetite left over after all I'd eaten the night before. After pigging out on sandwiches, I'd eaten two main dishes at the Jag.

Carter had been amused by my appetite—not knowing about how much I'd eaten earlier—and luckily hadn't been put off by it. The sparkle in his eyes actually made me think he enjoyed seeing me scarf down so much. Most girls probably tried to impress him by barely eating, but I'd been so ravenous I'd had no other choice except to give in to my appetite.

I'd had such a great time dancing with him, but the entire time I felt pulled outside. In fact, I'd glanced out the window so many times, he insisted we just dance in front of it. For some reason, the moon was so gorgeous I couldn't stop staring.

But now it was the first day, and if I didn't hurry, I'd find myself late for my first class. I hopped in my Jaguar and drove as fast as I dared until I reached the parking lot nearest my class.

Once I found the room, it was nearly full. I recognized most of the faces from the orientation.

Grace waved me over to where she sat on the far side of the room, halfway back. She patted the desk next to her. "I saved it for you."

I sat down. "Thanks."

"I can't believe you were almost late on the first day."

"Life happens." I pulled my laptop out of my backpack.

Professor Foley entered the room, chatting and laughing with a couple guys wearing school football uniforms. He set his things on the front desk and arranged them.

Grace rattled on about a band, but I couldn't stop watching the teacher. He was so gorgeous, as evidenced by the three pretty students who had jumped up and now surrounded him, chatting and obviously flirting.

Something deep within me awoke with fury. I had to literally force myself to stay in my seat, gripping the sides so tightly that my knuckles turned white. I wanted to tear those girls to pieces.

"You okay?" Grace asked.

I gritted my teeth. "Fine."

"That vein in your forehead is going to explode if you're not careful."

Not that I cared. Those twits were practically all over him. If it would have been socially acceptable for them to actually crawl on top of him, I was sure they would have.

I sniffed the air. I could actually smell their lust and desire.

Okay, I was losing it. I shook my head. How could I smell their emotions? I had to get control of myself. Who cared if they were flirting with Professor Foley? Why should I, when I had Carter to focus on?

I turned back to Grace. Now she was talking about a virtual game her mom didn't like. I tried to focus on what she was saying, but Toby's aftershave wafted over to me.

Wait.

Toby?

I didn't know Professor Foley's first name. I hadn't even seen it anywhere.

Or had I? I found the online course syllabus.

Introduction to Statistics

Professor T. Foley

My breath caught. His name actually did start with a T.

Maybe I remembered reading that and just gave him the name in my mind.

That had to be it. There was no other explanation. Not that smelling his aftershave or the desire of those girls all the way from my seat made any sense, either.

He stepped back and told everyone to take their seats. His gaze ran across the classroom and stopped when it landed on me.

My heart jumped into my throat and my pulse raced. We stared at each other for a moment before he continued looking around the room. I shook.

What was it about him that sent me into such a frenzy? I didn't feel this out of sorts even when Carter laced his fingers through mine or when he held me close as we danced to slow, romantic music.

Toby—Professor Foley—introduced himself again and then told us to open the syllabus. He went over the expectations of the class and told us that he was available for anyone who needed help.

"Call my number or email me, day or night." His gaze held mine for a moment. "If I'm available, I'll help you then. If not, I'll get back to you as soon as I can. I want all of you to succeed." He scanned the rest of the room, explaining the schedule. "And there will be a pop quiz every Wednesday."

Half the class laughed.

"I'm telling you so you know to be prepared for it—and to be here. I know the ten o'clock classes tend to be considered early, but don't miss any because you're tired. You can't make the quizzes up. I hope you're taking notes."

The sounds of laptop keypads being struck sounded all around the room.

Professor Foley smiled.

It was such a beautiful sight. I nearly melted into the chair. It was hard to breathe as he grinned. I wanted to reach out and stroke his stubble. To lean in close and smell his musky personal scent.

He gazed into my eyes again from the front of the room. It was like he wanted the exact same thing.

I swallowed. How would I ever learn math in such conditions?

He turned from me and spoke, but I couldn't understand a word that came from those gorgeous lips.

Maybe what I needed was a new teacher. Except that I'd been one of the last to register for classes and nothing else was available.

Somehow I made it through the rest of the class. He had us take an assessment quiz to find out where we all stood.

After he collected the papers, he said, "This will help me figure out how fast or slow to move through the material. I don't want anyone overwhelmed or bored." He smiled again.

I looked away. No way would I allow myself to get sucked into that vortex again.

When the class was done, I bolted into the hall without a word. I couldn't look at him for another moment. More than anything, I wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to get lost in those eyes and feel those luscious lips on mine.

Stop.

I sat on a bench, closed my eyes, and tried not to think of him. His beautiful, smiling face was the first image in my mind.

What had Carter said the other day?

Poop farm. I pictured piles of dung. Many piles. Everywhere. Covering all kinds of things.

"You okay?" Grace's voice broke through my disgusting thoughts.

I looked up. "Just tired."

"Something going on between you and the teacher?"

"No."

"You still willing to drive me to the other side of campus?"

I blinked my eyes a few times. Right. I had about ten minutes to get to my geography class. Then I would have time for lunch before psychology. Maybe that class would help me figure out what was wrong with me.

"Sure." I rose. "We'd better hurry."

Chapter 10

Victoria

By the time I stumbled out of my geography class, I had a roaring headache. Carter had been right about Johnson being nice, but she had loaded us with work. It was almost like she thought we had nothing else in our lives other than her course.

One look at the world map told me that I had never put any serious time into learning most of the countries. I knew the major ones, but could barely find anything else by memory.

My stomach rumbled. I didn't feel like running back to the Waldensian, so I checked the campus map and saw the main cafeteria was only a couple buildings away.

I stuffed the map into my backpack and followed the mob outside. The sun beat down on me, so I hurried over to the cafeteria. A line of people extended out the door.

Wonderful. I hurried over to the back, hoping it wouldn't take too long. If it did, then I would have to plan on eating lunch at home in the future. I made small talk with the girl in front of me while we wound our way inside and up the stairs to the register. At least the line went pretty fast.

"Twelve dollars," the cashier said without looking at me. He readjusted his backwards baseball cap.

"Seriously?" I exclaimed.

He shrugged. "It's cheaper if you get a meal plan."

"I'll have to look into that." I dug into my purse and found a ten and no change. "Do you at least take credit cards?"

"Sure."

I handed him one. He compared the picture on the card to me and swiped it through the machine. I waited for him to hand me the receipt, but instead he swiped it again.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"You sure the card is current?"

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

He swiped it one more time and studied the screen before handing it back to me. "You'd better call your bank."

I groaned. "I checked the balance two days ago."

"Got another one?"

I dug into my purse for my debit card and handed that to him.

"Hurry up," someone shouted from the line.

"Yeah," said another. "We're hungry."

My shoulders slunk. "Sorry."

The cashier handed the card back. "This one doesn't work, either. Got cash?"

"Ten dollars." My face and the back of my neck heated.

He shrugged. "Sorry. Can't help you."

Professor Foley walked by, carrying a tray with a double cheeseburger and fries.

My head heated all the more.

He turned and smiled. "Hi Victoria." Concern washed over his face. "Is everything okay?"

I straightened my back. "Yeah, I'm just going to have to skip lunch today."

"You don't have enough to cover it?"

"Apparently not." I looked away.

"That's no way to start your first day. I'll cover it."

I stared at him. "I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not. I'm offering." He dug into his back pocket and handed the cashier a card. "I've got her meal."

He shrugged, ran the card, and handed the receipt to Toby—Professor Foley. Why did I keep wanting to call him by his first name? If that was even really his name.

The cashier turned to me. "Head on in. Trays are straight ahead."

"Thanks," I mumbled and turned to Professor Foley. "I swear I'll pay you back tomorrow. I don't know what's going on with my cards. Maybe someone hacked into my account."

"Computers make mistakes all the time. Well, have a nice lunch."

"Uh, thanks. You, too."

He held my gaze like he wanted to say more.

I couldn't pull away from his enchanting eyes. Again, I found myself wanting to throw myself at him.

He cleared his throat. "Well, I usually sit near the back if… uh, you don't find anywhere else to sit."

My voice caught. I nodded and hurried over to the trays, nearly running into a guy wearing black skinny jeans and thick eyeliner.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"Whatever." He glared at me before taking his silverware.

My college career was off to a
fabulous
start. I sighed and grabbed a tray. What would I do if I couldn't sort out my money situation? I didn't even know who was supplying the funds.

What kind of daughter doesn't even keep her parents' contact info in her phone?

Suddenly, I felt so small and helpless. Not knowing my past was more than just annoying and embarrassing. It was beginning to look like it might be dangerous.

I got in line for food and piled on things without paying attention. What if someone stopped paying for my car? How would I get around? Or what if my college payments came to an end?

The noise around me grew louder. Everyone around me felt closer, like they were pressing into me. I jumped out of line and ran toward the tables. I couldn't breathe.

All sound merged into a cacophony. The room grew hot. I sat at the nearest empty table and stared at my plate. My stomach rumbled, but I couldn't feel the hunger anymore.

I ran my hands through the length of my hair and tried to breathe. Still, only shallow breaths came.

What was I going to do? Who was I leaning on to pay my bills? What if I'd done something wrong, and this was a warning? If only they would have let me know what I'd done to offend them. Or was I supposed to somehow know, but since I couldn't remember anything at all, I didn't know where I'd gone wrong?

What was I doing? How had I thought I could get through the school year without knowing anything about my past?

My stomach twisted in tight knots. I probably should have just walked away after the card was declined. My time would have been better spent calling the banks to find out what was going on. Now I would feel guilty if I didn't eat what Toby—Professor Foley—had paid for.