Undercover Professor (6 page)

The aroma from the food booths wafted her way, making her mouth water. They had a nice selection, from deep-fried cheese curds to gyros.

A little something for everyone, from jewelry, to snacks, to a petting zoo with goats, to caramel apples and popcorn to basketball and the computer gaming. A large music tent took up the entire parking lot of a tavern halfway down the street. A small Ferris wheel rotated slowly, and a spinning carnival ride sent the echo of joyful screams down the streets.

About two blocks down at the other side of the fair a large tent stood with a gaming station inside. At least, that’s what she gathered from the kids around her chatting. Apparently there was a big tournament going on in there too.

Which of course made her think of Andy. She tried to keep her eyes from searching him out in the crowd.

Dell’s team made it to the next round. She’d expected him to come join her to explore a little bit. But he didn’t appear. She stood to go find him. Her hips ached from sitting so long on the cold bleachers. At the very least, she had to get some hot apple cider and warm up.

Hurrying down the bleachers, she ventured under the striped tent where all the teams waited, staying out of the stiff breeze.

“Hey, Lucy! Wasn’t that game amazing? Aren’t my guys the best? I think we have a chance to move on to the finals. Just three more rounds.” Dell’s enthusiasm was infectious. He ruffled the hair of one kid before he leaped out of a metal folding chair to give her a warm hug.

“Yeah, you guys did an awesome job out there.”

“I’m going to grab some grub with my gal here, I’ll be right back. Don’t wander off.” He waited for the kids to nod in acknowledgment before he hooked an arm over her shoulder and guided her to the hot dog, soda and popcorn stand.

Lucy looked longingly down the main street, thinking of the delicious snacks so close. “Hey, do you want to get a gyro? It smells awesome.”

“Naw, I need to stick close to the kids. Besides, ethnic food sometimes makes me sick.” He turned to the counter. “Can I get four Cokes? Um, four chips, four chili hot dogs and a bag of popcorn. Oh, and some nachos.”

“Oh.” Lucy slipped out from his arm.

“Sorry, what did you want to get?”

“Nothing for me, thanks. Dell, I was hoping we could spend some time together, check out the fair a little bit. I mean, there’s some really cool stuff happening down the street, and I just thought—”

“Yeah, hang on to that thought.” He paid and handed her the drink caddy full of sodas as he loaded his arms down with bags of greasy food.

Lucy watched the grease soak through the white bag. “Speaking of making you sick to your stomach,” she muttered as Dell hurried back to the kids.

“After our next game, I should have some time to hang out. But I really wanted to run a new coverage play with the guys and we should be in the next round drawing. We could play in half an hour, or an hour, it’s really hard to say.”

“Okay.” She tried to hide her disappointment.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how it would be set up. The kids are doing so great, we need to keep the momentum up. You know?”

“Oh, sure. Got to keep up the momentum.” They walked into the sports tent and Lucy watched as they all dived on the food like it was their last meal.

“So I’m going to go grab some cider, Dell.” She handed out the sodas and waited awkwardly. “Dell.” He didn’t hear her around his chili hot dog, apparently. “
Dell
.”

“What’s that? Yeah, sure, I’ll see you in a bit.” He pulled her close for a one-armed hug, kissing the top of her head. “I’m sorry. This probably isn’t what you expected, is it?”

“Not really, but that’s okay. I can explore by myself.”

He looked deep in her eyes.

“Really, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. I’ll catch up with you guys for the next game, hey, just buzz my cell phone and I’ll get back over here right away.”

“You’re a great girl, Lucy.” He smiled. “I’m so glad you understand. I’ll see you later.”

“Right. Buzz my cell,” she called out as she turned and made a break into the thick crowd of street fair goers, mouth watering with the thought of the hot cider already.

She wandered into the crowd, hoping to warm up. Families and groups of friends all swarmed around her, and she tried to ignore the irritation at Dell. He’d told her he would be coaching. She should be sitting on the bleachers, cheering him and those great kids on. Maybe after some apple cider...

Families with strollers packed the main street, couples, teenagers and old folks. It looked like every type of demographic had turned out. And no wonder. The day started out chilly, but now it was warming up. She pulled her hat off and tucked it into her bag, smoothing her hair down from the static. She stopped to pick up some hot apple cider and had a sip as she watched the kids’ petting zoo. A few munchkins ran around, chased by the hungry goats waiting for a handout of food.

Across the square, she spotted familiar scruffy blond hair and broad shoulders. Her breath caught and excitement zinged through her body. It was him. Of course he overheard her conversation with Dell in the laundry room and decided to show up. She frowned into her apple cider, trying to figure out the appropriate way to address it. Truth be told, she was glad to see him. So why bother pretending she wasn’t?

She walked slowly over to his side of the square. “We seem to keep running into each other.”

“I guess we do. There’s a gaming tournament going on down the other side of the festival. Plus, my mom wanted me to stop and pick up some fancy soap.” He propped a foot up on the fencing of the goat enclosure.

She raised an eyebrow. “Soap? Really. You’re going to go with soap?” And he was back to the lying. At least this was amusing.

“Some all-natural soap vendor she loves who has a stand here.” He had the decency to blush. “I’m supposed to track her down and pick up a few bars. Just good luck, I suppose, that we’re both here. Where’s Dell?” He glanced around.

“He’s coaching the three-on-three basketball thing, he’s sort of busy.” She punched down the feeling of annoyance at being so easily shifted aside. It wasn’t Dell’s fault.

“Hmm...well, I’m hungry. Want to grab some food? If Dell’s busy, that is.”

“You bet.” They wandered slowly down the packed street. “Dell’s really dedicated to those kids, you know? It’s quite admirable.” She knew she was trying to reassure herself, but she had to say the words.

“Sure it is. I bet they just love him.”

“Yeah, they really do.” She bit her tongue and lifted her nose toward the spicy falafel stand.

“This smells amazing, want to split one?” he asked before she could even say anything.

“You bet.”

The line was long, a testament to the great chow waiting at the end. They stood awkwardly for a moment.

“There’s this awesome falafel shop in Washington, by the campus. I love sneaking out for a few hours, drinking some strong coffee and having a quick bite.”

“So, you go to school out in Washington?” She pounced on this tidbit like a cat on a mouse.

“I did.”

“What did you do there?”

“Um, it was a while ago.” He shifted and glanced to the front of the line.

Maybe he was embarrassed about his jobless situation, Lucy realized. It was a tough economy, and moving home to live with a parent was a pretty big kick in the cojones.

She tried to change the subject. “Did you grow up around here?”

“Not really, a little suburb north of Chicago. Mom moved up here when I left for the, uh, west coast.”

Getting any details out of him was like pulling teeth. They shuffled forward, and she let the topic drop.

“What about you? Did you grow up around here?”

“Yeah, sort of. Mom and I moved around a bit. She was what I’d call a serial bride. She had four ex-husbands by the time I took off.”

“After high school?”

Lucy nodded. “I was in college, but I had to drop out in my second year.”

“You had to drop out? What happened?”

“It’s a long and stupid story.” She glanced at the long line ahead of them. “But I guess we have the time. Besides, if you Google me, you’ll find it. I can sort of laugh about it now...” She trailed off, wondering why she was even explaining it. At least the bitterness didn’t choke her anymore. She could try to laugh at herself.

“You have to tell me now. That’s too big a buildup.”

She shook her head, working to tell the story without being emotional. “I was dating this guy, pretty seriously. I thought it was serious, anyway. Do you remember that first season of
Island Survivor
?”

“The TV reality game? Yeah, why?”

“Well, he was on it.” They shuffled slowly forward in the line and Lucy found that Andy’s big body blocked the wind a bit, if she stood just so. She took a few tiny steps closer.

“Wait a minute. This sounds familiar. I don’t watch a lot of reality TV, but I remember something happened that first season.”

Lucy nodded. Retelling the story didn’t really hurt as much anymore, nearly ten years later. “So Trevor was on the show. He won, actually. But you know the part where they bring in the loved ones, to sort of taunt and manipulate the players?”

Andy nodded.

“He asked me to come on and I was thrilled, thinking he’d propose or something amazing. So of course I went. I had to fly halfway across the world to be there. You don’t just pop on and then leave. And I had to sign a confidentiality agreement, so I couldn’t say a word until the show aired on TV. I missed almost a month of school to be there. My professors wouldn’t give me a pass, so I lost all the money for tuition and my GPA was trashed. I had to drop out and try to regroup. That’s the worst part of the whole situation, in retrospect.”

“But did something happen with Trevor? I think I remember something weird, right?”

She nodded and they found themselves at the head of the line. Ordering a falafel to split, he pulled out his wallet and paid.

“You could say that. He broke up with me in the confessional, on national television. But the show is in postproduction for about six months. Six months. I was back here, trying to live my life and not able to tell anyone we broke up, because it happened in the closed confessional on that stupid show, remember? They would sue the pants off of me if I made a peep.”

They moved to the side to wait for their order. Lucy sipped the remainder of her cider and threw it with a bit too much force onto an overflowing trash bin. Trevor had been her first love, after her high school boyfriend. He nearly destroyed her. At the time that’s what it felt like. Of course, now she knew she was made of sterner stuff.

“The kicker is, he told everyone on the show that
I
broke up with
him
. That’s how he won. He played the sympathy card, crying into his rice bowl, mooning over me. He even got laid on the show, because some stupid dingbat was trying to comfort him. I got hate mail for weeks from strangers. The network, seeing Trevor’s huge lying potential, hyped it up. They didn’t show the actual closed confessional breakup until the final episode, after the votes were all cast. After the fact, I was approached by all the networks to expose my side of the story. But I was young. I was heartbroken, and I was alone. My friends, if you can call them that, turned on me. One even tried to promote herself as an insider, and sell the story to the tabloids. So I ran to Nevada.”

His mouth drooped open, outrage glimmered in his eyes. “That’s terrible.”

“That’s what the producers wanted, some good drama. I guess it weeded out some fake friends, though. The only people who stood by me were family. Becca and Aunt Ruby and my mom.”

He picked up their order and offered her a bite.

“Mmmm, this is awesome” she muttered through the food, offering him a bite off the other side. He leaned in to take a big chomp.

“So there you were, out a few thousand dollars, your GPA ruined, no friends and no money. All because your ex broke up with you on national television. Wow.”

“That’s it in a nutshell. I left town pretty quick after that, to start a new life.”

“Why’d you pick Nevada?”

“I don’t know. I thought I had family there, it felt safe.” She had shared too much. No need to go into that chapter and verse of her life. He would probably think she was a drama llama. Or just dumb. Even in her thirties, she wondered why she clung to Nevada so tightly. One postcard from a “Bill” hidden in her mother’s jewelry chest, and the seed was planted that her father Bill was waiting for her in Nevada. They’d meet, immediately find a connection and be a family. “But that’s one thing I won’t ever put myself through again.”

Of course, Bill was probably some random friend. Or maybe he really was her father. Aunt Ruby didn’t remember any Bill from her mother’s past, and they’d talked about it ad nauseam.

“The public humiliation? Sure, I can understand that.”

“Well, yes. I don’t think I could handle the public humiliation, but usually my boyfriends aren’t on TV these days. Network or cable.” She laughed, trying to cover the old wounds. “But I won’t date a liar. Trevor was really, truly horrible, and I know most guys wouldn’t do something so low just to make a few hundred thousand bucks.”

Andy choked on his bite of falafel.

Chapter Six

Andy gasped for air as he coughed to clear his throat and Lucy thumped him solidly on the back.
Unbelievable
.

As if there was no option to tell her the truth before, now it was a million times worse. She might not recognize his name, but once she saw him on TV, or his photo and byline on an article in a magazine, she would be irate. Besides, he was leaving in a few weeks. This was just the thrill of the chase. Nothing more. Something twinged inside his chest. Probably just indigestion from the food. Certainly not guilt. Lucy was a challenge, an interesting diversion. Nothing more. He coughed again and she thumped his back until he caught her hand. “I’m okay now, thank you, slugger.”

She laughed and rubbed his back in circles, casually, almost mindlessly as they walked slowly down the street. Her touch was comfortable, easy. He tried to shake off all the reasons he shouldn’t be here with her as he guided them down the crowded street.

“Look, deep-fried cheese curds! Want to share an order?”

Just in front of them stood a trailer. Another long line indicated the quality of the curds was top-notch. “You are the woman of my dreams. I think that’s the best proposition I’ve ever heard.”

She laughed, and they moved into line.

“So you went out west for a bit. What brought you back here?” He moved to block the brisk breeze again, turning his back to the wind.

She shrugged, a slow motion like the weight of the world held her shoulders captive. “My mom passed away. I had to come home and take care of things. And I missed Becca and Aunt Ruby. Then I got my job at the Sports Authority and worked my way up the ranks. I’ve been in school for about four years now, I’m almost at the end of my courses.” She tipped her chin up to meet his gaze squarely.

They shuffled forward in the line as it moved inch by inch.

“You should be proud. After that blow at the start, it’s really admirable you went back.” He turned into the stiff breeze, fighting not to bring up his own path through education. A PhD, plus a bunch of additional credits lined up neatly after his name. Those first few years, busting his ass in a field laughed at by his contemporaries, he knew how hard it was to keep going.

Of course, now he was the one laughing. Guest hosting on gamecentric TV shows, being sought after as a speaker, he didn’t regret his career path at all. Except, of course, having to lie to Lucy.

With a quick nod, she glanced down the street. “I guess I am proud. Or, I will be, once I finish and I have that degree on my wall. I just have this one internship credit I need the professor to sign off on, and I’ll be finished this semester.” She looked lovely and strong. Independent. Maybe she would understand his reasons for lying. She deserved honesty, but she seemed to understand sacrifice for a job. He opened his mouth to explain the lies. He wanted to come clean and be honest with her.

“My treat this time.” She went up to the window and placed their order. “It’s the least I can do.”

He snapped his mouth shut. The least she could do? Why was she so reluctant to accept any gifts from him? Did she think he was broke?

Of course she did. Why else would he be crashing at his mom’s place and between jobs as he pretended? Her tale of woe clicked suddenly. She didn’t want another heartbreak. Or another guy who was going to take her for a ride. And here he was, offering up lies and no future. He paused as he gathered napkins for their snack. Lucy did deserve better. Someone like Dell, who offered stability and a future. And yet... She was here, making the decision to hang out with him.

“Careful, these are greasy hot.” She lifted one from the paper dish and blew on it delicately.

They walked to a bench out of the breeze. Under the guise of sharing the cheese he leaned closer to her.

“So, what kind of degree?” he asked, trying to distract himself as she closed her eyes in ecstasy after the last large curd.

“Just a business degree. So what about you? Did you go to school?”

He ignored the question. “No, not ‘just’ a business degree. It’s hard work to be in school as well as work full-time.”

She nodded in agreement, crossing her legs, bringing her into closer contact with his. Their bodies created a safe warm haven on the bench.

“You’re right. I worked really hard to do it. I mean, it was only a few classes a semester, but I kept at it. Some people look down on community college.”

He rested his arm on the bench behind her shoulders. “I think it’s pretty amazing. I think
you’re
pretty amazing too.”

Her lips curved into a little smile. As if he was the most important thing in her world for that moment. They quickly ate the melty cheese in companionable silence. He took the empty food cup from her and hung on to her hand, twining his fingers between hers. She shivered, yet didn’t move away. Bit by bit, he leaned forward to kiss her, unable to resist.

“Wait, we really shouldn’t,” she whispered, just inches away. Her chin tilted to angle with his.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m here with another guy. With Dell.” The warm puff of her breath against his lips made his heart catch.

He leaned until his lips touched the corner of hers, she turned her head barely enough to encourage him.

Desperate to kiss her, he pushed down her defenses. “I don’t see him here. Do you?”

“No.”

“So let’s not tell him.” His mouth claimed hers softly, coaxing. With a satisfied sigh of surrender, she kissed him back. His tongue met hers, tangled languidly, warm and savory.

A screaming kid raced by and they broke apart. Lucy stood, a bemused smile on her face. She held her hand out to pull him up. “Come on, let’s go see what else we can eat.”

“Or I could drive us back, and we could see where this goes.” Pathetic. He was so eager to get her alone. But mostly to get her naked. So pathetic.

“I really need to get a caramel apple.” She tried to frown, but her lips tilted up.

Getting his libido back in place, he took her hand. “I know just the place. And I have to track down that soap vendor for my mom.”

“Still sticking with the soap excuse, huh?” She grinned at him, the teasing, quirking grin he was becoming very fond of. They bumped together in the crush of people, and his hand found hers. It seemed so natural to clasp their chilly fingers together. They slipped into place like two Lego pieces. She faced him, a soft, gentle question in her eyes. His breath caught at how easy and naturally it happened, and he cleared his throat.

Moving closer, he lifted their linked hands to just under his chin, pulling her to the warmth of his body. He wanted to answer the question in her eyes. He wanted to hold her hand like this, cozy, easy, comfortable. He cleared his throat again and glanced away from her.

“Oh, yum. Something smells amazing.”

“You’re insatiable. First falafel, then cheese curds, what now?”

“I love trying new things.” She winked at him.

“Big talker,” he muttered.

“But this doesn’t smell like food. Something flowery, nice.”

“Soap shop.” He pointed over her shoulder.

She started laughing and turned to look. It just managed to press her against him in the crowd. “Oh funny. It
is
a soap shop.”

“Why? Did you think I made that up?”

The wind caught her hair, whipping it across her cheek and into her mouth. He moved it gently out of her way. The sparkle in her eyes fascinated him and he drew closer, following her farther into the crowd of people, trying not to let go of her hand as they slowly crossed the busy path. It seemed easy to pull her body close into his, so they took up less space.

“Well, yeah.” He could see the curve of her cheek, a ruddy pink from the cool breeze, “It’s a little goofy.” Her teasing tone made him smile.

“What? I love my mom. I’m not ashamed to admit it.” He spoke into the curve of her ear, and her scent caught him, roped him in. He moved down the column of her neck, taking more of her addictive scent deep, breathing her in. He kept pace with her shuffling step easily, dropping a hand to her hip to keep her close. He couldn’t help himself, the soft skin tempted him, teased him. She tilted her head, allowing him more access, and he couldn’t resist, he dropped a tiny kiss to the spot where her shoulder met her neck. Somehow his hand had migrated to her belly, pressing them together. He felt her gasp, and he licked the spot by her ear. He could feel her moan.

An elbow at the kidney jerked him from the contact, reminding him they were in public. In the middle of the day, with families all around them. He backed away and she shuffled a few inches forward as they were jostled again from the other side.

She took his hand and plowed into the fragrant soap and apothecary tent. The bite of the wind abruptly stopped as they stepped into the tent. Dropping his hand, she moved forward, following her nose down the tight aisles.

“Oh this is lovely. Your mom has awesome taste in soaps.” She lifted a bar of lavender to sniff delicately and closed her eyes. He leaned in to smell it, bringing his face closer to hers. It smelled of fresh sunshine and cool breezes and Lucy.

“This is wonderful,” she sighed. “I’ll have to get a few bars too.”

He pulled out the note his mom gave him, and browsed the rows idly, searching for the items. He managed to meet her at the end of the aisle on the far side of the tent. Musky, deep perfumes lived here. The breeze sneaked in under the tent to nip at their ankles, but the air was warm and heavy. She looked at some scented oils. He caught her hand and turned it palm up. Rubbing a thumb gently over her inner wrist, he selected an amber scent. Far from her normal lavender.

He twisted off the cap and dabbed it delicately on the tender skin in her wrist. One, two three, small droplets of the liquid spread lazily in the crease. He glanced up, and she watched his actions with heavy eyes, and he could smell the amber wafting up.

Then he took her wrist and gently lifted, angling it to rub against his jawline. The motion pulled her closer into his body. She leaned closer to inhale the scent on his skin. Her mouth mere inches from his own, his body strained with effort to hold back from closing the distance, to worship her. The smoldering look in her eyes turned him on like nothing else. Blood thrummed though his veins; it didn’t feel like oxygen was reaching his brain. He inhaled, and the warm amber scent invaded his senses, warm, erotic, mouthwateringly sexy.

“I wish I could figure out what it is about you,” she whispered.

It took him a moment to understand her words—her mouth hypnotized him. She wanted to have a discussion now? He struggled to focus. “What do you mean?” His voice was low, gravelly.

“We’re all wrong for each other.”

She swayed close for another inhale. He still held her wrist, he twined their fingers together again. “Maybe you should just let go and enjoy the ride.”
Yes. Please, yes.

“Maybe I should,” she murmured into his neck. “But that’s my deal. I can’t help but want more.”

“More than just a good time? What more is there? I mean, if you want to get all existential, all we have is right now. So enjoy it and let tomorrow be what it will.” The words rushed out fast, without any grace. That exact philosophy is what he’d lived by for most of his life. For the first time it sounded fake to his own ears.

Lucy pulled back with a frown. “You say stuff like that and I know I should run. Because I want the whole deal. I want it all now.”

He tilted his head. This didn’t sound like the prelude to a fun time in bed.

“But then you go be all amazing. You’re funny and you’re kind, and there’s more to you, I can tell.”

Now it was his turn to feel uncomfortable.

“You’re a very kind man. Even if you want to come across as otherwise. So I can’t understand why you’re so kind to other people, but you don’t see any ambition in yourself.”

“I think...” He stalled. Damn. This was
not
how things were supposed to go. They were supposed to be rushing to a bed right now. “Right now I’m just sort of between gigs, you know?”

“No. I don’t know.” She pulled back, releasing his hand. The loss of her warmth was like a slap from a cold wet towel. She seemed to look straight into his brain, ferreting out the lies.

He glanced to the side, looking for another excuse. Trying to ignore the truth.

“This is what drives me nuts. You’re deliberately obtuse about your past. And your future.”

He tilted his head and gave his patented professor-knows-best look. “Are you sure you aren’t seeing what you want to see?”

“What does that even mean?”

“You’re projecting things you wish were there to make yourself feel better. To justify your mad attraction for me.”

She glared at him for a moment, but he could see his words had connected. He resisted the urge to look away first.

“This conversation is going nowhere.” She pushed away from him and fished in her purse as she headed toward the check out. He frowned, reluctantly letting her escape. Why did she have to be so darn...smart?

“Here, let me.” He added hers to the pile he started.

“I don’t know, I can pay for it myself.”

“Why? It’s cheaper if I buy them together.” He pointed to the price sign. $5 for one, $10 for three, and $20 for five.

“It just seems strange that you’re buying my soap.”

Strange indeed that he was buying something she’d lather all over her skin in the shower, with bubbles slipping slowly over her curves, down her chest, between her breasts, down her thighs? He paused for a moment to indulge in the thought, watching her. In the shower, the air hot and humid, fragrant with the gentle bite of lavender. He could almost feel her skin, soft and slick beneath his palm.

She danced from foot to foot at his side, glancing around furtively as he paid the kiosk owner. The young woman bagged them all up individually with a little bit of craft paper and twine.

“There, not too painful, was it?” he asked, bumping her gently with his shoulder as he tucked his wallet away, out of the line.

“No. Thank you for the soap.”

So he couldn’t share what she wanted him to. Why did they have to be soul mates? Why couldn’t they just have a good time together while he was here? When he left, he’d say adios and think back on a few weeks of great sex with a delightful woman who happened to smell of lavender.