Chapter 39: The Professor’s Fan Club

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Professor’s Fan Club

We left the amusement park a little after five, both of us tired enough that I was starting to appreciate the fact that we’d paid for unlimited rides instead of having to count how many times Nicole had dragged me onto something.

We’d barely made it out of the parking lot before Nicole remembered Chloe.

She made me stop at a shop nearby so we could pick something up for her, eventually settling on a small box of assorted chocolates. I stared at the box for a moment before realizing I’d completely forgotten about Chloe asking us to bring her something.

Nicole noticed.

She didn’t even have to say anything for me to know she’d caught me forgetting.

I denied it anyway.

By the time we got back to her place, it was already seven. The second Chloe saw the box in Nicole’s hand, her face lit up with a look of quiet satisfaction.

I left them to it.

The black card I’d seen at the amusement park never came up. There wasn’t really any reason to bring it up. Nicole had used the card she always used around me, and that was enough. Whatever the other one meant, I already understood why she’d kept it out of sight.

The rest of the evening passed quietly. Nicole was still riding the high from the amusement park, talking about the rides she’d enjoyed and the ones she wanted to try again someday. Chloe stayed close, happily enjoying whatever part of the evening she could get out of the two of us being there together.

I let the girls keep talking while I pulled out my phone and checked the time. 7:47 PM. I slipped it back into my pocket and pushed myself up from the couch.

"Alright. Time to go home."

Nicole immediately looked over at me. "Nooo."

I paused and looked at her.

She stood up too, her expression dropping slightly as she looked at me. "Can’t you stay the night?"

"I spent two nights here already. Besides, I’ve got to prepare for school."

She nodded, her expression falling a little more.

Chloe looked between us before speaking. "Can I stay with her?"

I looked at her.

"So she won’t be lonely," she added.

I stared at Chloe for a moment. We both knew that had absolutely nothing to do with Nicole being lonely.

Still, I nodded. "Sure. You can stay."

I reached toward the table for my keys, but Nicole was faster. She picked them up first and held them between both hands.

"I’ll walk you to your car."

I smiled and let her.

—

We walked outside together, with Chloe staying behind in the living room. Nicole handed me my keys once we reached the driveway.

I unlocked my car and opened the driver’s door before turning back to face her.

For a moment, neither of us said anything.

Nicole stood there with her hands loosely together in front of her, gently shifting her weight from one foot to the other, looking anywhere but directly at me.

I smiled. "What?"

She glanced up at me. "Can I..." She lifted a finger to her lips, then looked away for a moment, almost like she was reconsidering whether to ask. "Get a hug?"

I smiled and opened my arms.

She stepped into them immediately, and I pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her, holding on for a few seconds before slowly pulling back.

She stayed close, though, our faces only inches apart.

Her eyes dropped to my lips for a brief moment before returning to mine. I wasn’t thinking about stopping her, and she seemed to realize that too, but instead of closing the distance, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against my cheek.

She pulled back just enough to look at me again.

I met her eyes and understood why she’d stopped herself. Probably because she’d remembered what I’d told her before about not needing to rush into anything or put a name to whatever this was between us.

"Text me when you get home," she said softly.

I nodded. "I will."

She gave me a small smile and finally stepped back, giving me enough room to get into the car.

I got behind the wheel, started the engine, and looked at her one last time through the open window before pulling out of the driveway.

—

Monday came around like it always did, completely uninterested in whether I’d had enough sleep or not.

I reached for my phone on the nightstand and checked the screen.

Nicole: Morning 🌞 How was your night? Make sure you eat before leaving the house.

I smiled at the message.

She really didn’t know how to turn it off.

I typed back a quick reply — Morning. Slept fine. I’ll eat. See you later — before getting out of bed.

I set my phone down and got ready for school.

By the time I reached campus, the morning rush was already in full swing. Students moved through the halls in every direction, some heading to class, others stopping to talk before the first lecture of the day.

I walked into the classroom and headed toward my usual seat beside Jackson.

"Hey bro," I said as I dropped into the chair.

Jackson looked over. "Morning, bud."

I put my bag down and glanced around the room.

Something was different.

Most of the guys in the class had something sitting on their desks. A few had neatly wrapped boxes in front of them, covered in pink, red, or floral wrapping paper. One guy had a small gift bag with tissue paper sticking out of the top, while another had a carton of fruit juice sitting beside his notebook.

I looked around again.

More gifts.

Some were wrapped. Others weren’t. There were little cosmetic bags, scented candles, small bottles of body lotion, a couple of boxes of chocolates, and what looked like a women’s perfume set sitting on one desk.

I frowned slightly, then looked at Jackson.

"What’s going on?"

Jackson glanced around the room before looking back at me. "Oh, yeah. You left early on Friday."

"Yeah. I had somewhere to be."

"I figured." He nodded toward the gifts. "The guys decided to get Professor Collins a few things. You know, welcome-back-to-school stuff."

I looked around the room again.

"Welcome back?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I stared at him for a moment. "She wasn’t even away for that long."

Jackson shrugged. "She was sick."

"I know, but we don’t even have her class on Friday. So even if she wasn’t sick, we still wouldn’t have seen her."

Jackson smirked. "Try telling them that."

Just then, Nicole walked in.

The change in the room was immediate. Several of the guys straightened up in their seats, and a few others quickly checked the gifts on their desks before looking back at her.

Nicole didn’t seem to notice any of it. She walked toward the lectern, set her things down, and turned to face the class—

"WELCOME BACK, PROFESSOR COLLINS!"

The entire room said it at once.

I blinked.

Nicole froze for a second, clearly caught off guard. Then a smile slowly spread across her face.

Beside me, Jackson nudged my shoulder with his.

I glanced at him. He was trying not to laugh.

I looked back at Nicole. She was still smiling at the class, although the surprise hadn’t completely left her face.

A hand went up near the front.

Nicole looked toward it. "Yes, Blake?"

Blake, our course representative, smiled as he stood up. "Professor Collins, we prepared a little something for you."

Nicole’s eyebrows lifted. "Oh."

She glanced around the room, finally noticing all the gifts sitting on the desks. Blake took that as his cue, picking up the neatly wrapped box he’d brought and walked toward the front of the hall.

He stopped in front of Nicole and held it out to her with a grin. "Welcome back, Miss Nicolette."

Nicole laughed softly as she accepted it. "Thank you, Blake."

Before she could say anything else, another guy stood up.

"My turn."

A few others immediately started reaching for their gifts.

"Hey, I was here first."

"No, you weren’t."

"Move."

The room erupted into a mess of guys standing up at the same time, some carrying wrapped boxes, others holding gift bags, chocolates, and whatever else they’d decided would make Professor Collins happy.

One guy tried squeezing past another and accidentally knocked his gift onto the floor.

"Bro!"

"Sorry, sorry."

"Watch where you’re going!"

Nicole stared at the sudden commotion, her mouth twitching as she tried not to laugh. "Guys."

Nobody listened.

"Guys."

A few of them slowed down, but the room was still noisy enough that Nicole’s voice barely carried.

Blake finally slapped a palm against the nearest desk. "Alright, shut up for a second."

The noise dropped almost immediately.

Nicole looked around the room, still smiling. "We should probably start class."

A collective groan rolled through the room.

Nicole laughed softly and glanced down at her wristwatch. "Okay." She looked back at them, clearly amused. "Fifteen minutes."

The room immediately came back to life.

"Yes!"

"Thank you, Professor!"

"You’re the best!"

She raised a finger. "Form a straight line. And please don’t knock each other over."

The guys started rearranging themselves, still arguing about who was first.

I let out a quiet huff and leaned back in my chair. "They’re behaving like kids."

Jackson leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Or maybe you’re just jealous your girl’s being crowded by males."

I ignored him and looked back toward the front of the hall.

—

The line moved slowly, with each guy getting his turn to hand Nicole something. Most of the gifts were harmless enough: chocolates, candles, perfume, little gift bags, flowers, and neatly wrapped boxes that Nicole accepted with a smile and a quiet thank-you.

Then one guy stepped forward carrying a large bouquet of red roses.

I raised an eyebrow.

He handed them to Nicole with a grin that was far too confident for a Monday morning. "I figured flowers would look good in your office, Professor Collins. Although, honestly, I think they’d look better in your hands."

A few guys groaned.

Nicole laughed softly, clearly amused but not giving him anything more than that.

Before he could say anything else, the guy behind him stepped forward and nudged him aside.

"Move. You’re taking too long."

The guy reluctantly moved, and the next student stepped up with his own gift.

By the time everyone had finished, the front of the hall looked less like the front of a classroom and more like a small gift shop that had somehow decided to set up around Nicole’s lectern.

Nicole glanced over everything for a moment before picking up a few of the smaller gifts and arranging them neatly to one side.

Then she walked back behind the lectern and looked around the room.

"Alright. Where did we stop last week?"

One of the students raised his hand.

Nicole nodded toward him, then glanced briefly in my direction.

Our eyes met. She smiled, then turned her attention back to the student.