After pulling on my fifth outfit for the night, I stood in front of the mirror and sighed heavily through my nose at my reflection. Love handles, love handles, and more freaking love handles. All of my party clothes were either too tight around the waist that it shoved all my fat above the belt-line or fit me perfectly but didn't look sexy.

There was no way that I was going to my first frat party ever looking like this.

So, I changed out my jeans for sweatpants and my halter top for the tanktop that I slept in for the past four nights, then threw my hair into a messy bun—and by messy I didn't mean cute like all those girls on social media. I meant hair sticking up in every direction messy.

Typing on her phone, Jasmine opened our dorm room door and glanced up at me. "Why aren't you ready?"

I gnawed on the inside of my cheek. "I'm not going."

"Come on, Bria. It's our first semester of college. Don't you want to have some fun?"

"Yeah, but I don't have anything to wear."

"You can wear something of mine."

Cutting my gaze to her, I raised a brow. She and I both knew that I would never fit into anything her petite ass could. I'd pop all the buttons on her shirt and stretch out her leggings until they became sweatpants on her. So, that was a no from me.

She rolled her eyes. "You'll look great in anything that you have."

"Everyone at this school is insanely small and skinny, Jasmine. It's like everyone takes three-hour runs every day to stay fit. I don't want to go like this."

I shook my head and scrolled through my emails, finding one from Professor Lee addressed to the entire class.

Class,

There will be a five-question quiz on tonight's reading. Be prepared. If you have any questions, feel free to email me back. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Sincerely,

Professor Lee

"Nobody cares what you look like at frat parties," Jasmine said. "Half the guys are drunk off their asses anyway. They see a cute face like yours, and they'll be all over you. Don't worry too much about it, Bria. Let's just go."

I grabbed my classics book from my desk. "I'll come next time. I have a quiz tomorrow."

"What?! Who's the psycho who assigned a quiz the first day of school?"

"Professor Lee."

"You have Professor Lee?" she asked with wide eyes. "Isn't he the most gorgeous person that you have ever seen?"

"Do you have him?" I asked, curious as to how she found out about him already. She was a first year just like me and wasn't taking any classic classes as far as I knew. She must've been on Rate My Professor or something.

She paused, opening and closing her mouth, then hurried to the door. "Oh, I just... saw him in the hallway. One of my friends has his class. Anyway, have fun studying. Next time you're coming out with me. See ya."

When she closed the door, I slumped my shoulders forward and let out a breath. That was... easier than I thought it would be. At first, she was so adamant about me going with her, and then she just dropped it.

Deciding not to think so much about it, I sat at my desk, opened my book, and studied for the next five hours until 12AM. Jasmine still wasn't home yet, and even though she told me that she wouldn't be home until after 2AM, I was still worried. Was that what people did in college? Stay up until all hours of the night?

I closed my textbook and hopped up onto the bed, my phone lighting up with an email notification.

Bria,

Have you read this?

-Callum Lee

I gnawed on the inside of my cheek and suppressed a smile, my cheeks flushing for no good reason at all. Professor Lee didn't sign his professional name like he did when he sent an email to the entire class earlier, but he signed his real name to me.

Callum Lee.

And an email after midnight?

Callum—Professor Lee was up late thinking about me.

Surely, it didn't mean anything, but the thought of my hot professor thinking about me and our conversation this late at night did something bad to me. I pressed my thighs together, just like watching him run around the campus until he stopped and saw me gawking at him earlier. God, he looked so sexy with a layer of sweat covering his body and his muscles swelling underneath his shirt.

I swallowed hard and clicked on the link, getting directed to a book titled: The Red Hammer that explored the tales of Hephaestus and his relationship with his mother.

While I thought I read everything on that god—at least within the classic books—I hadn't touched this one yet. I made a mental note to pick it up tomorrow in the school library and typed out a quick reply back to Professor Lee, unable to stop myself.

Professor Lee,

It's added to my TBR list! Thanks for the recommendation.

Sincerely,

Bria

After scrunching my nose, I erased my sign-off, then typed the same exact words over again. I couldn't decide if it was too formal or not formal enough. But he wasn't formal at all in his email. Deciding not to overthink it, I hit send and placed my phone face down on my stomach, smiling stupidly to myself as I stared up at the ceiling.

Here I was, a first year college student, who declined attending a frat party just to lie in her bed and get butterflies that her much older professor was emailing her this late at night. It was a damn fantasy that would never come true, a small act of good attention that I ached for.

It wasn't like I ever got that at home.

Shutting off the light from my bedside, I closed my eyes and felt the phone vibrate against my stomach. I tilted the phone up slightly, so the brightness wouldn't blind me, and shot up in the bed when I saw another email from Professor Lee.

I think you'll enjoy it. It's one of my favorites.

-Callum

No Callum Lee this time. Just Callum.

My stomach fluttered. I hugged the phone to my chest and smiled like a complete idiot at the ceiling, then shook my head and plugged my phone into the charger. I couldn't be stupid. I was making something out of nothing, and if I didn't control myself, that something was going to control me.

Tomorrow, I'd thank Professor Lee for the recommendation again and get the book from the library. That would be it, I'd be done with the little crush I formed because I needed to study this semester. I had worked damn hard to find the money to attend college without the help from Mom or Dad. I couldn't let it go to waste.