Lenora
The crisp morning air hit my face as I rushed for lectures, surrounded by the chatter of students.
It was my third month here and despite my bittersweet connection with my course of study and my last-minute decision to come to Eldridge, I had grown to love it.
My dad was shocked to the core and Mariselle was pissed when she heard my change of plans, but I'd made up a flimsy excuse of wanting to be independent.
I hated leaving my dad and our town which was a six-hour drive from Eldridge, but it was the wisest decision I made.
It was a shame that I chose environmental management as a result of my stupid crush on CJ.
I was such an idiot, head over heels in love with him, and wanted to impress him.
That's why when I noticed his passion for wildlife conservation and environmental management, I looked into it just to impress him and be on the same wavelength.
Despite all my efforts, he didn't like me and instead slammed me with a painful heartbreak.
Strangely, I'd genuinely grown to love this field and loved talking about protecting our planet. So instead of changing my course, I embraced it.
CJ wasn't here and his validation didn't matter to me anymore.
"Liar," my inner thoughts mocked me.
"Fuck you," I said loudly and rushed into my faculty.
Arriving in the lecture hall, I took a seat in the middle row and adjusted my laptop after waving at Tracy and Linda, my friends from high school.
My stomach rumbled with hunger, but my demon-in-human-form roommate, Jovita had made me self-conscious about my appetite. I ate like a hungry nanny goat and needed to get a grip on myself.
The lecture began, but I couldn't concentrate due to my hunger. I glanced at my wallpaper, a picture of me and Esme on a cliff.
Sighing, I decided it was time to change it. It had been three agonizing months since I last spoke with my sister.
She'd turned into a distant stranger, all because of a man. I couldn't bring myself to forgive her or let my dad know about our strained relationship.
He would be furious and disappointed if he knew about CJ. He already had enough on his plate, struggling with our mum's absence and raising two girls.
Esme crossed the line, kissing CJ behind my back without even telling me that she liked him. I had every right to be hurt and angry.
She didn't bother calling or texting to say she was sorry. She had a stupid habit of not apologizing whenever she offended people so I wasn't surprised.
I headed to my second class, walking past the library and administrative office when I caught sight of my boyfriend Ronin.
I looked away quickly because he was with his loud, frat boys.
"Hey, Lenora!" Tony whistled. "Over here, Len!"
I hated public attention, and I had told Ron countless times to warn his friends not to scream my name in public. But would he ever learn? I guess not.
"Hey, guys," I mustered the fakest smile, casting my eyes downward and crossing to the other side. Some other students sat in groups and I hoped Ronin wouldn't do anything stupid.
"Baby," Ron drawled, trying to kiss my neck, but I pulled away. "Are you heading to the next class?"
"Yup," I stated the obvious. "I'm five minutes late, babe. I'll see you later."
A bicycle rolled by, and the rider turned around, a boy with acne on his face. "Holy fuck, your girl's ass is huge!," he said loudly to Ron, and I cringed as Ron and his friends laughed.
Open-mouthed like a fish, I watched Ron's reaction. Instead of standing up for me, he beamed, lifting his chin.
Idiot.
"Can I go now?" I said, trying hard not to lose my temper.
"Sure. You should have lunch or dinner with us after school. We'll meet at the same place."
I nodded and walked away immediately, wanting to escape from the annoying crowd.
I didn't know how long I could keep up with Ron and his friends. It made me wonder why I even agreed to be his girlfriend in the first place.
Ron was a classmate from high school, the same one who gave me a designer bag for my birthday.
He was nineteen, tall as a building, and nearly as hairy as a bulldog. He applied to Eldridge because of me, majoring in business management to take over his family's coffee empire.
Before agreeing to his request, I made it clear that I felt nothing for him. But he kept torturing me to give him a chance, and in the hopes of forgetting about CJ and letting go of my foolish infatuation, I said yes to someone interested in me, but now I had to deal with his foolishness every day.
CJ…
He and Ron were like opposites. Ron was young, immature, and a crybaby. But CJ was a whole different story. Older, incredibly sexy, mysterious, and sophisticated.
Unfortunately, CJ was history and I did every possible thing to erase him from my mind.
After the next class, I took a break and headed to my dorm, climbing the stairs to my room and panting like an exhausted dog.
Entering my room, my eyes were assaulted by clothes and papers scattered everywhere, a half-finished bowl of cereal with bread crumbs on the table.
"Of course," I muttered under my breath. Jovita couldn't be bothered to clean up again, and now I, once again, had to be the one to tidy up the mess that I didn't create.
I didn't understand why my roommate couldn't clean up after herself and how my arch-rival in high school ended up being my roommate in college.
Jovita was always trying to outshine me in middle and high school. It was exhausting to be stuck with her now and it seemed the universe was destined to keep me unhappy. I really needed to talk to the housing officers again before she drives me insane.
With a sigh, I tidied up the room, opened the cabinet, retrieved a box of my cereal, grabbed a gallon of milk from the refrigerator, and poured a generous amount into a bowl.
After eating to my satisfaction, I cleaned up and took a quick bath before heading to my last class.
The lecture hall was in a frenzy with some girls behind me giggling and gossiping about some new professor.
"Oh my God, our new professor is super tall and sexy, like a mature runway model. I saw him downstairs," one girl exclaimed.
"We know you're exaggerating, Tanya," another girl said. "Who doesn't know that you have horrible taste in men?"
"She's telling the truth," Amy, the third girl chimed in. "The man is so hot. He looks like a Viking."
"Can you girls stop?" a boy whose name I could never memorize spoke up. "You think the so-called professor won't be married with kids? There are boys your age who are begging for your attention, but instead of giving us a chance, you're swooning over a professor who won't even look at you twice."
Ouch!
To pass the time, I texted my best friend Mariselle, who attended a different university.
/We're getting a new professor in class, and the girls are going crazy claiming he's a total heartthrob/
/Lucky you, I guess. Unlike the ones here who are old goons and do nothing other than frustrate our lives. Speaking of hot guys, guess what?/
/What? You know how I hate guessing/
I waited for some seconds for her to type. Mariselle typed haphazardly and never sent her messages at once. It annoyed me all the time but I loved her.
/Well, I met a hot guy last night when I went for dinner/
/ Oh my God, Lenora, you need to see him/
/At first, I was surprised that he would come after me, with my boobless and assless body. But he asked for my number, and we've been texting ever since./
A chuckle escaped my lips.
/Really? Spill the details, girl. Tell me everything./
/There's not much to say for now. But the chemistry was instant. Gosh, I can't stop thinking about him./
The class fell silent when the lecturers walked in. I quickly texted my friend.
/New professor just walked in. Let's see if he lives up to the hype. I'll keep you posted./
/Can't wait,/ wink emoji. /Don't get too distracted by Mr. Hottie./
I slipped my phone back into my bag and raised my head. Three men dressed in sharp suits stood in front of us. Two of them were our old professors, and one...
Holy shit!
The shock hit me like a fist under my ribs. It couldn't be, could it? I recognized that familiar face—the one who made my insides go weak and also brought me immense pain.
What was CJ doing in my school?
LenoraThe popular restaurant at Eldridge, FoodHub, buzzed with students from all corners of the campus, and even some of our lecturers came here to eat.Loud laughter filled the air, and knives scraped against plates when I walked in. This place was always packed because the food was great compared to other restaurants.My mind was still reeling from the unexpected encounter with CJ.CJ of all people was my new professor. What a damn coincidence. The coincidence that I feared would destroy me totally because how in the world was I going to compose myself?All my suppressed desires and longing feelings for him now clashed, and my skin prickled pleasurably, making my breathing harsh and uneven.How the hell was I supposed to deal with this?CJ had all the girls' attention, and to my utter disappointment, I was stupidly jealous. All my months of pep talks and mantras flew out the window.He got over his surprise at seeing me almost immediately and became stiff and remote like a public m
Lenora The pit of my stomach churned and my gaze stayed fixed on CJ, unable to tear my eyes away from him. I still couldn't believe that he was here defending me.Jovita got over her shock and became defensive, trying to justify her actions."Sir, you don't understand. This girl is my roommate. She has all the time in the world because she's studying some stupid course, but I am studying robotics, and I'm always tinkering with screws, nails, and other tiny objects. As much as I try to keep myself, and my things organized, there's no way in hell that they won't become a mess."I pressed my lips hard, wondering how CJ was going to react, considering that he was a professor of environmental management, the same course that Jovita was trashing."That's not an excuse," he said coldly. "I know people who are professors in robotics, and they manage to keep their workplace tidy. Why not create separate compartments to organize your tools? You should be respectful of shared spaces and be resp
CJMy mouth fell open in shock at the sight of Lenora. She was the last person I expected to see all alone in the middle of the night. Wasted. Glad I decided to come out for my night run. She stumbled into me, her hands fisted in my vest, trying to steady herself and her head lolled to the side. My breath hitched when my nose caught our mating scent, sweet like roses on a summer's day, with faint traces of vodka on her lips.“Are you okay? What are you doing out here, all by yourself?” Her cornflower-blue eyes looked glassy and unfocused, staring off into nothingness. "Whoa! Hold on to me." Her gaze exploded my body, making my cock bulge with arousal and my heartbeat pounded erratically almost painfully, in my chest. “I'm not sure what you're up to, but it isn't safe outside at this hour. And why did you drink so much?""None of your business," she sneered, pulling away from me and almost falling flat. Such a disrespectful girl. I pulled her up and curled my hands into fists
Lenora One of my eyes popped open before the other, and my heartbeat raced with surprise.This wasn't my room or Ron's frat house. Sitting up, my eyes gaped around. It was still dark and I couldn't see properly, but it was morning, judging from the little creeks of sunlight behind the dark curtains.My head throbbed painfully as if a drummer had taken residence inside my skull. What happened to me? I shook my head, trying to recall memories of what happened last night. The last thing I remembered was running away from Ron, who'd been trying to have his way with me.I clutched my temple, trying to massage away the pounding headache, and greedily sipped a half-full glass of water beside the bed.I froze when I sighted Mariselle's unmistakable portrait and my eyes widened in realization.CJ's room.What the fuck am I doing in CJ's room?My heart began pounding and I rushed to the mirror to check my appearance. My hair looked like a mad woman's, and my eyes were bloodshot.Did CJ see
Lenora Ronin's obsession made me flee from my dorm. My roommate was shitty as well, so I shelled out my dad's money and booked a hotel to spend the rest of my weekend. The hotel gave me some time to clear my head. It was a fifteen-minute drive from my school, and I spent the whole of Saturday and Sunday there, enjoying the fancy building with a breathtaking view of the city skyline, mouth-watering dishes, dipping myself in the swimming pool, and strolling around the hotel garden.Mariselle called me that evening, filling me in about her new boo. While she kept yapping excitedly, I relaxed on my bed, grinning, and let my thoughts drift. Several unholy thoughts of CJ eating me flashed through my mind, but I quickly pushed them away. "Are you even listening to me?" Mariselle accused me, bringing me out of my fantasy land."Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. I heard you, and I'm so happy for you, girl. Congratulations. Have you told your dad about him? And didn't you say he was a conspiracy th
CJIt took me a great deal of self-restraint not to unleash my fury on the idiots harassing Lenora. It was a crazy coincidence to step out at the same time she was getting harassed, thanks to my wolf. "What is going on here?" I snapped at the boys. "Are you trying to beat up a girl in public?"Lenora's boyfriend looked shaken by my presence, with his body shrinking in on itself. A brittle laugh escaped his lips, but his friend grew defensive."We're not harassing her, Sir, as you can see. Lenora and my friend Ron are lovers. They're only trying to iron out""Shut the hell up," I gave him an intense, fevered stare, with my breath sounding loud in my ears. The bumhole was lucky that this wasn't the werewolf pack where I'd have devoured him to shreds for daring to touch my girl.I glanced at Lenora. She was so embarrassed, with a flush creeping onto her cheeks while she sweated visibly from the circle of curious students huddling around and watching the unfolding drama. "Shows over,"
LenoraThe week dragged on, stressful as ever . and now we were expected to form study groups to improve our academic performance. I hated reading in groups, but this was compulsory, and I didn't have a choice."Everybody, listen up," the Class Rep announced on the stage. "We have to group ourselves in fours for the peer learning, where each person will take turns explaining topics, share your class notes and summaries."One of the girls asked at the back, "Must we all be involved in this?""Yes," the Class rep replied, "some of the lecturers will come with quizzes or grade us according to our peer learning group. You must stick to time, do not inflate the size or pair with your friend.""We are adults," another classmate shouted angrily, "and not in middle school or high school. We should be given the freedom to read with whomever we wish."Everyone started talking at once, and I bent my head, trying to block out the harsh voices that grated my nerves."Fine," the class rep yelled,
LenoraI was so angry that my breathing grew noisy, and I gritted my teeth to stop myself from exploding. I needed to start hating CJ so badly. How could someone always like to see me cry?A rational part of my brain reminded me that he was a lecturer and was just doing his job, scolding me that he probably didn't mean to hurt me with his words. It didn't help, and I couldn't shake off the fact that he'd hurt me badly. He was doing this intentionally because there were classmates who answered questions wrong and didn't get such belittlement."Come on, Lenora," Killian tried to make me smile. "You did very well. Our lecturers aren't our friends, and what they say doesn't matter. What matters is our grade, right? And we should be happy because we scored the highest.""Whatever," I murmured, my heartbeat pounding, and all I did that morning was to cuss out CJ in my mind. He was a foolish old man with a fat ego.Shame on me for lusting after someone so annoying, a jerk, an arsewipe.Befo