This Love. | Professor Stan

chapter eight | black coffee

- - - -

You were embarrassed for hugging your professor over a grade change. You knew it was going to eat away at you for years; the memory would pop into your mind at 3am and it would wake yourself up from the cringe. It had already happened once this week.

College was going... okay. The work load was okay. Your friends were okay. The subjects were okay. The lectures were okay. The questions were okay. You were okay. Everything was just okay, and it drove you insane.

College was supposed to be more than okay; you were supposed to find absolutely everything fascinating. The only thing that really thrilled you were the interactions you had with Sebastian.

Best years of my life, my ass. You often contemplated murdering whoever fed people that lie. Definitely wanting to tell high schoolers they should not apply for college unless they were dedicated to working or passionate about a career prospect.

Another thing you looked forward to was working at the bookshop. You always liked seeing Mr. Stan around campus too. But that didn't matter as much - you needed the money to be able to actually go to college and see him. You mainly worked in the coffee shop attached to it, but you were always inclined to just immerse yourself in the in all the books when it was slow.

A man walks into the shop. You don't take much notice of him as he heads towards a colleague to donate some books. What you don't realise is that it's the man that has been infecting your dreams - both day and night.

Fucking finally, he thinks. He's been going in and out of this damn shop all week to see if you were working. Admittedly, it was creepy to just come in to see you, but he also found it a good place to do his work if he felt cooped up in his office. It's a relief that all this to-and-fro between work and the shop has sort of paid off. He dropped off the books and headed towards the counter.

"Good afternoon sir, what will you be or-" You look up and see Mr. Stan standing in front of you, a big grin plastered on his face. He's grown out his beard over the past couple of weeks, and it finally doesn't look as patchy. It suited him very well, which compliments his navy shirt and black leather jacket look. It was quite refreshing to see him in something so casual.

"Cat got your tongue?", he smirks. Your brain freezes for a moment, unsure of what to say. New York was so big, with thousands of coffee shops, and yet, here he was, in the tiny one that you had worked for less than a month in.

"Looking very dash today sir", is what you settle on. I've been reading too much Jane Austen, you think, wanting the ground to swallow you whole a moment later.

He laughs at that, his nose scrunching in amusement. It's absolutely adorable because it reminds you of innocence. If only you knew about those not-so-innocent thoughts.

"Well, I have an extremely hot date with the history faculty later on". You snort at that, considering there's a smaller age gap between the two of you than the other history professors you see wandering around the place. You push the thought about the age gap out of your head, remembering that you were at work.

"Anything to order or are you here to hold up my work?"

"Ah, shit I'm sorry. Two black coffees and a shortbread to go."

Always two black coffees. Only once you've seen him drink the second one he carries around the place. It's odd to order two at the same time, by the time he finishes one, the other would be cold. You don't think he would finish one really quickly - personally you would be running to the bathroom if you had two coffees in the space of an hour.

"Sir, why always two coffees?"  You ask, grabbing the tongs for the shortbread whilst the coffee brews. He wasn't listening, too absorbed looking between his phone and the window. He had just received a text:

Chris Evans

Stop flirting with the girl serving you and bring me that coffee!

Sebastian forgot he was supposed to be running errands and Chris was kind enough to offer a lift into the city.

"Oh, I always get one for Chris. Professor Evans. We're close friends."

"So that's why you put me in the group with Tom?" You assumed the two gossiped about students; it was inevitable really. Although a small part of you hoped that it wasn't.

Sebastian's jaw twitches at the sound of his name. He remembers how embarrassed he got when Chris joked about this crush, and that all his time complimenting you and working up that blush he loved to see was all for nothing. The two of them had never discussed students, but this year was different, for they seemed to share a couple. So of course you came up. He had vowed then to work harder. To show you that you could do so much better than a college boy.

"Chris suggested it", he bluntly replied, grabbing the coffee cups from your hands. Both your hand briefly brush, and it pumps you with electricity. It was such a small interaction, and you had touched before, but this time, it was different. You weren't on campus, so it sent unfamiliar tingles throughout your body. Sebastian had touched you without any reason. It was so innocent that even though your thoughts were racing, you suppressed them once again. You were sure he could feel it too, but neither said anything.

He's walking away after paying, and you call for him as he's leaving and putting on his leather jacket. The nagging comes up again, and before you know it, you're shouting, "Hey! I made that up!"

You don't know what came over you. What exactly did you make up? How would you explain it if he came back up to the counter and asked for you to elaborate your point, as he usually did in class?

Sebastian doesn't stop, but turns to look at you as he heads out the door. He winks at you, and this time, it was definitely not a goodbye.

- - - -