One Night With My Alpha Professor novel Chapter 89

Chapter 89
Edwin
I was still riding high on my victory over that little**t, Max, as settled back at my seat at the bar. Carefully adjusting my mask on my face, I dusted the last remnants of a scuffle in the courtyard off of the sleeves of my jacket and ordered another scotch-to celebrate, of course.
Charles, finally finding me after my little disappearing act, settled onto the seat next to me.
“Where did you go?” he whispered, keeping his voice low so only I could hear. “Was that you who taught that little s** a
lesson?
I sneered slightly, remembering the pathetic sight of Max cowering on the ground in front of me. Sipping my freshly refilled scotch, I said, “I didn’t harm him, if it’s any consolation. Not physically, at least.”
Charles quirked an eyebrow. “He looked pretty beat up when he came running back in here. Security escorted him out, accusing him of doing drugs in the bathroom.”
“Good. Let them think that,” I replied with a curt nod as I adjusted my tie clip. “And let’s just say that he won’t be bothering Audrey anymore, at least not for a good, long while
“I suppose you’re not going to elaborate, Charles retorted with a chuckle.
I shook my head and quickly wiped a bit of marker off of the tip of my finger.
“Not here, I won’t, I replied. “But I’ll say this: I gave him a good scare. And the best part? He has no idea who I am. As far as he knows, I’m just some random masked man who caught him in the act and wrecked his expensive suit.”
Charles chuckled. “Well, whatever you did, it seems to have worked. Look.” He nodded his head toward a table toward the back of the gathering, where Audrey and her friends were currently grinning and laughing. Ms. Morrie was in the midst of calling out the winner’s of tonight’s rattle, and it seemed that Audrey’s night had been a success.
I suppressed a shudder as I considered what might have happened if I hadn’t removed that broom from the bathroom door. Audrey and her friend might have even been in the hospital by now.
Despite my restraint, a small growl rumbled somewhere in my chest. “Maybe now he’ll think twice before-”
“And the male winner is.. Number 491”
Ms. Morrie’s voice rang through the speakers, echoing across the large reception hall. There was a brief moment of murmuring and shifting as male attendees checked their cards, only for the fated number 49 to be nowhere to be found.
“I’m number 48, Charles muttered, turning his card over between his fingers before glancing at me. “You don’t suppose…”
1 froze, my hand instinctively going to the card I had stuffed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I stared in disbelief at the number printed there: 49,
Yeals, right. Like I was going to accept a reward for a date with a student.
“499” Ms. Morrie called out again, her eyes scanning the crowd. “Does anyone have the number 49 on their card?”
I remained still, hoping that if I didn’t react, they would just assume that the winner wasn’t present tonight. They could call
out another number, förall I cared. But suddenly, the girl next to me, who had apparently seen my card, grabbed my wrist and thrust my hand into the air:
Chapter 89
“He’s right here!” she called out excitedly. “Number 49 is present
The spotlight found me, and suddenly all eyes were on me. I froze again, pressing my lips into a thin line.
“Ah, there you are,” Ms. Morrie called out, beckoning me forward. She didn’t recognize me behind the mask. “Don’t be shy! Come on up!”
Applause erupted around the room and reluctantly stood up and smoothed down my jacket.
Charles whispered, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Your reward awaits.”
I shot him a withering glare over my shoulder before slowly making my way up to the podium. As I walked, I scanned the crowd, my eyes landing on Audrey. To my relief, she showed no sign of recognition. The colored contacts and mask were doing their job, I supposed
Ms. Morrie, just as oblivious as Audrey, greeted me at the podium with a beaming smile from behind her cat mask. The mask covered her upper lip, making her appear even more catlike.
“Congratulations to our mysterious man in the blue mask!” she announced, flourishing her hand toward me.
I nodded in acknowledgement, keeping my head slightly turned to avoid direct eye contact with anyone-especially Audrey who, thankfully, had her head bent at her table to look at something her friend was showing her.
“And now, let’s announce our female first-place winner! Ms. Morrie turned to the female raffle box, building the suspense as she dug deeply into the slips of paper. “Drumroll please. Number 1501”
A silence. Murmuring. And then: “Here! She’s here!”
I cursed under my breath, turning away as I saw one of Audrey’s friends force her to stand up from her table. She looked bashful as she picked up her skirt and slowly began to approach, her cheeks red beneath her green mask.
No. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t go on a date with her to the planetarium. It was too romantic, too intimate. We shouldn’t be romantic with each other. And she wasn’t supposed to know I was here.
And yet… a small part of me couldn’t help but wish I could go. The thought of sitting in an empty planetarium, observing the stars with Audrey, sounded like a dream. I could almost picture it-the two of us all alone, surrounded by the vastness of the cosmos, a bottle of champagne between us, those big blue eyes of hers wide with wonder as she gazed up at the stars… No, I told myself firmly. Pull yourself together, Edwin. I would have to give away my winnings to someone else, perhaps one of Audrey’s friends. It was the right thing to do-the responsible thing to do.
As Audrey approached, I kept my face turned away, praying she wouldn’t recognize me. Thankfully, as she stepped up onto the stage, she didn’t show any signs of recognition. If she did know it was me, then she certainly didn’t show it
“And that is the end of the raffle,” Ms. Morrie announced.
Good. I quickly turned on my heel and began to descend the stage steps back to the floor, hoping to just grab my coat and get the hell out of here before it was too late. But, as always, things wouldn’t be so E
for me.
“Hold
your horses, mysterious man,” Ms. Morrie cooed, eliciting laughter from the crowd. I froze, my shoulders stiffening, as she said cheerfully. “It’s now time for the winners’ dance. Winners, take your partners to the dance floor!”
I watched in horror and dismay as the other winning couples made their way to the dance floor. The orchestra began to play a soft, romantic song. And meanwhile, there was Audrey, clutching her skirt and looking at me expectantly.
Da**it.
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Chapter 89
Taking a deep breath. I offered my arm to Audrey, careful to keep my face turned toward the shadows so as not to be recognized. She took it, and I led her to the dance floor, my heart pounding harder in my chest than I would have liked to admit
As we began to dance, I noticed that Audrey seemed blissfully distracted, her eyes darting around the room. For once, grateful for her inattention.
I was
But it was only a matter of moments before Audrey, ever the polite one, tried to strike up a conversation with me. “So, um, congratulations on winning,” she said. “I hope you like the planetarium.”
I simply replied with a grunt, clenching my jaw as I looked away; I didn’t want her to recognize my voice. Goddess, this was bl**dy impossible.
“Hey, um… Your costume is really impressive,” she continued after a brief pause. “Did you make it yourself?”
I shook my head and remained silent.
She frowned slightly at my curt demeanor. “Oh,” she said, leaning in a little closer to inspect my mask. I felt my stomach drop. “Well, it’s very nice. The mask is particularly-
“It’s just a mask,” I interrupted, keeping my voice about an octave too deep for her to recognize it. I quickly pulled back a bit and spun her-anything to keep her occupied, and to keep her eyes off of me.
Audrey seemed to give up after that. We danced in silence for a few moments, and I started to relax. Maybe I could get through this without her recognizing me after all. I thought to myself. Maybe, just maybe, I would be lucky.
Or maybe noL
“So, are you looking forward to the planetarium date?” Audrey asked, trying again to make conversation.
I grunted noncommittally and shrugged one shoulder. “Not sure if I’ll go.”
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really? Why not? It sounds amazing”
“Not my thing
“Oh,” she said, sounding a bit disappointed-which made my heart twist violently in my chest. “Well, if you don’t want to go. that’s fine. I’m sure we could figure something else out. Maybe we could give the tickets to someone else?”
I nodded, relieved that she had suggested exactly what I had been thinking. “Good idea.”
We continued to dance, and I felt my shoulders relax again. This wasn’t so bad. As long as I kept my responses short and avoided eye contact, we might just make it through this dance without incident.
But then, the spotlight fell on us, illuminating our faces. Thinking quickly, I twirled her again-but the movement just made the crowd swoon, and the spotlight lingered on us. The star-crossed lovers.
At the end of her twirl, Audrey came back flush against me, and this time her face was mere inches from mine. Try as I might to look away, it was too late; Audrey’s eyes widened slightly, and she leaned in closer, inspecting the side of my face.
My heart stopped. This was it. She was going to recognize me and call out my name in front of everyone.
Are you…” she began, her voice trembling.
Panic surged through me. I had to do something, anything to keep her from finishing that sentence. Without thinking, I did he only thing I could think of to make her quiet and close her eyes.
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