Chapter 6

The day passed quickly for Nikki but seemed to be moving slowly for Thorn. While Nikki was elated to have discovered such an opportunity at the university, Thorn was consumed by his thoughts of the young woman.

              “Finally…” Thorn was pleased to head to his office for the short break between his classes. His sour mood faded when he saw Nikki walking towards the classroom as he left. “Ah, Miss Crowman.” He greeted her.

              “Hey, Professor Thorn.” She smiled at him. “Today has been such a great day.” She beamed. Her smiling face was blinding to the grumpy professor.

              “At least one of us thinks so.” He grumbled as he turned and headed to his office. Nikki frowned slightly at Thorn’s cranky demeanor. She was planning to wait in his office with him but figured he was in a bad mood and just wanted to be alone. She sighed as she turned to head up to the lounge area. Thorn frowned when he realized she was leaving him. He turned to her and snapped.

“Where are you going?” Thorn asked in a tone that was harsher than he had meant. Nikki looked at him in surprise.

“To the lounge area,” Nikki answered. “I figured you wanted to be alone since you’re being a grouch,” She added with a shrug.

“I am not a grouch.” Thorn retorted. Nikki just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He clearly was not helping his case in the matter. “Oh, just get in here.” He huffed as he opened his office door and walked in. Nikki hesitated for a moment. “Well?” Thorn called out to her.

“Fine, fine.” She gave in and went into his office. She closed the door behind her and settled in the chair he had pulled out for her earlier.

“Such a pain,” Thorn grumbled as he looked through a few stacks of textbooks piled up on a table against the wall. Nikki just sat in her chair and watched him search for something. She had to admit that looking at the handsome professor was undoubtedly an excellent pastime. Her gray eyes took in his tall frame. She noted that his legs were his longest feature, but he remained proportionate despite them.

“Do you run?” Nikki asked as she admired his legs.

“I do,” Thorn answered, not paying attention to her as she ogled him.

“I was never a fan of running.” She revealed. “I prefer to swim.” She said as she turned her attention to her phone. She started to scroll through the university’s social media app, not paying attention to what was on her screen.

“Do you?” Thorn replied. “I have a pool in my condo building. Perhaps I can obtain permission for you to swim there. Or I could just let you swim in my pool if you’d like.” He said absentmindedly. Nikki looked up at him in surprise and then scowled when she realized he probably did not know what he had just said to her.

“You’ll let me go swimming in your pool?” She asked him teasingly.

“Do you prefer the beach?” Thorn asked as he flipped through the pages of one of the textbooks. “I can take you to the beach instead.” He offered as he searched for the information he was looking for.

“Haha.” Nikki snickered at his absentminded offer. “Do you ask pretty girls out on dates often?” She asked him.

“No, I don’t go on dates often-“ Thorn froze as he finally registered their conversation. “I-“ He turned and looked at Nikki with a scowl on his face. She could tell he was trying to hide his embarrassment.

“I am just teasing.” She laughed lightly. “I just wanted to rile you up because you weren’t paying attention to me.” She joked.

“You truly are a brat.” Thorn huffed. Nikki flashed a cheeky grin. He rolled his eyes in response but could not stop the smirk forming on his face. “Come on.” He said as he walked over to a closet door.

“What do you need?” Nikki asked as she stood up. Thorn handed her the textbook he had been holding before he opened the door, revealing a decent-sized storage closet. “Huh. I did think your office looked small.” She revealed.

“Yes. I have this closet here and the extra room on the other side.” Thorn said as he grabbed a box from the closet and brought it out.

“What is that extra room?” Nikki asked as she looked at the other door, hidden on the opposite side of the room.

“It just has a bed and some spare clothes inside,” Thorn revealed. “I…may get a little too caught up in my research sometimes.” He admitted.

“So you bought a bed for your office?” Nikki asked. “Talk about dedication.” She teased him. Thorn rolled his eyes as he handed her the box.

“Take this to the classroom.” He instructed.

“Yes, sir,” Nikki replied, taking the box from him. Thorn watched as she took the box over to the classroom. He sighed as he felt the sour mood he had been experiencing for most of the day melt away.

“How troublesome…” He mumbled as he thought about how ridiculous he was being. Thorn could not tell if his sour mood was caused by him missing Nikki when she was not around or if it was simply his usual state of being that melted when in the young woman’s presence. Either way, it was worrying.

“Did you need any more help from a big, strong woman like me?” Nikki joked as she walked back into his office, posing as if she was flexing her impressive arm muscles. Thorn snickered because she looked so tiny in the oversized hoodie she always seemed to be wearing.

“I’m surprised you could carry that all on your own.” He commented. “You look so petite in that hoodie.”

“I am sure everyone my size is petite to you since you are so tall,” Nikki replied. I’m only five feet five inches.” She revealed this as she stood a few feet in front of him to show off their height difference.

“And I am six foot two.” Thorn grinned as he looked down at her. “A nine-inch height difference is quite a lot.” He instinctually reached out and pinched her cheeks. “How do you manage to get anything done from down there?” He teased her.

“Hey!” Nikki scowled up at him as he taunted her as if she were a child. “I’m a grown woman.” She complained as she tried to remove his hands, but he continued to pinch her cheeks.

“Pft. You won’t be grown until you are twenty-five, my dear. That is when the brain is fully developed.” Thorn smirked as he stopped pinching her. Nikki held on to his hands as they lingered by her face.

“The neurological development of my brain does not change the fact that in the eyes of the law, I am a grown woman.” She told him.

“Are you?” Thorn asked, pretending to be shocked that she was an adult.

“Very funny, old man.” Nikki taunted. Thorn immediately began to pinch her face again.

“I’ll have you know I am only 34!” He told her.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” Nikki whined. Thorn then let her go. She looked up at him as she rubbed her cheeks. Her face formed a smirk as she finally found what riled him up. “Whatever you say…” She said as she slipped past him and grabbed her satchel. “…old man.” She teased as she darted out of his office.

“Why you-!” Thorn frowned as she ran away from him. Once she was gone, he leaned against his desk and chuckled. “That girl is going to be the death of me…”