Tessa’s POVThe next day“We should send flowers to Miss Peabody. I hear she fell ill.”“Maybe we can get everyone to sign a card as well!”I heard the murmurs of students as I put my things in my locker and I frowned at Ruby who leaned against her own locker, watching as those students walked by.“What’s going on?” I asked her, obviously, I had missed something while I’d been so wrapped up with Joseph.“Miss Peabody is sick. I guess she’s out for the rest of the semester,” Ruby explained.“What?” I gasped. “Who’s going to be teaching her writing course?”Miss Peabody would have been our writing professor if Joseph hadn’t come along and offered his special writing course. Her classroom was right next to his and she’s worked at this school for years. We always joked that she was immortal because she was so old, and retirement was never even a thought that crossed her mind.“I heard there’s a new teacher coming to replace her,” Ruby answered.A new teacher? In the middle of the semester

Joseph’s POVIt wasn’t a secret that Tessa was uncomfortable since this afternoon when Emily Thorton barged into my office. She doesn’t have a good poker face and I knew there might have been a little jealousy involved.Tessa was quiet for most of the class, but usually, she jumps at the opportunity to answer my questions and provide her unasked-for input. But in this case, she kept her eyes on her desk and did her assignments quietly without a single peep from her pretty little mouth.I jumped at the opportunity to tease her once we were alone.I wanted her to admit that she was a little jealous. I kept my body pressed against hers and her eyes were fixated on mine.Her breathing had become harsh and the area around her nose and cheeks were completely red.It was cute, I will admit.“So, are you going to tell me what’s been going on with you today?” I asked her again, my eyes drifting down to her lips that she was chewing on violently.“Professor, this is highly inappropriate,” she m

Tessa’s POVEmily’s laugh echoed throughout the room. She was chuckling at a writer’s joke that Joseph had told the class. In fact, everybody, including Ruby was laughing. But I could only hear Emily’s laugh. Her face lit up and she touched Joseph’s shoulder as she laughed. He didn’t seem to mind it, or at least he didn’t make it known that he minded.I hated that I was feeling this way towards her. Otherwise, I would have been fangirling with the rest of the class. I absolutely loved Emily Thorton’s blog. I read it every day. I was always so eager to hear about her next adventure and see pictures of the world through her eyes.But now all I could see was an attractive girl stealing her claim on Joseph.I wanted to shout to her that he was mine, but that didn’t feel right either. Mainly because he wasn’t mine.Occasionally, Joseph’s eyes were turned in my direction, maybe to see my reaction towards him bonding with Emily right in front of me. I felt sick watching them and as much as I

Tessa’s POVEmily stood before me with a kind look in her eye and a small smile plastered to her lips. I wasn’t sure what she would possibly want to talk about, but I knew it couldn’t have been good.“Yeah,” I found myself saying, trying to plaster a smile on my own lips. “I would love to talk during lunch. Should I just go to your office at that time, or…”“Yes, that would be perfect,” she said fondly.I watched as she disappeared down the hallway and toward her classroom.I felt nauseous.I thought about going to Joseph’s office and talking to him about this, maybe he had some kind of idea on what she might want to speak about. But I was going to be late for my next class if I didn’t leave right now.I quickly grabbed my things out of my locker and went straight to my next class.By the time it was over, it was lunchtime.Ruby met me outside my classroom door as she often does the period before lunch, and she was chatting my ears off about the pizza they were serving today.“I wish

Tessa’s POVI shouldn’t have gone to bed so early. Now I was awake in the middle of the night with a stomach that wouldn’t stop growling. I hadn’t even eaten dinner.I wondered if Joseph had eaten anything last night. I didn’t cook for him but he’s not incompetent that he couldn’t cook his own meal. In fact, Joseph was an impressive cook.Going to bed last night was the only thing my mind could truly do. I wrote a new blog post, something that I probably should have kept in my journal, and then I crawled into bed and fell asleep. I didn’t even say anything to Joseph yesterday, so I’m sure he knew that I was upset.I just couldn’t get that conversation with Emily out of my head. She has real feelings for him and she’s beautiful. She would be more than just a one-night stand and it’s not just her blood that attracts him.Although, he told me that he doesn’t feel that attraction towards her, yet he could have been saying that to make me feel better.I shouldn’t even be this upset over it