Red dress.

Eli

I open the door and Bailey all but runs inside, I close the door behind her and do a double take when I see her outfit.

I raise an eyebrow "Were you going somewhere?"

"No I was actually out but I was heading back to my dorm when you called" she says and I hear the slight slur in her voice

I narrow my eyes "Are you drunk?"

Her eyes widen "What? No! Absolutely not!"

I step closer to her and lean my face closer to hers, she stand dead still as she stares at me with wide eyes

Mouthwash.

I scoff as I take a step back "You're not at all smooth about it, Miss Harper"

"I don't know what you're talking about" She crosses her arms over her chest defiantly "You called me for help and I'm here to help you, no?"

I hum "Indeed." I let her get off the hook again and gesture to the table where my laptop and a bunch of files are "Have a seat."

She takes off her leather jacket and my jaw clenches when I get a better view of her red dress. Short. Tight.

"Could I perhaps have a glass of water please?" She asks as she takes a seat by the table

I get her the water and throw in some ice before putting the glass in front of her and she mutters a 'thank you' as I take a seat next to her. "So I need to put these details onto my laptop so that it can go into the database. I need you to highlight the things I need which would be students names, their student number and contact information"

She nods in determination "I can do that"

"Good then let's get to work." I open the laptop and put on my glasses, she stares at me dumbfounded "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I'm just surprised that you wear glasses, I never saw you with it."

"I don't usually wear it when I lecture but I do wear glasses yes."

She lets out a soft 'oh' and we spend the next hour working and at first she's sloppy a bit but over time she starts sobering up and gets into work mood. I'm busy typing on the laptop when I hear her stomach growl and I give her sideways glance "You hungry?"

"Yeah but I'll get something when I'm done here." She says without looking at me as she continues working.

"It's one in the morning, heaven knows when we'll be done. I can have food to get delivered"

She glances at me "You'd do that?"

"Of course" I take out my phone "What do you want?"

"Burger and fries"

"Alright."

I place our order before locking my phone again "30 minutes"

She nods before asking "Do you mind if I use your bathroom?"

"Sure it's the left door down the hall"

"Got it." She walks down the hall and I have to shut my eyes so that I don't stare at her ass. I rake a hand through my hair and my eyes lands on her glass of water that's now empty. I see her lipstick stain on the rim of the glass and my hands clench into fist as I resist the urge to put my lips on the exact same spot. I hear her footsteps and I clear my throat to appear casual and I notice a frown on her face when she takes her seat again "Is everything okay?"

She nods "Yeah"

Lie. I've noticed that Bailey wears her thoughts on her face. Happy? She's smiling. Amused? She's going to laugh. Something bothering her? A frown.

I turn to fully face her "Tell me what's wrong Bailey."

She lets out a huff of laughter as she shakes her head "It's silly but I couldn't help but notice that there's a pink toothbrush next to a blue one. I didn't know that you were seeing anyone"

I tense without even meaning to. "I was unaware that I needed to share my personal life with my students"

She raises her hands in surrender "I never said that, I was just surprised that's all. You don't need to get defensive."

I grit my teeth before shaking my head "I'm not seeing anyone."

Her face lights up like she's glad to hear that "Oh, you aren't?"

"No." She nods slowly and I say "The toothbrush belongs to my sister. She visited me over the summer and I never really got around to removing her things."

"Oh. Okay" she smiles and my eyes roam over her face.

So beautiful.

Her smile slowly fades and her eyes dart to my lips and I glance away from her before I do something stupid "Let's finish up."

We get back to work and take a break when the food arrives, she eats her burger and my head snaps to her when she lets out a small moan. I raise an eyebrow "That good huh?"

She nod "The best."

I watch her eat and it takes me a moment to realise I have a small smile on my face as I stare at her, I turn back to my food so that she doesn't notice my slip up. It's almost three when we finally finish up and she stands up before stretching and my eyes trail down her body. I stand up as well and grab her jacket before holding it for her, she give me a smile before letting me put it on for her and she turns to face "I guess I'll see you in a few hours for class."

"Yes you will, Miss Harper" she lets out a little laugh and I raise an eyebrow "What now?"

"Why do you say my last name like that?"

"Like what?"

She shrugs "Like a drawl, so lazily. Like you don't want it to leave your mouth but you have to let it go."

I let out a chuckle "You are an over thinker and an over analyser. That's a deadly combination."

She hums "Deadly huh? I might just like that."

A huff of laughter escapes through my nose and I shake my head before saying "Let me walk you back to your dorm."

"No that's okay, it was a mission to come here unnoticed. It's late and I think it's better if no one sees us together so that they can't draw the wrong conclusions"

I nod "Understandable. But I can't let you walk back all alone." I grab my car keys and hold it out to her "Take my car."

She frowns "No that won't be necessary, Mr Matthews"

"Nonsense. I insist. You're sober enough now and it's late."

She stares at me for a moment and I stare right back, she lets out a long sigh before taking the keys from me and our hands brush. She startles like a shock went through her body and she stares at me with wide eyes "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm" she clears her throat and nods to the door "I should go. Goodnight."

"Night."

I watch her hips sway as she walks out and I grab my phone sending a text to Maya.

'She doesn't suspect a thing.'