Chapter Nine: Lauren’s Master:

-Nine Years Ago-

Lauren met her master at college in San Diego. He was her British literature teacher, in fact. All of the girls loved him and all of the guys wanted to be him. On the first night, Lauren had just joined the university. She sat in the middle of the front row. The freshman wondered what kind of man this professor would be. The stories buzzing around him delighted her. Lauren looked around and noticed that she wasn’t the only girl on the front row. Some of them had their tops lowered to show a hint of cleavage. Their jewelry and clothes made her feel overdressed for the class.

Oh my… They seemed to be pretty… bold here. She rubbed the back of her and nervously laughed. The guys behind her whistled about the girls. Lauren could feel ill intent behind her. Would there be murder tonight?

The whole class looked up when the door opened. Only the sound of footsteps filled the silence. A man dressed in a black and grey suit made his way to the front. All of the girls had drool coming out of their mouths. Lauren couldn’t take her eyes off of this man. Wow! Is he even real?

“Good evening, class,” the man greeted his students. His voice made Lauren think of flowing honey. Even the guys behind her were quiet. The man in black turned to the board and wrote down his name.

“My name is Cole Anderson,” he said. “And I will be your British Lit professor. Let us all work hard together.” That first night was all it took Lauren to heighten her interest. She didn’t enjoy reading much in middle school and high school, but her professor sure made all of the stories interesting. The freshman wanted to learn more about poems and stories during the changing centuries during England. He made the journeys sound desirable.

However, she did not notice that Cole had developed an interest in her as well.

One evening after class, the professor cleared his throat at her. Lauren froze and looked over her shoulder. Cole looked at her like a hungry fox about to lure in his prey. Lauren pointed at her chest. She about jumped when he nodded. The freshman walked over to his desk as if in a daze.

“What did you want from me?” she asked.

“Are you available this weekend?” Cole asked. The question sent her stumbling backwards.

“E-E-Excuse me?” she asked. The professor laughed.

“My colleagues and I have discovered old English text around Wales,” he explained. “We are all trying to translate.” He frowned and shook his head.

“I know I shouldn’t be asking a student to do this,” Cole said. Lauren raised her eyebrow.

“What?” she asked.  The handsome man lowered his hands.

“Professor Taylor just recently had a baby and Professor Alexander is moving to another university,” he explained. “We’re down two people. Taylor wants to get back to work, but her husband is making take bed rest. The head of the department suggested that we use students to help us. And…”

“You want me to work on this project?” Lauren finished.

“I already ask two other students,” he said. “Two of them are too busy. I looked through your grades and they are perfect. Are you busy with any club activities?” Lauren shook her head.

“Oh, no!” she was quick to say. “I’m not in any clubs at all at the moment.”

“So, can you help us with the translation project?” Cole asked. The freshman blushed as she nodded.

“Of course!” she said. “I would be honored!”

“Excellent,” her seductive professor said. “We’ll meet up at Pizza Hut this weekend. Here are the notes that you will need to keep up.” He shoved a small stack of papers across his desk. Lauren’s hands trembled as she took them. Cole covered his mouth as he laughed.

“Calm down,” he said. “They are just important papers, not a baby.” Lauren shook herself out of her shock.

“I’ll take good care of these and study them well!” she said.

“I like your enthusiasm,” he said.

“Thank you, I won’t let you down!” the freshman said. “Uh… Good night!” She turned and walked out the door. At the time, Lauren didn’t pick up on the way Cole was looking at her. Maybe that was because she was too caught up in such a beautiful man asking her to help him with an important assignment. She had to go out of her way to impress him. Still, she couldn’t see the slightest hint.

-Present Day-

“Master…” Lauren mumbled as she was asleep on Doyle’s back. Her new companion shook his head and walked further down the path to a seedy motel in Los Angeles.