“Just about,” he said. “I hate to do this...”

“But you’ve got to go,” she said. “Yeah, I get the picture.”

“Love you, sis.”

“Love you, bro.”

When he’d closed the window, he shut his laptop and formed a steeple with his fingers. He had lied to his sister, John wasn’t going to nudge anyone. If Victoria could meet him halfway with her attempts to have fun in bed or over the phone, she could meet him halfway on this. John tried to ignore his pride, but he couldn’t help but feel principled about it. If she really wanted him to go to Chicago with her, she would have said something instead of escaping from the gym.

A soft knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Victoria stood in the entrance, not dressed in her usual teaching outfit, but in a Pembroke University sweatshirt and jeans. On her feet were a pair of red Converse sneakers. Her braids were gathered in a sloppy bun, perched atop her head, much like how she woke up in his bed. In this relaxed state, she was still gorgeous. Victoria tipped her head and smiled. “Hey there,” she said in a soft voice.

John stood immediately. “Hey, Dr. Reese. You look like a student.”

She wrinkled her nose as she crossed the threshold. “Ugh, after the day I had, I don’t want to hear that,” she said, taking a seat before his desk.

Remembering Jessi’s words, John circled his desk before sitting on the edge in front of her. Listen and read between the lines. Anticipate everything.

“I hate today,” she said, slumping in her chair. “It started with my 8 o’clock class where only three students bothered with last night’s reading. Those three carried their classmates for an entire hour and fifteen minutes. Now I have to start making reading quizzes to scare the rest of them straight. If that weren’t enough, I’ve got to handle a lacrosse player’s helicopter parents who are concerned about his attendance. And since he’s on academic probation and waived his rights to privacy, I actually have to interact with his parents. The graduate students are losing their minds over this insane federal tax change that now taxes their stipends like it’s income, which it is most certainly not. I mean Jesus, as if graduate students aren’t already neurotic. I had to talk two different girls off the ledge.”

Boom.

John took it all in and remained silent.

“So after all of that, I went home and changed into something more comfortable.” Victoria exhaled a humorless laugh. “But that’s an average day around Pembroke. I should be able to handle it on my own.”

He reached out and took her by the hand and knelt beside her. “You could,” he said. “But you don’t have to today.”