I watched him disappear, then greedily picked up his phone. The photo was slightly blurry and sweet, but it was the caption that made me smile.

#mine

I supposed I was okay with being his. For now.

* * *

After some sexy time in the shower, because oh yeah, Oakley got some after that Instagram post, I had to get ready to face the music. And it was a slow haunting death march that was leading me like the pied piper to Dr. Haynes’s office for that formal discussion he promised me on the phone last night.

What did one wear to be humiliated in front of a legend and then fired? Black? I went with all black. This was a funeral for my future, after all. And no makeup. I was just going to cry it off two seconds after leaving his office anyway. No need to have stinging eyes and mascara streaks to add to my shame.

Oakley offered to walk over with me, but I put my big girl panties on, sucked it up, and walked over by myself. My feet felt like they were encased in lead, and the hot ball of anxiety in my stomach was radiating nervous energy. Before knocking on death’s door, I did a few of the breathing exercises Shelby taught me and repeated my favorite mantra. When I felt ready, I turned solemnly to face the door and knocked, fully aware of my own melodrama.

“Come in, Miss Matthews,” Dr. Haynes called. His voice was cold and disappointed. I almost couldn’t make my body move into his office. This was going to fucking suck.

I walked into his office and took my usual chair, not daring to say anything. When I finally got the courage to look up at him instead of looking at my shoes, there was none of the usual warmth in his face.

“When we first met, I was surprised that my newest PR student was being accused of crossing ethical boundaries. Your professors have raved about your coursework. It was hard to believe that anyone could accuse you of acting anything less than professional,” he started. “Mr. Davis recently told me the truth about that night, which made far more sense than the version of things that were spun to me in that first meeting.”

I listened intently, still not willing to speak.

“I am very disappointed to find myself in this position again. If it were solely up to me, I would not keep you in this program. However, it is not entirely up to me. Coach Howard has made a convincing argument for you to stay. It also seems that you have charmed the entire football team. It has come to my attention that every single photo has been removed. That is incredibly impressive.