It was her turn to laugh as she watched him walk from her office. He turned to wink at her just before walking into the hallway.

Deja didn’t know if it was possible to really set the tone of a semester, but if it was, then this was going to be her best semester yet.

Hi everyone!

As you may or may not know, I’m a professor. When I first conceived of Deja and the rest of this group, they were amalgamations of friends at various universities who were all struggling with the same things: feelings of loneliness, overwork, mental health issues, etc., but I didn’t know what to do with the first draft of the story. I don’t love popular depictions of academia and professors. They all seem stuck in some version of the 1960s: everyone’s white and upper-middle-class, the professors are all old men in boring gray suits who listen to classical music while they grade in front of the fireplace, and they’re always teaching about classic literature or archeology.

That’s mad boring. LMAO!

But when I re-read the story, I realized that I liked Deja and Alejandro a lot, and I wanted to write about academia as I’ve seen it, with people who look like people I know or know exist, people who aren’t middle-class and white, and adjuncts who are often erased from representations of academia, even though they do the bulk of the teaching work at most U.S. universities. And if you’ve made it this far, that’s what you got, plus sex and romance (the fictional part). I hope you liked Deja and Alejandro’s journey. I hope you’ll also take at least three things from this story: check in with yourself, be kind to yourself, and let people help you.

Also, Toni and Mike... amirite??? *wink*

If you liked this story, please consider recommending it to a friend and leaving a review wherever you feel comfortable. And if this is your first story by me, turn the page for a list of my other books, there might be something else there that you like! I hope you’re safe and well and washing your hands. <3

Other books by Katrina Jackson

Welcome to Sea Port

From Scratch

Inheritance

Small Town Secrets

Her Christmas Cookie

The Spies Who Loved Her

Pink Slip

Private Eye

Bang & Burn

New Year, New We

His Only Valentine

Erotic Accommodations

Room for Three?

Neighborly

Love At Last

Every New Year

Heist Holidays

Grand Theft N.Y.E.

The Family

Beautiful and Dirty

Standalone stories

Encore

Layover

Office Hours

About the Author

Katrina is a college professor by day who writes romances by weekend when her cats allow. She writes high heat, diverse and mostly queer erotic romances and erotica. She also likes sleep, salt-and-pepper beards, and sunshine. I'm super active on twitter. Follow me: @katrinajax