A different professor than expected

I had a thing for my best friend's brother-in-law, Professor Ben Harrison.

One late night, I texted him: "Babe, you're seriously gorgeous."

He replied with two words: "Keep it professional."

After a month of chasing, this unattainable hunk wouldn't budge.

Then, the second month, my best friend called, sobbing, saying she wanted a divorce.

I puffed up my chest and declared, "I'll be right there with you!"

Then, I texted Ben: "Old man, you're probably useless anyway!"

"Peace out, never wanna see you again!"

That night, Ben cornered me in my room, and I ended up tearfully apologizing. “I messed up.”

He chuckled darkly, "Too late for that."

****

My bestie, Sarah Evans, was a total goddess.

Rich, smart, cultured, kind, and generous.

I often wished I had been born a guy.

About a month ago, she married the ultimate D.C. socialite, Matt Harrison.

As the maid of honor, I cried my eyes out. I was the saddest person in the whole room, because, let's face it, no guy on earth was good enough for Sarah.

And to make it worse, she was married, which meant we probably wouldn't see each other as much.

Matt gave me a smug grin, the look of a guy who knew he'd won.

That guy was a well-known playboy.

When Sarah and Matt were dating, he and I were like oil and water.

I constantly got under his skin. He’d get super mad, but because of Sarah he couldn’t really say anything.

On their wedding day, he was all smiles, telling me, “Okay, Taylor James, back off now. She’s mine."

“You’re a third wheel. Be cool.”

I was ready to rip his head off.

Then I saw this dude who looked vaguely like Matt, walking toward us.

This guy was tall, leggy, and had this quiet, refined aura.

Even Matt, the cocky one, straightened up and showed some respect.

He called him "Bro."

The man nodded and turned his gaze to me.

Matt made the introductions, “This is Taylor James, Sarah's best friend.”

“And this is my older brother, Ben.”

Ben was a man of few words, just a slight nod in my direction.

I stared at him. Then, a lightbulb went off.

An idea popped into my head.

At the reception, I sat next to Ben.

I straight up asked, "You single?"

My bluntness caught him by surprise.

Besides me, everyone at the table was a relative of the groom's.

They all stared at me, looking a bit shocked.

Ben paused, then replied, “Yes.”

“Cool, let’s exchange numbers then!”

I shoved my QR code at him. He glanced at me.

Probably because of the situation, family around, and it being a wedding, he didn't feel like he could blow me off.

He scanned it.

I was super happy and chatted with Ben all evening.

He was so polite, answering everything I said with a careful, formal tone.

I knew he probably didn’t want to deal with me, but whatever, I had my sights set on this guy.

Ben was five years older than me. When I found out he was a college professor, I was a little surprised.

Given his family background, I figured he’d be in business or politics.

But he was in academia.

No wonder he had that smooth, polished vibe.

"Professor Harris...