Lucky 33 (Love in the District #2)

17. Professor Underpants

CHAPTER 17

PROFESSOR UNDERPANTS

A my felt like she was living in the pages of a romance novel. Her dates with Drew were always fun, and she assumed they looked cute together because people were always smiling at them while they were out.

Amy couldn’t get enough of him. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to give up their uninterrupted time together come fall when they'd both be working full time again.

Many of Amy’s clients canceled their cleanings during their summer vacations, and she and Drew were taking their light summer schedules for granted. The reality of their work-romance balance would need to be dealt with in a few weeks, but until then, she was enjoying her time in paradise.

This summer with Drew had been so different and exciting that they had gone a long way toward giving her a reprieve from her chronic anxiety. She was a tightly wound person by nature. She'd never known a life without her old pal, anxiety. The glow certainly hadn’t worn off their relationship, but her old ways of thinking and a destructive interest in finding Drew’s flaws occasionally crept in.

These thoughts mostly happened in her alone time. If Drew was there or she was talking to a friend or a client, she was able to stay in the moment. But while she was cleaning homes, the drone of the vacuum or the monotony of her cleaning tasks allowed her the time to think.

The idea that there was something bad about him that she wasn’t noticing haunted her. She had been working hard to turn a blind eye to any negativity related to her relationship. She wanted to be the kind of woman who accepted the gift of someone like Drew in her life without questioning it and believed she was worthy of it.

Amy noticed that her mind had wandered and that she was scrubbing the heck out of her client’s stainless fridge doors. When she got this way, she needed some perspective. Laura was too much like her to offer objectivity. She needed someone who thought completely differently but would still be brutally honest. Katie. Amy would talk to her. That would bring some relief and take her back to her blissful state with Drew.

It had been hours since Amy decided to call Katie, and by evening, she was on the verge of chickening out. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to share her concerns yet. That worked out fine because when Drew called not long after she got home from work, she was elated. Just seeing his name pop up on her screen made her feel that way.

Amy noticed that her apartment had gotten dark and gloomy due to an incoming severe storm. She turned on lights and made the place cozy in preparation for Drew’s arrival.

“Hey,” Drew said, kissing her as he entered her apartment. They both jumped at a crash of thunder. “I haven’t seen you in a few days, and that’s weird for us. Everything okay?” Drew put his wet umbrella and shoes on the towel she had laid out for him.

“Totally fine,” she said into his damp chest, wrapping her arms around him. “I’ve just been crazy busy with work. I’ve been letting myself float around in lovebird mode all summer, and I noticed that I have been putting more work on Belinda. I’m just trying to correct that.”

“What a boss. You’re great, you know? ”

Amy blushed. She didn’t fish for compliments, but she loved them, especially ones about her business, which was her baby. Drew entered her living room and made himself comfortable on the sofa.

“You know we’ll have to get used to being apart once the school year starts, right?”

Drew shrugged. “Yeah, but we’re not there yet. I think we need to forget about that for now and enjoy our time together.” He patted the cushion next to him, beckoning her over.

“Spoken like a guy who gets a summer vacation,” Amy said with a laugh.

“Oh, you’re just jealous. Also, for the record, I do work during the summer, so it’s not a vacation. I have research I’m working on and committees that I check in with. I just happen to do that efficiently. And in my underpants from home.”

“Pardon me, Professor Underpants.” The room lit up with a flash of lightening. They were prepared for the resulting boom that time and didn’t flinch.

“Pardoned. But, yeah, things will be different once classes start up. I got lucky this summer. The only summer class I had to teach was canceled because of low enrollment. My feelings would be hurt by so few people wanting to listen to me talk about political research, but it meant that I got to spend more time with you.”

The clouds finally released a torrential downpour, making Amy have to speak up. “I’m going to miss being with you during the day. I’ve already gotten confirmation from all my clients who paused or reduced their service this summer that they’ll resume regular visits in September. I hate that we'll soon have to be working adults again."

“That makes two of us. I feel reality closing in,” he said, closing his eyes briefly while they listened to the rain and thunder.

Drew sighed, opening his eyes. “It’s my turn to represent our department at the new student orientation on Tuesday. It’s a full day of answering the exact same questions over and over. I hate that they allow parents to attend. They’re bigger kiss-ups than the kids. Even if I could give special treatment, there’s no way I’m going to remember their precious prince or princess by the time they’re one out of 300 in a lecture hall.”

“Phew, you’re so young but so jaded.”

“Have you ever met a cheerful professor? That’s why. Then, once the semester starts, it’s all emails with ‘Dr. Porter, I know you don’t accept late work, but here’s why rules don’t apply to me and my dead grandparents.”

“I hear the first cold snap really takes those grandparents out.” Amy’s quip was punctuated by a clap of thunder.

“Ooh, morbid. Fortunately, they have an unlimited supply of grandparents to kill off.”

“Do you actually like your job?” Amy asked, shaking with giggles.

“Love it. Though there are challenges, like in all jobs, I get the honor of meeting some of the smartest young people. They are going to change the world, and I’m glad to have a small part in equipping them to do that.”

Amy looked at him dreamily, a flash of lightening reflecting in his eyes.

“Also, you’re forgetting that I get both a spring and winter break. More working half-naked time,” Drew said smugly.

“Speaking of half-naked, how about we take this to the bedroom,” Amy said.

“You temptress.”

The hours of rain had finally let up when Amy was startled awake from a nightmare, breathing shallowly and quickly, her hair wet with sweat. She was glad she hadn’t disturbed Drew, who was peacefully snoring beside her. Amy looked at her phone and saw it was only 3:33 a.m. It would be , she thought, calming down a little at the reappearance of 33.

Pulling back the covers at a snail’s pace and moving her body slowly to get out of bed without disturbing Drew, Amy let out a sigh of relief as she extracted herself successfully. She closed the bedroom door silently before turning on a light in her living area. Amy’s nightmare was fresh in her mind, and it prompted her to do some thinking.

After making herself a cup of tea as quietly as possible, she nestled into the corner of her sofa and gazed at the rug where the greasy pizza stain should have been. She remembered when that beyond-belief occurrence was the most disturbing thing taking up her thoughts. Simpler days.

Amy had been unable to get the idea of Drew and his appearance in her life being too perfect out of her head. The intrusive thoughts were happening more frequently, even during what should have been moments of mind-blowing pleasure with him.

Many women spend their lives dreaming of the perfect prince who would come along and sweep them off their feet and toward a life of romance. Specifically, Amy had dreamed of that, though she’d never breathe a word of it to anyone. She had spent a lifetime cultivating a veneer of self-assuredness, unshakable drive, and satisfaction with her company. Now that she’d achieved everything she wanted, she should feel free to accept the gift of Drew and their relationship. Her friends and family would agree with that. Hell, even a psychic in Georgetown did.

Her nightmare had shown her a scenario where she found out that Drew was a fraud and that it was all a joke on her. Though she knew no one was playing an elaborate joke, she wondered if anyone had found an ideal match like she had.

Why would I deserve that? I haven’t been out there dating and putting in effort like others. We literally bumped into each other in a Target.

Part of Amy wished that she had allowed Laura to fully investigate him like she had wanted to back at the beginning of the relationship. I stupidly wanted to discover information about him on my own. She sighed. Amy wasn’t sure she wanted to launch a full-scale internet investigation of Drew, but she could find a way to dig a little deeper into the untold parts of his life and past and ease her mind.

Amy’s nightmare from two nights ago stayed with her. She had zero evidence of Drew being a fraud or a cruel joker. Why can’t I shake this bad feeling? Maybe I need to prove to myself that he’s the sweet man I think he is. Must be this early August heat getting to me.

Snooping was wrong, but it was the only thing that would satisfy Amy’s worries. She and Laura had been through half a year of fights on the topic because Laura had rifled through Jake’s life. But this was her chance to ease her mind and dispel the negative thoughts. Drew was over at AU for new student orientation, and she was waiting at his place.

She could do this more efficiently with help from her sneaky sister, but that was too high of a price to pay for a little help. Laura would never let me live this down . Amy figured finding anything incriminating in Drew’s little studio apartment couldn't take much work.

She admired how neat and clean he was. She wished the places she cleaned were this together. The only one that came close was Jake’s. She and her sister had a type.

His bookshelf was a given— all political thrillers, biographies, and textbooks. Other surfaces had a tasteful number of knick-knacks and photos. There were lots of family photos in his collection. She loved how happy he looked in all of them. That was Drew’s constant state: happy.

She had already been in his nightstand and bathroom when she had stayed over. He certainly had allowed her to access anything without qualms then. She didn’t know why she thought she’d find anything now.

Amy looked in his closet and only found exactly what she expected: a mixture of sportswear, casual clothes, and business casual. Pretty standard. His drawers showed her more predictability, with underclothes and loungewear.

Amy sighed, feeling equal measures guilty and defeated. He was clean, literally and figuratively. His apartment proved him to be exactly who she thought he was. Why am I not relieved?

Amy didn’t know what she'd hoped to find in his apartment. She was glad she had given up and was scrolling through her phone on his sofa when the front door opened.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Drew said. “It’s nice to come home to you.”

“How was orientation?”

“Nothing exciting happened. I met some interesting students. The usual group of brown-nosers and kids who are just excited to be away from home. There’s really no in between there. It’s a lot like Duke, so I get it. Ugh, I will say that I’m roasting in these clothes.” Drew unbuttoned his dress shirt and tossed it on the desk chair.

“Keep going,” Amy said slyly.

She would just shut off her brain and enjoy being with him. Anything else would be silly.