The Professor - Prologue

May

Despite the grating presence of Cain Laker, her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend, Aurelia Bunting continued to throw clothes in the two black suitcases on the bedroom floor. Her clothes.

She was leaving behind all the garments Cain bought her over the year that she’d been here, taking only what she’d gotten for herself. So what if the things he purchased were nicer and more expensive. There was a statement to be made here. That statement – I don’t need you or anything from you!

“Roxy’s lying on me,” Cain contended, sticking with his story as he sat on the edge of the large oak bed in the middle of the room.

“You’re the liar here, Cain!” Aurelia snapped, glaring at the wavy-haired man across from her.

Once upon a time she deemed him so handsome. Now Cain was the ugliest thing she’d ever seen. And that expensive cologne she once thought smelled so delicious on him, now stank to the point of nausea. She couldn’t wait to get away from it and him.

“No, I’m not—”

“Yes, you are,” Aurelia interrupted, cutting off yet another lie. “Cheating on me with my own best friend. Ex-best friend, dat is, since I don’t want any-ting else to do with you or Roxy,” she added as her Virgin Island accent grew thicker the way it usually did whenever her ire rose.

“She’s lying I tell you,” Cain insisted. His bronze cheeks deepened in color.

Aurelia scoffed. “And I guess she’s lying about you being de father of her unborn child, too, huh?” She flung more clothes into the suitcases. Who cares that she’d strayed from her usual neatness? She’d deal with organizational issues later. Leaving her cheating boyfriend was at the top of Aurelia’s to-do list right now.

Cain scowled. “That girl is not pregnant by me! How could she be? I always use protection during sex,” he denied. “Besides, my previous medical condition makes it next to impossible for me to conceive.”

Aurelia abruptly stopped packing, placed her hands on her hips and just laughed…at him! Did the man not have any sense at all? Did he not realize what he just said?

“I don’t know what I ever saw in you,” Aurelia replied, her accent loosening back up as her ire decreased considerably. What was the point of wasting anger on a fool?

“You’re too stupid to even realize that you just told on yourself,” Aurelia continued. “The correct answer should have been, ‘Roxy’s not pregnant by me because I never had sex with her’, not because you always use protection or have some previous medical condition. It’s a good thing you’re set for life financially, because you simply wouldn’t make it in the working world acting dumber than a block of cheese.”

Cain’s eyes bucked at his blunder, further confirming his guilt and dumb jock persona. He never could hold his own with Aurelia on an intellectual level no matter how much he tried. And he had tried over the last year…hard.

Cain even went so far as to secretly partake of classical music and literary classics in order to increase his intelligence and try to catch up with hers. So what if he listened to the audio versions of Jane Austen. Everybody wasn’t strong readers.

Pushing past his inadequacies, Cain focused on his strengths instead. “You saw what all your friends saw in me, good looks, financial security and a man capable of hitting all the right spots in a woman,” he said, telling on himself even more as he bragged about his attractiveness, sizable music store inheritance, and sexual prowess.

Aurelia bristled at that cheap, yet true stab in the gut. She had stayed with Cain so long because of the great sex…and of course the free room and board. Don’t forget the frequent trips to hair and nail salons.

Although he also bought her plenty of clothes, shoes, and accessories, they were all purchased with selfish motives. How else could Aurelia explain having so much formal wear when she felt more comfortable in jeans and t-shirts? It was Cain that wanted her dressed to the nines for the countless social functions he was invited to in the music industry. It was that same formal wear that Aurelia was gladly leaving behind today.

There had been no help with her college tuition or books. Cain outright refused to assist with her educational expenses. He wouldn’t even put gas in her car so that she could get to school. And he always changed the subject whenever she brought up her educational or career goals.

“Besides, you and I both know you have no place to go,” Cain continued, sounding more arrogant by the minute. “You have no family here in the states. The few relatives you have back home are just as broke as you. Even if they pool all their money together, I seriously doubt it would still be enough to get you all the way from Alcove, California to the Virgin Islands. You can’t send yourself since all the money you make at your part-time job goes to that high-priced college you insist on attending and to help your mother and little brother. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t even have food to eat. Face it, girl, you need me,” he concluded smugly, leaning back on the bed with his hands folded behind his head.

“I’ll manage,” Aurelia replied, returning to her packing with a vengeance. No hands had been quicker. “I did all right before I met you,” she reminded him.

“Oh, so you’re going back to stripping, huh?” Cain smirked, alluding to how he’d met her. “Now I know you’re going to come running back to me. Probably by the weekend since I know how much you hate dancing for money.”

“I hate cheating men more!” Aurelia retorted, zipping her suitcases with relish. She clenched their handles tight as she lifted them from the floor. Inwardly she commended herself for keeping her P.O. Box as her mailing address. Now she wouldn’t have to worry about returning here for missing and lost mail. Or worse, mail held hostage by her ex.

“When you try to come back, don’t be surprised if Roxy’s here taking your place in every way, you Catherine Willows wannabe,” Cain spat out, putting up no protest as she stalked towards the bedroom door. He was too proud to beg. Didn’t think he had to. Not with his looks and money.

“I won’t be surprised at all.” Aurelia smirked, actually flattered by his comparison to her favorite CSI character. “Unlike you, I am smart enough to realize that Roxy’s whole purpose for telling me about the baby and the affair is to get me to move out so she can move in,” she said, pausing at the door. “Hold on to your inheritance tight, Cain, because she’s about to take you for everything you got.”

Cain’s eyes bucked again as he suddenly realized just what he’d gotten himself into with Roxy. Whereas Aurelia was hardworking and had clear career goals, Roxy was lazy, a lackluster exotic dancer at best, and wanted to marry out of the hood instead of work her way out. Marry a rich man, that is, which Cain definitely was.

Frustrated with this vexing turn of events, he polluted the airwaves with a loud expletive.

Halfway down the hall, Aurelia’s ears picked up that harsh curse. She smiled and chuckled to herself.

I see dumb-dumb finally got it, she mused, convinced that Cain deserved whatever Roxy had in mind for him.

As for Aurelia, she’d learned a hard lesson behind this situation. The next guy she dated would need to have more than just sex appeal and money to snag her. He would also need honor and character. Don’t forget about intelligence. Aurelia’s next man would definitely need lots of that. The more, the better.

© 2009 by Mi’Chelle Dodson/Suprina Frazier