But thou thereon did'st only breathe,
And sent'st it back to me,
Since when it grows and smells, I swear
Not of itself, but thee

_______________

Sinclair

-Later, sweet?-

What did he mean by that?

Nope. She was not going to wait and find out. Home was where she should be. Far from the tempting professor.

She was almost out of the building when her path was blocked by Sandy and the spice girls.

-Really? Isn't this overrated?- This was so old school.

"What does he see in you, Chinese girl?" God! No originality.

Sinclair was tempted to speak in Mandarin to prove her point. But she didn't know the language. A pity.

-Old mother English it is then.-

"Chinese girl, really? That's the best you can come up with?" That gave her nemesis a pause. Oh, the bitch was trying to think with her fish brain for a good comeback.

"You are nothing. We don't even know your name. You are poor, deaf, and...and...ugly. Yeah, " she huffed. The backup singers nodded. All trying to look fierce.

Jesus! She pitied the girl. Even grade-schoolers can do better than that.

Shaking her head, Sinclair decided it was not worth it. She wouldn't lose her precious planned future just because of petty jealousy from brainless Scientifically enhanced racks. Yeah. She knew their pair of beauties were faked.

And her backpack was quite heavy and weighing her down so she left it at that and decided to walk away.

Miscalculation had once again bitten her in the ass when she least expected it.

As she was trying to get past them, she was pulled roughly by one of the girls and since she was thin and petite, her baggage heavy plus the girl was almost twice her size, Sinclair fell on her back with a painful thud.

Shit! She groaned. That will leave a bruise.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Perfect timing professor. From the corner of her left eye, she saw his menacing stance. His hands were clenched and he was swearing the air blue.

The girls look shocked.

"Prof...professor, it was that deaf's..." Sandy tried to explain, on the verge of tears.

Nice dramatics.

"Don't even finish that sentence." He said it so softly yet so deadly. Seething with rage.

He moved in front of her and she couldn't hear him anymore.

What she got were bits and pieces about suspension and meeting the parents. Shit! She didn't have a representative.

And why couldn't she hear him? She touched her right ear in panic. Her fucking aide. She crawled to look for it on the concrete pathway.

Finding her precious gadget, tears filled her eyes. Oh, no! It was broken.

She glanced up when someone touched her shoulder gently.

The hot professor helped her up and kept talking to her.

Unfortunately, her left ear can only pick up faint vowels.

She tapped him on his forearm to show him her damaged hearing aid and pointed to her ear.

-I'm sorry, sweet. This shouldn't have happened.

She gasped. -You sign?

-Of course, I took units in Special Ed. Are you okay, my sweet?

She nodded. Then her eyes filled with tears again.

-I don't have my hearing aid anymore. You can talk near my left ear but...

She shrugged helplessly. He wiped her tears with his manicured hands. She noticed he still looked angry.

-Don't worry, sweet. We will figure out something. Come on. Let's go meet a friend.

He relieved her of her heavy backpack and she was grateful but... She tapped him on his arm. -Damn! He is hard.-

-What friend, professor?

Sinclair stood her ground, refusing to move.

-A doctor. Let's see what he can do with a hearing aid, eh? Come on, my girl.

He signed way too fast. To make sure she didn't escape, he pulled her by her tiny waist.

She felt so small next to his tall and muscled frame.

Reaching the designated parking for the campus's elite, her eyes widened when she saw his car. Nice. She had no idea what it was called but she guessed it was a sports car. He opened the door for her and helped her inside. He also made sure the seatbelt was securely on.

She waited for him to get in on his side of the car. Uneasiness filled her. Why did she go with him without any hesitation? How could she trust him so much?

She needed answers. Without a second thought, her soft hand tapped him on his thigh before the car pulled from the parking lot. He stiffened.

-I'm sorry. Didn't mean to startle you, professor.

-You didn't. What would it take for you to call me by my first name?

His lips curved in amusement. Yet his eyes were heated.

She shook her head.
-That's inappropriate.

-No, sweet. You should be used to it. I told you, it's only a matter of time.

-You are impossible. Are you sure this is okay? You might have an appointment somewhere.

-And I will drop them all in a heartbeat for you, my sweet. Don't worry. Let's go?

-But what will the people at the campus say? They all saw us leave together.

-What about them? It's none of their business.

-But I could get expelled. And you could lose your job.

-You won't, sweet. And I won't. I promise. Trust me. Let's go?

She nodded reluctantly and tried to get her hand back, he stubbornly held it on his thigh while he drove, occasionally kissing her knuckles. Almost doing it absentmindedly.

She let him. She was tired and she lacked sleep. Might as well relax until they reached their destination.

She didn't mean to drift off, her exhaustion got the better of her and before she knew it, her head was using his shoulder as a pillow.

No one noticed the loving glances he threw on his girl's serene form.

He was content. It was time.

***

It was the stillness of the room that woke her up. Her sleepy light brown eyes surveyed the posh office or whatever this place was.

She was on a very comfy couch, a soft throw over her jean-clad legs. Where was the professor? Did he leave her here? She was a bit disoriented.

There was a continuous whoosh in both of her ears. The damage had worsened over the years. She grimaced.

Surveying the room, her gaze fell right on the huge desk in front of her. She found a name.

Erik James A. MacGregor, M.D. Internal Medicine/Neuro Surgeon

He might be the professor's friend. She looked around her, not hearing anything, she got up slowly. Her hands gingerly pat herself. Tugging on her worn shirt and finger combing her disheveled hair.

She winced. She was a mess.

Watching the door open, she straightened. Two men entered the doctor's office. One was her hot professor and the other one...

Oh, God! It's the first guy who gave her a huge tip. They're friends?

So it meant... Fuck! He was playing with her. Nicholas. She really couldn't trust anyone.

She signed to him as soon as he noticed her. His eyes softened, it made her lose her train of thoughts for a second.

-I know that guy.

-Oh? How do you feel right now, my sweet?

-Don't change the subject, Nicholas.

-Thank God. Finally. So, I have to annoy you often so you could call me by my first name?

Her head bowed, hiding her flaming cheeks.

He closed the distance between the two of them to lift her chin.

-Your friend was at the diner and I guess you are in one of those cars. I don't want you to pity me, Nicholas. I am not a charity case.

He shook his head, exasperated.

-I don't pity you, Sinclair. That's one of the reasons I didn't show myself. I don't want to scare you away. If my friends gave you huge tips, I didn't ask them to. Frankly, if it was me, I would have given you everything and anything.

She gnawed her lips. Unsure. His eyes darkened as he watched her. God! Why did she trust him?

This was a bad idea.

She nodded.

He pulled her towards his warm body, his arms on her tiny waist once more.

Dr. MacGregor approached them. He signed. Sinclair was not surprised anymore.

-Hi, love. I'm EJ, this idiot's friend.

Her professor scowled at him.

-I'm Sinclair Yuan, doc. Nice to formally meet you.

The physician smirked. His ocean blue eyes danced in amusement.

-I have ordered a new hearing aid for you. It's a LiNX Quattro and the grade is the same as the damaged one. It should be here any minute now.

-But, doc. That's expensive. I can't pay you.

-It was taken care of, love.

And he, EJ, was also a natural flirt. His words seemed to annoy the professor holding her possessively.

Nicholas moved away from her to punch the doctor on his biceps. She shrank away. Afraid all of a sudden.

-God, no! Not him, too!-

The doctor noticed her reaction and their laughter died. He said something to the professor.

Nicholas was beside her in an instant. She shook her head in fear and swallowed the lump in her throat.

Disappointment and regret laced his eyes.

-We were just fooling around, sweet. I will never hurt you. Please trust me on that. Not ever.

She eyed him. Skeptical. His eyes were full of remorse. Pleading. She took a deep breath.

Nodding, she reached for his hand.

He did more than that, he met her halfway and he pulled her in a tight embrace.

Too occupied with each other, they didn't notice his friend left them alone, giving them privacy.
_______________