One Night

Chapter 26

Edwin & Audrey

Edwin’s POV

I slammed my laptop shut with a huff and leaned back in my chair. No matter how hard I tried to direct my attention toward the sun pouring in

window, I just couldn’t seem to get those words out of my mind. through the open

“Audrey Thatcher has filed a request to admit Gavin Matthews to her team,” the email from Ms. Morrie had read. “While we typically would not accept such a request this late in the semester, I have personally decided to approve it; Miss Thatcher has already displayed a lot of grit despite her obstacles…”

Frowning, I rose abruptly from my chair and walked over to the window. It was only cracked open, so I threw it open all the way and leaned over the windowsill, letting the morning breeze hit my face.

Audrey. Gavin.

It had started simply with him being our waiter; then, I had found them on the verge of kissing the other night, and now they were applying to be team members together.

No, not just applying. They were team members now.

Of course, the email from the vice dean wasn’t the first I had heard of their new partnership; I had heard whispers around campus, conversations in the faculty break room, hushed murmurs in the hallways.

“I think she’s just accepting everyone to her group in order to keep her studio,” some people were saying.

“Well, I’m excited to see where her team will go with this. Their last design was excellent,” others were saying.

“What are your thoughts, Professor Brooks?” one of the other professors in the faculty lounge had asked me just yesterday. “Miss Thatcher is your teaching assistant, correct?”

At that moment, I had gripped my coffee cup so tightly that I thought I might break the ceramic. “It’s still just a rumor,” I had said nonchalantly, turning my back to pour myself another cup of coffee even though I had already had three cups that day—lack of sleep had been getting to me lately. “I’ll start caring if it’s actually confirmed.”

Yeah, well, it wasn’t just a rumor anymore; Audrey and Gavin were working together, and what was next? Officially dating? Walking down the hallways, hand–in–hand?

“You’re getting jealous again.”

My wolf’s voice cut through my thoughts, yanking me back to reality. I clenched my jaw and shook my head.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not jealous?” I growled in the back of my mind. “She’s allowed to make friends or date whomever she pleases. In fact, more power to her.”

“Mhm. So why, then, did you go out of your way to follow her the other night and stop that kiss from happening?”

I felt myself visibly blanch at my wolf’s words. Straightening, I slammed the window shut and returned to my desk.

“It was just a coincidence,” I said out loud.

My wolf merely hummed in disagreement. I sighed, sinking down into my chair, and opened my laptop again to grade some papers.

“Look,” I said softly after a beat of silence, “our night together was passionate, and yes, I think she’s cute. But we’re not seeing each other again–not like that, at least.”

“Right,” my wolf replied wryly. “Because you don’t get yourself tangled up in unnecessary emotions.”

“Precisely.”

“Not even your betrothed?”

I bristled at the mention of her and pursed my lips into a thin line. “Especially not her,” I growled.

Audrey’s POV

“And here we are,” I said, opening the studio door with a flourish.

7:38 PM

Chapter 26

+5

Gavin stepped into the room, his eyes widening slightly when he saw what was waiting for him: a ream of the ugliest fabric imaginable–a gaudy yellow polyester with a paisley and stripe pattern–sitting next to a mannequin and none other than Tina and Avis standing on either side with their arms folded across their chests.

“What’s this for?” Gavin asked, running his fingers along the fabric.

Tina, Avis and I exchanged amused glances before Tina spoke.

“Make something decent out of that fabric and we’ll let you on the team,” she said. “And if you can’t do that…”

“Then, sorry, but you’re not fit to join us,” Avis finished, flipping a wispy golden curl over her shoulder.

For a moment, Gavin just looked back and forth between the three of us with an incredulous expression on his face–clearly trying to decide whether we were messing with him or not. But when none of us said a word, his shoulders slumped slightly.

“Very well. How much time do I have?”

“One hour,” I said, glancing at my watch. “The clock starts now. Hurry!”

Without hesitating for more than a moment, Gavin suddenly scooped up the ream of ugly yellow fabric and got to work measuring, cutting, and pinning. Smirking, I slid a stool up to join Avis and Tina and sat beside them.

“Good luck, newbie,” Tina cooed, grinning at Gavin as he worked.

Avis giggled. “And good luck with that awful fabric,” she teased.

Gavin blushed a deep shade of red, but I couldn’t help but laugh along with my friends and shoot them a sly wink. This had been their idea; when I had proposed to them the prospect of letting Gavin join our team since he had a similar design taste to ours, they had requested a bit of a hazing before that would be possible.

I, of course, had accepted. I simply couldn’t resist. Although I did feel a bit bad that we had intentionally picked out the worst fabric we could find just to make it harder for him.

Not that it mattered, though. Unless it was an utter flop, we had every intention of letting Gavin on the team. I had already received the approval from the vice dean herself.

“I’ve seen worse,” Gavin said as he ran the scissors along another length of the fabric and began to pin it on the mannequin. “Honestly, the color isn’t too bad… It’s just that the pattern clashes.”

Tina and Avis both shot me a curious look, but I subtly shook my head, silently willing them to give him a chance. Gavin would do well despite everything–I was sure of it.

Sure enough, over the next hour, Gavin put together a’sundress with the yellow fabric. Using pleats and the plain backside of the fabric to his advantage, he hid most of the pattern and was able to mold the plasticky polyester into something surprisingly flowy and soft.

Eventually, as soon as the clock hit noon, he stepped back and held his hands up to reveal a shockingly pretty, if not brightly–colored, little sundress.

“Well, I’ll be,” Tina breathed, hopping down off of her stool to stride over to the mannequin and look everything over. “This is actually…” “Pretty,” Avis said as she circled the mannequin. “Like… Really pretty.”

“You think so?” Gavin turned the mannequin this way and that to let the skirt flutter a bit as it moved. “I honestly hate yellow, but…”

Tina and Avis exchanged a glance with me as Gavin complained about various aspects of his design: the fabric, the cut, the sleeves, the pleats. Meanwhile, I rifled through my bag and withdrew a bundle of papers.

Striding up to Gavin, I held them out to him. “Welcome to the team,” I said. “These are your acceptance papers.”

Gavin’s eyes widened, his fingers trembling ever so slightly as he took the papers. Shooting curious looks back and forth between the three of us, he murmured, “Really?”

Tina grinned widely. “Yes, really!” she said, holding her hand out to shake his. “Welcome aboard, Gavin.”