Read Online Higher (The University of Gatica #3) by Lexy Timms - Free Book Online

grab it. Maybe she could just stop by and say hi and just watch him swim. Sports bra and bikini underwear didn’t count as a bikini. Plus, after practice she’d be all sweaty from working out. She might have to shower before going to meet him at the pool complex.
    The rest of the afternoon dragged like the weather. She raced out of her last class, which was at Wavertree in the classroom part of the building. She pulled her phone out of her bag to see if Carter had sent any more messages. Aileen had sent one to see if she would be at practice.  She quickly replied and asked Aileen if she were still at home, could she grab her bikini? She turned left at the fork in the hall and bumped into someone wearing an ugly, tweed suit jacket.
    “Sorry,” she mumbled without bothering to look.
    “Excuse me, miss.”
    Jani kept walking, not paying attention until a few steps later when she realized he had spoken to her.
    “Please stop a minute.”
    The annoyed voice stopped Jani in her tracks. Crap, crap, crap!
    “I didn’t see you in class this morning, Jani.”
    She sighed and turned around. Busted! “Sorry, Mister Drab.” She quickly tried to correct herself. “Dab. Mister Dab. I, uh, wasn’t feeling well this morning.” She forced a cough and then sniffled.
    He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly not buying it. “Well, I sure hope you’re feeling better by Wednesday’s class. Are you on your way to my office?”
    Think Jani, think! Say something witty. Or at least believable. “I have track practice.” Lame-ass.
    “Do you have your essay?”
    “Not on me.” Was she sweating? Maybe someone had turned the heat up.
    Mr. Dab frowned. “I understand your commitment to athletics and I know you are on a track scholarship. That doesn’t mean you get special treatment from your professors. This assignment is due at the end of the day.”
    “When is the end of the day? Officially?” If she went to practice and went hard on her paper, she could have it done before midnight. It would mean missing Carter, but it might save her derriere.
    “So, it’s not finished?” Mr. Dab inhaled loudly and pushed the air out of his nostrils with so much force Jani felt the wind brush her face.
    She shuddered when a drop of wetness hit her cheek. She didn’t dare move to wipe it.
    “Jani. I assigned this paper the first week of classes. You have had ample time to complete it. I warned everyone in the class that if it were not handed in on time, there would be no late papers accepted. Another student just dropped theirs off and another student sick with the flu has their roommate bringing their paper in before five o’clock. That is the cut-off time. Five. PM.”
    “I have practice till at least five thirty! I can bring it to you this evening.” She quickly wiped her cheeks with her hands and then on her pant leg.
    “I am leaving my office at five. If it is not in by then, it counts as a zero.”
    Yesterday she didn’t care if she got an F on the paper, today she did. “Can I email it to you?” He probably wouldn’t check his email till the morning and she figured she could say she sent it at six, but the networks were slow and she couldn’t know what time he got it at. Maybe two am? Please say yes, please.
    “No. Typed report with references due on my desk by five o’clock. Talk to your coach and explain your situation.”
    “Coach Maves isn’t going to let me skip to finish a paper.” She had no idea what Maves would say, but she wasn’t about to let Mr. Dab know that.
    “Jani.” He shook his head. “You are a junior in school now. This is your third year here at the University of Gatica. You’re not a freshman. My class is not a freshman course. If you can’t manage your time to complete a project by its due date, then maybe you need to reprioritize your priorities.”
    She wanted to prioritize his ass. This was bullshit. He couldn’t give her a one time by. “Sir,” she said, trying one more time. “May