Undone by R. E. Hunter Page B

us,” Embry said flatly. She felt as if all of the life had been sucked out of her voice, along with the promise of what could have been between her and Luke.
    “You’re not okay.” It wasn’t a question.
    “No, I’m not.”
    “Have you spoken to him?”
    “He announced to the class that he was supposed to start as a professor next semester, but with Coleman out for the rest of this semester, they asked him to take over.”
    “Wow, okay. But have you actually spoken to him? Outside of the classroom?”
    “And say what?”
    “Oh, I don’t know, maybe start with ‘What the fuck’ and go from there?” Morgan suggested. “Don’t you want to hear what he has to say?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Has he tried to get in touch?”
    “Yeah, he’s called at least a half a dozen times. Sent some texts. I haven’t checked them.” Embry told Morgan about her morning: almost sleeping through class, Luke’s missed calls, and the text he sent right before she walked into class.
    “Wow.”
    “Yeah.”
    “I think you should at least hear him out. Clearly this was sprung on him, too,” Morgan said.
    “I get that, but really, we’ve been together over a month. Don’t you think that in all the conversations we’ve had, the fact that he was going to be a professor next semester might have come up? It’s kind of an important piece of information. I was dating a fucking professor.”
    Morgan went silent for a minute. “That’s kind of hot, Bree.”
    “Shut up, M.”
    “What? I’m just saying.”
    “Not helping.”
    “Well at least you with him. It would be much worse sitting in his classroom knowing what he looks like under those sexy clothes.”
    Embry stayed silent. She and Morgan had both been working on big assignments over the weekend, so she hadn’t had a chance to catch her up on what went on with Luke.
    “Embry?” Morgan questioned.
    “Yes?”
    “What aren’t you telling me?” Her friend’s tone was a combination of suspicion and curiosity.
    “Nothing,” Embry said flatly.
    “You dirty whore! You hooked up with him? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
    Embry let out an audible sigh.
    “How was it?”
    “Again, not helping,” Embry deadpanned.
    “Okay, okay. You want me to come over?”
    “No, I’m just gonna go home and crash. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
    “You sure you’re all right?”
    “No, but I will be. I always am.”
    Embry hung up and pulled into her parking spot. She grabbed her things and made her way toward the stairs. When she looked up, she saw Luke sitting on the top step outside of her apartment. His arms rested on his knees, hands dangling between his legs, and his head hung low. At the sound of her footsteps, he lifted his eyes and sucked in a breath. Her heart thudded at the sight of him. His shirt was wrinkled, hanging untucked out of his pants. His eyes were bloodshot, and his normally perfect hair stuck up at odd angles as though he had been running his hands through it repeatedly. He still looked gorgeous.
    “Embry,” he said.
    “What are you doing here?” Her harsh tone left a bitter taste on her tongue.
    “I tried to call.”
    “I know. I didn’t answer for a reason.”
    Luke stood, making space for Embry to move up the stairs. She juggled her bags as she pulled out her keys. Opening her door, she threw her stuff to the side, and turned back to Luke. He leaned against the door jamb, looking disheveled and delicious. It was impossible for the man to look bad. It only fueled her anger.
    “What do you want, Luke?”
    He stepped toward Embry, lifting his hand to gently cup her cheek. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
    Embry leaned into his touch for just a moment before she pulled away, shaking off his hand. “I can’t do this.”
    “Please just let me explain.”
    Embry shook her head. The tears she thought she had under control threatened to fall, and she didn’t want him to see her cry. “Just go.” She made the mistake of looking at Luke. He