Lessons From the Professor

Evernight
Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2012
Shyla
Colt

 
ISBN:
978-1-77130-043-8

Cover
Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor:
Karyn
White

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is
illegal.
 
No part of this book may be
used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This
is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

First of all I have to say thank you to God who
keeps blessing me with the continued ability to create stories I’m proud off
and you guys want to read.  Second in line is my family who offers
support, and deals with the ridiculous amount of time I spend on the computer,
jotting things down on paper, and talking to people who don’t really exist.
Characters can be quite demanding at times.  Rich,
Tiana
and yet to be named baby girl you are my world and I love you.

Portia,
Nichelle
,
Jessie, and M, without you I don’t think this one would have come together the
way I wanted it to. Thank you for your insight, honesty and encouragement. To
my
bestie
Tara
,
thanks for help with the title!

To my readers, I wish I could shake the hands of
each and every one of you and say a sincere thank you in person. I am humbled
by your support, and feedback.

Last but not least, thank you to my wonderful
editor  K and
Evernight
 Publishing, who
took a chance on an unpublished author almost a year ago, and started me on a
journey I’d been dreaming of  taking since I was a young girl.

LESSONS FROM THE PROFESSOR

Shyla
Colt

Copyright © 2012

Chapter One

Sutton sighed as she sat down for what seemed like the first
time in hours behind the front desk in the emergency room. It’d been a busy day
in the ER, and having to finalize two last minute schedule swaps hadn’t
lessened her load any. She loved her position as shift lead, but at times it
could be overwhelming and exhausting. A few of the nurses had asked her to head
over to the local all-night diner, like they always did, and she’d declined, as
usual. The only thing on her mind right now was a glass of white wine,
chocolate truffles, and a warm bubble bath in her garden tub.

 
For her, home was
sanctuary, and tonight she was in need of a major dose of tranquility.
 
After she finalized her paper work she turned
to the nurse who stood to her right and gave her the run down.

“This should be everything you need, Mrs. Tracy. The rush
has passed, and everyone’s all settled in.
 
The people who are currently waiting have all filled out their paper
work.”

“Sutton, I never have to worry about something being wrong
when I take over floor duty from you. That being said, you work too hard.
 
Please tell me you have plans to go out
tonight.”

She
smiled at the petite white- haired woman who held a special place in her heart.
Despite being in her mid-fifties, Mrs. Tracey was gorgeous. Her clear skin was
the color of walnut, and she had an even, white, smile that never failed to put
patients at ease. With her take-charge attitude, wicked sense of humor, and
penchant for meddling, she reminded Sutton of her mother.
 
She’d lost count of how many nice boys Mrs.
Tracey knew and wanted to introduce to her to. In retrospect, it was a good
thing Mrs. Tracey and her mom had never met, or they’d double team her.
 

 
“I hate to disappoint
you, but the only date I have tonight is with my bathtub. If it’s any
consolation, there will be wine and chocolate.”

“Honey, you are too young and beautiful to be cooped up in
that house of yours. You need to get out there and play the field while you
have the chance. When I was your age, you couldn’t tie me down. I was a
firecracker, getting it in all over the place, and answering to no one.”

“Mrs. Tracey, you’re still a firecracker.” Sutton laughed at
the woman’s sly smile.

“How do you think I keep the Mr. satisfied?” Mrs. Tracey
asked with a wink. “I was far from ready to settle down. Then I met my Howard,
and no other man seemed to be able to measure up. That’s how you know you’ve
met your match.”

 
A dreamy look crossed
the older woman’s face, making Sutton smile.

“Howard must be one hell of a man to be your man, Mrs.
Tracey.”

“He is, and I have a son just like him. It’s too bad he’s
married, or I’d have paired you two up and
 
made you a member of my family by now.”

“Heaven help me if you ever meet my momma.
 
You have a good shift. I’m getting out of
here before they find a reason for me to stay.”

With a quick wave Sutton made her way around the desk and
down to the locker rooms to change into her street clothes. She had the next
two days off, and she planned on taking full advantage of them.

Now all she needed to do was get out of these scrubs. In her
mind the removal of scrubs was almost like hitting an off switch. It allowed
her to go from RN extraordinaire to a civilian. It was something similar to
what she’d seen her father, who’d been in the Army, do. His uniform came off,
and he switched out of his role as a soldier to become a father and a husband.

 
The moment she
opened the door and entered the beige sand-stone tiled room, lined with tan
lockers she made a beeline for the back of the corner. Tension rolled off her
shoulders as she stripped down to her skivvies, folded her light-blue scrubs,
and placed them in her black book bag. The door swung open, and she heard the
other nurses as they made their way into the room towards her.

 
“I don’t know why you
waste your time asking Sutton to go out with us, Leigh. She never says yes.
It’s like she’s got a major case of stick up her—
”
 
Sutton
felt her face flush at the
crude statement. She knew they thought she was too focused on her career, but
there was no reason to get nasty.

“Hey! That’s my friend you’re talking about,” Leigh said. A
smile flickered over Sutton’s lips. She could always count on her girl to have
her back.

“All we’re saying is
,
Miss
Priss
needs a good dick down, so she can loosen up and let
her hair down a bit.”

Sutton clenched her jaw as anger replaced her embarrassment.
How dare they talk about her behind her back!
 
She went out of her way to make sure their work environment was the best
it could be. Sutton paused in mid mental rant to shake of her head
.
 
Jesus, listen to me. Even now what I’m upset about is the fact that they
don’t appreciate my work ethics. They’re right.
 
It’d been months since she’d gone on anything
that resembled a date and much longer since she’d experienced an orgasm that
wasn’t self-induced.

The reflection that greeted her in the four by four inch
mirror attached to her locker seemed to mock with its spinster-like appearance.
Her hair was pulled back in a severe bun, and her face was bare of make-up. If
she was honest, the first word that came to her mind was austere. Irritated,
she removed the pins from her bun and ran her fingers through her shoulder
length brown hair, mussing it with her fingers.
 
Much better
.
She reached into her locker, pulled out her black cosmetics bag, and went to
work.

 
Ten minutes later
she was ready to go with a light coat of gold eye-shadow, vintage-style cat-eye
liquid eye-liner, pink blush, brown lip gloss, and a dusting of bronzer.
 
Tonight she’d have a few drinks, share some
laughs, and go home feeling less like a fifty year old matron and more like the
thirty-one year old single woman she truly was.
 
After the bitter end of her engagement to her college sweetheart, Sutton
had thrown herself into her career.
 
Life
had been tough growing up as the eldest of five siblings with a widowed mother.

When her father had passed away from a heart attack she’d
been the one who cooked meals and oversaw homework and nightly routines while
her mother worked two jobs to provide from them.
 

When she’d seen the rock and the hard place her mother was
placed in without a college degree, she’d vowed to make a career for herself
before she considered settling down to have a family.

 
“Enough,” she
whispered.

 
She had all of the
things she’d been working hard for.
A condo, a paid-off car,
and a good position at a steady job.
It was time to relax and enjoy her
accomplishments. Sutton shimmied into a pair of fitted dark denims, pulled her
black tank top over her head, and slipped into a pair of low heeled black
sandals. She grabbed her purse, and walked over to the bathroom mirrors where
the girls were putting the final touches on their appearances.