co-ed that took hold of him. But he had a strict
policy when it came to dating his students. He just didn’t do it. Technically
Jacqueline wasn’t his student any longer, but she still attended the University
and he didn’t want to cross any lines. Gossip around the campus spread like
wildfire, especially with the advent of social media.
In the past few weeks things had gotten a little more
intense between them, but he promised himself he wouldn’t go any further than
kissing. He hoped that could change this weekend. His fantasy was to spend two
nights worshipping the woman who’d occupied his dreams for months.
During her undergraduate years, he’d found her striking but
quickly dismissed the thought. She generally sat up front during his lectures
and seemed to hang on his every word. She always came to class prepared and
asked intelligent, engaging questions. Political Science seemed to be her
strong suit. Her enthusiasm for his work excited him. At thirty, he had yet to
settle down or even meet anyone he considered spending his life with. He’d
always buried himself in his work, becoming more complacent as each semester
passed. Jacqueline’s presence made him restless. With her, he wanted more than
a casual fling. He’d wrestled with his feelings for her for some time. He’d
hired her to do a job; it would have been wrong to take things further. He
tried to convince himself of that, but with each day his attraction for her
grew stronger.
When she’d first begun working for him, they met two
evenings a week to do research assignments. Her firm grasp on the English
language proved quite effective as she tidily edited his work, polishing it and
making it sound twice as good as before. He knew very little about her life
outside of his class. Neither of them had offered more than necessary
informational bits and most sessions were spent discussing his book. It was
essential for him to keep it that way. It wasn’t until a couple of months ago
when she showed up at a bar where he’d been celebrating Logan’s upcoming
wedding that he realized just how attracted to her he’d become.
***
After another losing game of pool, Marcus took a seat at the
bar and ordered himself a beer. He waved to his friends to proceed without him.
“Chicken,” Logan teased as he racked up the balls. “You just
don’t want to owe me any more money.”
“I’m not stupid.” He took a swig of his beer. “I know when
to bail.”
“Professor Santos?” a soft familiar voice called from behind
him.
“Jacqueline?” He turned to find his pretty assistant
standing in front of him. She looked different than a few hours ago when she’d
left his office. Gone were her black yoga pants and pink t-shirt. She’d traded
them in for a pair of low-rise skinny jeans and a silver tank top. Her long
brown hair flowed down her back and over her shoulders; she usually wore it in
a messy bun on the top of her head. Not that her natural beauty wasn’t nice,
but this transformation was unexpected. The straps on her tank were so thin
there was no way she could have worn a bra. Her young, perky breasts did fine
all on their own.
“Hi.”
As he looked at her,
she fidgeted with her hands. He noticed she often did that when they were
together.
“Hey.” He cleared his throat and tried to wipe his mind of
his momentary inappropriate thoughts. “What are you doing here?”
They were about twenty miles from the campus. He hadn’t
anticipated seeing any of his students tonight, especially not her. From what
he did know about her, she kept to herself and favored her apartment to large
crowds or clubs.
“My friend’s brother is playing in a band in the back
tonight. We just got here and I noticed you playing pool, so I came to watch. I
don’t want to bother you. The band is setting up back there so… hi.” She tucked
a strand of her long dark hair behind her ear. “I didn’t expect to see you
here.”
“My friend Logan,” Marcus turned
Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
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