Free His American Fling by Kim Brogan

passed the porter’s building and then crossed the street. Sprinting through Parker’s Piece, Maggie crossed the Park Avenue and ran up Campbell’s steps and knocked on the door. She was both out of breath and sweaty. The light went on in the stairwell. 
    After looking through the peep hole, he opened the door and stared at her. Her chest was heaving; rivulets of sweat were running down her neck and into her cleavage. The cast was gone and he could see she didn’t have a bra on; her nipples were hard from the cool night air.
    “What? Have you come to give me a midnight bullocking?”
     
    “Doctor Ad...Professor Adair, I have an American couple in the dorm at Downing and the woman is having trouble breathing.”
    Shaking his head, he frowned and then started to slam the door close. “For God’s sake, ring an ambulance, get her to Addenbrookes.”
    Maggie threw herself at the door, “Hey, asshole!” she yelled angrily. “She’s afraid of hospitals. Come on, I thought you were a doctor, a professor ...at the pinnacle of his profession.”
    The door bounced back open, hitting Campbell in the arm. Glaring at her, he thought about his options. Without another word, he turned and walked up the stairs.
    Maggie barged through the door and followed him up the stairs. “What?  Are you going to ignore me, ignore her?” She screamed.
    He continued to walk down the hall to his bedroom as Maggie followed right behind him. Campbell stopped and turned to look down into her eyes. The woman was formidable, standing defiantly in front of him, her fists on her hips. “I have to get dressed and get my bag.” He noticed her body relax, “Would you like to watch?”
    Maggie looked around and realized she was in his bedroom. She had never been in his bedroom. It was a lovely mixture of subtle blue-gray silk drapes hanging from the twelve foot ceilings to the floor that matched the same blue-grey bedding. Beige pillows and trim complimented the bedding. It was beautiful, probably done by Gemma. Unsure what she should do, Maggie turned and ran down the stairs, waiting for him in the foyer.
    He came down the steps a few minutes later, his bag in hand, wearing indigo jeans, a long sleeved polo shirt with slip-on shoes. He grabbed his keys , and they were out the door without saying a word to each other.  As they crossed the street towards Parker’s Piece, he took a look at her from the corner of his eye.  Her arms were folded across her chest.
     
    Maggie looked up at him, “It didn’t seem this cold on the way over.”
    “You were running and your adrenalin was high.” he said softly. “What can you tell me about this woman?”
    Maggie shrugged, “Her name is Mrs. Bitner , and apparently she’s never had asthma.  She could talk, but not very well. I could hear her wheezing. She’s about 40 and came over with the Michigan student.”
    “Michigan?  Does Michigan have dry weather, wet weather, what’s the flora like?”
    She thought about it, “Michigan during the summer is hot and muggy, lots of plants, trees, grasses.”
    He thought about it, “Well, she’s been exposed to flora, so it’s unlikely to be an allergy to plants. I wonder if she’s been exposed to any animals lately.”  He said it rhetorically, not really expecting Maggie to answer.
    They crossed the campus, entered the dorm and started up the stairs. He watched her bottom as she climbed the stairs. It sashayed back and forth at eye level causing a smile to pass over his lips. When they reached the landing they went directly into the room next to the bathroom. 
    Campbell immediately crossed to the woman sitting on the side of the bed noting that her lips had a very slight blue tinge to them. He took out his stethoscope, “Mrs. Bitner, I’m Professor Adair.”
    She looked in shock at Maggie as if to say, who is this?
    Maggie interrupted, “He’s a medical doctor, they just call them Professors here in England.”
    She immediately relaxed and turned