Chapter 31

Ian

 

 

“Professor Dunlap?”

I looked up to see Jennie standing in front of my desk—again. Her idea of what my favorite student would be and mine were extremely different.

“Yes?”

“Uh, I seem to be having some trouble. I can’t afford for my average to slip and if I don’t get an A on this assignment, that would be really bad. Do you have a few minutes to help me?”

“Help you with what, Jennie?” I asked, trying to hide my frustration. What we had been covering with the ecosystem and water conditions was all very basic. If she was struggling now, I was seriously wondering how she would ever make it through finals week.

She sighed. “I don’t understand what you’re asking us to do with the assignment you gave today.”

I cleared my throat. “We’ve been talking about coral reefs and the bleaching that has been happening. Right?”

She nodded. “Yes, and I mean, I get it, but what you’re asking us to do doesn’t make sense to me.”

I watched her body language. I didn’t believe she was lost or confused. The girl was very intelligent. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand the assignment, it was more that she didn’t want to put in the time and energy.

“The assignment is fairly straightforward. I want you to tell me what you think those bleached reefs are going to look like in ten years. I want you to explain what kind of ecosystem there will be. How will it differ from what we’ve known and studied over the past several decades.” I did my best to keep calm, but she was seriously pissing me off. Plus, I didn’t want to have to repeat myself. I wanted to think about Tessa.

I had already taught, so now it was my time to reminisce and fantasize about the many things I wanted to do to Tessa’s beautiful body. Jennie was interrupting my daydreaming, and I didn’t like it.

A hand went to her too-skinny hip as she narrowed her gaze at me. “I understood that, but don’t you think the assignment is vague? How can you possibly grade us on predictions?”

I looked at her, blinked. “What?”

She kept yammering. I had grown bored with her questions, and now, Tessa was front and center of my thoughts. Jennie and her bitching were like white noise, but an irritating white noise—like a mosquito buzzing near your ear.

When Tessa walked through the door, I smiled. “Hi,” I said, cutting off Jennie’s complaining.

“What’s up?” she asked, looking from me to the petulant student listing the many reasons she couldn’t possibly complete the ridiculous assignment I had given out.

I gave her a look that expressed my frustration. “Jennie here isn’t okay with the assignment. Doesn’t feel it’s gradable. Right, Jennie? Is that the gist of your problem with the assignment?” I asked, trying my best to sound reasonable.

The young woman with the beady eyes turned to Tessa. “He’s simplifying it a bit more than I would like, but in a nutshell, yes. It isn’t possible for us to predict the future, which means he can’t grade us on what I predict.

Tessa smiled. I knew that smile. Little Miss Jennie was about to get informed. I leaned back in my chair, clasped my hands behind my head, and raised an eyebrow, encouraging Tessa to answer the girl. This will be fun.

“Jennie, I think the assignment is very easy to understand. It is testing what you have learned thus far in class. Professor Dunlap has talked extensively about the impact to the ecosystem and offered numerous opinions and suggestions about what may happen. There isn’t a right or wrong answer. Your grade will be based on how much thought and effort you put into it,” Tessa calmly explained.

Jennie rolled her eyes, clearly not happy to be stuck with the assignment. “Well, I guess we’ll see. Like I said earlier, Professor, my average cannot slide.”

I looked at her, smiled, but didn’t say a word. I didn’t give a shit what her average was. I didn’t appreciate being bullied or threatened by a freshman who was used to things being easy, and when they weren’t, she argued her way out of them. Not today, toots.

More students strolled through the door, making it impossible for me to chat with Tessa about anything other than the class. She seemed to sense my frustration and gave me a sexy smile before walking away and greeting some of the students.

I watched her, without actually staring at her. Jennie was watching me, and I didn’t want to give away our little secret by looking at Tessa like I wanted to ravage her. Jennie was young and naive, but she also seemed a little manipulative. She was one I needed to keep my eye on.

Class, with Tessa at my back, went by very fast. Anytime she was in my company, I felt like time flew by. I wanted to dig in my heels and make it slow so I could be with her, even if I couldn’t physically touch her. Her presence alone was comforting and always made me feel more complete. Cheesy and ridiculous, perhaps, but it was how I felt. I had to acknowledge it.

Tessa couldn’t stay for my second class, which left me feeling bereft. I missed her presence. Of course, that class dragged on. Once over, I headed for my office, praying Jennie wouldn’t seek me out again. I needed a break from the girl.

“Professor Dunlap! Just who I was coming to see!” a voice rang out.

I looked up from my phone and saw the dean standing outside my office door. It was too late to run the opposite direction, so I had no choice but to stay the course.

“Did we have a meeting?” I asked, suddenly worried that my obsession with a hot young student had obliterated too many of my brain cells.

She smiled. “No, I only wanted to check in with you. Can we talk for a few?”

I nodded and did my best to appear totally cool, but I was freaking out a little. Did she know something? Play it cool, man.

“Sure,” I said, unlocking the door and inviting her into to my meager office. Tessa had helped fancy it up some, but it was like putting lipstick on a pig. It was still a tiny, dingy, and a poor excuse for an office.

The dean looked around, and I had the feeling she too realized how crappy the space was. I gestured for her to take the plain wooden seat while I sat behind the desk.

“What’s up?” I asked, doing my best to keep it light, even though I felt like I had a bowling ball in the pit of my stomach.

“I wanted to see how things were going.”

I shrugged, trying to keep the guilt from appearing on my face. “Good, I think. Things are smoothing out, and I’m setting back into my rhythm.”

My mind was racing, wondering the real reason for her visit. Had Jennie complained? Did someone see Tessa and I in the classroom, making out like horny teenagers?

A slight nod was all I got. She cleared her throat. “I need to know,” she started.

The bowling ball had turned into a full-blown bowling alley—on league night. I could feel stomach acid rising in my gut, and burning my throat. She was about to fire me. Or confront me first, and then fire me.

“What are your plans for the future? Will you be sticking around another year?” she asked.

I nearly puked. That’s it? That’s all she wanted to know? Or wait. Maybe she was asking because she knew about Tessa and wanted to see if I would leave when she graduated.

Shrugging, I was still not quite able to speak.

She smiled, a real, genuine smile. “Okay, I understand. You don’t want to commit, yet, but I really need to know by the beginning of next semester, if you could. You’re doing a great job from what I can see. The students seem to be warming up to you, and the faculty likes you as well.”

Nodding, I tried not to blink too fast. Or too slow. My guilt was turning me into a giant wimp. I couldn’t form words or keep my features relaxed. Clearly, I would be horrible in an interrogation.

“I will,” I managed to say. Clearing my throat, I regained some of my composure. “I mean, at this point, I don’t see anything that would prevent me from staying on another year.” As long as she doesn’t fire me.

“Good,” she said. “That’s great!” She stood up from the horrible chair.  “Well then, I’ll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing. Please, let me know as soon as you’ve made a decision. I simply wanted to let you know the job is yours if you want it. I’ll have a formal contract drawn up next week. We can negotiate salary terms a bit if that is what’s holding you back,” she added.

I hadn’t even thought about it, but now that she brought it up, hell yeah, we were negotiating.

“Thank you for stopping by,” I told her, quickly jumping out of my chair and opening the door for her.

Once she left, I shut the door, leaned against it and exhaled a long breath. That was close. My mind was completely muddled. I stared at my desk, knowing there was no way I would be able to concentrate on anything. Tessa had been on my mind since she left last night. Now, the dean’s little visit was in there crowding things up. I couldn’t focus. I needed to get away from the school and clear my head.

Once in my car, I realized I needed some groceries. I’d planned to go shopping yesterday, but something far better came up. Thinking of groceries and Tessa, I realized I wanted to cook for her again. I loved cooking, and when I could serve her a delicious meal, it made it even better. If she did that for pizza, what would she do with something far better?

Just the thought had an erection forming, as I imagined the many ways I wanted to have sex with her. It wasn’t just sex. I wanted to worship her body in every way. The woman was a seductress. One look from her and I was ready to abandon everything in favor of fucking her mindless.

I had no idea what type of food she liked. I pushed my cart up and down the aisles of the grocery store, hoping to be inspired. It wasn’t working, and no answer was coming to me.

“Jake,” I hastily said, when he picked up his phone on the third ring.

“What?” he asked, a little too abruptly.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, realizing I probably interrupted him at work.

I heard a giggle, and it didn’t take me long to figure out why he was by my phone call.

“Sorry, man. I assume that’s Maria,” I said, hoping it was.

“Yes. What do you need, Ian?”

I fought back a laugh. He was clearly in the middle of something all right.

“Ask her what Tessa’s favorite foods are. What does she like for meals?”

I waited while Jake relayed the question, straining to hear Maria’s response.

“Spaghetti and meatballs, steak, or chicken fettuccine alfredo,” he said, still with an irritated tone, and just that quickly, he ended the call.

I didn’t get upset by his rude dismissal. Why in the hell had he answered the phone in the first place?

I used my phone to pull up recipes for each meal and quickly grabbed the ingredients I would need. I had no idea if or when she would be coming to my house and sticking around for dinner, but if she did, I was going to be ready. Wine. I needed wine to round out the meals. I couldn’t take her out to a fancy restaurant, so I would have to recreate the ambiance in my home. Candles—I needed to find some candles as well.

With my cart filled, I headed for the checkout. Now I was all set and ready to wine and dine Tessa. Now, I just had to get her back to my house.