Dallas
Being a graduate intern means that mostly, you get to do a bunch of bitch work.
One of my peers and I distribute exams to the two-hundred undergrads in the lecture hall. Test A, test B, test C, test D. We make sure no two people sitting next to each other have the same letter.
Evan sits at the very back of the hall. She smiles at me when I hand her the test. I want to mouth ‘good luck’ to her but I know how weird she is about people seeing us interact, and I want to respect that.
The next two hours are spend being the asshole who walks up and down the aisles, watching all of the students like hawks to make sure no one is cheating. A couple of times I catch Evan’s eye. She bites her lower lip to hide a grin and glances back down at her test. God… I don’t want to know how many guys she’s won over with that move.
It’s nine-pm when all of the tests are finally in. I’m on my way to the office to begin the grading marathon when I pass Evan in the hall. To my surprise, she looks to her right and left to make sure that we’re alone, and then leans up against the wall. “Hey.”
“How do you think you did?” I ask.
The corners of her lips perk up. “Nailed it,” she says. “I think I might need you to tutor me every week.”
Even though her makeup-less face, glasses, and sweats make her look young enough to be a teenager, she still has this wise aura about her.
“What about this weekend?” I offer. “We’re done…” I glance around. “We’re done shooting. I wouldn’t mind getting out of town for a bit.”
She frowns and pushes up her glasses with her fingertip. “I have to go visit my mom this weekend.”
“Where does your mom live?”
“Chico.”
“Oh, ok. It’s nice there.”
She cocks her head, sly grin find her lips. “Are you hinting that you want to come with me to my mom’s?”
“I didn’t think I was hinting at anything, but if you’re looking for company….” Tricia’s going on a weekend trip to visit one of her clients anyway. It’s not like I’d be doing much, other than homework.”
“You really want to come?” she asks, and then shrugs. “Well, I guess that would work well for me. If I have a guest, Mom won’t pressure me into staying longer than a day. There’s a great coffee shop downtown.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I sigh, and scratch my head with the one not holding all the tests. “So, the issue goes into production this week.”
She nods. “Britain’s really excited about it.” She cocks her head. “You nervous?” Her eyes sparkle with this adorable curiosity.
Before I can respond, though, voices come from down the hall. It’s the other grad students that are going to help grade the test tonight.
Evan pulls her books tight against her chest and pushes up her glasses one last time. “Talk to you later, Dallas,” she says, and before I can tell her goodnight, she’s already made her way down the hall and out of sight.
^^^^
I’m about to send Evan’s Scantron through the machine when Brad, another graduate intern, says, “So Dallas, you gotta let me know if the rumors are true.”
I glance up at him. Brad and the three other interns are staring at me. All of them wear wicked grins—except for Abby, the girl of the group, who just rolls her eyes.
“What rumors?” I ask nonchalantly, and slide Evan’s Scantron into the machine.
“The ones about you getting to fuck those EPE girls on camera.”
The machine spits out the Scantron. She missed three. Evan got a 97 percent on the multiple choice part of the exam.
“I’m not fucking anyone on camera, Brad,” I say. “Don’t know where you heard that, but your source is wrong.”
My answer doesn’t satisfy him. “But you are modeling for EPE, right?”
I flip open Evan’s test and pull the answer key toward me, avoiding eye contact with Brad. “I am. What’s it to you?”
“Fuck, dude. You are like the luckiest motherfucker alive. What I wouldn’t give to be able to dry hump those bitches. That Rylan chick has such a sweet ass I’d like to—”
“I swear to God, Brad, shut up before I beat the living shit out of you.”
I’m not really a violent person. But fuckheads like Brad make me snap.
He holds his hands up. “Whoa, Bro. Chill. I’m just kidding around.”
No you aren’t, I think. I look down, realizing I’m crumpling Evan’s test in my clenched hands. I smooth it out, take a few deep breaths, and start grading.
This girl isn’t just some eye-candy or fuck meat for assholes like Brad. She’s brilliant. And I realize how brilliant she is when I finish grading all of her complicated drawings of proteins and cells—stuff that, even though I did give her direction on what she needed to study, she’d only know if she were really dedicated to her work.
Ninety-five. Evan got a ninety-five.
When I finish grading my portion, I say nothing and leave the office, knowing that anything out of my mouth would be threateningly confrontational.
I don’t realize that Abby is following me until I’m almost to my car in the parking lot.
“That was a really awesome thing you did,” she says.
“What’s that?”
“Standing up for those models.” She scuffs her feet. Abby is the kind of girl who’s painfully nerdy. I’m not sure I’ve even heard her speak before now.
“They’re not just models to me,” I say honestly. “They’re my friends too. Of course I’m going to stand up for them.”
“It’s really cool to hear you say that,” she says excitedly. “Can’t wait for the next issue.”
I take a step back. This chick—an EPE subscriber? I wouldn’t have guessed in a billion years.
“You get to pose with Rylan Willow?” she asks.
“Yeah, I do.”
“She’s my favorite. You’re a lucky guy.”
I smile, opening my car door. I guess I am.
^^^^
The living room is dark when I get home, but I can see that, down the hall, the bedroom light is on. I throw my keys on the dining table and set my stack of papers on the couch, undressing as I make my way back to the bedroom. I freeze in undoing my tie when I see Tricia sprawled across the bed in nothing but a pair of black panties. She stretches her arms above her head and says, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
About damn time.
“What’s the occasion?” I ask, unbuckling my belt.
She arches her back, splaying her slender legs. “I’ve been evasive lately, and since I’m going to be gone this weekend and then leaving for a week next month, thought I’d give you a little treat.”
When my clothes are off, I climb onto the bed and lie on my back. Just seeing her for the first time in a long time trying to turn me on instead of the opposite way around is enough to get me hard immediately.
When Tricia’s on top of me, I slide her panties down her legs and she sinks down on top me. I groan, savoring the feeling of being inside of her.
We don’t speak.
When I offer to get her off after I finish, she kisses me and tells me that it’s okay. That she’s tired.
She rolls over and turns off the lamp, and we go to sleep.