I was determined not to let what happened on the first day of class happen again today. And, so far, I was off to a good start; I hadn’t stumbled over words, I hadn’t forced any of my goofy humor, and I’d actually been encouraging my students to participate. Everyone seemed to be attentive, and I didn’t have any issues with anybody. It had gone even better than I had hoped. As long as I didn’t make eye contact with McKinley, I was fine. Though it was getting harder and harder to ignore her… literally and figuratively.

“Can someone tell us what happens to the ionization energy of an element as it moves from left to right across the periodic table?” I posed the question to the class, motioning across the periodic table that I had temporarily plastered onto one side of the whiteboard.

A dark-haired, bespectacled young lady in the back raised her hand promptly. I nodded in her direction, signaling for her to answer. “It usually increases as it goes from left to right,” she said.

“Correct. And within a . . . what?” I asked an auxiliary question, scanning the room for more hands. My eyes, without fair warning, darted over and connected with McKinley’s, who happened to be blushing, and snapped them back suddenly before they were noticed by any overly observant students. I cleared my throat in an attempt to calm myself. Get your shit together, Knight.

I continued the lecture, but it felt like every time I scanned the students for an answer, I would inadvertently end up on McKinley, whether she was offering a solution or not. I talked for a while longer, then I wandered back towards the front, and once again, I locked eyes with McKinley, whose cheeks were flushed with pink. The connection lasted a little bit longer this time, just enough to make me want to whisk her away from the classroom and back to my office where we could have a couple of hours in private.

My eyes reluctantly traveled away from her and up to the clock on the back wall. 9:55. Class was supposed to be dismissed in about five minutes, but I was going to end it right here.

“Alright class, we made good progress today…” No sooner had I said “today” did everyone begin zipping up their backpacks and collecting their books and supplies. College students were so predictable: any suggestion of a dismissal and they were already five steps ahead of you, gathering their belongings.

“…don’t forget your first exam is next Thursday. Make sure you have your study guides. If you don’t, download the PDF from your online course content. Have a great one, guys,” I finished as the mass of young adults got up to leave. “McKinley, could you hang back for a minute, so I can speak to you about your last homework assignment?”

“Yeah, sure,” she agreed, closing her laptop and sticking it in her bag.

A horde of sophomore girls approached me before leaving and asked if I could help them regulate their “informal study group.” I knew what they were up to, and declined, but told them to send me their study guide by email and I’d help them organize it. I already had enough problems thanks to my connection with one student; the last thing I needed was a collection of them incubating crushes on me. They nodded dismally and left, since I had just thwarted their obvious plan. I knew it wasn’t the last time this would happen as long as I was teaching.

McKinley walked up to me at the front of the classroom and cast me a wistful look. “I envy you, Knight. I really do. I wish I had groupies flocking around me like that.”

“One day soon enough. When you’re a professor, you’ll have more than your share of smitten guys signing up for your classes.”

Out of nowhere, McKinley threw her arms around me, pressing her curvaceous body against me, and kissed me long and deep. For a moment, I lost myself. I lost sight of where we were, or what we were doing, and I picked her up, my hands under her full ass, and set her down on the edge of the desk.

McKinley moaned into my mouth as I slid my hand down and into her jeans, letting my fingers explore her warm depths. She ran her fingernails up and down my back, and a shudder escaped my lips. I felt my cock rising from her touch, and all I could think about was filling her up right there and then.

“Fuck me, Knight, now,” McKinley whispered in my ear, the warmth of her voice sending a shiver down my spine. But then, I heard the chatter of students in the hallway outside the classroom, and I remembered…

Oh shit, we are in the classroom… Get it together, Knight!

I pulled away from McKinley, begrudgingly and my spirit collapsed at the look of betrayal on her face.

“McKinley, we have to stop, sweetie. We have to stop,” I said, looking sincerely into her brilliant eyes. “This is the kind of risk that we can’t take.” She unlatched herself from me, and I helped her slide down off the desk, so we could reassemble ourselves.

I took her face in my hands. “I hate that we have to be so paranoid all the time, but... we just have to take it easy for now,” I reminded her.

She nodded and took a deep breath as she tried to center herself before she left. “Paranoid keeps both of us out of trouble,” she said with a forced smile. I ran my fingers along the side of her face and walked her to the door.

“I’ll text you later,” I said before she walked out. Once I was sure she was gone, I shut the door and walked back to the front of the room to make sure McKinley and I hadn’t made a mess. I was just getting my things together when I heard the classroom door open again.

Startled, I whipped around to see who it was, thinking McKinley had come back, but it wasn’t her… it was Casaundra.

“Casaundra! What a pleasant surprise. What can I…” I started, before she cut me off.

“I saw you with that fourth-year student. McKinley Clarke, is it?” she asked.

“Yes, she’s one of my students…” I answered, playing dumb.

“She just left the classroom in an awful big hurry. And you two were in here alone?”

“We were just having a one-on-one about the upcoming test,” I lied through my teeth.

“Yeah, I’m sure you had a one-on-one, alright. I think the dean would love to hear about your one-on-one,” she said with a conniving sneer.

“Casaundra, I don’t understand what you’re…”

She leaned back on a desk with a raise of her eyebrow. “I’m not an idiot, Knight. I know what is going on with that girl. All it would take is a phone call for you to lose your job. But…”

I gulped. “But what?”

“It could all go away if you would just quit.”