"S o, do you do a lot of cooking?" I asked Olivia as we headed towards the kitchen .

"Well…" she laughed, "I would say that between pop-tarts and microwave dinners, my cooking involves a lot of take-out." Her jaw dropped as she rounded the entryway and saw the state-of-the-art remodel. "Holy crap this is nice !"

She immediately went over to the center island and danced her fingers along the sleek surface on the way to the side-by-side double oven with the grill top. On one side was a built-in temperature controlled wine rack and the other side housed a wood-fired pizza oven .

"Man," she clicked her tongue and glanced over at me, "it must be really nice to reheat leftover pizza in this bad boy ."

I couldn't hold back my laughter. Most of the women I've dated over the years would have made some polite comments about the fact that my housekeeper must have appreciated the upgrade before moving along to the Renoir in the library .

Olivia didn't even notice the Renoir. In fact, I think if she had, she wouldn't have cared .

"So, how about bacon and eggs? Pancakes? Or, maybe waffles?" As I ran down the list I somehow knew where we were going to end up. She looked like a waffles kind of gal .

"Well," she demurred, "I don't want to put you out …"

As I made us breakfast, I told her all about the history of the old brownstone while she rolled her eyes at me .

"Get to the good part," she joked, "like how you ended up here ."

"Well actually," I started and saw her roll her eyes again, "the truth is, I inherited it ."

"Oh," her expression was suddenly serious, "I'm so sorry ."

"Thank you," she caught me off guard with the comment and I wondered if she had lost anyone close to her. "It was my grandparent's house and when they passed it sat empty until I moved back to Boston last year ."

"I'm guessing they didn't do the remodel ?"

"No," I laughed, "My grandparents would not have seen the value in a pizza oven ."

"Well, that's their loss," she commented with a flip of her hand and then laughed with me .

I sat a platter of waffles down on the island and motioned for her to grab one of the bar stools and dig in. The sparkle in her eyes when took her first bite reminded me of why I loved to cook. I grabbed a waffle from the pile and dug in with matching gusto .

"So," I asked after a few bites, "what are your plans for the day ?"

"Well," I missed a morning class, "but with my work schedule, that happens sometimes." She screwed up her face in a way I had seen when she was angry at herself, "I'll just get my notes from a classmate ."

"Oh, I forgot to mention before - about your apartment," I saw her flinch and wished I hadn't brought it up, "I have a buddy at the Boston PD and I contacted him last night to get the ball rolling on a police report." She nodded dully and I pressed on, "I also contacted your landlord and explained the situation ."

I knew she worked three jobs to keep afloat, and after seeing her apartment, I could only imagine how poorly she was being paid for those jobs. I mentally calculated how much I spend on just the remodel of the kitchen and it put things in a new perspective .

"So," I tried to brighten the mood, "My afternoon meeting was canceled and I only have a few papers to grade, so how about we hang out ?"

I was out of my mind for suggesting it. I was supposed to be finding a way to break any and all contact with her and I was digging myself in deeper. I saw her smile re-appear and all I could think of was her body pressed against mine as I buried myself in her. I mentally checked myself on those inappropriate thoughts. She was my student who I was helping in a time of need - her need, not mine .

We polished off the remaining waffles and discussed what we wanted to do on our day off. After a much-heated discussion on the weather, we decided to stay in so I could show her around the house and the upgrades. After that - since I had a television - we would settle in to watch a movie .

I've shown countless people around the old house, but I've never had as much fun as with Olivia. There wasn't one room, one nook, one cranny, that she didn't comment on - well, except for the Renoir. She didn't even recognize it - it was glorious. She appreciated the updated bathrooms and agreed with me about keeping the old world aesthetics in the other rooms .

"So, what movie do you want to watch ?"

Olivia was seated in the middle of the couch in front of the oversized flat screen TV. She had the remote in one hand and the other buried in a bowl of freshly popped popcorn .

I tossed the papers I had to grade on the coffee table and went to start a fire in the fireplace .

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Olivia gushed with a huge smile that told me I should anyway .

"Well," I answered sarcastically, "you specifically mentioned every single fireplace in this entire house." I looked back at her and could have sworn she was checking out my ass while I was bent over starting the fire, "I kind of got the hint ."

She had the decency to look ashamed and quickly refocused her attention on picking out a movie. "Well, thank you," she whispered as she clicked through the list. "So, what are you interested in ?"

I had to stop myself from saying, "You." If she were ten years older and not my student I would have been all over her. But as it was, I needed to keep my head clear. "Whatever you want is fine with me," I answered instead .

"Oh, how about a documentary on 16th-century doll makers?" her voice was filled with so much excitement that I dared not look around .

"Umm, I guess that would be a wonderful learning experience," I shot back .

"Ok smartypants," she laughed, "how about that intergalactic romp that came out last year ?"

"The one with whats-her-face and that other guy ?"

"Yeah," she started clicking and a moment later the movie was lined up and ready to go .

I finished building the fire and settled in on the couch next to her. I had planned to grade the papers while the movie was on, but between the coziness of the fireplace and her running color commentary I never even gave them a second look .

Half-way through the second movie, I realized Olivia and I were cuddled up together under a small quilted blanket. My arms were wrapped around her and her fingers were dancing along my thigh like a piano player tickling the ivories .

After all my plans to steer clear of her, I have no excuse for what happened next .