She shrugged. “Don’t be. I’m glad you only have the one class. You can take it easy today.”
I nodded, but the issue was glaringly obvious. She was sitting at my desk, working on my assignments. She was my assistant. She was a student. I needed to remember that the next time I fantasized about bending her over anything.
She stood, and I caught a glimpse of her blue dress. My mind instantly went back to the closet. Was she wearing panties under the dress? I was staring at her with a heated gaze, my mouth hanging open when she looked at me.
She stalked towards me, holding my eyes. “Am I or am I not?” she whispered before brushing her breasts across my chest as she walked to her own small desk.
I was frozen in place. I couldn’t move or breathe. My mind was stuck in a place it shouldn’t be. I wanted to drag her back to that closet and check for myself what was or wasn’t under that skirt. I watched as she sat down, opened her legs a brief second before she crossed them.
The smile she had on her face was pure devilish delight. She knew what she did to me and was enjoying my discomfort. Now, I had to get through another class while sitting behind the desk. My brain seemed to have misfired, and I couldn’t remember what I was going to talk about. There was only one thought in my head, and that was certainly not one I could discuss.
I managed to muddle through, but I know it was awful. I couldn’t seem to string words together in a coherent fashion. My lesson plan was all over the place, and every time I looked at Tessa, she seemed to be taking a great deal of pleasure in my inability to teach. I either needed to fuck her or forget her. I knew which one I wanted.
After class, she waited around for the room to clear out before approaching me, “Sorry,” she said in a soft voice. “I won’t do that again. You looked genuinely miserable, and I don’t want this to negatively impact your teaching.”
I smiled. “It wasn’t you. I mean it was, but I need to learn a little more self-restraint. I’ll figure it out,” I promised her.
“Good. I have to run. I’ll text you later,” she said, rushing out the door.
I watched as she walked away before snapping myself out of the trance she had put me in. Since it was Friday, there was a good chance Jake would be done early as well.
With a quick call, I arranged to meet him for lunch. After that, we headed for one of the busy parks and strolled along the paved path.
“Since you aren’t going to tell me, let me say I already know. Maria told me,” Jake started.
I groaned. I had wanted to talk to him about what happened between Tessa and me, but felt slightly ashamed.
“And?” I said, waiting for a lecture from my little brother.
He shrugged. “I am really happy for you. I like Tessa. She’s great. Gorgeous, smart, and driven.”
I waited. “But? I hear a ‘but’ in there, don’t I?”
“But, she’s a student. Aren’t you risking your job? Aren’t you putting your career in jeopardy by messing around with her?”
“Yeah, I am, which is why it sucks. I like her a lot. She is the first woman who has made me feel alive. She’s given me a reason to get out of bed and look for the positive,” I explained.
Jake stopped walking, forcing me to look at him. “Ian, she’s the first woman you have let yourself be around. What if it could have happened with another woman, one who is more your age? I mean, you’ve sequestered yourself for so long. The first woman you lay eyes on is of course going to look like a goddess sent from heaven.”
I shook my head. “It’s more than that. I have seen and talked with plenty of other women. None of them do it for me. I mean that paralegal you brought to the barbecue. I had actually hoped there would be a spark, but there was nothing.”
We started walking again. “There was nothing because you were already hooked on Tessa.”
I mulled that over. Was it possible?
“I want you to be happy, man, really I do, and if Tessa is the one who does it for you, then I guess you have to weigh the risk against the benefits,” he finally agreed.
“I know, and I’m trying. It’s a mess, I suppose. I shouldn’t have ever let myself go down that road in the first place, but no matter how much I tried, it was like an invisible thread kept pulling us together.”
Jake laughed. “I know, according to Maria, it is fate, pure and simple. She has been for this match from the very beginning. If I even try to be logical about it, she shuts me down. She is all for a happily-ever-after for the two of you. And bro, when Maria’s happy, I’m happy. Very happy,” he said, with a wink.
“Thanks for talking with me about this. I’ve gotten in way over my head.”
“No problem. Call if you need anything,” he said, before we parted ways.
I went home and planned to do some more cleaning up. I wasn?
??t quite sure what I was going to do with Ally’s room yet, but an office seemed like the most logical thing. I didn’t want the room to be empty, and something needed to fill the void.