“Do you have an opinion on this subject?” I asked, hoping she would jump into the conversation.
She shrugged, then stood and moved to stand beside me, imitating my posture. Her backside was leaned against the desk, her flowing sundress loose around her legs. Her bare, tanned arm was very close to my own and made the hair on my arm stand up. There was electricity thrumming between us, and I could literally feel it pulsing.
“Professor Dunlap is someone I would trust, guys,” she started, making eye contact with the students. “He isn’t making this stuff up. If you are serious about a career in marine sciences, you have to be sure the ocean is still there, right?” she joked. “I hope you will all listen to him and take it seriously. I know I do.”
I watched as the students perked up. They liked her. She was more of an asset to my class than I had anticipated.
“Thank you, Tessa,” I told her, genuinely meaning the words.
She looked at me, smiled, and used an elbow to gently push me. That’s when it happened. She zapped me!
“Ow!” she said, yanking her arm back. “You shocked me.”
I had to chuckle. “It was definitely the other way around.”
She removed her backside from my desk and returned to her seat. I watched as the students watched her. When they turned back to me, I knew I had their attention. She had infused them with the desire to learn from me. It was pretty damn amazing. She had given me a similar infusion. Now, I was ready.
The class flew by after Tessa’s intervention. Students stopped by her desk on their way out to turn in the latest assignment and to chat, of course. I watched out of the corner of my eye, not wanting to be obvious. One of the young men I noticed paying her a great deal of attention was still hanging out, as if he was waiting for the students to leave so he could have her alone.
I cleared my throat. “Tessa, can I have a word?”
“Sure,” she said, standing and walking to my desk.
As I expected, the student who had been lurking quickly dropped off his work and filed out the door. I had her all to myself. No! That was wrong, terribly wrong. I couldn’t think like that.
“What’s up?” she asked, looking at me, and waiting for me to say something.
“I wanted to thank you for bailing me out. They were fading fast and I was about to lose them completely. Your support meant a lot, and you made it cool. Maybe in the future, we can tag team when there are topics you like?” I asked, hoping to find a way to work more closely with her, knowing full well that I shouldn’t.
I shut down that little niggle of conscience telling me it was wrong on so many levels. I didn’t care. At this moment, I wanted this, badly.
“That would be awesome!” she said, with a great deal of enthusiasm and a big smile.
“How about you go through the syllabus, then let me know which topics you’d like to help me out on?”
“I will, thank you,” she said, picking up a stack of papers.
“Here are the latest quizzes. Grades seem to be improving a little.”
When I reached out my hand to take the stack, our fingers touched and another jolt of electricity shot through my body. The woman was truly electrifying.
“Dammit,” she muttered, looking down at her feet. “It must be these stupid shoes. Or maybe it’s you?”
I shrugged. “Same shoes I’ve worn several times.”
“It’s me,” she muttered, shuffling out the door. “Not wearing
these damn things again.”
Turning away I hid a smile. The pretty sandals had revealed her delicate feet, but unfortunately, they would probably electrocute her if she wore them again.
Checking the time, I realized I had a few minutes before the next class. I needed to square up my weekend plans with Jake.
“Hey,” I said, surprised when he answered his phone, I’d expected it to go to voicemail. “What are you doing answering anyway? Don’t you have a court case or something?”
“Yeah, but it got continued, so I have a relatively free morning now. What’s up?”
“What do I need to bring to the barbecue?” I asked, half hoping he would tell me nothing. I wasn’t exactly a gourmet cook. Whatever I was asked to bring I’d be picking up at the deli or store.