A Taste of Temptation(7)

Brandi rolled her eyes. I hate her!

“I’m sure you did quite well, Miss Jackson.” He reached around for Brandi’s exam. Tiffany moved on, winking at her as she left the room.

Brandi placed the two-page written exam on 17th century authors into his hand, and glanced around the room. “Hello, Dr. Polaris.”

“Hello yourself, stranger. How are things?”

“Busy.”

“I’ve noticed you haven’t taken time to say anything to me after class. Is everything all right?”

“Sure.”

He looked at her, clearly not believing her.

“Really, I’m fine; just lots of work to do.”

“Madison will keep you busy, and now with the Seymour, you really have to stay on top of your class load.”

“Right, an A-B average is hard to maintain.”

“Exactly! That’s why I wasn’t happy with that C paper you turned in last week.” He took the last few papers and waited for them to leave.

“Tell me about it. I wasn’t happy, either.”

“I think you could benefit from tutoring, at least temporarily.”

She put her books on his table. “I am being tutored.”

“By whom?”

“One of the student teachers working in Crosby Hall.”

“There’s a great tutorial lab in the Mathaei building. Brian Douglas runs it. Miss Shang helps at times. He would be glad to help. Why didn’t you come to me about this before writing the paper?”

Because the very idea of you puts me in meltdown. “You’ve got your own stuff to deal with.”

“Yes, but I told you to come to me if you needed help. I think there are other reasons you didn’t come to me. Am I right?”

That was the truth, but she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it, so she lied. “Really, I’ve just been so bogged down with other things that I…”

“You can’t let that C stay on your record.”

Passing his class was a must, and she needed him to help her do it. Tim had won awards for his writing, and getting his help would be a small price to pay. Sitting next to him and concentrating on things other than sex would be her cross to bear.

“I’m just not interested in 17th century literature. Do you think you could give me some pointers?”

“You’ve got me; I’ve told you that before. I also know that you’d rather not be around me.”

“No, the problem is that I do want to be around you. I need the help, though, and you can give it. I don’t know how to write a good paper on that subject.”

“Your problem is focus, maybe a little lack of interest. You picked a good subject, but you didn’t fully explore it, manipulate it, make it work for you. I can show you how to do that despite how boring you may think it is.”

Indeed, you can, Timothy. Even his words were provocative to her. He managed to use the very words that made everything on her stand to attention. She needed his help, but wanted his passion. “I’m good with punctuation and all.”

“And you’ll become good with the rest of it. Trust yourself. Trust me.”

“That’s also hard to do.” In more ways than one.

“You have to do this and do it well. It’s a core minor that you had to select in order to pass into the advanced lit department. Do you want my help?”

“Do you think we can…should?”

He moved closer to her, lowering his voice even though the door was closed. “Brandi, listen to me. Both you and I know that we can’t let anything get in the way of my career or your education. Yes, I still like you, and I still remember what we did. That will never be forgotten because it was incredible. It’s over, though, and I know you have self-control because you’ve shown it to me the last three weeks.”

“I know, but…

“There are no buts, Brandi. Either we do this or we don’t. I would like to help you. That grade can’t stay there. You’re too smart, and I know you can do the work. The Seymour is not easy to get, and it’s not easy to keep. I would hate to see you lose it when I can prevent that…if you’ll let me.”

She looked sincerely into his eyes. “You’re right.”

“I’m free this afternoon. Thursdays are my light days, if you can call four classes a light day.” He smiled, crossed his arms across his chest. “So, how ’bout it?”

“I would like that. But I already have the bad grade. What about that?”

“We’ll start from this point just this once.”

“And you’ll drop the C?”

“Yes. You’ll redo it with my help and go from there. Is today good for you?”

“What time? I have a lecture at three.”

“Then come after that. Say at five?”

“That’s workable. I have such a heavy load, and it’s hard to juggle everything.”

“You can do the paper; you’re smart enough to redo it in a timely fashion. That C was just a lapse. For the most part your paper was okay. Fine-tuning and a little more interest will help you a great deal.” He walked her to the door. “Bring the thesis statement. We can work with that. Come to my office in Fischer, and Brandi, don’t get into a jam again and not tell anyone. If I can help you, you know I will.”

“I sure need it, in more ways than one.”

After letting her out, he leaned against the door. God! Tutoring her. How deep into this mess am I going to sink? He wiped the perspiration off his forehead and tried to get the most beautiful woman he had ever seen off his mind. He knew it would be hard, and would be until she graduated. He didn’t know if he could take putting her off for that long. A relationship was out of the question, but he knew he had to have her—somehow!

* * *

Tim’s last lecture for the day was across from his office in the Fischer complex. She arrived early and decided to wait at the door near his office. But the heat was stifling in the hallway. So she decided to find in an empty chair in his lecture room and wait there. She looked inside; he still hadn’t dismissed his English theory class. The heat from the inside of the room hit her. It was fierce, despite the air conditioning, which apparently was not working at peak capacity. She braved it like the rest did and took a seat in a corner to wait out the last ten minutes.

Tim was working at the board when he saw her from the corner of his eye. She had kept her word, but he was uncomfortable with fact that he would be alone with her. The last thing he needed was temptation. He knew he was weak…weak for her, but he had stay at a safe distance matter what was put in front of him.

He watched briefly as she relaxed in her seat. Her tight-fitting ivory skirt was just above her knee. With each move she made, the skirt rose higher, exposing some of what he had witnessed. He was losing it. His eyes darted from the clock to her. She was a walking dream that he needed to be near—but a dream with a mind that intrigued him even more because he loved smart women. A white silk blouse clung to her; her sleeves were rolled up, exposing more of her skin. The things a smoldering autumn did to a woman’s clothing.

For Brandi, time moved just as slowly. The more she looked at how the hot breeze ruffled his shirt, the more she wanted him. His shirt had only two buttons undone as he tried to look as professional as possible in that heat. It was the kind of heat that would be followed by rain at any given moment.

Finally, class dismissed.

Once the last student had gone and the door closed, they stood facing each other in silence, trying to muster the strength and the nerve to be with one another.

“Sorry the session lasted longer than expected.”

“No, I was early.”

“Give me a minute to erase everything. I try to leave the lecture hall clean for the next instructor. Take a seat; I’ll be right with you.” Her head dropped slightly. “Brandi, are you okay? You look a little out of it.”

“I’m fine. It’s this heat.”

“I’ve never seen it this hot here in October. It’s crazy. Can I get you some water or a Coke, something to cool you off?”

She walked to the chair near his desk. “Really, I’m okay.”

“Let me just get this stuff off here, and we can go to my office. It’s cooler there. By the way, did you remember to bring the thesis question?”

There was no response. He turned in time to see Brandi falling against the chair. He grabbed her and put her arm around his neck to steady her. “Brandi! Brandi! Come on, snap out of it.”

She looked into his eyes; eyes that made her feel even more lightheaded.

“I should take you home. You can’t drive like this. Here, sit down and let me get you something to drink.”

“No, no, I’m fine. It’s this heat. Besides, we have my paper to go over.”

“Not today. You’re not well. You need to go home.”

Her body was limp; her head rested on her shoulder. He eased her into the chair, the scent of her hair filling his nostrils. Her body felt so good next to his, making him yearn for her. Once she was in the chair and appeared more, steady he took a bottle of water from his briefcase, handing it to her.

“Thank you. Can I just sit here for a moment?”

“As long as it takes; don’t rush.”

“I don’t know what happened. I just felt so weak.”