Linda drummed a beat on the hall table as she waited impatiently, shifting from one foot to the other. She had managed to stop pacing between rooms, but she couldn't get rid of her nervous energy completely. That was what was keeping her going. It still amazed her that things had reached this point so quickly. She had expected it to be much harder to convince her favourite student to spend the evening in her company; hard enough that it might have given her the excuse to drop it completely, and tell herself she'd made a decent effort. Her cover story had sounded so false when she had put it to him, but he had accepted without hesitation, and without any hint that he had guessed her real motive.
In fairness, it wasn't
completely
false. Ryan was a fair to middling student, good but not exceptional. He probably could use some extra tuition here and there, though he was certainly no dunce. Linda had given out of hours help to plenty of students before, she'd even had a couple of them over to her flat to borrow books and discuss essays. But she had never, ever been tempted to turn the situation to her advantage, because, as she had told Stuart very firmly, she wasn't an idiot. She kept repeating that to herself as she glanced at the time on her phone; the same phone she was going to be recording events on for posterity.
She knew it wouldn't take that long to reveal the truth to him. He was going to guess something was up the moment he walked through the door. Not many lecturers dispensed tuition in four-inch heels, a tight black skirt and an even tighter top, which was cut so low it exposed almost her entire cleavage. Linda wondered for a moment whether she should have been so obvious; then, with that same flash of defiance that had crossed her mind back at Stuart's place, she decided that she
wanted
to be obvious. She wanted him to be impressed.
The sound of the buzzer almost knocked her against the table leg. Shaking out her trembling limbs, she smoothed down the hem of her skirt and walked up to the door. This is your last chance, she thought as she unbolted it. When he sees you like this, he's going to think of you differently from now on, even if nothing else happens tonight. Better hung for a sheep than a lamb. Boldly she swung the door open and stared Ryan straight in the face. She was pleased to see the look of astonishment that greeted her, and the speed with which it travelled south. "Everything OK?" she chirped.
Ryan's eyes lingered on her for far too long, until he became aware of it and his face flushed in embarrassment. "Um, yeah. Sorry." He seemed so innocent that Linda paused and considered what she was doing. She couldn't, and wouldn't, coerce him into anything. She could, however, encourage him...
"Come in, come in." She waved him inside and he stepped nervously over the threshold, like he was entering his future in-laws' house for the first time. Linda took the opportunity to do some ogling of her own, confirming to herself that she had chosen well. Ryan had clear grey eyes, a strong jaw with a hint of adolescent stubble, and close-cropped fair hair. There was this distracted air about him, as though his head were always up in the clouds, that she found endearing. In lectures he often looked like he was trying to understand the points she made, but he
was
trying, even if he didn't always get there.
She looked him up and down, less blatantly than he had done with her, but long enough to appreciate him. He was wearing jeans and a dark jacket over a T-shirt, which was tight enough to give her a pretty good idea of what lay underneath. He was quite lean and wiry, but then she had never been hugely attracted to muscles. The important thing was, he was young and keen and active... Linda nodded decisively, before realising that she couldn't devour him just yet. Quickly she composed herself. "Did you get here OK?"
"Oh yeah, no problem. Er, I've got those books that you mentioned." He swung his pack off his shoulder and set it down on the floor.
"Oh, just leave it there, we'll get round to them later. Come in and get comfy, we've got plenty of work to do." That sounded just businesslike enough to maintain her cover. She turned and strolled down the hall to the lounge, knowing that his eyes were on her and giving him all the time in the world to admire the view. She ushered him in and pointed to the sofa against the far wall. "Sit down. Can I get you a cup of tea?"
"Um, yeah. Thanks." Ryan sat awkwardly at one end, his legs sprawled out in front of him in adolescent fashion. Linda walked round the corner to the kitchen. Now that she had company, she realised for the first time what a tiny little place this was. Still, after the painful split she'd gone through, a spot of downsizing wasn't so bad. At least she had a roof over her head, and it was big enough for her purposes. There just wasn't any opportunity to surprise or impress people; what they saw was what they got. As she flicked the kettle on and stared absent-mindedly at her cupboards, she realised she would have to be equally matter of fact with Ryan when the time came.
"Here you go," she announced as she returned holding a mug in each hand. Ryan looked grateful to have something to do besides staring at her. He took his tea and sipped it rather protectively while she sank down beside him, her legs crossed. She drank hers slowly, trying to maintain a nonchalant air, but she didn't entirely convince. She sat up straight, muscles tensed, ready for action. They drank in silence for a little while, glancing at each other but failing to start a conversation. Linda could hardly blame him; it was all up to her.
Finally she took a deep breath, and set her mug down on the floor beside her. "Ryan," she said with surprising firmness, swivelling her body to face him. He was taken aback, and she gently prised his mug away and put it on the side table at his end of the couch. She felt him tremble as she reached over him, her breasts very close to his face. "I need to have a little talk with you." Her voice took on the natural authority of her job, and she relaxed a little. "I invited you over here to give you some extra lessons, but you don't need them. Not really."
"Well... why did you invite me then?" She could see the truth dawning somewhere at the back of his mind, but he was resisting it, trying to find a normal explanation.
"I asked you here," she began, wringing her hands in her lap as she passed another point of no return, "because I like you and I want to get to know you better. I hope that's OK with you."
Ryan looked dumbfounded. He stared at her, eyes narrowed, trying to figure out just how serious she was. "Um, isn't that...? I mean, is that... allowed?" Linda caught her breath, feeling her cheeks flush red.
"Probably not. I'm sorry if I'm making you feel awkward, I just..." She reached out and put her hand on his knee. He flinched, but quickly relaxed. "I've thought about you a lot." That at least had the benefit of being true; she wasn't going to tell him how much though, or how much strain had been put on her wrist as a result. "I know you've noticed me too, from time to time. It's all right," she said hastily as he opened his mouth to protest. "If I'd had any problem with it, I would have told you."
Ryan shook his head, his guilt showing through. "I didn't mean anything bad by it. I didn't mean to give you, like, the wrong idea."
Linda stared him in the eye and lowered her voice. "I know," she said calmly. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea either. I'm not trying to start anything serious with you. And before you ask, I'm not giving you a chance to raise your grades, like in the movies you watch by yourself, OK?" That brought out a smile. "All I want to do is give you a good time. Put something in the wank bank that you'll remember." She squeezed his knee. "Does that sound good to you?"
A mass of emotions flitted across Ryan's face, and Linda held her breath, fearing that she had pushed too far, too quickly. But beneath his astonishment and panic, she saw a gleam of curiosity, and could sense that he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He was just living up to the appraisal she had made of him when he first joined her course: a little slow, but by no means dumb. "Do we keep this just between ourselves?" he murmured, his body language suddenly still and calculating.
"You bet we do." Linda gave him a sly smile, and shuffled right up to his hip, placing her fingers in his hair.
Ryan shook his head, still disbelieving what was happening, but looking quite happy with his projected role. "Why me?"
"Because you're a good boy." She drew his face to hers and kissed him. "A good, hot boy." For a moment he hesitated, his mouth still; but then he kissed her back, and her relief was almost as strong as the desire she was now free to unleash. She wrapped her arms round his head and explored him with her tongue, breathing in the scent of his aftershave, feeling his stubble graze her skin. This was what she had been waiting for.