Office Hours

All characters are at least 18 years old.

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Hank

"Let's not do that again," I groaned.

"Which part?" Jean asked as she loaded leftovers onto two plates.

"Sleeping on the couch. God, that sucked."

She chuckled as she popped a plate in the microwave. "That's a sign you're getting old, prof." She leaned back on the counter and grinned. "Maybe we should get you a cane or walker soon."

"Y'know, I'm not that much older than you," I grumbled. "And doesn't that mean you're dating an old geezer?"

"You're welcome, by the way, you old fuck," she guffawed. "Like a hottie like me would ever date your dusty ass."

"Ho, you little brat," I muttered playfully, and she squealed as I chased her around the apartment. I ended up cornering her in the bedroom, tackling her onto the bed in a chaotic ball of laughter. With her pinned down, I affixed her with a light-hearted glare. Her response was a challenging raised eyebrow, and I leaned closer.

"Don't be corny," she warned, and I kissed her. She moaned softly, but when I pulled away she was grinning again. "Jeez, was that 'your move,' prof? Sooo lame."

"If I told you your professor was a bit of a player back in the day, would you believe me?" I prompted.

"Fuck no."

"Damn."

She giggled before interlocking her fingers behind my head. "Now give me some more of that corn, prof," she lilted, pulling me back. She nibbled on my lips as we kissed, and I feared it was too early in the day for what was about to follow. Too early in the relationship too, perhaps.

When we parted I regarded her with bedroom eyes, and she turned an adorable shade of pink. "Oh, Jean," I breathed.

"What is it, sir?" she squeaked. Once again, her bravado had evaporated, making me relish this even more.

"You're making me feel... really corny," I whispered.

It took her a second for her to react, and then she burst into laughter and shoved my chest to get me off. "Oh my God, you are

so

awful!" she cried. "Get out. Get out for that!"

"This is

my

bedroom," I protested, grinning widely.

"Doesn't matter! Punny people get the couch!" she declared.

I turned away from her, scoffing quietly, "As if you could sleep without me, you big baby."

"Hey!"

She fell for the bait, bounding at me. I grabbed her in a hug as soon as she was in range, trapping her arms against her sides, and she struggled helplessly against me. I chuckled before planting a kiss on her lips, which she bashfully accepted with a pout.

"Hey, you," I murmured. "I was thinking, you said you were off work for the holidays, right? I was thinking, we should probably find you a job at a more... I dunno, normal workplace?"

She sighed. "I told you, prof. It's like I was blacklisted everywhere. I'm only working at Taboo now because everywhere else turned me down."

I frowned. "What kind of places did you apply for?"

She rattled off a long list of entry-level jobs, including restaurants, grocery stores, the movie theater, and a couple of bars. Even with just the examples, it was no insignificant number of businesses. I nodded in contemplation, letting her out of my embrace.

"That is strange," I admitted, before dismissing the issue. "Anyway, you didn't really get a chance to unpack yesterday, so it's about time you do so."

"You're... really letting me stay here?" She looked down at her feet, her voice quiet.

"I am. We just need to be quiet about this, okay? Otherwise I'll be in huge trouble."

"I know." She stole a glance at me before hugging me. "Thank you."

I smiled and pet her head. "Get settled in, okay? I gotta take care of a few things after lunch, I'll be back for dinner. Get all your clothes washed, too. You're not gonna be smelling like garbage bags ever again."

She swallowed and nodded, eyes misting up as she hugged me again.

"Try not to burn the place down while I'm gone."

She grinned. "No promises."

--

"Yeah, I remember this girl." The supermarket manager scratched his stubble, looking somewhat troubled. "Came in looking for a job. Why do you ask?"

"But she doesn't work here now. Why is that? Was she not qualified?" I put the picture of Jean away, my eyebrows knitting together.

"I mean yeah, she was fine. Said she graduated from high school, she was of legal employment age, clean record; everything was okay."

"Then...?"

"I'm sorry, who are you? What's this girl to you?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm her legal guardian."

"Huh. Alright. Well, we actually did hire her. But on her first day, y'know, she was shelving and shit, and I get this call from the section chief." He looked around to make sure nobody was listening. "And she said that I had to let go of this girl immediately."

My stomach did a roll. "Why?"

"She didn't specify. Just said we had to cut her loose that same day. I tried asking, but the chief didn't leave any room for negotiation. I was worried the girl was a felon or something, so I just got it done. Sorry, buddy. Wasn't my call," he finished, giving an apologetic shrug.

I nodded, mind elsewhere. "Alright then. Thanks for your time."

It was the same story everywhere. Every job Jean had applied to, somebody from higher up had called in to the manager and ordered them to fire Jean. I was starting to get spooked. At one point I caught myself questioning if there really was something about Jean that I didn't know. It was hard not to, because this was starting to look like a conspiracy.

I leaned my head back against my car seat headrest, at a loss. Somebody powerful was pulling strings to make sure Jean couldn't find employment. Yet if she was a criminal, the cops would've locked her up.

Except one place did end up hiring her.

A chill ran through me. That club was insidious. Something was wrong with it, that much was clear even without this conspiracy. But what was all this for? They weren't prostituting Jean, which was exactly what I would expect. A girl all alone with no family or friends, she would have been the perfect target to make disappear. And yet, now she just... worked at the club?

The nonsensical aspect of the situation was actually calming me down, and I felt better as I continued working through the logic. So what was the end goal of having her work at Taboo? What was she doing there? Accompanying me. And the cold chills were back.

Was I now involved in this?

I guess I'll just have to continue to make Jean's life a living hell.

Lexi's words came back to me, and I forced myself to take a deep breath, because I wasn't fucking breathing anymore. Lexi wanted me for herself, which was the opposite of what the manager of the club had set up. So now Jean and I were trapped between Taboo and Lexi, who also seemed to have some measure of influence. Fuck.

I hung my head. My brothers were dependent on me. If I got involved in something crazy and anything happened to me... And the alternative... was to abandon Jean to the forces at work.

Fuck that.

I dropped my forehead against the steering wheel with a groan. I was a horrible older brother. Worse comes to worst, my brothers would go back home. I really did believe dad would come around. If not... Keith was pretty strong. He would find a way to protect Zach.

"I'm sorry, guys," I whispered. "But I refuse to forsake this girl."

With a deep breath, I started my car and began the drive home.

--

Jean greeted me at the door with restrained enthusiasm. She was like a dog pretending to be a cat, and the comparison almost made me laugh.

"Hey, dinner's almost ready," she announced. "We have the last of the beans and yams, and I found some hotdogs in the fridge for our protein. But we still have half the bowl of cranberry sauce. Should we just, like... eat it? Unless you think it'll go well with hotdogs."

She chuckled to herself at the odd food pairing, and I smiled, coming up from behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist. She seemed taken aback, more so when I started nibbling on her neck.

"Dude, if you're hungry, dinner is right here," she murmured before letting out a small gasp as my teeth grazed behind her ear. "But fuck, I'm not complaining."

I turned her around and slipped my tongue into her mouth, and her eyes fluttered, rolling back a bit. My hands wandered down to her ass, cupping the supple flesh and giving it a good squeeze. She jerked forward into me, grabbing fistfuls of my shirt as we made out. I lifted her up and onto the counter, standing between her legs. She was in just a t-shirt and panties, which suited me just fine.

Running my hands along her sides, I reached the hem and paused, silently asking for permission. She swallowed and nodded, and I slipped my hands underneath the fabric to touch her bare skin. It was as smooth as I imagined, and when I got to her tits I groaned with lust. They were pert and firm, and begging for me to have a taste.

I picked her up again, moving us to the bed. With her splayed on the sheets, I was at full mast and ready immediately. Lifting her shirt, I let my nose run the length of her torso, breathing in her scent until I finally arrived at her breasts. I pulled the shirt over her head, but bunched it up at the wrists, holding them together. With her hands above her head, I let my tongue make the slightest contact with one of her nipples. She moaned and arched her back, wrists pushing up against the t-shirt holding them down. I wrapped my lips around the nipples and she spasmed, her face locked in erotic countenance.

With my other hand, I tugged her panties to indicate my intentions. She lifted her hips, allowing for easy removal, and I stopped sucking on her to admire her body. She squirmed shyly, at a loss for words, and I smiled gently. Stroking her thigh, I resumed licking her nipples while she writhed underneath me.

"Sir..." she whispered. "I..."

Her thighs were rubbing together, and I finally released her wrists to move lower, spreading her legs. Her sex was dripping with arousal, slowly soaking into the sheets. I threw my shirt off, but when I moved to take my pants off, I felt her flinch ever so slightly. It was so subtle that I don't think even she noticed. I looked up at her, eyes heavy-lidded and biting her lip. No sign of resistance, and yet I knew.

She wasn't ready.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm not ready."

She looked down at my erection throbbing against my trousers. "You look pretty ready to me."

"That's not what I meant," I replied gently. "But... how about this."

I lowered my face toward her, and her eyes grew wide. She tried to shut her legs, but I knew it was out of shyness rather than reluctance. I let my breath brush her wetness, making her legs tremble. When my tongue finally tasted her nub, she damn near snapped half the muscles in her body with the spasms that took her. She let out a high moan, arms folded over her eyes as her legs quivered in the air. I continued my exploration down to her lower lips, flicking them back and forth, earning a few more leg jerks.

"Fuh-huh-huh-huck," she moaned, gasping for breath as I pleasured her. Her feet were making upward strokes on my back, as if to pull me closer. Obliging, I slipped my tongue inside her and she screamed in ecstasy. "God yesyesyes! Don't stop!"

My tongue explored what it could, testing the little corners it could reach. My hands were on her hips, holding her down as I enjoyed her, and her thighs slammed closed around my head when I tested a particular spot. This was the spot. Doubling my efforts, I tongued her right there, making her grab fistfuls of my hair and pulling me closer still.

Suddenly her voice died in her throat and her body began twitching. Her juices were everywhere, and I gulped it down with newfound thirst. Her orgasm seemed to go on forever, and when it finally ended, it left her limp on the bed. I climbed back up next to her, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Holy fucking shit," she muttered, an arm still over her eyes.

"Great appetizer," I chuckled. "You ready for dinner?"

"Dude, gimme a sec." She exhaled heavily, and I smiled, taking her into my arms. She cuddled up with me, eyes closed as she recovered from her climax. I kissed the top of her head and laid with her, my resolve redoubled.

Lexi... I'd like to see you try.