Do not reprint this work on any other website, or any medium, without the express consent of the author (me!).
All characters are at least 18 years old.
Authorās Note: I realize this story may seem a bit long at first glance. Please note that is has been divided into several small, manageable chapters. Since I wrote it as all once piece, I wanted to submit it that way.
Synopsis: A story of reluctance against lust. A high school teacher inadvertently finds himself becoming attracted to one of his students. The student, in turn, recognizes this and wonders if she can push the envelope...
I
Okay, so I get stressed. It goes with the job, you know? I deal with people, a
lot
of people, on a daily basis. And it winds me up. Everyone has their own ways to cope. I donāt do yoga or any of that new-age crap. I hit the gym. Not to be a bodybuilder, or to train for marathons. Iām not even the type that goes just to check out women, like some of my buddies who shall remain nameless. I mean, Iām not single and havenāt been for awhile. I go to blow off some steam and try to regain the little bit of the sanity I lose on a daily basis. And thatās where I was today. I was finishing off one of my typical routines on an exercise bike and planning to just zone the hell out.
Now, I know I said I donāt specifically
go
to check out women, but that doesnāt mean Iām blind, right? I was only on the bike for a little while when I noticed a girl had taken up a treadmill a ways in front of me. It faced the window, looking out to the street.
Ah, one who likes to be checked out.
Well I could see why.
She really had a great little body. The first thing I saw was her ass. Perfect shape, rounded out in those tiny exercise shorts that barely cover any leg. It swayed a little bit, from side to side, as she jogged on⦠Accentuating her every step.
Does she really run like that, or is it to make men drool?
It must be something with the hips that makes a femaleās walk so much sexier than a manās.
Then I took in her legs. Slender but shapely.
Flawless
skin. They were so smooth; not even a mark on them from what I could see, except maybe a little freckle on that back of a thigh. And yes, I realized I must have been staring pretty hard to notice.
She must be a bit younger, maybe early twentiesā¦
Then her lower back. It rose up from the hem of those petite shorts, faultless curves turning inward from her hips that would be more subtle on her tight body if it wasnāt for the way her ass swung right then. After awhile, her back began to slightly glisten from her perspiration.
I could see it on her shoulders too, almost totally bare from her sports bra. And the back of her neck. It was visible because her hair was tied up in a cute ponytail, which bounced and bobbed with every step.
I wonder how long sheāll run for⦠Does her front side match the back?
Normally Iām not
this
interested. Really! Sure, Iād see some attractive woman, admire her for a moment, then forget about it just as fast. I donāt know what it was about this one. Maybe it was just a fluke of me being in a funky mood and this little show-off just happening to be in front of me. But normally by this point, I would have moved on from the bike and gone home; I had done everything else for the day. Yeah, guilty little admission that I was still there for the chance to see her face.
But then I did.
My attention piqued up as I saw her right arm move to the console on the treadmill and punch something in. Her steady pace slowed down to a half-jog, then a walk, then she stood still. She took a drink from a water bottle, still facing away from me. Then she stretched both her arms up, arching her back a bit as her body went taut.
Before, I would like to think that I was not
completely
obvious as I ogled her. But now, as she did
this
, her body started turning to the side. First I saw an outline of her stomach, flat and toned. She kept turning. My eyes poured up her body, over her breasts with a little cleavage in the bra⦠Up her chest⦠Up her neckā¦
And then I saw her face. It wore a look of nonchalance, but I could tell immediately that she hid a tiny smile out of the corner of her mouth. I
knew
this smug look because I finally recognized her. My eyes shot down to the floor. I swallowed hard.
Oh crap, I hope she didnāt notice meā¦
Maybe youāre wondering now, whatās the problem? Well, it dawned on me that all this time I had been checking out a girl from the local high school. Honestly, I didnāt know⦠If I had realized I was inwardly drooling at the sight of one of my own studentās bodies, I would have stopped long ago.
Ah. I guess I didnāt tell you
what
my job was. Iām a teacher.
II
Meet Autumn S. Student number 17 on the roster for āCreative Writingā. Itās an English elective, and no, it isnāt
completely
made up of poetry geeks and drama nerds. What is high school about if not getting into college? The class looks better on a transcript than art or an extra gym class. Some kids might even sign up because it sounds fun, but letās not get carried away, right?
Autumn was in many ways your typical senior. Well, your typical senior who
liked
high school. No, she wasnāt the head cheerleader. And no, she didnāt drive a sports car worth more than my yearly salary. But she was confident, intelligent, and yes, good looking. I had never gotten hung up on this fact before the little āshowā at the gym.
Really
.
Donāt get me wrong. I donāt pretend to be some paragon of moral inscrutability. I can recognize when a student looks good. All teachers do. Because we want to fuck them? No. Itās because we need to understand it in order to reign in the classroom dynamics. Hate me for stereotyping all you want, but whenever I see a student who was lucky enough to have attractive genes, then I start out dubious.
Why? Because they think they can get away with more. You
know
thatās a fact, so letās move on. My point is Autumn, like any other cute student, hadnāt ever registered on my āIād like to bang youā-meter. Besides, Iām a taken man. Granted Iām fairly new to the teaching profession, and one could argue that she really isnāt
that
much younger than me, but⦠Well,
thatās
not important.
Iām not sure if she saw me that evening at the gym. I did my best to convince myself that I would not have appeared as anything particular; just a man on a bike, staring at the floor.
In the zone,
if you will. For about a week, I maintained this belief. I even managed to stay unflustered back in the classroom when she first strolled in; period before lunch.
Okay,
almost
unflustered. That
first
day was maybe a
little
unnerving. She walked in with one of her friends, and I dealt with the compromise of looking busy at my desk and hawking her out of the corner of my eye. Did she look at me funny? Did she giggle? Nope, nothing. She just walked down an aisle to the back of the classroom.
Her ass does that same wiggle in those tight jeans even when not joggingā¦
Yeah, I tried to pretend that I didnāt think that. So maybe I had a few illicit thoughts. Iām only human, right? I got over it, moved on. She never acted weird; I was good to go. That is, as I said, for about a week.
Let me rewind for just a second. I had given an assignment, and this was before
that
day at the gym, to write a short story. The prompt was just:
An Unlikely Encounter
. I used it every year. Basically, I let the students go hog-wild; write whatever you want. Usually they turn in something about meeting a celebrity, or Bill Gates, or the most popular: an alien. It is supposed to be fun, let them make up something out of the ordinary, no strings attached. Okay⦠sorry, youāre not here for an English lesson.
So back to today, they were turning in their first chapter. This way I could make sure it was something reasonable, that they werenāt half-assing it, that they were actually writing something and not putting the entire project off until the last day. I would grade it, write some feedback, give it back to them. Then they write the next part. Really, Iām not trying to bore you; this is critical information.
I told them to bring their paper up to me at the end of class before they headed out to lunch. The bell rang and they did so. With each piece handed to me, I first amused myself by checking out the page setup.
Big font. Huge margins. Enormous title.
Come on, that shit doesnāt work in the 21st century. But still they tryā¦
The last paper was handed to me with some trepidation, not just sloughed off into the pile. I looked up. There was Autumn, hand still holding the paper, looking right at me.
āThanks,ā I gestured toward the pile.
āUm, Iām not sure if itās very goodā¦ā she warned.
Uh oh, here come the waterworks about why she had to write it at the last second.
āIām sure itās just fine,ā I reassured.
āWell, I think it starts off goodā¦ā
Starts off *well* damn it.
āā¦but Iām not really sure I know how to continue it,ā she finished.
āAh! But thatās the whole point: to get feedback
before
itās all done,ā I smiled.
She shifted her weight and bunched up her lips, making a little pout. āOkay, but um, I was wondering if you could maybe look at it now? And give me some advice?ā