All of the characters in this story are fictional, and are at least 18 at the time of the story.
As always, I appreciate your comments and suggestions, but nasty or abusive comments will be deleted. If you enjoy this story, please vote for it at the end.
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It had been a nasty separation and an even nastier divorce, but Angela had ended up with custody of her 10 year old son Jason and a moderate monthly alimony payment to help support him. Even so, she had to work hard both at her service job and on the farm in order to make ends meet. And the ends were just barely meeting.
That was why she had decided to return to college to get an Engineering Technician diploma. Sure, it was a male dominated field, but there were often openings in the Engineering department at the power plant and they were secure jobs which paid almost 3 times what she was making in the cafeteria. She had discussed her plans with the Engineering manager when he came in for lunch, and he had promised her a shot at the next position that opened up if she had a diploma in her hand.
September 2. First day of school. Angela had cropped her bright red hair almost buzz cut short. With the added expenses of school, there would be no money left for stylists and with more to do now than ever before, a quick towel dry was all she had time for. It also took several years off her appearance which she hoped would allow her to blend in with the mid-twenty-somethings in her classroom. As she glanced around the hallways, she was glad that she had been to the thrift store and selected some worn hip hugging jeans and a few younger style tops to complement the deception.
Alex was very nervous as he entered the school. It's not that he was at all worried about the academic requirements. His high school grades had been stellar. But, he wouldn't turn 18 until later this month, and he was worried about fitting in with the generally older demographic of the Engineering program he had chosen. He was painfully aware that his social skills lagged significantly behind his academic ones and that put him on edge.
Checking his phone to verify the room number of the orientation lecture, Alex collided with a girl in front of him. She was a tall willowy redhead with short cropped hair, and he got only a quick glimpse of her magnificent ass as she pivoted to face him. When he looked up into her startled green eyes, he was instantly smitten.
"I...I...I'm sorry I bumped you," he stammered. "I was just ch...ch...checking for my orientation room."
Angela's initial thought was that one of the men who had been checking her out had intentionally bumped her from behind, but when she had turned around she had been faced with a very nervous boy. Her ire immediately turned into something more maternal as she saw his terrified young face looking up into hers.
"Oh. That's OK," she replied with a throaty laugh. "I guess I stopped kind of short when I pulled out my campus map to find my room. What program are you in?"
"En...Engineering," he stammered. "Room 620 according to my phone."
"Me too," Angela replied. "Looks like we are going to be in class together. My name's Angela, what's yours?" She asked, sticking out her hand to shake.
"A...A...A...Alex. My n..name's Alex," he pushed out reaching to take her proffered hand.
Alex could feel his face going redder by the second as he held this ginger beauty's hand in his. She was stunning and hot and her voice sent chills up and down his spine and a pulse to his groin. Mesmerized, he stood there holding her hand in his.
"OK then Alex," Angela stated when she realized he was frozen. "We better quit with the introductions and get to our class before it starts."
Shaken from his reverie Alex self consciously dropped her hand and followed her to the classroom, all the while trying not to stare at the inviting side to side snap of her ass as she walked. By the time they got to their designated room, he was half hard in his pants and was glad to find a seat alone at the back of the room where he could conceal his arousal.
Alex could hardly concentrate on what was being said as he surreptitiously watched Angela out of the corner of his eye. He had known girls as beautiful as her before, but they had never given him the time of day, except to laugh and make fun of his awkward attempts at conversation. But she, this beautiful enchanting woman with the freckled face and throaty voice, she, had talked to him like a person. Had forgiven his clumsiness at colliding with her. Had shaken his hand. Alex was smitten.
Angela had all but forgotten her encounter with the nervous young man by the time the lecture was over. There was SO much information and it went by so fast. It had been more than 15 years since she had been in a classroom, and even then she had been more interested in socializing than studying. If this is what she had to expect, it was going to be hard. Really hard. Was she up to the challenge?
On the second day they had a shop class and Angela started to feel a little better. As a farm girl, she was well accustomed to being around machinery and working with tools. She felt a little more in her element in the shop and her outlook improved. She was even able to help that young guy Alex lay out and drill the holes for the first piece of his project. Perhaps everything was going to be OK after all.
It was during week three that the boom came crashing down. Angela was exhausted. She had been burning the candle at both ends. Hitting the books late into the night and getting up early to send Jason off to school before she rushed off to class herself. The course material was difficult and came at a very rapid pace. Too rapid for her to keep up. When she received her grades on the first round of term tests, Angela was shocked. Although she thought she had understood the material her grades were dismal.
After a long and disappointing week, the final failing grade was delivered on Friday morning. She was exhausted. Way past tired. Her mind was a whirlwind of despair. She had sunk everything into this attempt to go back to school. She was trying her best to succeed but it all seemed to be slipping between her fingers. Failure was not an option, but she simply could not see how she would ever succeed if things kept on like this.
She found a quiet corner of the library to sit and think but the exhaustion and depression descended like a blanket and she just ended up sitting there quietly sobbing into her hands. So wrapped up in her thoughts, she never sensed his presence until he touched her shoulder. Startled, she looked up into Alex's concerned young face.
"Angela Are you OK? What's wrong?" He asked.
Through her sobs, Angela let it all out. Her exhaustion, her frustration at her lack of success, her fear of failing, her lack of money.
"You're smart, you helped me with my project at the beginning. You can do this. Maybe all you need is a tutor," Alex suggested.
"Where am I going to get a tutor for these subjects?" Angela sobbed in despair. "And even if I did how am I going to find time to work with them? And then how will I ever find the money to pay them?" She continued tears beginning to stream down her cheeks again.
Alex didn't know what to do. He couldn't bear the thought of this beautiful woman being so sad. It came to him in that instant. It was the perfect solution. Oh God please, please, please.
"Angela. I...I...I can help you," he began, cursing himself for stuttering again. "I...I know this stuff. It's pretty easy for me. I'll tutor you if you like. I'll help you out."
"When?" Angela sobbed. "When can you find time to help me? You have to do your work too, and I have to go home right after school to be there for Jason, then do farm chores before I can study."
"OK. OK. Just let me think a minute," Alex replied. "OK. Here's how we can work it. You go home, to look after your chores and then I'll come out to the farm after dinner for a couple hours to help you learn this stuff. How would that work?"
Angela was touched by what he was offering to do for her.
"But I couldn't pay you, I couldn't even reimburse you for your gas to drive out to my place," she argued. "There's nothing in it for you. In fact you will be out of pocket. I could never let you do that for me. Why would you?"
Alex could never in a million years admit to her why he would do it. He wanted her. He wanted her more than anything he had ever wanted in his life, but she would probably just laugh him off like all the others. He had to think of something quickly.
"Tell you what," he offered. "I hate cooking. How about I eat dinner with you and Jason before the tutoring and maybe even take a few leftovers if there are any? That way we both get something out of the deal."
Angela was stunned, but she knew this was probably her only lifeline to the future she wanted.
"I just can't do it some nights," she began. "Tuesdays and Thursdays are Jason's soccer nights so we're home late as it is"
"OK. Then I'll be there for dinner Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and we can do two hours in the library after shop in Tuesdays," Alex jumped in. "I promise I can get you through this."
"Will you really do this for me? Will you really work that hard to help me get through?" Angela sobbed with relief, "and all you get is a few free meals?"