There are some prof's and TA's that make taking classes a whole lot nicer. I've always had a bit of a teacher fantasy. It seems so much easier to listen to the lecture material when you're staring at a great ass or muscular chest. There is this one professor in particular, Dr. David Dresden, who is very easy to listen to.
Dr. Dresden is a tallish man, about 6'2" with a medium build, not muscle bound but obviously in good shape. He has auburn brown hair and eyes so dark that they look black. He wears silver frame glasses and seems as comfortable in a suit as he does in jeans and a t-shirt. He's very passionate about his classes and his research. That passion is half of what attracted me to him in the first place. When he mentioned in class that he would be hiring a student for the summer as a field assistant I couldn't believe my ears. I of course stopped by the computer lab as soon as the class was over to prepare my resume and get it in as quickly as possible.
I dropped by his office a short time later to drop off my resume; he seemed pleased with my enthusiasm. He's such a quiet man. He has a palpable aura of confidence that is incredibly sexy but not overbearing like many other people I've met. I asked him some questions about the research he was planning on doing through the summer. My questions seemed to please him more. He gave me detailed descriptions of his plans, which I took careful mental notes on. A little research on your own time can do wonders in assisting the job application process.
The next week I received and e-mail informing me that I had been short-listed for the job with Dr. Dresden and that, as long as I had no conflicts, I would have an interview with him tomorrow at 1:00 pm. Now, as any woman with an urge for fieldwork knows, it is often difficult to demonstrate that you are strong enough and capable enough to match most men in the field. In my case, previous field experience would be an asset but I find that the clothing that you wear to an interview can help a lot too.
Hiking boots are a must. No field assistant is complete without them. A nice pair of pants is advisable, as skirts tend to say 'I like civilization.' I tend to go with a form-fitting t-shirt on top. It indicates that you aren't too dressy and are willing to get dirty. A white or brightly coloured shirt is best, it says 'Here I am, I'm ready for anything.' So, that's what I wore to my interview, boots, black dress pants and a snug white t-shirt.
So, armed with the knowledge that I had dug up on the type of research and the area of interest for Dr. Dresden's work that summer, I went to the interview looking great and feeling confident. His smile when I entered his office almost undid me; he was so handsome that day. He'd worn a suit to impress that he was very serious about hiring for this position. It impressed me alright; I could hardly keep from touching him. I schooled myself to be calm, it's difficult to sound intelligent when you're panting.
He asked me all sorts of standard interview questions. I elaborated on my previous field experience and explained why I was interested in this position and why I thought I would be useful to him. After many questions, I got my chance to ask him more questions about his work. He seemed surprised that I had done enough research on my own to question him for half an hour. It was delicious watching his eyes sparkle in...amusement?...as I drew more information from him. A little before two o'clock he thanked me for my time and said that he would get back to me within the next couple of days. He laid his hand lightly on my shoulder as he opened the door for me. I thanked him as I walked out and smiled to myself as he invited the next interviewee in.
Two days later, I saw him as I was heading to the computer lab. He asked me to join him in his office for a moment; my heart started beating a little faster. When we got there, he told me that I could have the job if I still wanted it, which of course I did. He asked if I would mind taking a couple of minutes to fill out the various forms to make my employment official. As I completed the forms we discussed schedules, equipment and information I would need before we headed out into the field. When everything was in order, I got up to leave. He put that hand on my shoulder again and asked me not to discuss my new employment with anyone until he had a chance to inform the other candidates. I agreed happily and left his office with a warm glow that centred on my shoulder.
May 1st, my first day of work, came upon me quickly. Exams had flown by with happy results. I went home to visit my parents between the end of exams and the start of my new job. Dr. Dresden and I spent our first week together collecting gear and maps, packing equipment and ensuring that the companies that would be supplying us with food and aircraft had the same schedule that we did. David, he insisted on my use of his first name as we would be spending so much time together, had planned that we would be in the field for the entire summer. Supplies would be delivered to us once a week and we would move our camp to a new location once every two weeks.
I pack accordingly. Work cloths for warm and cold weather, a bathing suit, and my field gear. Nothing dressy came near my pack, as really I'd have nothing to dress up for except the bears...and David. Well, he would be in field gear too so I wasn't worried about impressing him with fashion sense. I did throw in a couple of pairs of sexy underwear though, just in case.
I went partying with my friends that weekend, as I wouldn't see them until a few days before the fall semester started. I whispered with my best friend about the fun I'd have during the summer and joked about being so close and so alone with such a delicious man. She gave me a personalized flask filled with brandy as a good luck present. I hugged her all night and promised to write.
Monday morning found me packed and ready to go. David picked me up so that I wouldn't have to bus to the school with my gear. We loaded up the truck and headed to the airport. We flew in a Dash 8 north and then we were in a Twin Otter on floats. We landed in a small lake late that afternoon. After unloading the gear and doing a radio check, we started setting up our first camp on the beach of the lake. We each had our own tent as well as the kitchen/work tent where we would do most of our living.
The first two weeks flew by so fast that I hardly had time to notice my frequent proximity to David as we explored the mountains around our camp. David taught me exactly how he wanted samples taken and how to take notes that would be useful to him. We cover about twenty kilometres every day and always came back exhausted and laden with samples.
We received our food order after the first week. We simply worked non-stop. Bed was never far from my thoughts. And then, we had to pack up camp. Two weeks had passed and a plane was coming to move us to a new location. We had just finished packing when I heard the buzz of the plane's engines coming towards us. We loaded the plane, flew to the next site and set up camp again. That evening, after dinner, David asked if I would be comfortable working on my own for the rest of the summer. We would be able to cover twice as much ground if we split up. I agreed. I was becoming comfortable with the area and the mountains. I was still worried about bears but David was little protection so I would be no worse off on my own.
We covered enough ground in those two weeks that David decided that we deserved a day off. So, the day before the plane was scheduled to arrive for our next camp move we stayed in camp and relaxed. We both slept in a bit. I spent half the day playing in the lake, floating around and relaxing. David came in the water for a while but mostly stayed on the beach and vegged. It was so relaxing, I felt refreshed by the break. I took some time making dinner that night. This resulted in dinner being a lovely change from the slapped together meals that we usually made after a day out in the field. I actually had some time that day to look at David. It seemed like I hadn't done that in a month, and really, I guess I hadn't.
I noticed how tanned he was and how taut too. That's when I looked down at myself. I almost didn't recognize my own body. I too was darkly tanned, at least in some areas. So, I had odd tan lines but I didn't mind that much. What really surprised me was the lack of padded areas on my body. I'd never been fat but I'd never been this toned before. My flat muscles made me feel very sexy. I was more flirtaceous with David that night than ever before. He didn't have a wife or a girlfriend as far as I knew and I didn't think he'd object too much to a bit of flirting. He simply smiled at me. That smile was all I needed.
We moved our camp the next day. Talking to the pilot was great. We were always starved for news of the outside world. And then, once again, the airplane was flying away from us as we began setting up camp.
* * *
Two days later, things got a little crazy. Luckily, David and I were in the habit of chatting rather regularly on our radios to one another. We would comment on interesting finds and ensure that the other was alright. The radios were our safety line as well as our way of not being totally alone even when, physically, we were.
I tripped. I don't really remember it. One minute I was walking across a talus slop, the next thing I remember is that I'm near the bottom of the hill and David is calling me on the radio. I grabbed my radio to tell him that I could hear him and then I tried to stand up. I was so humiliated when I had to call him to help me.
"I think I've twisted my left ankle." I say to him. He tells me not to move and that he'll get to me as fast as possible.
He keeps talking to me over the radio. I know he's trying to keep me out of shock. I answer his questions. He's asking me anything that he could think of. 'Where did you grow up?' 'What does your mother do?' I manage not to laugh at him too much, his concern touches me and I know that he's doing the right thing. I wriggle out of my pack so that I can grab my solar blanket. I cover myself so that I don't get too cold. I didn't want to loosen my boot; I didn't want to know how bad it is until we were back in camp.
It only took David half and hour to reach me, though it seemed to be much longer than that. The look on his face when he finally got to me made me laugh, I realized then that I was suffering from shock already. I had no idea what I looked like to him, a mass of scrapes and bruises just beginning to purple under a silver solar blanket. He checked my whole body for injury but other than a small bump on my head and my ankle, I was pretty much alright. We managed to agree that my ankle probably wasn't broken. I convinced him that, with help, I'd be able to walk back to camp. After all, we option did we have, he certainly couldn't carry me.
It took four hours to get back to camp, more than twice as long as it had taken me to get out there. By the time we got there, tears were streaming down my face against my will. David brought me to my tent and sat me on my bed. He tried to gently remove my boot. I couldn't help crying out as he pulled it from my foot. He quickly removed my sock and started examining my ankle. He told me to lie back on my bed; he moved my leg for me so that I wouldn't use any of the muscles. He wrapped a tensor bandage around it, I'm sure that he could hear me grinding my teeth. Once my ankle was secured to his satisfaction, he removed my cloths leaving me in my sports bra and undies. I was little delirious from the pain and giggled when I remembered that I had worn a thong that day. I'm sure David blushed. He bundled me in blankets and told me that he would be right back.
