Mariam Aoun of Lebanon

"When solving these equations with fractions, it's important to remember the working order, first the outers, then the inners, and the last, do you understand?" Mariam Aoun asked, standing before the blackboard, hands on her hips. Five-foot-ten, sturdy, attractive yet professional, she definitely meant business. In the classroom located on the topmost floor of the Loeb building at Carleton University, the tutor looked at her audience expectantly.

"Duly noted," replied Samuel Augustin, and the tall, Afro-sporting and well-dressed young black man scribbled something in his notepad, putting away his cell phone after Mariam casually gave him the evil eye. Bossy gal, Samuel thought, annoyed. It was a warm day in mid-June, and like most people in the City of Ottawa, Samuel would rather be outside, enjoying the sunshine and all that. It was summer after all...

Instead, Samuel was stuck on campus, taking the last elective he needed in order to graduate from Carleton University with his political science degree. Why did he have to pick a damn math elective? Oh yeah, he needed a science or mathematics elective in order to finally get out of Carleton. Samuel had major plans, which included law school. Math had never been his strong suit. Nevertheless, he had to do what he had to do...

"Mr. Augustin, I don't get it, seriously, if you're not taking these tutoring sessions seriously, then why are you here?" Mariam asked, her growing exasperation with this difficult pupil actually showing. Samuel looked at her, a coy smile on his not-unattractive face. If only he weren't so full of himself, Mariam thought, before she resumed the lesson.

As a graduate student in the civil engineering programme at Carleton University, Mariam was no stranger to tough mathematics courses. That's why she was working as a teacher's assistant for no less than two different courses, taught by two different professors. Of course, Mariam needed extra-money in order to keep her place in Merivale, hence why she was working as a private tutor...

"Mariam, I'm sorry for being distracted, it won't happen again," Samuel replied, forcing himself to be calm, and somewhat sincere. He wasn't particularly fond of Mariam's tone of voice. According to her Facebook and LinkedIn pages, the Lebanese-Canadian gal was another one of those overly educated professional students who couldn't hack it in the real world. She was an active member of Saint Charbel, the local Arab Christian church, and a member of Engineers Without Borders. Interesting.

"Good to hear, Samuel, now, how do I go about solving this quadratic equation?" Mariam asked, and Samuel watched as she pointed to a bunch of equations she scribbled on the board. Just looking at all of this mathematical mumbo jumbo was enough to give him a frigging headache. Why does a political science major with law school aspirations need mathematics again?

"Let me take a crack at it," Samuel replied, and he left his seat and walked up to the front, as Mariam watched him, a bemused expression on her face. Samuel took a piece of chalk and began attempting to solve the mathematical equation. Forty over sixty nine multiplied by eleven point nine over ten point six equals exactly what? What I wouldn't give for a calculator right now, Samuel thought.

The brother can't do math to save his life but he's got a nice butt, Mariam thought, smiling as she watched Samuel try to solve the math problem, and fail tragically. Oh well, if Samuel wanted to go into politics after graduating from Carleton University, he'd fit right in with the dim-witted fools on Parliament Hill. After all, they just needed to be told where to sign and screw the lives of millions of Canadians before lunch every day...

"Hmm, good attempt, Samuel, but you were off by a little," Mariam said, and she wiped the smile off her face, and walked up to him, holding out her hand to take the chalk from him. Samuel hesitated, then handed her the piece of chalk, and watched as Mariam once more made math seem effortless and easy. Dammit I am starting to feel dumb, Samuel thought, annoyed.

"Look, Mariam, I just need to get like fifty out of a hundred to pass this mathematics course, I'm not trying to get Albert Einstein's job, alright?" Samuel said flatly, and Mariam grinned and nodded. It was four o'clock and they'd been at it for well over an hour. Mariam was ready to call it a day, but she wouldn't be the one to suggest it, since she was a good tutor working with a slacker.

"Samuel, if I may, you're not a math major, I get that, but you won't get far in this life if passing is the only thing you're concerned with, you can actually excel with some effort," Mariam said, sighing deeply. Samuel looked at her, his expression unreadable. What's going on inside this slacker brain of his? Mariam wondered privately.

"Mariam, I respect your work ethic, and I'll have you know that I averaged a solid B in all five of my political science courses this past winter, mathematics simply isn't my thing," Samuel said, and he flashed her a cocky grin, and Mariam tried not to roll her eyes. Math is the language of the universe, you silly goose, you should give it a try, Mariam thought dejectedly.

"Sounds like fun, Samuel, on that note, I think we'll stop for the day," Mariam replied, and Samuel nodded, smiling with relief. Hey, it's your life, and your grades, buddy, Mariam thought, as she gathered her belongings. Samuel quietly did the same, and then courteously held the door open for her when she finished. Handsome, with decent smarts but a bit lazy, Mariam thought, smiling politely at Samuel as she exited the room.

Hmmm, Miss Mathematics has one hell of an ass, Samuel thought with an appreciative grin as Mariam exited the classroom ahead of him. They walked to the elevator, and rode it to the main floor, then went their separate ways. Samuel began the long trek from Carleton University to his building on Dynes Road, a couple of kilometers away.

"One day I'll have a kick-ass engineering job and all of these lousy gigs will be just a bad memory," Mariam said to herself as she got in her car, and sped away from the parking lot located in front of the University Center Building. She lived in Nepean, and decided to grab a bite at Asia Garden, a nice little Chinese restaurant that was actually not far from her place.

"Fancy seeing you here," came a familiar masculine voice, as Mariam stood in front of the counter and placed her order with the middle-aged, balding Asian restaurateur. The young woman turned around, and gasped when she saw...him. Samuel stood there, a giant smirk on his face, and his presence was so unexpected that Mariam had to force herself to be calm.

"Um, hello, Samuel, what are you doing here?" Mariam asked, and Samuel smiled at her as though they were good friends and pointed to the tall building across the street from the restaurant. Of course he had to live here, Mariam thought. The restaurant looked from Mariam to Samuel, and then smiled. What happened next only increased the young woman's discomfort...

"Hello, Sam, will you have your usual, and will your lady friend be staying?" said the restaurant owner, and Samuel smiled and looked at Mariam. Thanks for putting me on the spot, you dick, Mariam thought, and she smiled politely at the restaurant owner and shook her head quite vigorously. Seeing Samuel once today was more than enough, Mariam thought.

"No thank you, sir, my order is to go," Mariam replied, and she gave Samuel a smile a cat would recognize. They stood at the counter, and her order swiftly came up. Mariam pulled her wallet out of her purse, and took out her beige-colored RBC credit card. She swiped it against the machine, and waited for it to clear. Imagine her surprise when it declined...

"Sorry, ma'am, it's declined, will you try again?" said the restaurant owner, and Mariam nodded, smiling even though she was embarrassed. She tapped her credit card against the debit machine, and once again it was declined. Flustered, she frantically looked for her debit card, but couldn't find it. Shaking her head, she rummaged through her purse...

"Mariam, it's cool, I got it," Samuel said, and before Mariam could reply, he took out his own card, a bright blue Bank of Montreal debit card, and tapped it against the machine. It cleared without any glitches. Mariam looked at Samuel, astonished by what he'd just done. The restaurant owner looked at Samuel, then at Mariam, and smiled then handed her the paper bag containing her meal.

"Um, thank you, sir, and thank you, Samuel," Mariam replied, and she looked at the older Asian man, then nodded at Samuel, who kept smiling at her in that annoying manner of his. The young woman felt like bolting out of there, caught between embarrassment and gratitude. What was she to do? Samuel's order came up, and he paid for it, then asked the owner for a couple of Pepsi cans.

"Bon appetite, Mariam, I'll see you at school," Samuel said, and he thanked the man behind the counter, then headed for the door. Mariam froze, her heart going pitter-patter. Damn Samuel, now I owe him, Mariam thought, cursing herself for her lousy luck, and Samuel, for his charmingly annoying demeanor, or annoyingly charming demeanor, one of the two.

"Look, um, Samuel, I want to say thank you, actually, grab a bite with me," Mariam heard herself say, and Samuel looked at her, a look of surprise on his kind of handsome face. Samuel nodded slowly, and then he and Mariam sat at one of the few tables inside the Asian Garden restaurant. Mariam unwrapped her paper bag, and feasted her eyes on the plate of shrimp-fried rice, orange chicken and egg rolls. Yummy.

"Nice, eh? I come here all the time, they're the best," Samuel said, and Mariam nodded, then took a forkful of orange chicken, and bit into it. She tried to avoid looking at Samuel as she ate, but given their proximity this was hard to do. She kept thinking about her credit card. The bank gave her a credit card with a credit limit of fifteen hundred dollars. She only had to pay thirty bucks a month to keep her account afloat, and she used the card sparingly. So why did it act up?

"The food is excellent, Samuel, thank you, I'm just wondering if my credit card got hacked or something, I have good credit I swear," Mariam replied, still flustered over the whole incident. Samuel gently brushed his hand against hers and smiled, and this time, he didn't look cocky or full of himself, but concerned. What's with this brother? Mariam wondered.

"You're welcome, Mariam, and don't worry, credit card glitches happen all the time, you should give your bank a call," Samuel said, and Mariam nodded. As they ate, she observed Samuel, who seemed nicer and more relaxed than she could ever remember seeing him. The restaurant staff, from the owner to the delivery guys seemed to know him very well. The brother is a regular, Mariam mused.

"Thank you, Samuel, I owe you one, and good luck with your summer school midterm," Mariam said, about half an hour later. She'd finished eating, and was anxious to get away. Not because she tired of Samuel's company, for he was nothing if not a gentleman. Nope, because Mariam wanted to get on the phone with a certain bank and credit card company and give them a piece of her mind.

"De nada, Mariam, good luck solving that card issue," Samuel replied, and he rose and held out his hand, which Mariam shook after a slight hesitation. She wished him a good day and walked out of Asia Garden. She got in her car and drove away. Mariam's apartment on Merivale wasn't far away, and she had much to do today. As she reached her place, Mariam thought about Samuel, and his unexpected generosity and candor. The brother's got many sides to himself, she thought, amazed.

Mariam called the Royal Bank of Canada as soon as she got home, and spoke to a call center agent, who explained to her that her card was frozen because apparently, she hadn't used it in a while. Mariam answered the usual security questions, and was relieved when the agent assured her that she had eight hundred dollars on the card, plus the twenty five dollars that the agent credit her to make up for her distress at Asia Garden.

"Thank you kindly," Mariam said to the agent, before hanging up the phone. She sat on her couch, and turned on the TV. There was an episode of Supernatural on television, the one where the fallen angel Lucifer, played by actor Mark Pellegrino, escaped from the Winchester brothers with the aide of a female angel. The episode was so-so, and Mariam found herself semi-bored after watching it.

Lying on the couch, Mariam surfed various channels, got on Netflix and came across something...interesting. Actress Krysten Ritter was making out with Mike Colter's Luke Cage in an episode of the first season of Marvel's Jessica Jones. The steamy loving scene featuring the super-powered interracial couple was most unexpected...and something of a turn-on.

Dammit I need to get laid, Mariam thought to herself, as she began fondling her nipples through her blouse. She'd been single for over eighteen months now, since her relationship with a certain Canadian guy named Luke Pelletier ended. Mariam had never felt drawn to men who shared her Arab-Canadian heritage, finding them too conservative and uptight. She fancied men from other nations, other backgrounds, and that's part of what drew her to Luke.

Tall and handsome, with blond hair and blue eyes, Luke Pelletier was a newcomer to Ottawa by way of Montreal. He came to Carleton to study in the MBA program. Mariam met Luke at a party for grad students, and they totally clicked. They began dating shortly after that, and everything was wonderful. Luke was fun, charming and good in bed. Qualities that Mariam absolutely loved in a man...

Closing her eyes, Mariam pinched her nipples, then her hand slipped between her thighs and she began fingering herself. She remembered the last time Luke made love to her, shortly before he had to go back to Montreal, due to his mother's illness. The French Canadian stud ate Mariam's pussy right there on her living room couch, and then she sucked his big pale cock and rode him hard. Luke fucked Mariam roughly, and she cried out his name. Indeed, it was a great night...

Of course, Mariam didn't know it was to be their last time together. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with Luke, but fate had other plans. Luke Pelletier returned to Montreal to take care of his sick mother Gladys, and died in a car accident. Heartbroken over the loss of her lover, Mariam became depressed and shut down. Her parents, Charles Aoun and Mabel Gemayel-Aoun, tried to cheer her up, but Mariam shunned their attempts at fixing her with anyone else.

Mariam opened her eyes, and licked her lips. She brought her wet fingers to her lips and sucked on them. Her body hadn't known a man's touch in over a year, and she felt so damn horny. Closing her eyes once more, Mariam resumed masturbating, and this time, she tried to envision Luke, but couldn't. His face was beginning to fade in her memory, something which irked her. Out of nowhere, another face came into her mind, that of Samuel Augustin...

"Oh my," Mariam whispered as she visualized Samuel coming onto her, and she thrust two fingers into her pussy, masturbating urgently. In her mind, Samuel came for her, a tall, muscular, dark-skinned and oh-so fine hunk of a man. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, then went to work on her. The brother put those full lips of his to good use and sucked on Mariam's breasts, while sliding his hand between her legs...

"Relax, sexy lady, you're in good hands," Samuel said, and that deep, masculine voice of his sent thrills down Mariam's spine as he continued working his magic on her. The brother buried his face between her legs and began eating her pussy, causing Mariam to cry out in pleasure. Moaning softly, Mariam continued to pleasure herself, and in her fantasy, she grabbed Samuel's hard dick and climbed on top of him, boldly glaring at him while beginning her seduction...

"What I say goes," Mariam retorted, and she kissed Samuel while stroking his dick. In her fantasy, the two of them continued with their fun, and Samuel put her on all fours and thrust into her. Mariam screamed passionately as the brother fucked her silly, his thick dick slamming into her pussy without mercy. Mariam's eyes snapped open, and she thrust three fingers into herself, crying out as she came. Her breath came out in staccato bursts as a wicked orgasm rocked her body.

Thank you Samuel, Mariam thought, smiling wickedly as she lay on the couch, feeling naughty about this self-administered guilty pleasure. She sat up, and looked around, having lost interest in the television series episode unfolding on her flat screen TV. Grabbing her phone, Mariam looked up Samuel Augustin on Facebook, and found him rather quickly. As it turns out, they had seven friends in common.

"Let's see what Samuel Augustin is really like," Mariam said to herself, smiling while creeping through his profile. According to Samuel's Facebook profile, the brother was born on the island of Haiti and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, and he had a major interest in professional boxing, and UFC, and big-booty women from South America. Noticing that the bronze-skinned, dark-haired and curvy beauties resembled her, Mariam smiled. After a brief hesitation, she sent Samuel a friend request.

Samuel Augustin sat on his couch, on his tenth floor apartment on Dynes Road. After a nice dinner at Asia Garden, he spent the evening watching TV, and then checked his grades on C.U. Learn, the Carleton academic website. Upon finding out he'd gotten seventy three out of a hundred on the make-or-break summer school mathematics midterm, Samuel was overjoyed. He felt so happy he jumped. Looks like I am going to graduate after all, Samuel thought excitedly.

Samuel went to Facebook, to share the good news with his friends and acquaintances, as is common with folks of his generation. Before he could put the good news on his update, however, he saw that he had a friend request. Expecting one of those 'bot' requests, he was surprised to see that the request came from Mariam, his gorgeous, uptight math tutor. Impulsively Samuel added Mariam as a friend, then read her message.

"Samuel, I don't normally do this, but I wanted to add you as a friend, and thank you again, I spoke to the bank and everything is alright, I owe you big, so let me treat you to lunch sometime," Mariam wrote, and Samuel grinned, pleased with what was displayed on his screen. The brother couldn't believe his damn luck. What a turnaround from the normally frosty Mariam!

Things are finally looking up, Samuel thought, as he replied in the affirmative, then began browsing Mariam Aoun's Facebook profile. Samuel expected everything to be conservative, given her background, and was blown away by Mariam's bikini pictures, for example. Little Miss Lebanese Engineer had some really cute and at times steamy pictures, and if Samuel played his cards right, he knew he just might get some of that. Let the games begin...