Ah! At last! Thank Heaven that it's finally autumn in Atlanta! The summer here in Atlanta this year was positively brutal and I didn't think it would ever end. However, now, the weather is absolutely gorgeous and I feel really great.
It goes without saying that it's now time for FOOTBALL (yea!) which is something of a religion here in the South. Time for tailgate parties and a few weekend trips back to our Alma Mater, The University of Georgia in Athens (Go Dogs!). Of course, my husband, Gary, and I are huge fans. Although we're not season ticket holders, we usually manage to score tickets to just about every home game so; I was at my computer trying to find tickets for that weekend's game.
I was at the UGA website, looking for ticket information when I saw the tab for UGA faculty members. I leaned back in my chair and wondered to myself, "I wonder if HE is still there?" Following the links, I tracked through the web site to the appropriate department and, sure enough, HE was still there.
(OK, at this point, I have to be concerned with protecting his identity, so from here on out I must refer to him only as Professor 'X'. I would certainly never do anything to jeopardize his position.)
I stared at the name for a few moments and my memories went back to a time and a place that I will never forget. As I gazed at the name, I stifled a chuckle and shook my head. Had THAT really happened? Had I ACTUALLY done that?
(Another quick aside; I have to apologize to my readers whom I inadvertently lied to in my first story. I said then that, during my time at UGA, I had never indulged in a one night stand. Technically, I was correct; my experience with Professor 'X' was a "one afternoon stand". Whew! I'm glad I got that out of the way!)
My thoughts were interrupted by my husband who had just walked in, "Hey, what's so funny?" My face reddened as I looked up at him.
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something that happened back at school."
"Nothing, my butt", was Gary's reply. "Come on. Give. What were you laughing about?"
I leaned back further in my chair. "Well, you remember, I told you that I was involved with one of my Professors. I told you about it shortly after we met."
Gary thought for a few seconds. "Oh, yeah, right. Now I remember. It was just for one time, right?"
"Right", I replied. "Just seeing his name reminded me of the time that we, you know, got together."
Suddenly a silence came over the room as Gary and I just looked at each other. "Well?" he finally said, "Are you going to tell me about it and why you have that smile on your face?"
I looked back at him trying to think of how to explain what had happened. Finally, with a slight smile on his face, Gary queried, "Is it something that's worth a story?"
I laughed out loud, "You know, I think you're right. Now, go away and give me a few days to put it down on paper." And so, "Dear Readers", this is what happened.
It was during my junior year at UGA, during the spring semester, that I first encountered Professor 'X'. I had never seen him before but I decided that I would take his class as an elective since it would probably help me further down the line in my career. I can't tell you the course or even the department that Professor 'X' was in because someone familiar with UGA would probably be able to guess his identity. However, I can tell you that the course was (and is) definitely not one that students took to pad their GPAs. In fact, the course was downright brutal; a real nightmare.
Still, this didn't intimidate me when I registered for the course and I was determined to be ready for it from my first day in class. On that first day, I walked into the classroom and, for the first time, saw Professor 'X'. It sounds stupid now, but I think my jaw dropped immediately. I mean, if a man could ever be described as "ridiculously handsome", it was Professor 'X'! He was obviously of Mediterranean descent; olive skinned with thick, curly black hair and dazzlingly brilliant white teeth which were apparent every time he smiled. He appeared to be in his mid-forties but his stocky build didn't appear to have one trace of fat. And, that great build was further accented by his impeccable taste in clothing. I believe that in every class he wore a turtle neck with an obviously expensive sport jacket, looking every bit the learned college professor he was.
I took a seat in the fourth or fifth row of the classroom, trying hard not to stare at the Professor. It wouldn't have mattered. From the very first day, Professor 'X' was surrounded by three blonde sorority sisters who flitted around him like flies around honey. I hated all three of them right away. I mean, they were SO obvious! It was plain to see that all three of them were "rich bitches", I mean, even though it was still early in the year; all three had deep tans which became even deeper after the Spring Break (I figured that they had gone to Cancun or someplace like that). At any rate, they wore their little sun dresses showing their ample cleavage and sat in the front row with their legs crossed showing everything but, well, you get the picture. I sat next to a street wise Puerto Rican chick who referred to them as "Las Tres Putas". I don't speak Spanish but I think it loosely translates to "The Three Whores". I agreed with her a hundred percent.
Maybe I was wrong but I figured that they wouldn't be above screwing Professor 'X' for a passing grade in the course. Yes, yes, I know; that stuff isn't supposed to go on in college but it does, no matter how much the school administration denies it. There have been a hundred polices written at UGA that are supposed to forbid any hanky panky between faculty and students (especially when it comes to grades) but it still happens. As for me, I would rather have flunked out of school than screwed a professor for a grade and I suppose that's what made me hate the "Sorority Sluts" even more. (As you might have guessed, I wasn't in any Sorority!)
Be that as it was, I buckled down and burned a little midnight oil to get through the course. As a matter of fact, I ACED that sucker! However, it just so happened that during the last week of classes I was invited to an afternoon party, so I had to "dress up" a bit since the event was going to start shortly after Professor 'X's class. As I entered the classroom (in my own little sun dress) and made my way back to my regular seat in the middle of the classroom I looked up and saw Professor 'X' gazing intently my way. Like a complete dork, I looked around; "OH MY GOD, IS HE LOOKING AT ME?" There was no doubt; that gorgeous hunk WAS looking at me! As I sat down, I crossed my legs and smiled at him. Showing those brilliant white teeth, Professor 'X' smiled back at me. All I could think of was, "Oh......My......God!"
For the rest of the class, I could see Professor 'X' occasionally look my way. I briefly thought about approaching him on the way out of class but, naturally, the "three whores" quickly grouped around him, so I made my way out of the classroom and to my party. That was the last time that Professor 'X' looked my way so I chalked the whole thing off as a "nothing" event.
So, I aced my final (and the course) and forgot about Professor 'X'. As the spring semester ended, I registered for a couple of classes during the summer session and resumed my job at the campus book store.
