Thank you to everyone for your votes and comments! They mean the world to me.
***
"Michael, can you stop by my office at about 2:15 this afternoon?"
"Sure thing, Dr. Baker. I mean, Ed."
After 18 years, I still haven't broken the habit of addressing my colleagues formally. This is regrettably true of Edward Baker who is the chairman of my department these days. Ed had taken me under his wing during my first year teaching here. Then both Ed and his wife stepped in to help hold me together after the tragedy six years ago. So naturally, I thought nothing of being called to his office on a Monday afternoon.
When I arrived at Ed's office, however, the situation suddenly seemed grim. Ed was at his desk, talking to the Dean sitting across from him.
"Come on in, Michael. Close the door and have a seat." Ed was trying to sound upbeat, but he seemed a bit tense. And he rarely asks me to close the door.
I felt the blood leave my face as I shut the door behind me. I took a seat beside the Dean and tried to smile politely.
I turned to Ed and was somehow able to get a few words out. "What's this about, Ed?"
"Well, Michael. We don't like to pry into the private lives of the faculty, but we can't dismiss concerns about impropriety without investigating first. There seem to be some concerns about... a romantic relationship. An anonymous concerned individual seems to think you might be involved with a student. Do you know what they could be talking about?"
"Oh, good lord Ed! You nearly gave me a heart attack! I have recently started seeing someone. Her name is Elanna, and she is most definitely not a student here. She graduated with an art degree from our cross-town rival last December."
The Dean stood up, visibly relieved, and reached out to shake my hand. "I'm glad that's sorted, and I am so sorry to have scared you. Good luck, Michael. See you later Ed."
A good administrator is ready to come down like a ton of bricks when needed, but never enjoys it.
As he walked out, he asked Ed if he wanted the door shut. Ed indicated the answer was no.
"Congratulations, Michael! Helen and I hoped you would find someone someday. I just wish I hadn't found out like this."
"You and me, both. Elanna and I have only just started dating. How could anyone have possibly known?"
"As I understand it, someone recognized you standing out watching a sunset with a young woman last night. They said a lot of passionate kissing ensued."
"Well, it was pretty passionate. I'll give them that."
"But now you and I have a real problem on our hands."
"Really? What's that?"
"You are dating someone, and I know about it. However, Helen doesn't know yet. "
"Okay... Why is this a problem?"
"Helen will kill me if I don't tell her right away. I can save my skin by telling her when I get home tonight. That just leaves you in mortal peril."
"Ed, do you mean I have to..."
"You know what needs to be done. We will have a little cookout at our place next weekend. Probably on Saturday. You said her name is Elanna? You will have to bring her to meet Helen."
"You know, that's a really good idea. I'll check with Elanna and get back to you about the details."
"Sounds great! Helen is going to love this. And Michael, I'm really happy for you."
"Thanks, Ed. I'm off to prep for my next class. Talk to you later."
***
Tuesday morning I found myself in a shop trying to decide on snacks. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so I settled on two iced coffees, a package of eclairs, and some plain yogurt. It took far too long to realize that I could just text Elanna to see what she wanted instead of trying to guess. She wanted a piece of fruit, so I bought an orange as well. I decided to grab two bottles of water so we could wash everything down.
Elanna was already on the bench, sketching away. She saw me approaching, set her stuff down, and stood to greet me.
I arrived and set the food down so I could greet her unhindered.
She took a few steps back, then ran and leaped onto me again! As before, I managed to avoid falling over. This time one of my hands was on her upper back and the other was on her lower back. She wasn't satisfied with this, so she moved the hand from her lower back down to her butt.
"I believe THIS is where we left off. Good morning, Michael." She leaned in and kissed me. Gosh, those plump lips of hers are made for kissing! And her butt was made to be held, and I gave it a bit of a rub too for good measure.
Sadly, as much fun as that was, I'm not built to hold Elanna that way for too long. She sensed me wavering so she finished the kiss and hopped down.
"And a very good morning to you too, Elanna!" I leaned in and kissed her - with both of our feet firmly on the ground this time. My hands found her waist. Her hands found my butt! We concluded our kiss after she gave my cheeks a good squeeze.
We settled onto the bench and divided up the picnic. She started on her yogurt and I enjoyed my coffee with an eclair. We chatted about nothing in particular. We were just happily enjoying the morning and each other's company.
Then she had a bit of a twinkle in her eye. More mischief than a twinkle, I concluded. She picked up an eclair, locked her eyes with mine, and slowly brought the pastry to her lips. I was mesmerized watching her lips wrap around the end of that treat, then she pulled the pastry back slightly making her lips look even more plump than usual.
Her eyes were on mine. My eyes were glued to her lips. The luckiest pastry in the world was being slowly devoured in the most sensual way I could ever imagine. The iced coffee tipped into my lap.
Gah! The iced coffee tipped into my lap! I yelped as I darted up to mitigate the damage, and tried to keep my penis from freezing off.
Elanna broke into laughter. "I am going to enjoy testing out new material on you, Michael! Here, let me help." She grabbed a handful of napkins and began dabbing some of the moisture from my trousers. Eventually, she cupped my balls, though, with so many napkins and all that fabric in the way, I was surprised that she could feel my penis respond as quickly as she did. "Mmmm. I can work with this. But not now and certainly not here."
She removed her hand and passed me the napkins. I dried my trousers as best I could and she cleaned off the bench.
Breakfast resumed and she behaved herself for the rest of the meal. Though I could tell she was sorely tempted to tease me a bit when she ate one of her orange slices.
After we finished, a little bottled water was spent washing the stickiness off our hands, before the rest was used to hydrate ourselves.
She had settled in and started drawing in her sketchbook. The conversation had gone quiet for a few minutes as we just enjoyed the morning. I glanced over to see what she was drawing. It didn't look like a landscape or a portrait - just some lines, some ovals, and little notes that I couldn't read from my view. A practice page I guess. I looked to the distance and saw a mob of pigeons accosting an old woman for breadcrumbs.
"Michael, when are you going to make love to me?" She finished the question before looking up at me.
"I'm sorry. What?!"
"I mean, not right now. And I don't want to rush you at all - take all the time you need. I'm just curious. And I want you to know that I'm ready, in case you weren't sure."
"Wow, Elanna. I've been thinking about it, but I didn't know we were there yet. My generation was raised to wait for sex, not that it slowed anyone down."
"Well, I was taught not to fuck before the third date. This is our second date, so..."
"I see." I must have had the biggest smile ever. "Well, I will make sure to pick up some condoms before I see you next. Do you have a latex allergy?"
"No latex allergy. But I'm already on the pill, so you don't have to."
"That's good to know, but I think we need that extra layer of protection for now."
She smiled at that and then made a note in her sketchbook. "How about Thursday? I have the early shift at the art store. You can come back to my place and we'll order take-out again."
"That sounds like a perfect third date. What time should I arrive?"
"How about four? That gives me time to wash up after work, it gives you time to buy condoms, and still leaves us time to make the most of our date."
We smiled and blushed at each other. "Perfect. I will be there."
She returned to her sketch. I'm sure I sat there smiling like an idiot. After a little while, I suddenly remembered we need to make an appearance at the Baker's. "Elanna, speaking of dates, our fourth date is a double date. I think. At the very least, we have been invited to a cookout."
I told her about Ed and Helen and explained my impending death if I didn't introduce her to them this weekend. She seemed a bit uneasy with the idea of meeting my boss, of all people. But I assured her everything would be alright and she agreed.
***
Tuesday evening I found myself in the park again, watching another sunset. I had spoken to Ed that afternoon, and everything was set for the cookout Saturday evening. My attention drifted between the scenery before me and the images of Elanna floating around in my head. I wondered what she would wear for our date Thursday. Or if she would wear anything at all.
A set of small, delicate hands came from behind to rest on my shoulders. "I love sunsets more and more these days. How about you, Michael?"
"Elanna! I didn't expect to see you again until Thursday. Yes, sunsets have become even more enjoyable lately. Join me?"
She came around to the front of the bench and stood before me. She moved in close, straddled my lap, and kissed me. "I don't want to interrupt your evening. But I thought you'd like to know I'm looking forward to our date."
She dismounted me and took a proper seat on the bench. My head was spinning, but at least I managed to hold her hand. "Much, much more enjoyable," I mumbled.
A couple of minutes passed. "I wanted to see these colors again so I can capture them in my next painting." She gestured at the scene in front of us.
