Megan took a deep breath as she walked down the hallway, readying herself for the conversation she was about to attempt. She wasn't even sure yet how she would start it. Actually admitting it—and doing something about—terrified her.
He made her nervous. Not that he'd ever been anything but nice to her before. But
nice
was different than wanting to be intimate. Megan wanted to be intimate though. It wasn't just a physical thing. Maybe that wasn't surprising, considering the difference in their age, but that hadn't stopped her attraction to him yet. He was handsome enough, but not distractingly so. He was brilliant and kind and funny and always made time for her.
Megan stopped a couple feet away from an open door with a plaque on it that read
Prof. David Collins
. She ran her fingers through her long dark hair, trying to smooth it, and then adjusted her shirt a little. She hadn't worn a bra that day, so her sensitive nipples threatened to harden into little pebbles every time the cotton fabric lightly brushed them. She tried not to let that distract her.
"Hi." She poked her head into her English professor's office. He was alone. "Do you have a minute?" she asked.
He turned his attention from the computer screen in front of him to Megan and gave her a smile. "Sure. Come in." He took off his wireframe glasses and set them on the desk.
Megan shut the door without asking and sat down in the chair across from her favorite professor before he could request otherwise. She'd been in his office many times before, but she'd never closed the door behind her. "I just wanted to thank you for everything." She hoped she didn't look as nervous as she felt. "This is my last semester."
"It was a pleasure having you, Megan. Truly." His light brown eyes were warm and comforting, giving her the feeling everything he said was genuine. His hair was about the same color as his eyes, wavy, and would have been considered a medium length style for a man.
"I learned so much from you. And my writing has changed. I didn't understand—I didn't know—well, writing is art too and doesn't always have to follow rules."
"I've enjoyed seeing your writing evolve and your creativity blossom. Do you have plans to transfer to a different college to finish your English degree?" A reasonable assumption considering she'd only taken his 100 and 200 level courses. But a lot of them. One each semester. Two in one semester once.
"Not exactly... I'll graduate high school in a couple weeks and then I'm going to an art school so most of my credits from here won't mean much there unfortunately—it's still a four-year program."
"High school." He looked dumbfounded. "I had no idea you were in the accelerated program."
Megan genuinely hadn't been able to remember if she'd mentioned it before or not, but his look of shock gave her the answer. Of course, he would have had plenty of students over the years that were juniors and seniors in high school finishing their final classes through the college and getting credit for both. That was certainly not unique to Megan, but it wasn't something she usually mentioned unless it needed to be discussed. It was nice just to fit in sometimes.
She nodded. "I'm glad I took so many of your classes, because I don't get to take anything like it after this...it's strictly classes related to our major, so I'm really grateful I got the chance to have you first."
She could see the gears in his head turning as he continued to process the new information.
"Megan," he said slowly, "when did you turn 18?"
"A few months ago." She knew what he was thinking about. "Before we met for coffee."
He looked relieved at that. "That's good. Even though it was strictly about literature, it would have been inappropriate."
"Don't worry, Professor, I was 18 then. And I didn't tell anyone. Not that I felt I had to keep it a secret," she added quickly, not wanting him to think she'd thought of it as anything more than educational.
It looked like he was about to tell her—not for the first time—she could call him by his first name, but apparently decided not to. Perhaps he understood now why Megan had never addressed him that way before. She was in high school. Still accustomed to using Mr. and Ms., not having known anything else in a classroom setting.
"Your writing skill is far beyond your years, Megan," he told her. "The piece you read in class last week—it's not everyday someone leaves a classroom speechless and so unanimously uncomfortable."
"Thank you," she beamed, knowing it was a compliment and feeling a surge of pleasure from his praise. "I've never written like that before. I didn't know I could. Thank you for that assignment."
"I'm glad it struck a chord with you," he said with a kind smile. Megan loved the way the corners of his eyes crinkled a little when he gave her that genuine smile. "So, where will you be going after this?"
"Parson's. In New York."
"Congratulations, Megan. I'll admit, it does surprise me you won't be following your writing talent, but it sounds like you're on an exciting path and I'm sure you'll be extremely successful wherever it leads."
"Thank you," she said, looking down at her hands. His praise was intoxicating but she wasn't there to talk about school. "I really look up to you, you know. And just, um, everything you've done to help me. Thank you." She paused. "Sorry I keep saying that. But that's why I came here today, and it just really means a lot—everything you've done to help me."
Megan stood up as if she was going to leave, though she had no plan to. He also got to his feet, no doubt intending to walk her to the door and bid her farewell. But when they reached the door, instead of opening it, Megan flipped the lock.
"What are you doing, Megan?" he asked slowly.
"I told you, I wanted to thank you." Her back was against the door, blocking the handle, and Professor Collins stood right in front of her.
"I do appreciate your thanks, and I'm so glad these classes were meaningful to you, but this is my job, Megan. No additional thanks is needed."