Indian Summer 7

"I can't thank you enough for doing me this favor, Daniel, this is my shot at tenure if I can finish my research, and teaching a summer session class would have been difficult for me to pull off."

Richard Mallory, a History professor at Heights University, hastily shoved papers into his briefcase while explaining to his old friend Daniel Corrigan what he could expect from his upcoming class. Daniel had graciously offered to step in, and take Richard's summer class so that he could attend a research trip to the Far East. The two had known each other since their high school days.

"It's fine Richard. I wasn't doing anything else this summer since Nancy decided to take a job to make extra money for the fall."

Nancy Corrigan was Daniel's twenty-one-year-old daughter who still lived at home and attended the university. The two of them lived alone since Nancy's mother, Daniel's wife, had passed away unexpectedly from cancer the previous year.

"I see. Well, this should be a slam dunk for you. It's just one class in European history. I know you have taught this one before and can do it in your sleep," laughed Richard.

"That's true, although it has been a while," said Daniel with a hint of sadness.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Daniel. Anne was as good as they come."

"Yes, she was...So, anything I should know about this group of students?"

"They're a pretty typical group of undergrads, all except one. I should probably warn you about Marcie Springer."

Daniels' eyes scanned the class roster picking out the name.

"Springer? Yes, I see that she is taking this class for the second time."

"She failed last time around."

"So why do I need to watch out for her? Does she need some extra help?"

"I was going to say be sure to keep your distance from her, Daniel. When things were going south for her before she...Ah...How do I put this delicately? Started coming on to me."

"Seriously?"

"Oh Yeah! I mean she did everything but strip naked, and dance for me. I spent the last four weeks of class ducking her at every opportunity. I've heard from other folks that have had her in class that this is not an unusual tactic on her part. Apparently, she is an indifferent student at best, and likes to get by on her other attributes."

"Does she have other attributes?" asked Daniel with a raised eyebrow.

"Sadly, yes. Marcie is a gorgeous girl I will give her that which is why I am giving you the heads up. It would be a lot of trouble for both of us if you were to let the little head do the thinking for the big one."

"Jesus, Richard! I've never had an ethics violation in twenty-years of teaching I doubt I'm going to start now."

"I know that, but you haven't met Marcie yet. She can be very persuasive, so I just wanted you to be on your guard. Anyway, I need to get going."

Richard lifted his briefcase as the two men headed for the classroom door.

"Oh, if you need any help, and you can't get a hold of me I do have one T.A. that is going to be working this summer. Her name is Sophia Ramesh. She is a good kid."

"Thanks, Richard, and good luck on your trip."

The sun was setting by the time Daniel drove home and stepping from the car he was greeted by a sky filled with different shades of red, and yellow. He stopped to admire the view, feeling a tinge of sadness that Anne was not there to enjoy it with him. She had always appreciated a beautiful sunset. When he opened the door of his modest one-story home, he was greeted by the pungent smell of burning food. Dropping his briefcase to the floor, Daniel sprinted into the nearby kitchen where he found his daughter standing with the oven door open waving a hand towel rapidly in the air trying to disperse the cloud of white smoke pouring out.

"I'm going to guess we are eating out tonight?"

"I'm sorry, Dad, I was trying something different, but I think I had the oven too hot."

Daniel was struck by how much his daughter looked like her deceased mother at that moment biting on her lower lip in frustration with her face framed in a disgusted scowl. The two women did have a strong resemblance both being petite brunettes with short hair, and round, friendly faces. Nancy did favor her father in her coloring with her skin very fair while her mother had shown off her Mediterranean heritage with much darker skin.

"It's o.k., Honey. We can go get a burger over at the Hungry Bun."

Nancy shut the oven door letting it slam closed and swatting at it with the towel for good measure.

"If Mom were here she would have put a gourmet meal on the table. I should have paid more attention all those times she offered to teach me how to cook."

Daniel didn't know how to reply to that. The fact that Anne was gone still seemed to manifest itself in a hundred little ways every day. He slipped his arm around his daughter's slender shoulders steering her away from the smoky kitchen.

"Come on. We will clean this up later."

The restaurant was crowded with college kids grabbing a quick bite before heading back to their dorms to study or more likely to socialize. Daniel and Nancy placed their orders and managed to find a table in the far corner of the dining area.

"Did you get to meet with Dr. Mallory today?"

"Yeah, he turned over his syllabus to me, and gave me a rundown on the class."

"I think it's a good idea for you to get back to teaching. You've been hanging around the house long enough. This will give you a chance to put a toe back in the water."

"I suppose," said Daniel uncertainly.

Nancy reached across the table to take her dad's hand.

"Come on, Dad! You used to love standing in front of a class of trapped kids going on about boring history stuff until they were all unconscious this is your big chance to put another generation of America's youth to sleep."

"Very funny, Nancy! I get your point though it's time that I got busy living again."

"I'll be around when I'm not working to help. I could grade papers or something."

"Thanks, kid. I know you have my back."

Their food arrived, and they each took a big bite of their juicy burgers.

"I have to admit this is probably better than my meatloaf would have been," said Nancy chewing her double cheeseburger.

"It's hard to go wrong with a Hungry Bun special," agreed Daniel.

Daniel looked around the room at all the youthful faces imagining standing in front of them again at the head of a classroom. He was a little intimidated by the thought, but it was like falling off a bike right? Teaching was in his blood it would come back to him he was sure, well, mostly sure anyway.

When he went to get ready for bed that night, he stopped to look in the mirror. The last year of self-enforced exile from the world had caused him to lose a bit of weight, but considering he had been getting a bit hefty before that was probably a good thing. He looked much trimmer now, and he had started lifting weights again recently trying to tone up his forty-year-old body. The hair on top of his head was still thick with just a hint of gray peeking through the dark brown, and despite a few lines around his green eyes he still had the look of a much younger man.

"Maybe this class is just what I need to get back into the swing of things," he thought while brushing his teeth.

He went to bed feeling hopeful that tomorrow would be the start of a glorious summer having no idea just what changes were in store.

The following morning Daniel woke early and prepared himself to face the day with a breakfast of bacon, and eggs with toast on the side. Nancy had left already to work at the daycare where she supervised a class of young children ages five to nine. He didn't envy her the rowdy kids she was facing although college kids could be a handful in their own way. He arrived on campus and walked briskly to his assigned room watching crowds of kids arriving, and scurrying to and fro. The room was empty at the moment, and he took the time to set out his notes, and copies of the syllabus that he planned to cover that day.

About thirty minutes later the first students started to drift in taking seats seemingly at random around the room. As Richard had noted Daniel had no trouble picking out Marcie Springer when she walked in the room even though he had never met the woman. She stood out from her fellow students both in her attire and in the way she carried herself with a hint of narcissistic arrogance. Marcie was a tall girl maybe five-foot nine-inches with her spiked heels adding a couple of extra inches to the total. Her long shapely legs ran up into a skirt that was almost scandalously short revealing a good bit of her creamy white thighs. The shirt she was wearing was skin tight and stretched over a massive pair of round breasts that formed an impressive valley of cleavage. She sat right at the front of the class favoring Daniel with a dazzling smile revealing rows of perfectly even white teeth. Marcie had the features of a cover model with rich, full lips painted a cherry red and brilliant blue eyes that flashed in the bright overhead lights.

Daniel tried to make it a point not to stare, but it wasn't easy since Marcie Springer was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. He could see how she would be a tough woman to say no to if she turned on the charm. The rest of the students continued to drift in, and Daniel tried to busy himself organizing the papers on the desk in front of him which also provided a distraction from the gorgeous blond sitting not ten feet away.

"Professor Corrigan?"

Daniel almost jumped when a voice spoke right next to him. He had been thinking about Marcie Springer's legs and had been so lost in thought he hadn't heard the footsteps of the young lady that now looked at him with an expression of curiosity.

"Yes?"

"Hello, I'm Sophia Ramesh, Dr. Mallory said he would mention to you that I was going to be your teaching assistant this summer.

"Oh...Yeah...He did mention that to me. It's nice to meet you, Sophia."

He exchanged a hand-shake with the petite young woman standing at his elbow. She was very different from Marcie Springer, but not in a bad way. A good bit shorter, Sophia stood maybe five-foot-three in her sneakers. She had the characteristic dark brown skin of a woman of Indian descent with a round face, and chocolate brown eyes that were filled with warmth, and good humor. She was wearing a faded pair of jeans that clung tightly to her body, and a loose fitting pink blouse. It was clear that she could have stood to lose a pound or two, but she was not unattractive with smooth features, and thick, soft looking dark lips. The added weight also gave her a relatively large set of breasts that though she chose not to flaunt them like Marcie Springer still swelled nicely under her top. Her dark brown hair fell to shoulder length with frosted ends in a much lighter shade.

"I'm glad to meet you, Professor," she said in return.

"Please, call me Daniel. We will be working together all summer, and titles get ponderous after awhile."

"O.K. Daniel then, and you are welcome to call me Sophia," she sounded formal, but her smile lit up her face softening the words.

Even though he had already admonished himself for staring at Marcie Springer, he began to do the same to Sophia Ramesh. He couldn't get over how dark her eyes were, and he caught the hint of some exotic perfume that smelled quite wonderful. Shaking himself free at last, he moved to the front of the class and started to go over the syllabus for the summer session. When he finished running through the basic outline of what they would be covering he launched into a brief lecture about the topic for the day. He thought he had chosen a fairly simple lesson for the first day, drawing parallels between the isolationist policies of present-day Europe, and those of the United States before World War II. He was interrupted multiple times during his lecture by Marcie Springer whose questions showed that she was not comprehending the point at all. He tried to ease her along, but by the end of the hour he was frustrated and could see why she had failed when trying to take this class the previous semester.

When class finally broke for the day Marcie lingered behind by the door as Daniel tried to leave.

"Do you have a moment, Professor?"

"My office hours are 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm each day except Friday if there is something I could help you with, Ms. Springer."

"Please, call me Marcie," she replied with a brilliant smile.

Daniel ignored the offer continuing into the hallway.

"I was hoping that you could give me some extra help this semester. Dr. Mallory was not inclined to give me the support I needed to excel in this class last time, and I was hoping I could count on you to get me through it. I really could use all the help I can get."

She reached out and put one long-nailed hand on his arm. Daniel could feel the heat from her palm against his skin, and his cock gave a sharp twitch in his pants. He took a deep breath fighting down the natural wave of desire that rolled through his long-neglected body.

"I would be glad to meet with you, and discuss tutoring options if you feel like you would need additional help."

"Perhaps I could be of assistance? It is more or less my job," suggested Sophia Ramesh who had appeared seemingly from nowhere.

Marcie gave her a withering look, and pretended she hadn't spoken, "I'll see you during your office hours, Professor."

Daniel watched Marcie walk away. She threw one last look over her shoulder before vanishing around the far corner of the hallway. He could have sworn she winked at him before moving out of sight, but he wasn't sure.

"Thanks for your help, Sophia."

She nodded with a knowing look in the direction that Marcie Springer had gone off in but declined to comment further.

"So you have an interest in teaching history?" asked Daniel as Sophia fell into step next to him, and they walked toward the exit.

"I come from a long line of teachers both my parents teach, and so does my older brother. I guess you could say that it is in my blood. I've always had a passion for history especially so it seemed like a natural fit."

"Me too. I got a book on American History when I was nine-years-old, and I was hooked."

Sophia laughed the noise sounding almost musical coming from her throat.

They left the building together but parted company at the end of the sidewalk since Sophia had another class nearby. Daniel watched her go not quite able to take his eyes off her round ass as she moved off.

"I have a feeling I am going to be taking a lot of cold showers this summer," thought Daniel.

Richard Mallory's office was not far from the classroom building, and Daniel used the key he had given him to open it. The interior was sparsely decorated fitting with Richard's low key personality. Removing the few personal touches from around the room Daniel added a photo of Nancy to the desk and sat out some of his personal effects temporarily claiming the space as his own. He went to work on a bit of administrative red tape the kind that always seemed to follow the start of every new semester. The afternoon shifted into early evening. Daniel knew that Nancy was working a bit later, so he decided to hit the campus gymnasium for a quick workout before heading home.

He dressed out in shorts, and a shirt bearing the school logo. The gym was only lightly attended this time of day, so it was no problem to find an open treadmill, and he spent a good half-hour warming up his body before doing a bit of lifting. A fine sheen of sweat had gathered on his brow as he stepped off the equipment, and he mopped it away with a towel. He lowered the cloth from his face only to find himself staring right into the bright, blue eyes of Marcie Springer.

"Professor Corrigan! How wonderful to see you again I think it must be fate us running into to each other like this don't you agree?"

Daniel was caught off guard by her sudden appearance, but that wasn't the only reason for his slow response. He was also overwhelmed by the sight of Marcie in what was one of the skimpiest gym outfits he had ever seen. What there was of it consisted of a tube top that seemed about to explode with the effort of containing her ample bosoms, and a pair of shorts that looked painted on her rear end. He could see the outline of her thick nipples poking out of the thin cloth covering her top half, and it took a significant effort on his part to hold back the hard on that threatened to tentpole his shorts.

"Um...Yes, I suppose...I guess you like to work out early?"

"I work out every chance I get nature didn't give me this body without a little help," she said twirling one long strand of blond hair around a finger.

"Right...Well, I was going to do a bit of lifting before I call it a day. It was nice seeing you, Ms. Springer."

"I told you to call me Marcie, Professor. You know we should work out together so we could spot for each other it would be much safer that way!"

The offer hung in the air, and Daniel's mind raced as he fought to come up with an excuse to decline while at the same time being tempted to accept her overture however inappropriate it might be. He was saved once again by the sudden inexplicable appearance of Sophia Ramesh who came walking up to the pair. She was dressed much more conservatively then Marcie in regular running shorts, and a loose fitting red cotton t-shirt. He was able to get a look at her smooth brown legs that were surprisingly toned.

"Sorry I'm late, Daniel. Are you ready to start our work out?" she asked casually.

"What? Oh...Yes, of course. Thanks for meeting me here. I will see you in class, Ms. Springer," said Daniel quickly moving off.

"Thanks for the intervention."

"My pleasure. I remembered how Dr. Mallory talked about Marcie's pursuit of him last semester hoping to get her grade changed. I figured she would probably try the same tactic with you. She is nothing if not predictable, and I've seen her do this in other classes."

"Successfully?"

"I wouldn't want to be a gossip," replied Sophia smiling.

Marcie was still watching so they agreed that they had to make it look good they began to take turns on various work-out machines occasionally spotting for each other when the weight got too much. Daniel was trying to keep it professional, but it was hard not to stare when Sophia would bend over while lifting. By the time they had finished their workout both of them were sweating profusely. Sophia excused herself leaving to take a shower, and for a moment Daniel imagined how spectacular she would look with that dark skin covered in soap. It left him aroused enough that he took a cold shower in the locker room to take the edge off. Afterward, he felt a little guilty for having such thoughts about his young T.A. who was obviously trying to be helpful to him.

The rest of the school week went by in a blur of lectures punctuated by questions from the students. On Friday, Daniel pulled a quiz on his class to see how they were doing assimilating the material. He gathered by the forlorn expression on Marcie Springer's face when Sophia came to collect her paper that she had not done well. The class shuffled out of the room many of them babbling back and forth about their weekend plans.

Sitting home that night, Nancy was glancing at the local paper while her dad worked at grading assignments.

"Hey! Did you know there is a Titanic exhibit at the museum downtown tonight? They have all sorts of artifacts on display. Maybe we should go take a look?"

"You realize when they say, 'Titanic Exhibit' their not talking about the movie, right? They aren't going to have Leonardo DiCaprio's clothes or something."

"Very funny! Seriously, we hang around the house enough let's get out."

Daniel sat down his red pen scratching the back of his head in thought, "If you want to I wouldn't mind stretching my legs."