I stared at Adam in shock, becoming suddenly very aware of my unclothed state. He looked back at me, displaying similar amounts of embarrassment and fear over what had just occurred.
As a recap, what had just happened was that I'd just had wild and amazing passionate sex with my history professor in his office, and right after we both experienced incredible orgasms, Dr. Goodwin, the chair of the history department, had walked in and seen the both of us naked and sweaty and obviously in the afterglow of an amazing sexual encounter:
Just then, his office door (which neither of us had thought about locking) opened and Dr. Goodwin, the head of the history department, walked in. I screamed softly and buried myself as best as I could, against Adam, while he sputtered and turned three shades of red. Dr. Goodwin looked at the both of us evenly and then turned around and walked out the door, closing it behind him.
Awkwardly, I moved away from Dr. Dalton and began to dress, pulling the skirt and tank top I'd put on so long ago earlier that day. I stood with my back to him and heard similar rustling sounds, and when I turned around I saw that he'd dressed, as well. I wasn't sure what to do or say; I knew that what we'd done had almost certainly cost him his reputation as one of the best and most charismatic associate professors in the department, and had likely cost him his job and any chance of a decent recommendation. I moved toward the door, but as I reached for the knob, I felt him touch my shoulder. I turned around, and, looking down at me, he said, "I don't want you to regret anything that we did here. I'm not sorry that we made love, because it was incredible and I loved touching you like that." I gave him a sad smile, nodded, and continued out the door.
As I walked down the three flights of steps of his office building, I came to a resolution. It was my fault that Dr. Dalton was probably going to lose his job; I had a responsibility to attempt at least some form of damage control, even if I didn't think it was going to be at all effective. Leaving Herring Hall, I walked next door to Greystone Hall, which housed the transitionary history department office and Dr. Goodwin's office.
I knocked tremulously at his door; to my surprise, I heard a muffled "come in" from somewhere inside. When I entered, Dr. Goodwin looked up at me with a faint expression of surprise on his face. Knowing that he'd seen me completely naked 10 minutes before, I was sure that my face was the deepest shade of red when I began to speak.
"Dr. Goodwin, I just want to say that I know that what happened between Dr. Dalton and myself was inappropriate. I want you to know that he didn't coerce me into any sort of sexual liaison, nor did he even ask for it. I deliberately attempted to seduce him, and I just don't want you to think that he's ever been anything but ethical and professional in his actions toward me or any other student before today."
Dr. Goodwin had listened impassively to my speech; I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Even though he was the department chair, he still taught a select few undergraduate classes mixed among his graduate courses. I was in one of his classes that semester, a seminar on Gilded Age and Progressive Era politics. I knew that he was aware of my intellectual ability; every assignment that I'd completed in his course had returned with an "A" on it. Dr. Goodwin was one of those men who had obviously been immersed in academia his entire life. He was tall and very thin, probably 6'1'' and around 170 lbs., with silver-blond hair. He looked to be in his late 40s or early 50s; it was somewhat difficult to tell. He wasn't obviously attractive, but yet wasn't unattractive, either.
He studied me for a while, then said finally, "The university and I myself place a high premium on intellectual ethics. The fact that you engaged your professor in a sexual relationship while you were an active student in one of his courses bespeaks a very high level of unprofessionalism on his part, as well as a possible breach of ethics. I'm afraid that even though Dr. Dalton didn't actively pursue a sexual relationship with you, the fact that he engaged in a sexual relationship with a student is more than enough reason to dismiss him from his teaching duties."
My face fell; I had hoped that my speech would have inspired some sort of mercy on Dr. Goodwin's part. I said desperately, "Isn't there anything that I can do to change your mind?" I knew from his face that he immediately discerned the sexual meaning of my words. I was not one of those students who'd ever needed to resort to sexual favors in exchange for grades, and I wasn't sure how I felt about bartering my sexuality.
In his slow, slightly southern tone, he said, "Anything, Allie? Isn't that a bit rash?"
I slowly set down my backpack and sat lightly in the office chair beside his; I shook my head and said, "It's very important to me that Dr. Dalton not be penalized for what I coerced him into doing. I want to make it clear, however, that just as I didn't engage in a sexual relationship with Dr. Dalton in exchange for grades, the same applies here. You're my professor, but I know that I'm capable of earning A's in your class without resorting to sex. I think that exchanging sex for grades is abhorrent and unethical, and I'd never participate in it."
I could see that something that I'd said had pleased him; he smiled at me and then said, "You know, I have to tell you that I admire your principles, young lady. I've been very impressed with the work that you've submitted in class, and I know from class discussions that you're more than capable of earning excellent grades in any of your classes. Since we're in this very unique situation, I suppose that it's no longer glaringly inappropriate of me to tell you that I find you quite attractive."
My shock must have been evident, for he continued, "Yes, you are; don't look at me like that. I know that in a university environment there are scores of tiny blond slut types and equal numbers of big dumb football players; those same dumb blonds tend to crowd into my office hours at the end of the term and offer me sexual favors in exchange for a letter grade or two. Like you, intellectual ethics are very important to me, which is why I've always turned those offers down. There's another side to my refusal, too...I simply don't find that body type attractive. I need to know that, aside from physical attractiveness, that there's a level of intelligence sufficient to continue my interest. And that, my dear Allie, is why I find you so attractive. And so, in light of all of that, I will accept your offer of some sort of sex in exchange for preserving Dr. Adam Dalton's professional integrity."