"Thanks, Professor!" she yelled through the closing door of her English professor's study. Who knew it would take him so long to sift through all the errors in her first draft. She hadn't thought it would be that tragic, or that embarrassing to watch him scribble every single red mark across her paper. Each line cut her to the core. Her precious words silenced with a single flick of his pen.
She straightened her back once the door shut closed. Determined to work harder and better this paper, she needed to find a way to "wow" him somehow. A chance encounter. How could she possibly write a creative piece on something she's never experienced? Her life had been planned from the start: from grade school until now. Nothing ever strayed from between the lines; nothing was from outside the box; nothing was ever a "chance encounter." In the back of her mind, her subconscious had the inkling that she was missing out on something good, but this was the life she chose and the life she wanted. She wanted to be an English major, she wanted to become a writer, and, most of all, she wanted to get published. But this roadblock in her education wasn't getting her anywhere. And without this little spark of creativity, a little peek into the unknown, she had a feeling she wasn't going to get much farther than she was now. She may not even make it through freshman year with a future in writing.
Lost in her own, melancholy thoughts, she didn't notice half the lights in the hall flicker out. Or the door to the Professor's study creak open. Or the thump as the Professor's body dropped to the ground. Or the light steps that shadowed her down the hall.
She heaved a sigh as she pushed the weighted door of the building open. Out in the sunlight, her troubles dissipated as a cool breeze blew her hair around her face. Tilting her head towards the warmth of the sun, she closed her eyes in ecstasy. The heat was a surprising contrast from the slight chill that lingered in the building, which she had somehow missed during her session with the Professor. But at that simple mention of the Professor, her mind darted back to her shaky future; all thoughts of the strange occurrence vanished.
"Oof!" she exclaimed, as a body colliding with hers returned her to reality. She had never moved from the steps of the English building and as someone exited the building after her, they ran straight into her and knocked her over. Sprawled on the ground, she felt two large hands pull her to her feet. Once she was upright, she found herself in rather close proximity of a definitely male body. Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment and she wondered if he could feel the heat radiating from her body from his mere presence.
She looked up and catching a glimpse of the man's face, she realized that this was the new English TA that her friends had been drooling over for the past week. He had been sitting in on the other English courses, so until now, she had never actually met him before. But immediately, she found that her friends did not do him justice. He was even more gorgeous than they reported. He exuded strength, power, and a bit of that je ne sais quoi attitude. His light sweater clung to his torso, emphasizing his well-defined chest and biceps. He smelled of pure bliss, the perfect scent that was a mixture of a man and his detergent. Nothing was sexier than a man that could do his own chores.
"Are you okay?" he asked, in an impeccable British accent, pulling her out of her momentary daze.
"Yes, thank you," she responded, quickly removing her arms from his grasp. Shying away from him was the worst decision she had ever made in her life. As soon as he let go, her body's temperature dropped drastically, as if his mere touch was keeping her alive. Wrinkles creased his forehead as he frowned at her sudden movement, disappointment radiating from him. Seconds later, his forehead smoothed, as if nothing had happened, and he cleared his throat.
"Hi, I'm the new English department TA. Uh, let me know if you need any assistance," he said. Adding on a moment later, "With anything."
The underlying connotations sent her body into a frenzy. Sparks shot throughout her body as his voice sent shivers down her spine. This man was undeniably sexy and he was flirting with her? In an attempt to make some sort of open-ended promise, she managed to choke out an "okay" before she scurried back to her dorm.
As she lay on her bed, thinking about her run in with the new TA, she realized that this was her chance to write about a chance encounter. Without thinking about it, she was on her feet, walking towards the English building in search of the TA. She soon found herself outside his office, with her hand on the doorknob. Before she could psyche herself out, she quickly turned the knob and the door swung open. Unfortunately, the door swung open of its own volition and the momentum she was going to use to push open the door propelled her forward. Expecting to land face-first on the ground, she threw out her hands in an attempt to catch herself, but instead, landed directly in the TA's inviting arms.
This is too good to be true, she thought. Being caught in a handsome man's arms twice in one day? This had to be that chance encounter! Something life-changing, something unexpected, something that was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Too embarrassed to look at him, she mumbled into his chest.
"I'm sorry? I didn't catch that," he chuckled. His laughter resonated through his chest and she could feel the vibrations in her cheek.
"I'm sorry I keep doing this. I'm not normally such a klutz," she repeated.
"It's quite alright," he answered cheerily, "Did you need something?"
"Actually, yes," she responded, straightening herself and moving slightly away from him. "I have a creative paper due and I have to write about a chance encounter and I think I need your help." At his raised eyebrow, she continued, "Our meeting was rather chance-y and quite the encounter. I guess you could say you inspired me."
"Well, what do you think a chance encounter is?" he asked as he began to inch his way closer to her. His proximity was turning her brain to mush and she had to concentrate to keep from getting tongue-tied.
"To me, it's something that doesn't happen everyday and it sort of a fatalistic happening. Nothing but divine intervention could have brought this encounter to occur. A chance encounter- something that may never be happen again, and if it happens, it should be enjoyed while it lasts."
"In that case, I hope you enjoy this encounter," he smirked, still making his way towards her. As he came closer, she took a step away to keep things professional, but realized that she was standing against the wall and couldn't move any further.
"Um, what are you doing?" she asked, her voice shaking.
"Teaching," he murmured against her neck. Their bodies were now in contact and every nerve in her body felt like it was fire. As the flames of attraction licked through her body, his lips had moved from caressing her neck to her cheek and finally to her lips.
As their lips met, all reason fled her mind and she kissed him back. This was unexpected and wrong on so many levels, but she wasn't complaining. It felt wrong and dangerous, but she couldn't come up with a good reason to stop it. For a second, she just let herself feel without planning ahead or thinking about consequences and it felt amazing. With this new realization, she linked her hands behind his neck and pulled him closer. Noticing this, he ran his tongue across her lips, asking for permission. She happily granted it, parting her lips. Their tongues twisted together, exploring each other's mouths. She found herself pushed against the wall, as he dragged his fingertips up her sides, teasing the hem of her shirt upwards.
Pulling away from him, she allowed him to remove her shirt. He leaned down and kissed her neck, moving lower with each kiss. As he lavished attention on her breasts, she busied her fingers with the buttons of his shirt and then pushing it off his shoulders. She traced her fingers over his chest and stomach, feeling each defined ridge of his torso. While she explored his chest, he unbuttoned her pants and pushed them down her legs. After she stepped out of her pants, he picked her up, her legs and arms wrapping around him. Putting his hands under her butt to hold her up, he leaned in for another kiss. She couldn't hold back any longer. She could feel him through his pants and the thin layer of her panties. He was playing with the lining of her panties and drawing patterns on her skin. Once his lips started moving across her jaw and down her neck again, she moaned, hoping for him to alleviate some of the pressure that was building. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties and began to push them down. Then a knock at the door startled them.
"Just ignore it," he whispered, leaning towards her again. The knocking persisted.
"I know you're here! Can I come in?" a voice asked.
"Fuck. Yeah, I'm here," he answered. "Hold on a sec, I'm with a student right now."
"Well hurry up. This is urgent."
As he let go of her, she landed on the ground as quietly as she could. They kept up a light conversation about her paper, hoping to dispel the embarrassment of what they almost did. Quickly pulling her pants back on and throwing on her shirt, she ran over to sit in the chair in front of his desk. A second later, he had his shirt on and was seated across from her behind the desk.
"Well I hope I was enough help," he finished.
"Yes, thank you so much. If I need anything else, I'll be sure to come back," she answered.
"Come on in!" he shouted at the door. The door opened and she could hear footsteps enter the room. As she rose out of the chair, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in preparation of what was about to happen.
"Wake up!" she heard. The hand on her shoulder shook her violently. What the hell? she thought. "Wake up!"
Opening her eyes, she saw her roommate staring at her wildly. She looked around her and realized she was still in her room, lying on her bed.
"What the hell? You completely missed class!"
"What class?" she asked groggily.
"Ugh, anatomy. Not like you missed much anyways. I still can't believe you of all people skipped class to take a nap," her roommate pointed out as she plopped down on her bed.
Hmm, she thought, now there's a subject I could major in.
