Written for the Unconventional Couples/Minor Character Ficathon. Be kind. It's my first ever Ficathon entry.
All Secrets Start Somewhere
Asher Fleming is not the sort of man your average sorority sister would fall for.
And it's not like I intended to start a relationship with this man, who is nearly 40 years my senior.
Things happen sometimes, when you least expect it. It was a wonderful thing, though.
He sacrificed so much- his job and reputation. His livelihood. His life, maybe- God knows what my mother would have done if she'd seen me with him. That is, if that swelling on her cheeks ever stops obstructing her vision. One plastic surgery too many, I suppose.
And what did I sacrifice? My reputation, if I've even got one to destroy. My enrollment at Yale University, even.
Paris Geller is not the kind of girl that falls for a man old enough to be her grandfather. Paris Geller would never dare defy those unwritten laws in that way. I did. I kept it a secret to the day he died, and even now. I've got a book dedicated to me. Jaglon- his last published book. "To a wise, willful, wonderful woman." That's me.
I did it. I managed to keep our rendezvous- Asher's and mine- a secret until his death. And I was "wonderful."
Never mind the rumors a buzz every time Asher graces the Yale Campus. He's got a new girl every semester, a student of Yale, always very young. Always pretty. But I'm not pretty.
I always thought that I was different, if I actually believed those rumors at all. I'm not stunningly gorgeous, and I've never showed up at book signings in low cut sweaters and buying millions of books to impress him. I was just Paris Geller, Yale Daily News reporter.
That's how it started.
A cautious, hesitant knock jars Professor Fleming from the large stack of papers at his desk. They seem to but multiplying by the day, no matter how many he grades.
"Come in." He replies, putting the cap back onto his red pen, he'd just finished scrawling a red "D" onto the hundredth paper he'd graded that day.
"I'm here for the Yale Daily News. I'm Paris Geller- Richard Gilmore introduced us." Her usual overly bold personality seemed to dim upon facing this man. Nevertheless, her long strides took her to the man's desk and she held out her hand.
He shook it briefly. "Asher Fleming, but I'm sure you knew that. I'm rather busy, so, might we make this quick?" He asked, accent thick on every word of his speech. Paris felt her knees weaken, but she stilled herself.
"Of course. I'm sure you'll want to catch some of the game later." She offered, sitting in a chair provided for her across from him, the professor's desk between them.
"Heavens no," He said with a hearty laugh. "Football doesn't rattle me as it does the rest of America." He smiled at her, and again Paris felt horribly weak.
"Glad to hear we're on the same page here." She said, digging a pad of paper and pen from her bag. "Alright. Let's get started…"