Author's Note:
Thank you guys again for the positive feedback – I appreciate it so much! Also thank you to the two readers who pointed out to me that there is, in fact, a story that explores the teacher/student dynamic for our favorite couple. I took the opportunity to look over it, but I don't plan on discontinuing this one. To be clear, my story is about an older version of Dacey, and as such Danny and Lacey are two consenting adults. I don't say that to throw shade at the other story (because I actually thought it was pretty good, and wondered why the author didn't finish), but to make a clear distinction. Everyone is legal here, and there will be no allusions to pedophilia – just so everyone is comfortable and clear.
Aside from that, I hope you all like this next chapter. I have been working on an update for Dangerous, but will have to wait until I get home to type it since it is NSFW. This I wrote during lunch – let me know what you think!
Chapter Three
Lacey stared ahead of her, dumbfounded by what she saw. "This cannot be happening," she thought to herself as she felt her jaw go slack. She struggled to regain her composure quickly though, remembering that Dr. Roberson was standing there with her. Luckily, Danny saved the day before her signature awkwardness kicked in.
"Lacey – so good to meet you," he said, walking toward her and taking her hand in his to shake it. She felt him give her a gentle, reassuring squeeze as he introduced himself to her, and she began to relax, following his lead.
"Nice to meet you as well, Professor Desai," she said, blushing slightly and maintaining eye contact with him all the while. "I'm really looking forward to working with you this year."
Dr. Roberson stood next to the two, oblivious to their silent communication as he hooked his arm around Lacey's shoulders, addressing Danny jovially. "You've got the very best in our bunch this year, Danny," he said. "Lacey is our top student at Brentley – her brilliance even puts some of the staff to shame at times! We thought with your background, you would be the perfect choice to groom her for the world of academia – she plans on pursuing a career in the teaching field once she completes her education as well."
To this Danny raises his eyebrows, directing his attention back to Lacey. "Is that so?" he inquires. "In that case, I am delighted to have you. I only hope that I can live up to these high expectations Dr. Roberson seems to have set for me."
Lacey blushes again, but remains quiet as the two men exchange their final pleasantries and the department head excuses himself, still singing her praises as he exits the office, effectively leaving the two of them alone. For a moment they are both quiet, each unsure of what to say to the other. Lacey is both excited and confused to see him here. She had been thinking about him pretty much constantly since they'd met the evening before, wondering if or when she would see him again. However, she'd never dreamed that they would meet again under these circumstances. She was both intrigued by the idea of spending more time with him daily, and disappointed that he would now be her boss. She wasn't sure how he would feel about exploring their connection under those circumstances – truthfully she wasn't sure how she felt about it either. She felt almost foolish for giving him her number and the book the evening prior – surely there was no way he'd want to date her now. Maybe he wasn't that interested anyway. Maybe…
"So it looks like I don't have to wait until lunch to talk to you again," he said, his voice breaking through her internal reverie. "I have to say, though, of all the ways I was thinking of meeting you again, I never expected it to happen quite like this."
She laughed nervously, smoothing her pants and trying to avoid making contact with the arresting brown eyes in front of her. Was he still flirting with her? Or was that just in his nature to be charming and witty? She looked up from her fidgeting to see that his eyes were still on her, studying her with an expression she couldn't quite read.
"Well," she said with false confidence, "I didn't expect to see you either – at least not here, not now, at my new job…" Her confidence was faltering as she got caught up in his gaze once again. She noticed how dapper he looked today, in dark gray slacks, and a white button down but no tie. His gorgeous black hair was pulled back into a sleek bun at the nape of his neck, and he had shaven this morning, giving him a much more polished and professional look than the one he'd sported at the bookstore the evening prior. Somehow though, she thought he looked even more perfect than he had when they'd met initially. Something about the office setting, surrounded by books and abstract artwork seemed to fit him well. He truly appeared to be the perfect man – an academic mind, but also so personable and warm. She bit her lip as she watched him absently push a stray tendril of his hair away from his face, and looked away suddenly when she heard him take in a sharp breath.
"Well, are you going to tell me what you're thinking, Miss Porter?" he asked, his voice thick and deep. She wasn't sure what to tell him, or what to think, but luckily, she was saved from having to respond by a knock at the door. Before he had the chance to answer, the door swung open and Regina Crane breezed in as if she owned the place.
"Hello Regina," he said politely, standing as she entered the room. "How can I help you?"
"Oh, Danny – I didn't mean to interrupt you," the redhead said with false sincerity, immediately noting that Lacey was in the room. "I just wanted to check and see if Italian would be okay with you for lunch today. There's a great little eatery in Cloverdale that I just know you'd love…"
"That sounds fine, Regina," Danny said, cutting her off as he watched the previously happy expression on Lacey's face fall at the mention of their lunch date. "Just email me the info please – I'm having a meeting with my new TA before classes start. Have you met Lacey Porter?"
"Lacey? Well, yes of course I know Lacey – she's our resident golden child in this department," Regina said, her comment tinged with just the slightest hint of disdain for the younger girl. "Looks like you've lucked out, Danny. Dr. Roberson has given you his prized student to work with for the semester."
To Lacey, she turned and said, "So glad to see you back this semester Lacey. We weren't sure you would be returning after that terrible incident last spring. I hope you've put your demons behind you and are ready to get back in the swing of things."
Mortified by the older woman's statement, Lacey froze and said nothing. Regina, satisfied that she'd embarrassed the younger girl, simply gave a small smile and patted her arm as she walked out the door. "See you at noon, Danny – check your email in a few."
Immediately Danny could sense the shift of mood in the room, and he began to mentally kick himself for ever agreeing to the lunch with Regina. "Lacey, that wasn't what it sounded like," he began to say, trying desperately to remove the crestfallen expression from her beautiful face.
"It's fine, Danny," she said, refusing to look at him as she gathered her things to leave. "I didn't know you were dating anyone, but I guess I shouldn't have assumed you were single. I never would have pegged you for the type to go for a bimbo like Regina Crane, though, but I guess I don't really know you that well since we only just met last night and only talked about books while we were there."
Danny waited patiently for her to take a breath, breaking into her ramble, "Lacey, stop. I'm not dating Regina – she just asked me to lunch today as a way to welcome me in. And I accepted because I thought it would be a good idea for me to establish a good rapport with my colleagues. I am single – I'm not dating anyone. I was hoping that would change after last night but… I'm not really sure what to do about us now that I know you're a student of mine…"
"I'm actually not your student," Lacey broke in, changing the subject. "I've already taken all of the classes that you're instructing this semester and am working on 500 level English classes. And you're fooling yourself if you think that Regina Crane only wants to 'establish a good rapport' with you," she said, using air quotes for additional emphasis. "That woman is a barracuda and she only wants one thing from you – I assure you, sir, that it is not your company at a local eatery she found on Yelp a few minutes ago."
Danny stood back in amazement, more than turned on by the fiery nature of the beautiful woman in front of him. He loved her attitude, and felt that he was getting to know her a little bit better with every word that came from her mouth. "Well, since you're not my student," he ventured carefully, "how about letting me take you out to dinner this evening? You could show me a non-touristy place to eat, and we could get to know each other a little better, since it looks like we will be spending a lot of time together over the next few months."
Lacey hesitated, visibly contemplating his offer. She still hadn't made up her mind about how she felt about working with Danny, but she couldn't deny that she was very much attracted to the man. She decided that dinner was safe, because they could always brush it off as taking some time to go over their plans for teaching this semester. She agreed to have dinner with him, and Danny, elated at the prospect of spending time with Lacey outside of work, eagerly began to plan their evening.
The rest of the day went off mostly without a hitch. The only awkward moments were his lunch with Regina where the woman – just as Lacey had predicted – spent the entire time trying to seduce Danny. He knew exactly what she was doing, and made no secret about his disinterest in her. Still, she didn't seem to get the hint, and kept pushing more and more.
Finally, frustrated at his continued rebuffs, she asked him. "What gives, Danny? Are you dating someone or something? Because I've been trying to get you to see how wonderful I am all afternoon and you won't even play along with me at all."
"Since you mention it, Regina, yes there is someone. We've only recently met, so I wouldn't exactly say that we are dating, but I want to see where things go with her and I don't want to do anything that might mess things up between us so soon. I would appreciate it if you could please respect that."
Regina listened and pretended to pay attention to Danny's words, but she knew they were just that – words. Regina had a knack for getting anything and everything that she wanted – Danny Desai would not be any different. She simply had to think of a way to make him see reason, and to eliminate any competition she might have.
After lunch, Danny had three afternoon classes back to back, all of which Lacey attended to assist him with. They went back to his office at the end of the day, laughing and talking and generally enjoying themselves. Lacey couldn't believe how effortless their chemistry was, and really allowed herself to think that maybe they could make thing work between them after all.
As the day drew to a close, Lacey gathered her things and said goodbye to Danny, promising to meet him later for dinner. She sighed blissfully to herself as she walked down the hallway toward the exit of the building, but stopped short when she saw Regina waiting for her not too far outside of Danny's office.
"Did you have a good day, Lacey?" Regina asked, staring the younger woman down as she leaned against the wall.
"Yes, actually I did," Lacey said sincerely. "Danny is a great teacher, and I know I'm going to learn a lot from him this semester."
"I'm sure," Regina said sweetly, still eyeing Lacey. "Just make sure you don't get too attached to him. It wouldn't look good, you know, given your history. I'd hate to think of Danny not getting a shot at the tenure he clearly deserves because a silly little undergrad has some delusions of grandeur. Also, don't forget that you're still on probation yourself after what happened with Archie last spring. I'd hate to see you throw everything you've worked so hard for over a silly little crush… again."
With that, Regina smiled and pushed herself off the wall, sauntering away and leaving Lacey speechless and confused. She hated to think about the incident from before – hated for anyone to think that she was still that girl. She also hated the idea of Danny ever finding out about it, although she was sure that he would eventually. "Maybe Regina's right," she thought as she walked out of the building and across the quad to her dorm, "Maybe I'm just being delusional. This thing with Danny is never going to work. I need to just cut this short now and spare myself the pain."
With those thoughts in mind, she reached into her pocket to find a text from Danny, letting her know he was looking forward to their dinner. As much as she hated to, she knew this was the best option for them both. She quickly texted him an excuse for why she wouldn't be able to go – one of those "something suddenly came up" things. Then she prayed to God that she was doing the right thing, and that she would be okay with this decision later on down the road.