The Work-Life Balance Disruption

Chapter 25

Rationalisations

Amy ignored his calls the rest of the day. When she didn't answer the third time, he seemed to stop altogether. Amy couldn't help but be both relieved as well as disappointed.

They had had a pretty intense night together; and not just the sex. Falling asleep in his arms had been more intimate than all the things their hands or mouths had done. The comfort he provided had been the most welcome thing after the intense day she had, saying goodbye to her beloved aunt. The naughtiness had been a bonus.

And what a bonus.

She trembled again when she recalled the night. The way he had kissed her, the promises he had made her when he had pleasured her in the bathroom, the way they almost had gone all the way.

It was a shame really that they wouldn't see it through.

The phone call with her mother had been a brutal wake up call.

Amy didn't know how she could have let her apparent feelings for Doctor Cooper cloud her judgement so. Of course her mother was right; what was she thinking, hooking up with a man that much older than she was, who was her teacher as well? It was totally inappropriate and probably against school rules, as her mother pointed out.

There was also the fact that she knew next to nothing about him, personally. While she had researched him professionally, they had hardly had any real conversations that weren't about the dirty things he wanted to do to her.

Did he have brothers and sisters? Did he have a good relationship with his mother – since his father was an alcoholic, apparently? What did he like to do in his spare time, except shop for comic related clothes?

She could count the real things she knew about him on one hand.

This lust fuelled thing needed to stop. Amy just felt special and wanted since no one had ever shown this kind of interest in her before. That was all. She was almost certain she could find another man – or younger man, preferably, with whom she had the same kind of chemistry and tension filled stares.

She was sure she had made the right choice, leaving this morning.

Then why didn't it feel like a relief?

The girls texted her throughout the day. Penny expressed her disappointment for missing her at breakfast that morning. Bernadette wanted to know if "Sheldon took care of her again".

Amy answered dismissively, but not too much as if to stop them from having contact with them.

Amy
He was really sweet, actually. But I think it's for the best to put a stop to it. I have to focus on my studies and getting my degree.

Penny
I wondered why Sheldon looked pissed after spending the night with you

Bernadette
I don't see why you can't have both….Studies AND fun time with Sheldon?

Amy
I shouldn't have let it go this far in the first place. It's really for the best.

She was trying to convince herself as much as them, she realised.

Amy had spent the rest of her weekend studying the neurobiological bases of addiction and the effects of nicotine on the brain. She was really advancing her study with the capuchins. But it still needed a lot of work before the study was ready for publishing. She only had two weeks left in this semester to collect all the data she needed, so she could work out all the results and write her dissertation the following semester.

Bernadette hugged her tightly the following day when she entered the lab.

"How are you doing, Amy?" she asked, pity in her eyes.

Amy was sure she mustn't look that great, but she felt somewhat okay. Knowing she was fully focussed on her academic work and not on whatever was going on – no, had been going on – between herself and Doctor Cooper, gave her a strange sense of calm.

"I'm okay, Bernie," she said, "really."

"You sure?" Bernadette gave her a look. "Cause I spoke to Howie, and he said that Sheldon was - -"

"I'm fine," Amy interrupted her quickly. She didn't want to hear about what Doctor Cooper was or wasn't the day before. He was just her teacher. That was all. It was bad enough she had his class that afternoon.

Bernadette still looked at her disbelievingly. "If you say so, Amy," she muttered.

"Yes," Amy said firmly. "Now, let's see if the monkeys' nicotine needs are the same with addiction to regular cigarettes as with menthols, shall we?"

She gave Bernadette a fake smile and moved towards the door behind which they kept the monkeys. Hopefully they would distract her from the upcoming lesson with Doctor Cooper that afternoon.

Amy left around lunch to shower in the decontamination lab. She quickly dressed in the spare clothes she kept in her locker, noting with disdain that she forgot to pack an extra pair of tights. Would Doctor Cooper think she'd be attempting to seduce him again if she showed up barelegged in his classroom again?

Amy sniffed the tights she wore earlier and she nearly choked on the smell of smoke that filled her nostrils. Doctor Cooper could just think what he wanted to think about her look; there was no way in hell she would be wearing those tights again. Going over her appearance in the mirror once more, Amy decided she looked no different than usual.

She could do this.

Amy entered the classroom and took her usual seat next to Howard. He gave her an awkward smile. "Hey, Amy," he said, eying her inquisitively.

"Hi Howard," she replied. Howard seemed to search for words to say, he looked really uncomfortable.

Amy didn't see why they couldn't act civil around each other. Was he sticking up for Doctor Cooper? Amy was the reason he got back together with Bernadette. If he had to choose a side, it should be hers and not his.

Before she could make a comment about this to Howard, the door to the classroom was slammed shut and Doctor Cooper marched in. Amy thought he would be angry or at least passive aggressive, but he looked around the room with an air of indifference. Which was worse.

"Good afternoon, class," he barked, and threw a pile of papers on the desk in front of him. Maybe he was angry after all. His eyes swept across each of the students in the class room, but left her face a lot more quickly than the others.

"As you all know from your syllabus, today will be the last time I stand before you teaching you about Analytical Mechanics," he droned on. "I will expect your final papers this Friday, eight PM the latest, there will be no exceptions. I will not fall for any excuses about failing computers or internet connections."

His eyes did shift to her now, and Amy flushed.

"The provisional grades will be posted Monday morning," he continued addressing the rest of the class again, "if I find it necessary to discuss your work, am need of clarifications, or if you receive a failing grade; I will send you an invitation via e-mail to come to my office that same Monday. If you care about passing this class, I expect you to show in the allotted timeframe."

Amy looked at him. She had not put any work in this final paper yet. Shit. If there was one thing she didn't want, it was to spend time with him without anyone else present.

"Yes, Mister Johnson?" Doctor Cooper said to someone in the back.

"You'll be able to grade all of our papers over the weekend?" the student asked incredulously.

"Yes," Doctor Cooper replied.

"Don't you have a wife, or anything fun planned in your weekends then?" the student continued.

Doctor Cooper blinked. "I have plenty to do on the weekends, but grading papers is a part of my job. If you are so keen on me having my weekend to myself, I'd be more than happy to move the deadline up to Thursday evening instead."

The whole class was silent.

"I thought not," Doctor Cooper said icily. "Now, I'll go over Hamiltonian mechanics one final time…"

Amy tried to pay attention – really, she did – but watching the whole powerplay just now had her hot and bothered in her seat. He had used the same tone when he had spanked her in the bathroom and accused her of liking it. Which she did.

She shifted in uncomfortably in her chair. That bastard was still turning her on when he wasn't even touching her or talking to her directly.

After about an hour, he started to wrap things up.

"Now, remember; hand in your final papers this Friday at eight the latest through the secure connection on the University website," he repeated. "If you don't receive an invite for evaluation, you will have received a passing grade. Should you want to discuss your work, you can ask me via e-mail as well. Dismissed."

Chairs around her scraped the floor, Amy took a deep breath. She felt hot already. Maybe she shouldn't have gone to his class. It was of no use really, she couldn't pay attention to anything he was teaching, and listening to him served only as a way to get her worked up instead.

She got up from her chair, her legs more wobbly than she dared to admit. She walked towards the door right behind Howard, needing to get out of there as soon as possible.

Would it be totally inappropriate to go lock herself in the decontamination shower and relief some tension there?

"Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper called out. "A word please."

She froze in her tracks. Howard turned around, and he smirked devilishly at her. Amy felt her face heat up. So much for leaving quickly and not being alone with him.

She breathed out slowly and turned back around. "Yes, Doctor Cooper?" she hoped her voice sounded secure and not as tense as she felt.

He just stared at her. Amy felt his eyes bore through her once again.

The rest of the class filed out, and Amy's blood pressure only rose more.

"I'll just close the door on my way out now," Howard joked, and the sound of the door closing echoed around them.

"You wanted to see me, professor?" Amy asked, deliberately clueless.

He blinked at her. Maybe she shouldn't have called him that, but her mind had been filled with naughty thoughts and memories of the last time she wore a skirt without tights in this classroom. Oh, the lessons he had taught her then. And she had been such a good student then, receiving 7 out of 10 for her first time doing something.

Saliva pooled in her mouth involuntarily. She swallowed it away quickly.

Why wasn't she able to keep her mind out of the proverbial gutter?

"Yes," Doctor Cooper said, he spoke is his usual arrogant tone, walking towards her. "I tried to contact you yesterday, as you must have seen. Social convention dictates you either answer when someone calls you more than once, or you get back to them. Were you not raised right?"

Amy flushed. Was he taking a hit at her upbringing now? She opened her mouth to retort, but he beat her to it.

"And it looks like you were making a run for it just now as well," he continued, he was in her personal space now, and Amy quickly took a few steps back.

He had cornered her rather fast, she concluded, when her back hit the wall behind her.

"Do you care to explain to me why you're avoiding me all of a sudden?" he spoke lowly, caging her in against the wall. Amy's body responded to his closeness immediately.

Amy bit her lip. He was way too close now. She had trouble getting her thoughts in order when he was this close. She had told him yesterday that things weren't working out. Wasn't that enough? Sure, it was a bit vague, but she wasn't going to tell him all about the conversation she had had with her mother. Perhaps he had been able to hear some of it through the speaker, she suddenly realised.

Doctor Cooper raised an eyebrow at her.

"Let me take an educated guess, then," he continued, when she remained frozen in place for some reason.

"You either think this… thing between the two of us is moving too fast, and instead of talking to me about it, you decided to run away instead…" he suggested. His hands were on either side of her now, but not touching her.

"Or it's not moving fast enough for your liking… And you're so desperate for sex, that when I wouldn't give it to you, you decided to look for it elsewhere instead…"

He was staring at her again. His blue eyes looked straight through her.

"But things are neither moving too fast or too slow now, are they Amy?" he muttered.

Amy did her best to hold his gaze. He was onto her; the real reason she told him it wasn't working out. She should have known; he was an incredibly smart man. Besides that, the juxtaposition of her words and the things they had done during the night couldn't be greater.

"Which leaves us option number three," he said slowly, looking at her knowingly.

Amy trembled under his gaze. He was giving her a chance to come clean.

Her throat was dry however, and while she wanted to form words, her brain wouldn't comply. She was desperately thinking of a way to explain to him that it was for the best they put a stop to this. He was her teacher. And years older than she was.

She just couldn't get the words to pass her lips.

"Are you ready to admit that it was your mother who got under your skin?" he asked, giving her a knowing look. "She did not take a liking of me, unsurprisingly. And I was able to hear bits of the conversation between you two…"

Amy felt her stomach bottom out. Cold sweat gathered on her back. He mustn't think that this was because of her mother. Well, partly yes. But her mother had made a valid point. With the age thing, and the student-teacher inappropriateness. Him losing his job.

"It wasn't that," she rebutted quickly.

"No?" Doctor Cooper replied, astonished.

Amy quickly shook her head. He was still so close. He must be able to see that she was trembling.

"What was it then?" he questioned. "I can count the times I was wrong about something on one hand, Miss Fowler. I don't think this is one of them."

"It-It-It's just that…" Amy stammered. His hands had moved to her hips now, and he was holding her still.

"Yes?" he asked.

"You're my teacher, and it's probably illegal to…" her words died in her throat when he closed in on her, his face in her neck, breathing on her ear.

"Illegal to what?" he repeated. "I thought we were both consenting adults, and as long as I don't give you extra credit for sucking my dick, there's really no harm in this."

His lips moved over her ear and Amy shivered. It made her feel warm all over.

"Do you think you're the first student to fall for her teacher here? They changed the rules concerning this sort of thing years ago," he was speaking quietly in her ear now.

His hands moved lower, and grasped her butt firmly. He pushed himself into her, and Amy gasped at what she felt poking her stomach.

"Is that your only argument to claim 'this isn't working'?" he pressed.

Amy racked her brain. There was something else… What was it?

His face was close to hers now, and his lips were almost touching hers. His eyes moved over her face, taking her in. Amy was pretty sure she couldn't hide how aroused she was right now.

"Since you claim it isn't your mother who made you change your mind, it has to be one of the other things…" he muttered against her lips. "And I distinctly remember you saying you couldn't wait for these two week to be over so you could feel me come inside you…"

Arousal flooded her panties as he parroted her own words back to her. She whimpered softly.

"Which makes the only possible conclusion the following," he continued, "you're so desperate for sex, you would rather look elsewhere than wait two weeks for me."

He pulled back, and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Or were you lying to me when you said that?" he asked.

One of his hands had let go of her butt and moved up to her face instead. He cupped her jaw, making her look up at him.

Amy trembled with nerves. She shook her head. She hadn't been lying then, no.

"So, you want it that bad, hmm?" he asked quietly.

Amy stared at him. What was he getting at?

His mouth brushed over hers barely. Amy moaned softly. Her eyes fluttered closed.

"If that is what you want, and if that is the only reason for you to claim this isn't working…" he said between brushes of his lips against her cheek, "then I'll put aside my moral objections and take you against the wall right here."

Amy gasped. He was nibbling at her neck now.

Amy hardly noticed that his other hand had let go of her ass, and had moved to the front of his pants instead. The sound of him unbuckling his belt made her eyes shot open.

She pulled away from him and stared at him with what she could only assume was shock in her eyes.

Doctor Cooper moved into her and kissed her mouth roughly.

"I need to get my dick out for me to take you, Amy," he spoke condescendingly. "Or are you ready to stop lying to me now?"

To be continued

A/N Hope this answered some of your questions from last chapter. As always; your reviews are the best, and I love to read them.