Cooper had collapsed face-down on one of the desks in his classroom as the entered, laughing so hard he could barely breath. Skye was literally on the floor, tears pouring down her face, holding her aching sides as she tried to squelch her laughter. Unfortunately, everytime she would just about get herself under control, she would catch a glance of him, covered in beef, noodles, and rice, and she would loose it again. Of course, she looked just as frightening.

About fifteen minutes later, they finally regained control, and sat down to asses the situation. They couldn't very well teach in the condition that they were in. Unable to look at each other without giggling, they would have made a fine education team. Add to that the fact that their clothes were ruined and they appeared to have washed their hair in Chinese soup, and you would get an accurate picture of what they were facing.

Finally, after a ling debate about the morality of it, Cooper called the dean and canceled his class, saying that he had come down with a terrible flu at the last minute and was in no condition to teach. He offered her a ride home, and she accepted, not wanting to walk home in her current attire.

"You realize, Skye, that I can never go back to that restaurant, don't you?"

"Pity. I hope your writing doesn't suffer from it." She remarked cheekily.

"When you're as talented as I am, setting doesn't matter. Hey, look. We never did get a chance to discuss your duties as teacher's aid. How about dinner? I could call my wife and have her join us. We know this marvelous little French place just down the street..."

"What, and come home covered in escargot? I don't think so."

"How about sushi, then?"

"I'm sorry, I'd really like to, but my fiancé and I are going to a concert tonight."

"Ohh? I didn't know you appreciated music."

"I don't. I can't stand it, but Jeffery's a musician and so I do it for him."

"I do the same thing for Sarah. Only with her, it's going to all the World War II archives. We'e been to all of them. She's a historian."

"Really? Have you been married long?"

"About a year and a half. We're going to have a baby soon. I'm scared to death."

"I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Hopefully. If not, Sarah will put me out of my misery. Can you meet me for breakfast tomorrow? I could pick you up in the morning, and then we could drive in together."

"Sure! That sounds great. What time?"

"Does seven work?"

"Alright. I'll be waiting. Oh, it's this house right here. Thanks for the ride."

"Sure thing. Have fun tonight!"

"Thanks, I will."

Skye ran up the walk, and into the house, finding Dr. Breskow in the kitchen.
"Hello, Skye." She turned around, and her eyes popped. "My goodness! What happened to you?"

"Hi, Dr. Breskow. Had lunch with Professor Snyder and, to make a long story short, we both ended up running out of the restaurant covered in Chinese beef, noodles, and rice." Penelope laughed.

"Oh, my. Other than that, how was your first day of student teaching?"

"Well, the morning was a nightmare. Lets just say that Dr Cooper Snyder and I didn't really hit it off that well. I called him an egotistical, overconfident, flirt, and his first task for me to do was iron his lab coat. After our escapade at lunch, however, things rapidly improved. He's actually a very nice guy."

"I thought you would like him. He was in my math classes all three years of his doctorate program. Very smart boy, that one. His wife is brilliant too, from what I hear. Completed her Ph.D on World War II in a year and a half. oh, and Jeffrey called. What time is he picking you up?"

"5 o'clock. I have to go shower and then I've got a paper I have to start. I'll see you in a little bit." And with that, she leaped up the stairs, two at a time, leaving a trail of rice and noodles behind her.

"Alrighty, Skye. What would you like to eat?"

"Is Alec going to be home anytime soon?"

"No, he's performing at a little restaurant downtown tonight. He won't be home until late."

"In that case, I'll take frozen pizza."

"You know what I've been craving today? Chinese food. Why don't we order in?" Skye shuddered at the thought.

"I'd rather not. Let's just do pizza tonight."

"Okay. Pizza it is, then."

About two hours later...

Jeffrey sighed and moved into the kiss. Gently, he pushed her back into the couch, relishing in the feel of her against him. He could have kissed her forever. Unfortunately, Skye, along with the need for oxygen, would never have allowed that.

Moaning softly as she pulled away, he began to kiss her neck. Frowning, he pulled away, licking his lips thoughtfully. Hesitantly, he kissed her forehead and licked his lips again.

"Skye. I think we should have had Chinese food for dinner."

"What are you talking about?"

"Apparently, my craving for it has taken control of my senses. You taste like Chinese food." After a second of shock, she burst out laughing. "This isn't funny Skye! What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, you big dork!" Laughing again, Skye launched into the long and eventful story of her day.

Laying in bed, Jeffrey glanced at the alarm clock on the table next to him. 1:37 AM. Skye had left two hours ago, and he still couldn't sleep. It was ridiculous, he knew that, but he couldn't stop thinking about this new professor that Skye was working with.

If he was really being honest with himself, which, even after two hours of silent contemplation, he was having difficulty doing, he was jealous. And that was just stupid. He trusted Skye more than anyone else he had ever know, and he knew that she would never do anything to alter that trust.

The heart of his troubles, he decided, was the fact that he had always had a hard time believing that Skye could fall in love with anyone like him. It really didn't make any sense, if you thought about it. In a logical world, he would be engaged to some young artist, and Skye would be engaged to someone... well, someone exactly like Snyder.

But instead, it was the two of them. Skye, who couldn't stand classical pieces and didn't have a musical none in her body, and him, who had barely passed his required Calculus course. How could she love someone who, with the possible exception of soccer, didn't have anything in common with her.

And the way she had spoke of him. Her voice was so full of respect and admiration, both for his work and for his accomplishments, that he couldn't help but feel a bit shunned. Everyone knew that respect was the first aspect of love, and Skye certainly had that one settled.

But, in his mind, he knew that he wasn't being fair to the girl. Skye was a loyal as they come, and she would never wrong him in any way. All the same, though, Skye was his, and he was going to make sure it stayed that way. In the morning. For now, he rolled over and finally, fell asleep.

Still setting the stage... Sorry if this isn't too exciting. Hopefully the next chapter will have some good drama in it. Thanks for the reviews. They are the best motivation!

Guest: Good idea! I'll have to do some brainstorming about that... :-)

Rachel Alexandra 9: What a wonderful idea for a summer adventure. Care to elaborate on your ideas for that? :-)

Mahogany night: I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. Could you give me some details so I can make sure and avoid that in the future? Thanks for the insightful feedback. It really means a lot to me.