LeilaI scanned the chairs, not really looking at the faces of the students I would have in class the next few weeks. I was focusing on the chairs themselves and the fact there were a lot of butts in the chairs with very few empty ones. It was damn near full. I wasn’t expecting that. I was actually thinking I would skate by with a light class roster which would mean there would be fewer papers to grade. That wasn’t the case at all.“I guess you all had Enders as an advisor?” I quipped. “He likes to stuff as many people into my class as he can. I suppose he gave each of you the speech about my class either being a great way to pick up a couple of fun credits or to determine whether you are really serious about whatever major you are going into.”There were some laughs, telling me that was exactly what had happened. I smiled, appreciating Gerald’s support. He was a nice man and was convinced that without him I would lose my job due to a lack of interest in the old Greek stuff as he call
Leila“You’ll see there is a different name on each day. I’m going to be zipping through these guys fast. The class is too short for us to cover demi-gods, so we’ll be sticking with the big guns. Before we dive in, can anyone tell me anything about Greek mythology at all?”I looked around the class and saw a lot of blank faces. “Anyone?”A young woman raised her hand. “I took a class in high school about it.”I nodded. “And do you remember any of it?”She grimaced. “I kind of remember something about Zeus,” she said hesitantly.I laughed. “Well, that’s good. He’s kind of a big deal in the Greek world. Next question, can anyone tell me how many gods there are?”“A lot,” someone answered.“Good answer. There are a lot, but for this particular class, we’ll be covering the twelve that are most well-known in history. That isn’t to say the other many gods and goddesses didn’t play a very important part in the shenanigans of Greek mythology, but they are lesser-known because they were either
ChristopherI had nothing waiting for me at home and figured I could check out the huge cafeteria on campus. I wanted to do a little people watching, even if the campus was a bit like a ghost town. I didn’t mind eating alone. Hell, I’d been basically eating alone for the last year. Olin rarely liked to be in the same room with me, let alone share an entire meal together.I did a quick walk around the huge buffet line to see what was being offered. It actually looked good and unlike any cafeteria I had ever gotten to eat in during my college years. I headed back towards the front of the line, although there were only a few people grabbing a bite to eat.I picked up a tray and began to slide it down the stainless-steel counter, reaching for some sliced fruit. It smelled amazing in the commons area. College students today had no idea how good they had it. I made my way around the counter, adding a slice of pepperoni pizza to the tray as well. It all looked so good.“Hey! You sure were in
ChristopherProfessor Bell smiled. “I think it’s a good thing that you don’t look forty-four.”“I’m guessing by that Texas twang, you’re from the area?” I asked.She winked. “And I’m guessing by the flat A’s I hear and those long O’s you’re from up north somewhere. Dakotas? Minnesota?”I laughed. “I do not have flat A’s.”“And I don’t have a twang.”“I like the twang. It feels very inviting and friendly.”“Thank you,” she said, emphasizing the drawl. “I find the northern accent tends to have some Canadian influences.”I nodded. “Makes sense since we’re right up there next to them.”“I visited Wisconsin a few years ago and I was just amazed at the difference in dialect. Half the time I felt like we were speaking different languages.”I laughed. “We do have some colloquialisms that can confuse people. Just as Texas does. The ‘fixin to’ is something that is going to take me a while to get used to.”She laughed. “Oh, so many new words you will learn. Depending on who you’re talking to and
LeilaI got to class early, kind of excited about the day. I had really enjoyed talking with Christopher after class. He had an intelligent look in his eyes. He was smart, good looking, and charming. His quirky smile was warm and made me feel like he was a humble man despite his wealth.I wasn’t sure if he was necessarily wealthy, but he was comfortable. He was the kind of guy that had enough money to buy Gucci’s and wear them to class because that was what he was used to wearing. The casual confidence he had was also very attractive.It wasn’t often I got to have a conversation with a man who was of equal or higher intelligence than myself. I didn’t think I was a snob, but dumbing down to have a conversation with a man was getting old. I didn’t want to pretend to be ditzy. I was a blonde, but I hated the stereotype.When I was younger, I had played it up. Until I hit puberty, I had always been the fat girl in school. Adding smart to the label just made things worse. I had been teased
LeilaThere was a silence in the room. A good silence. They were hanging on every word. I had learned to speak their language in a way that they could understand and relate to. It helped make the stories come alive so the students were able to relate to the trials and tribulations of the poor misunderstood gods.“He killed her?” someone offered.I looked at Christopher and smiled. “Dear Heph, did you kill me?” I asked in a high-pitched voice.He slowly shook his head. “Death would have been a kindness.”I raised an eyebrow. “You think so?”“Yes.”“Is this the scarlet letter story?” one of the guys asked.I groaned. “No, wrong century.”I heard Christopher mutter something under his breath. I looked at him and had to fight not to laugh.“Hephaestus wasn’t interested in killing his wife or the man she’d lain with,” I started. “He wanted to embarrass her. Humiliate her. He probably thought no one would believe him. He needed proof. How would he get proof?”“We’re assuming they didn’t hav
ChristopherI arrived to class about ten minutes early, confident I had finally gotten the routine down. I saw Leila, Professor Bell, sitting at her desk. I smiled, looking forward to another interesting class. I figured I would make a little small talk with the class relatively empty.I stepped inside, walking towards her desk. “Good morning,” I greeted.“Hi,” she said with a bright smile. “You’re early.”“I am. I think I have the route down.”“Good. How was your drive?”“Easy. The traffic isn’t too bad.”“Where do you drive in from?” she asked.“Lake Conroe,” I told her.Her expression changed. “That’s a very nice area to live.”I was about to answer her when my phone started to ring. “Sorry,” I mumbled and rushed into the hall to silence my phone. Then I saw the number. “Shit,” I muttered, a feeling of dread filling me as I answered the damn call.“Mr. Evans, this is Mr. Hollister at the high school, we need to talk.”I inwardly groaned. The words I hoped I would never have to hear
ChristopherI nodded. “You could say that. She was killed in a car accident on her way to pick him up from basketball practice. He feels guilty. He’s been assured over and over it wasn’t his fault. It was a difficult time.”The man looked truly saddened. “I see.”“Olin isn’t a bad kid. I’m not a great father. I’m struggling a bit and I think Olin is suffering the consequences of my inadequate parenting. My wife did the parenting, which is no excuse, but we’re trying to start over. Coming here was supposed to be a fresh start for him.”“I understand. You’re doing the best you can, and I can see he’s a good boy.”“So, what happened?”He smiled. “I honestly don’t know. I guess you can say that’s a good thing. The boys have adopted a code of silence. Neither will tell me who started the fight. They won’t tell me what it was about. I’ve sent the other kid home for the day and I am going to do the same for Olin. This is their one free pass. I know boys can get heated. I do not condone viole
LeilaHe looked at me and smiled but didn’t answer me. He parked the truck in the empty parking lot of the bar not far from the house. It was the same bar we had met up at on New Year’s Eve. Since moving in, we had become regulars at the bar, getting to know the staff very well.“Come on,” he said jumping out of the truck.“I don’t understand,” I said climbing out. “Isn’t everyone going to be waiting for us? You were the one who said we were going to be late. I don’t think we have time for a drink.”“Will you just come on,” he said. He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. I noticed all the lights were off.“Christopher, they’re closed.”He pushed open the unlocked door, which seemed very odd to me. We walked into the bar. There was a flash of lights and a cacophony of surprises echoing around me. I clapped my free hand over my mouth, taking in the huge banner that said congratulations, and the hundreds of twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling.“Oh my God,” I gasped.“Surp
LeilaOne year laterI reviewed the admissions essay for another potential student. I loved reading the essays—most of the time. Some were absolute garbage, but the majority warmed my heart. I loved reading about the struggles and triumphs of the young people who wanted to attend our school for their educational needs. I always felt like we were the ones being interviewed.Students had thousands of options and when they applied to our school, I felt like we should be proud they had chosen us from the thousands. It had been a long year and the university was still recovering from the scandal that the dean’s extortion had brought on. I felt like we were making headway. It was being talked about less and less and I was hoping by this time next year, it would be a distant memory.My position as associate dean was implemented as a prevention method. Dean Johnson had been allowed to run unchecked, which made him feel invincible. Now, our new dean had me. It was a system of checks and balanc
Leila“You’re going to kill me if you keep doing that,” I told him with a shaky voice.“I love watching you come apart in my arms,” he said before angling his hips and pushing the head of his cock into my opening.I closed my eyes. Two orgasms and no penetration had left me slick and swollen. He pushed, gently probing my opening with his cock. “You’re tight and swollen,” he breathed out the words on a painful breath.“I’m ready,” I told him, looking directly into his eyes.He pushed himself a little deeper inside. Both of us sucked in a breath as powerful sensations rocked through our bodies. He held himself up on shaking arms before sliding inside a little bit at a time. I couldn’t breathe. I felt like our souls were joining. I could feel his essence merging with mine. We stared into each other’s eyes, the joining nearly complete.The last inch of his thick cock filled me. My eyes dropped closed, wanting to lock in all the sensations I was feeling right then. I felt a tear slide down
LeilaHis sweet kiss sparked a hot fire within. He loved me. I had probably repeated the phrase in my head a hundred times since he said it. He loved me. A sexy, beautiful, kind man loved me. I didn’t think it was possible. I was convinced I wasn’t worthy for so long. I never imagined I could ever experience true love with a man that checked all the boxes.“Maybe we should go upstairs?” I whispered against his lips.“I think that sounds like a very good idea. Go ahead and go up while I lock up down here.”I headed upstairs, running my hand along the banister and imagined us going up to bed together every night. We hadn’t talked about any of that, but I realized in that moment, I was ready for the real deal. I went into his room, turned on the fireplace and shut off the lights. I stripped out of the clothes I wore for our night out and crawled onto the bed naked as the day I was born. I did my best to pose in a seductive fashion, waiting for him to come in.I heard his footsteps on the
ChristopherLeila nodded, still sipping the wine. I knew the look on her face. She was in deep thought about something. I waited for her to say what it was.“And you?” she finally asked. “Will you be picking up where you left off with your classes?”I sighed. It was something I had been thinking about quite a bit. I had to do a lot of introspection into my life and what I wanted. “No.”She turned to look at me. “Really? You can’t let one bad dean ruin your idea of a good education. I promise, he does not represent the entire school. The rest of the professors are great—most of them.”I smiled. “It has nothing to do with the dean. It’s about me.”“You don’t want to go to college?”I shook my head. “Not anymore. I don’t need to. I was looking for something. I found it. There are other things I would prefer to do with my time.”“What were you looking for?” she asked.“I was looking for understanding. I needed assurance that things were okay for Carlie.”She looked confused. “I’m not sure
ChristopherI grabbed Leila’s hand and pulled her towards the mini Ferris wheel. She was giggling, resisting at first but eventually following along. We climbed in the seat and were quickly buckled in before the car started to move forward while the next couple boarded.“I don’t know if I like heights,” she told me.“I guess we’re about to find out,” I answered.She was smiling big. “This is nuts.”“This is fun. Look, there’s Olin!”“Olin!” she shouted his name, waving her arms.Olin looked up at us and grinned, waving back as the car went up a little higher. It wasn’t long before the ride began to move, taking us high above the fair. We had done dinner and happened to see the rides and tents set up. It was irresistible. Even Olin had been on board to come along.Once the ride was over, we made our way over to the bumper cars where we were supposed to meet Olin. “He looks like he is having a good time,” Leila commented.I watched Olin laughing as he rammed a young woman in another car
LeilaChristopher nodded. “Yes. He never wanted to get another degree. His wife made him go undercover. There is a camera in the dean’s office. He knew it was there, so all the video they’ve obtained will be legal to use against him.”“Why would he commit a felony on camera?”He grinned. “Because he thought it didn’t work. I have a feeling he purposely broke it. It was fixed and the police have been monitoring him. Today when I went in there, he asked me again for money.”I let out a breath. “Holy shit. I don’t even know what to say. This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”He laughed. “I know. I was in shock. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get arrested.”“I can’t believe Alan never told us!” I said a little irritated.“He couldn’t. He didn’t want to risk me acting different or saying the wrong thing. They had to let it play out.”I shook my head. “I almost quit. If they hadn’t busted him when they did, I would have quit for nothing. Wait, the police know it was me?”“Alan knows
LeilaI tossed another file folder into the box. I was taking everything that was my personal property. My lesson plans and my research were mine. I wasn’t about to leave them behind for someone else to poach. I had put in the time and energy into creating my lectures and tests. They were my personal property and if the dean tried to stop me, I’d give him hell.I threw in the answer sheet to the multiple-choice test as well. My replacement would have to grade the tests sitting on my desks without the answer sheet. It was my way of thumbing my nose at the institution. I found myself angry. I wasn’t even sad. I was pissed.I had come back to campus thinking I could just pick up where I had left off. I couldn’t. I realized I would never feel secure in my job. I would always be looking over my shoulder, waiting for the dean to surprise me with an accusation or an insinuation.I thought about how he had tried to blackmail Christopher and realized he was not the kind of man I wanted to work
ChristopherThe detective left, leaving me and Alan alone in the office. I stared at Alan, absolutely dumbfounded. “What the hell?”Alan laughed. “Sorry I had to keep you in the dark, but we needed this all to play out just right.”“We? Who is we?”“The cops. My wife. Me.”I studied him carefully. “Who are you?”“I am who I say I am, but I did not sign up for more classes because I’m interested in pursuing any more education. The last thing I want to do in my golden years is study and take tests while hanging out with a bunch of kids. My wife made me do it.”“Made you do what?” I asked feeling like I had skipped several chapters in a book and was missing the bulk of the story.“Go undercover,” he said with a grin.“As an old guy in college?”“I’ve been talking to students and trying to get information on the dean. Almost a year ago, a young man from an affluent family came to my wife and asked for help. As it turns out, the dean had been extorting him for months. He pulled the same sh