After we both finish eating in total silence, I drop my now empty container in the trash. I look up at him and smile softly, "Thank you for dinner, it was very good."
Elvis loosens his tie and then discards it over the back of his chair, his jacket following suit. He unbuttons his sleeves and rolls them up to elbow length, "You're welcome. Your stomach was growlin' pretty loud, so I figured I'd better feed ya." He wipes his palms on his slacks. He's sweating? He must be scared of what I'm going to say.
I clear my throat softly, "While we ate, I thought of a couple things that might help." He looks up at me, anxiously biting his lip. I sigh, "First, I want you to go to whoever you need to and get me registered as an official secretary. This will allow me to be dismissed from class any time you need me for actual business."
Elvis scrambles and grabs a notebook, quickly jotting this down. "Okay, I'll email them first thing tomorrow morning and get that ball rolling." He looks back up at me, "What else?"
"Since I can't trust you, for the time being, I don't think you should have any one-on-one meetings with female students." I pause for a moment, "Whenever you have a meeting with a female student, I'd like to be in attendance so that you can control your urges. Or witchcraft, or whatever ailment is causing you to be like this." I was expecting kickback on that, but instead he instantly nods.
I clear my throat and shift slightly, "The third thing that I can think of right now... is a bit harsher." I look at him, "I want total access to your phone and email at any time I ask. No deleting any texts or emails. I need to see exactly what's going on."
Without missing a beat, he pulls his phone from his pocket and slides it across the table. "Here you go, look at anythin' you want. I don't keep a passcode on my phone, so just swipe it open and look." He looks at me and nods, "When I said anythin', I meant it."
I glance at his phone and then back at him, "Thank you, but I don't need it right now." I sigh and wipe a hand over my face. I was dreading telling him my final point, but I felt like it was important for him to prove to me that he could control himself. "Um... There's one last thing."
Elvis tilts his head slightly and leans forward, seeming to notice that I look embarrassed, "What is it? It's okay, you can tell me."
I chew my bottom lip, feeling even more anxious with his eyes on me. I felt like he was staring into my soul. I look down at my sneakers, the rubber soles were dirty. I should clean these when I get home tonight. How did they even get this dirty?
I'm pulled from my thoughts by the sound of his pen tapping against his desk. I look up at him and he sighs, "What is it? Just spit it out, I'm gettin' real anxious waitin'."
I lick my lips slowly and draw in a deep breath, "I think that we should slow our relationship way down."
"Way down?" He tilts his head slightly, "How so?"
I shift nervously, "Well... We don't even know each other. We flirted with our eyes in a restaurant, you walked in as our fill in professor, and then you basically had your mouth against my neck in the next instance." I rub the back of my neck, "I think we should back off of having sex and fooling around and just get to know each other, you know?"
I look up at Elvis and he looks as if he's just seen a ghost. He shakes his head slightly, as if to draw himself out of some trance, and flicks his eyes to me, "You don't want to have sex?" I shake my head. He sighs, "Besides not knowin' each other very well, is there some other reason?"
"Mainly it's just that we don't know each other." I pause for a moment, "But I also feel like you can't control yourself very well. I want to start slow and get to know one another. As we build our relationship, we can reintroduce different things."
Elvis arches a brow at me, "You think I can't control myself?"
I shake my head, "No, I really don't. We had sex almost immediately, and then the next day you were fooling around with at least one other person." I wipe my face, "We didn't even use a condom, and I don't know how many other sexual partners you've had recently or if you use protection with them or anything." A small flame of panic starts to burn in my chest, "Elvis, you finished inside me without even asking if I was on birth control." I watch as fear washes through him, "Thankfully I am because I use it to skip periods, but it was just the utter lack of concern that makes me feel like this." I make a mental note to go and get STD testing done.
Both his brows go up, as if he's never considered that for even a moment in his life, "Wow. I-I think you might be right." He shifts uncomfortably, "Is there anythin' else that you think would help?"
I shake my head, "No. That's all I really have for now."
He nods, "Well... I think it's a good startin' place." He clears his throat, "Um... Do you want to talk about my past sexual partners?" I nod. "Alright, let's begin..."
*****
After a lengthy discussion with Elvis about how many sexual partners he's had and how recent his testing is, I left his office feeling a bit better. I still felt like I needed to get testing of my own done, given that he'd recently hooked up with a couple of strangers and hadn't been tested, but I felt less scared and urgent about it.
During my walk back to my car, I pull my phone out and text Sarah.
You(7:05 PM): Hey, so I just left his office...
As I climb into the drivers seat, my phone screen lights up with an incoming call from Sarah. I quickly answer and pull it to my ear, "Hey..."
"So what happened? Do I need to come back and fight him?" Her tone is stressed.
I laugh softly and shake my head, "No, I think it'll be alright. We had a really long discussion about everything, and I think we're on better terms."
I switch my phone to play through the car speaker as I back out of my parking space. "Better terms, is that an innuendo?" She asks with a hint of curiosity.
"The exact opposite actually. We spent time talking. Are you at my place?"
"Yeah, I'm here. That's okay right? You said I could stay here on Friday while Brittany has her freak out."
I shake my head, "No, yeah, you're fine! I ask because I wanted to just tell you everything when I get home, instead of going over everything now." I glance at the clock, "I should be home in about five minutes."
"Got it, I'll get the ice cream set up!" We hang up and I focus on the rest of the drive. My mind was still swirling from everything Elvis had told me, but it was important I stayed focused on driving. Don't need to wreck another car, 'Ris.
When I arrive home, Sarah greets me with a hug and we go into the living room. She's done exactly as promised. Two pints of ice cream sit unopened on the coffee table with spoons accompanying them. I laugh, "How did you have time to get those so quickly?"
Sarah sits on the couch and smiled at me, "I grabbed them earlier after I left campus. I wasn't sure how things would go with Professor so I got them just in case."
I sink down into the couch and sigh, "You're such a good friend."
She hands me a pint of mint chocolate chip - my favorite - and a spoon, "So what did happen?"
I pull the top off the container and start to dig in, "As you know, when I first got there he had showered and changed into a suit. He looked really good, and I honestly think that was a ploy."
She laughs and arched a brow, "Yeah? Think he was trying to get you to cave and stop being mad at him right away?"
I nod, "Precisely. But instead, we got to work going over the class' papers. We worked for awhile until I got hungry. Then he ordered food."
She nods, "Right. You mentioned he ordered food and that he looked really good, but you went no contact after that. So I assumed he'd thrown you onto his desk or something."
My face erupts into a bright pink, "I think he wishes it had gone that way." So do you. I shake my head slightly to get rid of the thought, "After I texted you, he texted me and told me he needed help with the door; that he didn't have enough hands. When I went out to help him, he pinned me to the wall and started kissing on me." She looks at me expectantly, "But I stopped him. We went back to his office and fought a little about everything. I was about to leave, because he acted like I should just cave to all of his wants just because I'm still physically attracted to him."
"So what stopped you from leaving?" She furrows her brow, "Are you sure I don't need to kick his ass? Because he sounds like he needs one."
"Something in his tone told me I shouldn't go, that he felt really bad about everything. He pleaded with me, told me he'd do whatever it takes to make it up to me." I take another bite of ice cream, "So I sat back down and we ate in silence while I thought of what he needs to do."
Sarah nods, picking up her carton of ice cream, "And what did you decide?"
Between bites of ice cream, I explain everything I decided on, adding in that I'd made plans to go and get tested later on in the week. "So that's everything. He agreed wholeheartedly that they're fair terms. He said he's going to email whoever in the morning to make me his official assistant, that I can have access to whatever I need to at any time, and that he's willing to take things slow." I try not to laugh as I recall our goodbye upon leaving his office, "When I left him, he shook my hand."
Sarah nearly falls off the couch as she erupts with laughter, "Oh man! He's never heard of a hug? Or is it that any kind of close contact with you will just have him losing all sanity?"
I shake my head as I laugh, "I'm really not sure! I don't think he feels as though he can control himself all that well. I mean, we talked about his sexual history, and he really seems to enjoy the bedroom."
Her brows shoot up, "Oh? Does he have a lot of past partners?"
I shake my head, "Not as many as you're thinking. I mean, he's had a lot, but it's what I'd expect from someone who lost their virginity at eighteen and then hasn't had any long term partner in the last decade." I pause for a moment, "I feel like we're at a good turning point. It seems like he's really serious about making things work."
Just then, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. I pull it out and check it.
Professor Hottie(7:32 PM): Thanks giving me another chance and talking through everything with me. You really opened my eyes to some things, and I'll be making the needed changes immediately. Have a good night, Marissa. 💕
I flip my phone screen around to show Sarah and she reads the message. "Yeah, it certainly sounds like he's serious. I guess time will tell."
I text him back quickly:
You(7:33 PM): Have a good night, Elvis
I look back up at Sarah and nod in agreement, "Time will tell."
We finish off the rest of the evening by watching our favorite show, before we both head up to bed. I get changed into a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top, then crawl into my sheets.
I roll over and half expect Elvis to be laying there. "This is going to be harder than I thought," I mutter to myself as I close my eyes to fall asleep.