As I started the long walk to the college, I pulled my book bag over my head and shut the cottage door behind me. Making my way down the forest pathway, I kept a vigilant eye on my surroundings. At last, I made it to the minor road that led out to the main highway. A yawn stretched my face as my sleepless night insisted on invading my peaceful morning walk. I had been awake all night thinking about the wolf.
Making it to the college on foot every morning, before the students, was going to be tiring. I wouldn't be able to allow myself to stay up so late reading as I tended to do at times. I guess that's what weekends would be for. Before starting my journey, I had stolen a glance around the outside and was excited to see the possibilities.
A small fenced area that had once been a garden was nestled up against the cottage, facing the forest path. I couldn't wait to get home and start getting my hands dirty. Would Aurora mind lending me a little more money until I got my first paycheck so that I could buy seeds? There was also a small well made from stones on the opposite side of the house and a small barn with a woodshed directly across from the cottage, where stacks of firewood waited for my late reading nights. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of my snuggly cottage in the woods as I walked down the sidewalk. It was a reader's dream come true. I felt free there. Free from my past, free from my family, and free from the coward of a man I had thought loved me before he had thrown me to the wolves, literally.
I looked put together this morning as I entered the college and walked past the secretary at the front desk. I greeted her kindly, despite her deception the previous day. Now that I wasn't going to lose my job over it, it was rather funny that I hadn't known who Spencer was. I walked down the hallway that was filling with students on my way to the classroom when a tall figure stepped into my path. I looked up to see Liam smiling down at me.
I smiled back at him, saying, "Good morning Liam. Excuse me. I have to get to class."
"You have a few minutes yet; what's your rush?"
"I can't be late, Liam. It's a job. I'm not a student who can miss classes if I want, and I must arrive before the students. So I actually will be late, excuse me."
"Let me walk with you then," he offered as he fell into step next to me. "So you work here as a TA?"
"Yes. I'm not a student."
"How come? Don't you want to attend college?"
"Not right now. Some people have to work before they can attend."
"Oh. Well, would you like to come to a student party anyway? There is one happening tomorrow night here on campus." He held the door to the classroom open for me and followed me in, awaiting my answer.
"I don't know, Liam. Since I'm technically not a student and working here, I probably shouldn't."
"Teachers show up all the time to student body functions. Why couldn't the other staff?" We had reached my TA desk, and I set my book bag down on it.
"It's not that I couldn't come to the party, Liam. I just don't think I could attend it with you. You're a student, and I work here, even if I'm not technically faculty. I'm not sure that fraternization between staff and students is considered ok."
"Like you said, you're not a teacher, so I think it's probably a gray area. How about you come, and if I just happen to run into you there, we can hang out? Maybe have a dance?" My gift flared with a sense of unease and warning.
"Ummm," I didn't know what to say. Was this a gray area, or was it not? "I'll think about it, ok?" His eyes roved over me as his hand came up to his chin in thought. Watching him peruse me with his eyes had me desiring to cover myself with a blanket, so I just settled for crossing my arms.
He winked and started, "You know -"
"Lenny?" Spencer's voice coming from his open office rescued me.
"Coming, Professor." I smiled half-heartedly at Liam, "See you later." I turned and walked over to the door to Spencer's office and waited until he invited me in again. I couldn't decipher what the look on his face meant as he asked me to sit in the chair in front of him, but it passed quickly enough.
He quietly asked me, "Was Liam bothering you?"
"No, Professor. He was inviting me to a student party here on campus tomorrow night."
"I see. Will you be attending?"
"I wasn't sure it was allowed. I'm not a student here and am technically staff. I assumed there were fraternization rules. I have a lot I need to do around my cottage anyways, so probably not this time." He gave a satisfied nod and handed me a piece of paper.
"I need these volumes from the library if you wouldn't mind going and collecting them for me, please?" I looked around his office full of books, having a hard time imagining that he wouldn't have a copy of every book he could need.
"Sure." He caught my glance around and gave me an amused smile that caused a tightening in my chest. I turned quickly and left.
I returned from the library with a small stack of books after the first class had already begun and did my best not to disturb the class in session as I walked into his office to place the books on his desk. I quietly made my way back to my desk, unsure what I was supposed to do now.
I sat down and reached down into my bag to unpack things. I had brought my book to read over my lunch hour, so I pulled it out of my bag and was about to place it on my desk when my eyes landed on a cell phone. Whose was it? I looked up and around the classroom, hoping for a clue as to who it belonged to.
Maybe Spencer had accidentally set his phone down on my desk before starting to lecture? I watched him as he taught for a moment. He turned around, heading to the whiteboard behind him to write some things down for the lecture, and noticed me looking at him. I glanced at the phone on my desk and then back at him standing by the whiteboard. He took a second to glance my way while writing and smiled at me. He turned back to the whiteboard and continued his lecture.
I just stared at the phone for a minute before setting it on the side of the desk. I guess Spencer could grab it later if he wanted. Under the phone was a stack of papers with a post-it note that gave me instructions to take them into his office and scan them into the computer to be filed under each student's file before I handed them back out to the different classes.
I took the stack, quietly walked back into his office, and got to work. I only half-listened to his lecture about the origin of the Lockness Myth and various theories about it. They were covering Folklore & Mythology originating in Scotland and other Scottish folklore, including kelpies, or water spirits and banshees. It was interesting to hear his take on things and the various versions he presented for each creature; it was even more interesting to compare my own knowledge with what he presented. However, he left out ways to hunt and kill them in his lecture.
Just the thought of banshees had me wanting to cover my ears and cringe while I worked on scanning the papers into the computer and filing them. I heard Spencer dismiss the class, followed by the students shuffling out of their seats and heading to the door.
From where I sat, I could just see Spencer as a crowd of female students converged on him. I rolled my eyes at the sight but was surprised by the sudden twinge of dislike I experienced over it as well. I turned back to my work, trying to dissect why I felt that way even at all. We said we wanted to be friends, but he was still my boss; developing feelings for him was not a good idea. I certainly had no claim over him.
Also, with the past relationship I had just escaped, things were too complicated. My experience with men hadn't been good up to this point with a controlling, abusive father and a fiancé that wasn't much better but was also a coward, willing to sacrifice me to save himself. A bitter taste entered my mouth at the thought, and I glared at the screen in front of me.
"Don't fry my computer with that icy stare. What did it do to you?" Spencer's voice quietly teased me. I closed my eyes and took a cleansing breath before opening them and returning to the present. He had walked around the desk to stand next to where I sat in his chair. He held the cellphone that had been on my desk out towards me. "I thought you could use a loner until you bought your own?" My mouth popped open in surprise as I looked down at the device he held towards me. I wasn't used to such kind gestures and looked up into his face, completely unsure. What did he want from me in return?
**********
Spencer could see the look of surprise, then confusion, followed by a darkening of her eye like she was suspicious.
"If you would rather wait until you buy one of your own, that's alright. I just thought it would be safer for you to be able to call someone if you needed help while staying out in the forest. I already programmed my number and Cassius's into the phone. Were there any others?" She shook her head and tentatively reached out for the phone he held out to her. Why did she look so scared all of a sudden? "Are you sure you're ok? You don't have to take the phone, you know, if you don't want it."
"What do you want in return?" She asked in a whisper, not looking at him.
Her response confused him, but he answered her in a gentle whisper back, "Nothing, Lenny."
***********
I looked from the phone up into his captivating eyes as he studied me, confusion and concern written all over his face. We stayed there silent, trying to decipher one another for a long moment.
A smile crept over his face, and he teased me, "Maybe I would ask that you pick up when I call or text me back, but that's about it." I smiled back and laughed, the tension leaving my frame. I would trust my gifting on this one; I had only ever gotten positive feedback from it about Spencer.
"Ok," I whispered, suddenly embarrassed. I had just finished scanning the last document, so I pushed the save button and then stood to get out of his way, but he didn't move, and I ended up brushing against him on my way up. We stood so close that I could hear his breathing. I had to angle my head up to look into his eyes. I was so close I could feel his body heat.
Unlike with Liam, I felt no need to back away or cover myself with Spencer. Spencer's gaze filled me with a warmth I had never experienced before, and I was surprised when my heart picked up simultaneously. His head inclined just the slightest at the same time, almost like he could hear my heart pick up speed at his nearness, and his searching gaze became more intense but was still kind.
He gave me a smile that turned to one of mild regret as he stepped back, allowing me to pass. I chanced a glance behind me just before leaving his office, and he was watching me.
"Would you like me to clean the board for you?"
"Sure. There's another stack of papers on your desk to be scanned in and filed when you are finished." I watched him take the books I had gotten from the library and settle into a large armchair in the corner of his office to read.
The rest of the day was spent scanning documents and filling them with a few other tasks like cleaning the boards after each class. Spencer came and went from the office, switching between lecturing or reading through the texts I had brought him from the library. I managed to keep busy,, and the rest of the day flew by. I had spent my lunch hour at my desk, reading my book, and now at the end of the day, I packed it back into my book bag along with my notepad, pencil, and the phone Spencer lent me.
He stood in front of another group of female students as the class had just ended, so I decided I would just slip away. I had plans to walk to the Barrett's mansion to visit Aurora and see if she would mind lending me a little more money to buy seeds.
The phone beeped from my bag, and I dug it out, surprised. Looking down, I saw a text from Spencer.
"Next time, say goodbye. Thanks for yourwork today. See you tomorrow. -Spencer," it read. For reasons I couldn'texplain, my heart fluttered reading his text. Did he really care that I hadn'tsaid goodbye when he had been surrounded by girls?