"I am never going to finish grading all these papers," Mark muttered to himself. He pushed himself away from the desk and leaned back with his hands behind his head allowing himself a moment to drift off in thought. He couldn't help thinking of his aide. He didn't like calling her that but that is what the office called her. Technically, she was support staff but that didn't sound any better. He preferred referring to her as a friend. He thought that the other somehow "labels" put her beneath him.
Now there was a thought that he wouldn't mind. There was no doubt that he was attracted to her. Although she was older than him, it was hard to tell. She was tall and curvy. She claimed that she did not work out but he couldn't tell. Her short hair often hid half of her gorgeous face and her smile could light up a room. Even the way she carried herself said something about her; she was proper and professional. She was an elegant lady. But there was more. As a mother of three and a successful teacher, she demonstrated that she knew how to deal with children; which is a turn-on with single fathers. And as football season reached its half-life, he discovered her passion for sports. Yes, he was attracted to her as an entire person.
They had kissed once before but it was nothing major. They had been dancing at a club and of course had both been drinking. Before he knew it, there was a sudden quick kiss. It happened so quickly he couldn't figure out who initiated it. Neither had talked about it since so he didn't think much about it; except that he wanted an opportunity to see what a kiss with her was really like.
A light tap at the door startled him out of his thoughts. He stood up, stretched, and walked to the door. It was probably the janitors. They were used to him staying so late after everyone else that they often waited to do his room last. Glancing at his watch, he noticed that it was only five-o-clock and that he still had a good hour before anyone made their rounds. Maybe they wanna get out early. Can't blame 'em. Everyone else went home early to get things ready for tomorrow.
He opened the door with an apology on his tongue for staying so late but had to swallow it when he saw Elizabeth standing there.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "I figured you would be busy at home by now."
"Well I was. But then I realized that I had forgotten something that I really needed for the break so I came back. I know how late you stay so I figured you would still be here," she responded.
"You were right. I am here. Trying to get these papers graded," he said as he moved back into the room and closed the door behind her. "I hate going into a break with things to do."
"I know what you mean. That's exactly why I needed to come back," she said. The way she stressed the word 'needed' caught his attention. They made an agreement when they first started working that he would take care of the student work if she would focus on the office work. As far as he knew, that was all taken care of. What else did she need to do before the break?
He returned to his seat and began sorting through the tests trying to get himself focused once again. He could hear her rummaging around behind him but paid no attention. He had been caught plenty of times looking when he shouldn't have been and he was trying to get that under control. He was about to get started when he noticed that it had grown quiet in the room. Thinking that she may have stepped out without saying anything, he turned around. He couldn't believe what he saw.
