No, something feels off

After you got over your initial shock -- yes, you did hear her correctly -- a tiny part of your brain wants to say, "Sure, why the hell not."

But this is strange behavior coming from Teri, who's never flirted with you, on top of an already strange interaction. So, instead of answering her question directly, you answer with another question.

"Teri...are you okay? I know you don't know me that well but I promise to listen if you have something you want to talk about."

Teri's striking face holds its stoic mask for a couple more seconds before she suddenly breaks into an ugly, crying, sniffling mess. Between sobs and snorts, she tells you about her night and you piece together what happened:

Basically, her (widowed) mom has been with this guy, Gary, for a few years. Gary is rich -- and he pays for Teri's tuition to the dance academy. But as Teri's gotten older (and hotter), he's gotten increasingly creepy. Shoulder rubs have turned into weird picture taking, the locks on her bathroom mysteriously breaking, and this afternoon she found a hidden camera in her bedroom.

On top of that, he's been increasingly disparaging about her passion and threatening to pull the tuition money. Snide comments about how much money he's spending on her, that the only way she could earn enough money to pay him back is to be a stripper, have really done a number on her self-esteem. The blowjob offer came from her wanting me to help her, but not having anything to offer, and wondering if she really had to offer the world was her body.

When she found the camera, she just...snapped. She wanted confront Gary, or tell her mom, but she's desperately afraid of not being able to attend the academy, so she just threw together a bag and got on the first bus without thinking. Then it started raining, which scared her because her dad died in a bus accident in the rain, so she got off at the next stop. That happened to be near my home, and so she came over just hoping to get some time to pull herself back together.

My thoughts went a few places, very quickly:

First, thank goodness I didn't take her on her offer a blowjob.

Second, Gary is a fucking scumbag, but this is not my problem to solve right now -- I said I'd listen, not fix things. But boy, I'd sure like to fix Gary.

Third, Teri is kinda cute when she cries. It transformed her from this alien beauty to just a normal 19-year old girl with problems just like anyone else. I squashed this line of thinking as fast as I could, though.

After she got her story out, and I made the right sympathetic noises, she started pulling herself together.

"It's okay, Mr. Lee. I've got a plan. I can self-emancipate, apply for financial aid, take out some student loans. Maybe I do some exotic dancing on the side, I know it's good money. I'll catch the bus home after the rain stops."

The austere beauty was returning to her face, but marred by her puffy eyes, sad-puppy posture, and still-damp clothes. Do you really want to let her return to the same roof as that creep?