Office Hours

"Office hours are between three and four-thirty," Rhian snapped at the locked door, responding to the quiet knock that had disturbed her reading. It was bad enough to have had a night haunted with dreams of Tim rejecting her, only to have him reinforce her fears by missing her class, but to have to endure students who didn't know how to read the sign on her door was too much. Normally she loved her job, but being as tired as she was, feeling as **** as she was, Rhian was questioning her life choices. Why had she insisted in a career in academia? She could have done anything! Her older sister was thriving as an executive for a large multinational. Why hadn't she followed suit?

"It's me," Tim's voice sounded quietly through the door, "Can we talk?"

Rhian was on her feet and at the door before she realized she had moved. What was she doing? What was her game plan? She shouldn't just open the door and throw herself at him, should she? Yes, their date the day prior had been a highlight of her life thus far, but he was a student. A student who didn't bother to come to class! A student who was coming to her office, who could very easily start rumours amongst the faculty should she show too much favour.

Oh but she wanted to show him favour. She wanted to show him favour on her desk, on her floor, against the wall...

"You missed class this morning," she said through the door, anger drained from her voice, weariness rising to the surface.

"I know," Tim's voice sounded weary as well, "I'm sorry. Please let me in so we can talk."

Her hands unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open, allowing him inside. A sense of euphoria settled on her momentarily as rush of dopamine hit her brain. She hadn't intended on letting him in. She wanted to restore the balance of power in their relationship, make him come back during office hours. That way they could try to keep their personal lives and school lives as separate as they could. The problem was that it felt do damned good to be obey him.

He closed and locked the door behind him, then turned to face her. He was, as usual, stunning. A pink crop top and matching skirt that not only showed off his long, smooth, sexy legs, but his lovely midriff as well. His eyes, though, looked tired. Of course his face was made up beautifully, but he had not been able to perfectly disguise the bags under his eyes.

He stifled a yawn.

"It looks like I'm not the only one who had a bad sleep," Rhian said, sitting down on top of her desk.

"Yeah, it was a long night," Tim said, looking at the floor, "I'm sorry I missed this morning. I wanted to be there, it's my favourite class. More than that. I wanted to see you. But I slept in, and my car's in the shop, and..."

"Tim," she cut him off, "I'm not new to the dating game. I know this thing we have is still fresh, but I don't want to get involved with someone who's just going to break my heart," That wasn't entirely true. She thought that Tim might just be worth a broken heart. Or two. But he didn't need to know that, "I need to know that we're on the same page, that we want the same thing out of this."

"I'm not sure I know what you..."

"You're an attractive man," she continued, "Young and attractive. Yesterday I was in Heaven, walking with you, kissing you, but I'm a woman who's been hurt in the past. Maybe I'm being too sensitive, and I can own that, but you went home yesterday and didn't text me. Then you didn't show up to class. I don't want to be clingy, and maybe my own crap is coming to the surface, but I can't help but feel like you might not be in this the same way I am."

"Rhian," Tim said, "I'm crazy about you."

"Is there anyone else?"

There. She said it. The thing she was terrified of. It had been hiding in her throat, **** her. Better to spit it out.

Tim's ears turned red and he stared out the window beside her. His eyes momentarily lost their tired look, only to be replaced by guilt.

Shit.

She shouldn't have asked.

Knowing was so much worse.

If she could go back in time, just a few seconds, she would have stopped herself. Living in the uncertainty was better than this. At least she would have been with Tim. That would sooth her feelings. But this? Tears began to well up in her eyes. Why hadn't he said anything? How long had it been since she asked? A few seconds? A few hours?

"Yes," Tim said, "It's kind of complicated, but yes. I don't want to lie to you. I want this thing we have to be built on honesty. I have a girlfriend. Her name is Nancy Beardy. We just started dating last week."

"Fuck," the word that Rhian had so rarely uttered slipped out of her mouth unbidden. The first tear slid down her cheek.

"And her mother," Tim said, "It had been Nancy's idea, but her mother, Vanessa, too. We're also dating," he paused, seeming to consider, then, "We had sex last night. That's why I slept in."

It felt like a slap to her face. Rhian could hardly breathe. Great sobs began to rack her body. She had fallen for a man, and he was some sort of... Rhian wasn't sure what he was. Dating one woman AND her mother? Why did she break her rule? She had been content before, swearing off affairs of the heart. If only she hadn't fallen for Tim. If only he hadn't been such a great student, she could have gotten rid of him from her classroom, she would have been free of his heartsmashing ways.

"Please don't cry," Tim continued as Rhian reached for the box of tissues on her desk. As she wiped her eyes, she realized that her tears had stopped, "I know this is a lot, but I want you to understand that you are important to me, and that I don't want to hurt you."

Rhian stared at Tim in disbelief. Who did he think he was? No man, no matter how attractive he was, could expect a woman to be okay with the fact that he was seeing two other women behind her back. How egotistical, how self-centred could one person be?

Still, there was something to his words. Something that was resonating with her in a way she couldn't put her finger on. He didn't want to hurt her. As she stared into his beautiful eyes, she knew this to be true. That was something she could truly understand. Of course Tim didn't want to hurt her. He wasn't cruel. Selfish? Perhaps, but cruel? No. Hurting her would be the last thing that Tim would want.

So why did he bother? If he had those other two women, who Rhian was sure were both amazing women if they were able to land a man like Tim, why would he waste his time with Rhian? He had all the women he needed. Since she understood that he didn't want to hurt her, it couldn't be a game, a frivolous thing that he was engaged in to toy with her feelings. Could it be that she meant something to him?

Yes, she could see it in his eyes. Rhian meant something to him. She didn't know what, but whatever it was, it was important. She was important.

"Alright," she conceded, a slight buzz of euphoria in her brain, "I can understand that. But I need you to understand something. I'm not some side piece. That's not what I signed up for, that's not what I want for my life."

Tim took a step toward her, then another, then he took her hands in his.

"You're not a side piece," he said, "I want you. I know this thing with Nancy and Vanessa is complex, more than you had hoped for, but we can make it work. Give it a chance. Give me a chance. I promise that I'll do right by you."

Her heart was aflutter. Just being close to him did that to her. All those classes she had lectured, admiring him for his body, but also for his mind. He had impressed her so many times, giving her insight into her own work that she hadn't considered. Tim was the kind of man who didn't know how smart he was, at least not yet. It was refreshing to find in her world. So many times her colleagues would brag about their accomplishments, about their conquests. She had always found it such a turn-off.

But a promising young man like Tim didn't have to hide himself behind the words of a braggart. Tim, on the surface, was enough. More than enough. She hated herself for admitting it, but Rhian was being drawn in. She wanted to give it a chance. She wanted to give him a chance.

She didn't answer. Not with words, anyway. Instead she did what she wanted to do, what she needed to do. She leaned closer to the man she understood wouldn't hurt her, the man who thought her important, the man who she was going to give a chance to, and kissed him. The passion of the day before returned. Distrust evaporated as her lips tasted his, and all she had in that moment was Tim. There was so much to work out, so much unknown, but in that moment, Tim was enough.