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„So, your office then?” I ask once we’re out in the corridor.
„Definitely not,” he says, without looking at me. „We’re going to the café.”
„Oh, a coffee date,” I pipe playfully.
I notice him tensing up as he walks next to me, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s walking so fast that I’m fighting to keep up with him, my walk almost turning into a low jog.
He doesn’t say another word until we get to the coffee place and he asks what he can buy for me.
„A latte please,” I say. „Thank you.”
He throws me a look, as if he expected me to add something cheeky, but I’m smart enough to bite my tongue. I definitely won’t flirt with my professor in public, even I am not that stupid.
While he’s getting our coffee, I find a table for us and make sure to get my notebook and my pens out, so it’s apparent to anyone who sees us that this is a work-related meeting and not a date.
It does feel a little bit like a date, though, when I see him approaching our table with two lattes in hand, and a cautious smile on his gorgeous face.
„Thank you,” I say, trying to ignore the way my heart hiccups when our fingers touch briefly as he hands me the coffee. I need to keep it together, at least as long as we’re out in public.
And I need to prove myself to him. I need to show him that I can behave if I have to. I can be a good girl for him. He needs to know that.
„You’re welcome,” he murmurs, barely audible.
He sits down opposite me and pulls out a stack of paper from his satchel.
„Okay, as you know, I will have them explore a few concepts related to the prime number theorem,” he begins, keeping his eyes down on the papers in front of him, instead of looking at me. „You’re familiar with that proof, right?”
„Of course,” I say, as I take the papers from his hand. „Do you want me to consider Chebyshev's bias, or will we stick to the asymptotic behavior of the prime counting function for now?”
„This was their first assignment, so let’s just stick to asymptotic behavior for now. The lectures will move on to Chebyshev and then later Möbius inversion.”
„Okay,” I say. I write down some notes for myself, and I can feel his eyes on me as I do. When I look up, he quickly turns away and reaches for his latte.
„Do you want me to prepare Chebyshev's bias for next week, then?” I ask.
He takes a sip from his coffee before he shakes his head.
„No, but I would like you to come up with a little assignment for them to do when we go deeper into the Riemann hypothesis in a couple of weeks. I won’t have the time, and would like some fresh ideas on how to approach the subject.”
My interest is piqued, because this sounds like something I might actually be good at. I ask him to elaborate, and as he begins going into depth about Riemann and Zeta functions—which happen to be my specialty—and I’m quickly entranced by his obvious passion for numbers.
Up until now, I was so focused on all his other qualities that I never even thought about the fact that he is a number theorist, and a very good one at that. Hearing him speak about the subject is contagious and fascinating, and I envy his passion. I’ve always been good with these things, but I don’t think I share his level of enthusiasm.
I take notes while he tells me what he expects me to do, nodding along as I listen to him speak.
„Okay, great, that gives me something to think about,” I say, smiling at him, after he has concluded his instructions.
He nods and is already in the process of packing his things when I ask: „How are the cats?”
He freezes mid-motion, and for a moment I fear that he may just get up and leave without giving me an answer, but then his expression softens and he sighs, before replying, „Good, actually. They ruined my couch, but they seem healthy and happy.”
„Did you get them checked by a vet?” I ask.
„I did. They’re all in perfect health and they’ve got everything they need,” he responds. And then I actually see the hint of a smile on his face. „Alpha is quite the troublemaker. And remember the shy one?”
„Pi? With the green eyes?”
He nods. „Yes. Turns out she’s quite good at climbing up to places where she’s not supposed to be. She’s a curious daredevil, once she’s comfortable around a new human, it seems.”
