Page 68 of Teach Me Your Ways

I looked up at her properly this time, noting the way she was batting her eyelashes. “Lina, you should probably focus on grading those. We’ll handle the dive logistics when we get out there.”

“Oh, right.” She picked up a quiz but immediately set it down again. “It’s just that I find your work so fascinating. The way you talk about uncovering history—it’s like poetry.”

Poetry. Yeah, right. I’d heard lines like that before, usually from undergrads who thought flattery would get them better grades or special attention. It might work on some professors, but it just made me feel old and tired.

“The quizzes,” I said again, tapping my pen against my desk. “Multiple choice answers are straightforward. For the essay questions, look for key terms—stratigraphy, context, dating methods. If they mention at least two of those, they get the point.”

She leaned forward, giving me a very good view of the cleavage she wanted the world to see. “Tell me about your work in Guatemala.”

I clenched my jaw and kept my eyes on the paper in front of me. “I’ve spent a lot of years out there as a guest of the local university,” I said, monotone, then flipped to the next quiz.

She nodded. “You know, some professors just teach during class and never get into the real work. But you’re different.”

“Yep.” I didn’t look up. I kept grading.

Lina giggled. “I think it’s adorable how passionate you get about stratigraphy.”

I suppressed a sigh. “Thank you.”

The woman couldn’t be more obvious about what she wanted from me. And she was very pretty. But there was no spark. I didn’t have to hold myself back because I had zero interest. There was no temptation. She was basically a child. Granted, she was basically the same age as Cece, but Lina couldn’t be more different. There wasn’t even a glimmer of interest.

Even if she wasn’t a student or my TA, she wasn’t my type at all. Maybe it was because she had a childish air about her. She acted like all of this was a great big game to her and nothing really mattered. If she messed up, her mother would take care of whatever happened. They had enough money that the rules didn’t really apply to them. Lina didn’t give a shit about working hard and getting a good recommendation.

That was the fundamental difference between her and Cece. Cece had skin in the game. Real consequences. A daughter depending on her to succeed. Every decision she made mattered because failure wasn’t just about her. There was a weight to Cece’s ambition that Lina would never understand. It was attractive. I recognized the drive in her because I felt the same way.

“Professor Stone?” Lina’s voice cut through my thoughts. “Did you hear what I said?”

I looked up to find her staring at me expectantly, her pen still twirling between her fingers. She hadn’t graded a single question.

“No, sorry. What was it?”

She flashed a smile. “I was asking if you wanted to grab dinner after we finish these. I know this great little place that serves amazing seafood.”

I set down my pen and leaned back in my chair. “Lina, I need you to focus on the grading. That’s what you’re here for.”

Her smile faltered slightly, but she recovered quickly. “Of course. I just thought⁠—”

“The quizzes,” I said firmly.

She finally started actually reading the first quiz. I heard her sigh and looked up. She had pulled her top down even lower. Worse, her nipples were pebbled beneath the thin fabric. Whatever game she was playing at wasn’t working.

Rarely was I ever disinterested in a fine pair of tits, but hers held no allure at all. I wanted to tell her to cover herself up and make better life decisions.

She caught me looking. Her eyes held mine, challenging me. I looked at her with no emotion because she made me feel nothing but annoyance. “Focus on the grading.”

I supposed it was a good thing it was Lina in my office and not Cece. Because if Cece was the one in here flashing cleavage and giving me those “fuck me” eyes, the quizzes would be on the floor and I would be balls deep inside her.

Five minutes later, Lina was digging in her bag. I glanced up and saw her putting on lip gloss slowly. She dragged the gloss around and around. It was probably meant to be an erotic show. She capped the gloss and looked at me with heat and invitation in her eyes.

“Want me to start the next batch?” she asked softly. “I’m yours to do with as you please. Whatever you need, just ask.”

She wasn’t exactly stealthy about her offer. I had a feeling she was about two seconds from getting naked and stretching out on my desk. But Lina wasn’t the first student to flirt with me, and with her, I had no trouble brushing her off.

“No thank you,” I said. “I appreciate your help, but I think I’m just going to take the rest of these home.”

She pouted. I was so damn tired of her fucking pout. It truly was like dealing with a petulant child. “But I’m your TA,” she whined. “I’m here to help you. Anything you want.”

“Much appreciated but I’ve got this.”

Lina’s pout deepened, her bottom lip jutting out like a child who’d been denied candy. She stood up from the chair and walked around my desk, positioning herself directly in front of me with her chest practically touching my nose. If I moved, one of those nipples could take out my eye.

“Professor Stone,” she said, her voice dropping to what she probably thought was a sultry whisper. “I think you’re working too hard. You need someone to help you relax.”

Her perfume was overwhelming—some cloying floral scent that made my sinuses ache. I could see the thick layer of makeup caked around her eyes, the way her push-up bra was doing most of the work her boobs claimed credit for.

“Lina,” I said firmly, not moving from my chair but making my voice cold as winter. “Step back.”

Instead, she moved closer, practically straddling my lap. “Come on,” she breathed. “I see how you look at me in class. I know you want this.”

That was rich. I looked at her the same way I looked at every other student—with professional detachment and mild irritation when they weren’t paying attention. But clearly, she’d interpreted my basic human decency as romantic interest.

“I’m going to say this once,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “You’re my TA. And you need to stop this immediately.”

She looked at me like she thought I was playing hard to get, but she must have finally registered the anger and disgust on my face. She made an angry noise and that flirty look turned acidic. Then she grabbed her bag and stomped out.

“Good fucking riddance.” I didn’t stick around to see if she would come back.