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Dana was surprised at two things t
hat happened. She saw her professor blush at the compliment, and she found herself not liking the other woman getting the attention from Chet.
Professor Shale smiled, "You missed your age Mr. ah..."
Chet pleaded, "Please don't, I'd rather leave it at Chet, if it's all right."
"You missed your age, Chet. You should have been born when there were knights riding horses and fair maidens that needed rescuing."
He fussed at the two of them, "You just ruined a perfectly good bar for me."
Dana started to get upset, but then saw his grin, "Why is that?"
"When I go back, after they've seen me with you, all of the young ladies will think I'm easy."
Dana rolled her eyes, and then told Chet about the experiment. She told her professor about his saying no. "I'm sorry for putting you through this Chet, but it was for a grade."
Chet shrugged, "I didn't hear me complaining."
The professor shook her head, "No you didn't, and you were the only one, but then again, you were the only one that said no."
Dana asked, "Could you go and talk with the guys for a minute, I need to speak to the professor? After he got out of listening range, she asked, "Professor, I'm having a problem with him."
"Like what?"
"Well, I absolutely hated to put him through this, and I didn't care about the others. I sense that he uses the humor as a defense -- he's hurting."
"And?"
Dana gave a half smile, "When he was paying attention to you, I found myself getting jealous. Why would I do that, I don't even know him?"
"I think you answered your question when you said that you didn't care about the others. That means..."
"How can I care about him, I just met him, besides, he so much older than me."
"Your instincts are good and will be valuable when you are trying to help a patient. I agree with you, he is using the humor as a defense. It shields him from anyone getting too close. If you want to help him, I think you first have to find out why you are having all of these other feelings about him."
"What about the age thing?"
The professor laughed, "Oh please, younger women have been attracted to older men forever."
"I didn't say I was attracted to him."
"You did when you got jealous."
Dana was shocked; she knew that the professor was right. In truth, she had been attracted to him the minute she saw him in the bar, but why? "Why did I zero in on him, he didn't even fit the profile for the experiment?"
The professor was fond of Dana, besides being one of her better students; she felt a friendship toward her. "What makes women attracted to older men?" She saw the look of doubt on Dana's face, "Admit it, older men really do have an appeal. It makes you feel secure in knowing that you're with someone who has already experienced a lot of things in life and is stable and responsible."
"I don't think so...well maybe...I guess so...oh, I don't know."
"Why did you break up with your last three boyfriends?"
"Oh...they got on my nerves...they were so...juvenile." She just stood there with a stunned expression, "Oh, no," looking intently at her professor, "I was searching for him or at least someone like him."
"Here he comes. I think you should pursue this, find out if he is what you want. Discover why he's hurting."
For the next few months, Dana tried to include Chet in her life. She was in her bedroom at her sorority, when two of her sisters, Sheryl and Amber, made an intervention.
