The story continues, taking up where Mission Creep – The Dance left off:

“No rush. As I said, no one’s watching out for me at my modest room.”

This was getting better by the moment. “It’ll take a little longer, but we can avoid the crush by heading this way to my car.”

“You’re such a considerate gentleman.”

The side route he led her through still contained too many prying eyes for him to get closer to this gem. Played right this could only heighten the desire she’s sending his way. To keep up appearances, he quizzed her on basic aspects of Stellar Dynamics.

She faultered in her rudimentary answer to his last question when they approached the sportiest car on the lot. He’d paid a lot of money to elicit that response from the ladies. And from the men who could only be jealous of his prowess for that matter. Bright red. Low slung. Every line said speed. And money. And comfort. The average person could never tell this machine from an actual super-car.

His remote caused the passenger door to rise as he led her around the sleek nose. “What do you think of my little rocket?”

She looked at him. “This is really yours?”

“Every last gram of luxury power. Take a look at where you’ll be sitting.”

The body molded seat sat so low she’d be more comfortable, and more enticing, leaning back the way he had it preset. As the driver he didn’t have quite as much freedom but plenty of time behind the wheel had helped him get even that just right. His one regret, the centre consule made cuddling a challenge.

“I get to ride in there?”

“You certainly do.” A little gallentry always did the trick at this moment. “Give me your hand and I’ll help you in.”

“I don’t–”

“Come now, how often do you get a chance to try out a ride like this?”

She looked from him to the car. “I’ve never even been this close to such a car before.”

“And you’re about to get closer. Please, climb in.”

She accepted his hand and slid in with a litheness that promised so much more. He lowered the door while she explored the comforts within and hurried around to take his seat.

***

I envision completing this story in 2 to 3 more segments. This raises the question: Do I continue posting them here before bringing them together in a polished final work or hold them back until it’s done? The comments below is your one and only chance to have a say in my decision.

This is the follow up to my Mission Creep, A Beginning post, filling in a few more of the details that lead to my original Plot Bunny Escape event:

A squad of muscle bound athletics blocked his view.

She wasn’t there when they moved on.

By the door. She’d stopped to flash another smile his way. Their gazes met. She slipped outside.

He abandoned his coffee.

The promenade proved almost as busy as the cafe. He couldn’t see her anywhere. A flash of just the right shade of violet across the tree lined medium. He had her headed to a side walkway. One that didn’t lead anywhere popular, and would be relatively quiet at this time of day.

Around a corner past a flowering bush in desperate need of trimming, she stood beside a gentle fountain finishing off the last of her roll. A pleasing blush flushed her cheeks. Or maybe a touch of what am I doing? So much the better.

Time to make his move. “Excuse me, Ms?”

She wiped her hands on a cloth taken from a back pocket. An exotic beauty from head to toe. “Sheila.”

“Sheila. That’s a pretty name. I’m Marcus, Doctor Marcus Orling, at your service.”

“Doctor Orling? The Doctor Orling? Who wrote that paper on refinements to threshold detection limits?”

This could be easier than he hoped. “The same. Haven’t I seen you around the Stellar Dynamics section? Is that how you discovered my work?”

She wouldn’t quite meet his gaze. She felt undeserving of his attention. He moved a little closer. “I’m not faculty. You can treat me as just another man on campus.”

“Just another man on campus? You? I’m honored you even noticed an outsider like myself. There are so few of us, and, so many of you locals keep your distance.”

He touched her forearm, which she didn’t pull away. “Come now. You read my opus. Not many students can say the same. That makes you special in my eyes.”

Her shoulders slumped. “It’s not that simple.”

“Why not?” He moved a little closer.

She wouldn’t look at him. “I know of your work, but I’ll be lucky to just continue my studies long enough to make sense of the basics.”

Another clue he could make use of. “I can’t offer this to just any student, but one who knows my work enough to recognise me?”

This time she touched him. “Offer what?”

“I like you Sheila. There’s a spunk about you that could blossom under the right conditions.” It had been a while, but oh the possibilities if he could get her to see him as a mentor. “I can’t promise it will work out, but I can offer a little tutoring. Enough to pass your exams. If you are willing to put in the effort to make it worth both our whiles .”

“You would do that far me? A complete stranger?”

“We all start out as strangers. It’s what we do after meeting that determines where it goes from there.” He puffed out his chest at having come up with such a profound statement at a time like this.

She ran a hand down his arm. “No ones ever been so generous to me. Without better grades I might not even be allowed to continue my studies. I can work hard. You’ll see.”

Her hand had not lifted from his arm. So close. Would she agree to the next step?

“I have a couple hours free right now. My lab is off limits to students, but I only live a short distance from here. I could evaluate where you are right now.”

She blanched. “Your place? Now? Wouldn’t that–”

“You forget, I’m not faculty, and it’ll be quick. Enough to let us know if a more formalised arrangement should be entered into.” He turned his arm to take her hand. “No promises. No commitments. We can sound each other out, and take it from there ”

She touched his chest with her other hand. “There’s no one waiting for me at home, and my parents will be so hurt if I get sent home after all they did to get me here.”

Yes. “Then it’s settled. I even promise to take you home when the evaluation is over.”

I have officially dubbed this plot bunny Mission Creep. This scene happens a short time before the action depicted in my previous blog post.

Enjoy.

Marcus Orling nursed his unadorned coffee. Though his trusty rum bottle weighed down the inner pocket of his jacket, the unusual crush of bodies in his favorite off campus coffee shop had so far made it unwise to add the much desired brace.

An elbow pushed into the space between his shoulder blades. High pitched giggles told him it could only be a group of feminine students pushing through to the counter. A glance confirmed his conjecture. Fourth year examples of fine womanly flesh, on the ordinary side.

He returned his attention to his too plain coffee. Not being faculty, he didn’t have to live by the constraints of his fellow researchers, but that didn’t mean he could be overt in his actions. Though maybe such a distraction would take the edge off the stress of the upcoming assessment of his work.

A flash of violet drew his attention up and three tables over. Short cropped brown hair, angular face, narrow eyes, and skin pink enough to show blushes real well. Such exotic beauty had to mean she was one of the latest crop of off-worlders to grace the institute. Hadn’t he even seen her in the vicinity of the Stellar Dynamics section a few times over the last week?

She almost met his gaze, then looked down at the roll on her plate. A moment later, she glanced back at him. This time a tentative smile brightened her face.

This could prove to be just the distraction he was looking for.