Ash smiled at Maeve. “You're not able to come to my office hours, right? What does your schedule look like? Let's set some time up.”
Ash was giving the first quiz in class next week, and they were pleased so many students had been coming to their office hours or setting up other times to meet. The quest to create a positive atmosphere in their class seemed successful. They were glad their students felt comfortable enough to admit when they didn't know something and seek out help. When Ash was an undergrad, that was one of their biggest gripes. The professors didn't seem like they even wanted to be there.
It always made Ash nervous to reach out when they needed help, because if they didn't even want to be in the class during scheduled times, why would they want to help students outside of class hours? Now that Ash was a professor, they still didn't understand.
As Ash left the lecture hall, they spied Luke heading into the hall beside theirs. Ash was curious about Luke as a professor. They wanted to know how and what he taught. But most of all, Ash just wanted to listen to Luke speak, so Ash snuck into the back of the lecture hall filled with three hundred undergraduate students. When Luke surveyed the classroom, he didn't even seem to notice Ash sitting there in the back.
Ash sat beside a young man with a hoodie pulled up over his forehead, nearly shielding his eyes. Ash wondered if this kid was going to fall asleep halfway through the lecture. Ash didn't know much about biology, but theyhadtaken cell bio in undergrad. They had no idea what this class was, but they waited with rapt attention until Lukestarted speaking. As Luke began talking about organelles, Ash was mesmerized. Luke didn't just teach: he commanded the room.
His very presence was alluring; even the students seemed incredibly engaged with him. Luke had that air about him, one of confidence and authority. But when he smiled and encouraged his students to ask and answer questions, he did exactly what Ash did: create a space where people felt comfortable and safe to be wrong. Several students raised their hands to answer his questions, and even when they got it wrong, Luke smiled, thanked them for answering, politely corrected them, and then repeated the same topic again.
Ash loved watching Luke teach because he didn't just talk about what was on the slides. He talked about his own research, about his research with Ash, about research he had done in his undergrad and graduate career. He brought real-life examples into the classroom.
Ash found their fingers twitching towards the pen in their bag; they almost wanted to take notes. Luke let his class out 10 minutes early, and Ash waited for the throng of students to exit the room before slowly making their way down the stairs to the desk.
“Dr. Hastings,” Ash said, hiding a smirk from spreading across their lips.
Luke jolted back in surprise and blinked at Ash. “Ash, what are you doing here?” Luke asked with a laugh. Luke looked around the room, ensuring it was empty before leaning forward and pressing a quick kiss to Ash's lips.
“I saw you go into this room, and I was curious. I wanted to see how you were as a professor.”
“And how was I?” Luke asked.
Ash placed a hand on Luke's forearm. “You're a wonderful professor, Dr. Hastings.”
Luke's eyes darkened, and his tongue darted out to lick his lips. “I like when you call me that.”
A vibration went through Ash, and while they were calling Luke “Dr. Hastings” to be funny, there was something undeniably sexy about it.
Luke had the sleeves of his white button-down rolled up to his elbows. His gray dress pants hugged his muscular legs and fell over his cowboy boots.
Ash didn't know how Luke could always wear the same damn cowboy boots, but they had to admit, they did like it. Just as Luke leaned closer to Ash, presumably to kiss them again, the door at the top of the stairs of the lecture hall opened, and they jumped apart.
Ash's heart sank as they realized this was going to be the reality of their relationship. wanted nothing more than to hang off Luke's arm as they walked through campus. Ash loved touching Luke and just wanted to be close to him all the time.
“Ash,” Jenn’s voice filled the room.
Ash looked up to see their dissertation advisor making their way down the steps.
“Jenn, hi,” Ash said, pulling their gaze from Luke. “What class are you teaching now?”
Jenn reached the bottom of the stairs before answering. “I'm subbing in for Dr Katz's orgo class. He's out sick but really needed someone to teach today's lesson, so I offered to help. Who's this?”
Ash gestured to Luke. “This is Dr. Luke Hastings. Luke, this is my dissertation advisor, Dr. Jenn Mellencamp.”
Luke extended his arm to shake Jen's hand. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Jenn.”
“Likewise. What do you teach?” Jen asked Luke,releasing his hand.
Luke picked up his bag and slid it over his shoulder. “I teach cell and micro bio. What do you normally teach? Not orgo?”
Jenn let out a laugh. “No one can teach orgo like Dr Katz. No, I teach biophysical chemistry and biochemistry.”
Luke straightened. “Biochemistry… That was my favorite class.”
“I have a PhD in biochemistry.”
Luke smiled at Jenn. “What was your dissertation on? Do you still do research?”
