After a not-so-great start meeting Kaiser’s TA the week before the beginning of the semester, self-doubt permeated Kayden’s whole being. Damien, a chemical engineering graduate, gave her an awful attitude after she’d introduced herself at the staff meeting. His arms had crossed and he’d stared daggers at her the rest of the time.

Kaiser had tried to be reassuring, shooting her small encouraging smiles, but she knew something was off. He’d talked to Damien immediately after the meeting, and while he no longer gave her dirty looks, there was still an air of discontent.

The last thing she needed was to have an officemate who didn’t even like her. Justina Quiñones—the algebra teacher who offered her the job in the first place after catching her tutoring for free in the student center—told Kayden to “make herself at home” and “feel free to use the office like a locker”. But if Damien kept up the contempt…she likely wouldn’t do either of those. And she definitely wanted to be in the office as much as was reasonable.

“Oh. Hey.”

The warmly surprised voice pulled Kayden from her thoughts to find Kaiser in the doorway of the break room, looking puzzled. She smiled up at him with food in her mouth and waved with her fork.

So much for her efforts to distract her brain from him by fooling around with someone else a mere two days ago. Her burly tattooed friend Eric had gone with her to the bar that weekend as a deterrent, but since Trevor hadn’t been deterred, and Kayden was looking for one last fling before her busy semester, she gave in to some primal urges. Trevor’d been nice enough, but he was no Misha Kaiser. At the least, she guessed Kaiser would be a better lover.

That was a thought she’d been trying to avoid.

Kaiser’s eyes scanned the room, glanced to her damp hair, then to the glass food storage container in front of her, and finally to the smart watch on his wrist.

She laughed. “What?”

“It is 7 o’ clock in the morning.”

“So? You’re here, too.” She took another bite of her stir fry as he cleared the threshold. A messenger bag hung from his shoulder.

“But I’m a professor.”

“And I’m a TA…and it’s the first day of the semester.”

One of his eyebrows barely perked up. “Yes…but even Damien isn’t here yet.”

“I think a graduate student like him has his own stressors to deal with this week.”

He plopped his bag on one of the chairs at the round table, his voice edged with sternness. “Kayden. What are you doing here?”

She stared pointedly at her meal before fixating her eyes on him impishly from under her lashes. “I’m eating breakfast.” And somehow still thinking of you. Her heart rate kicked up.

The corner of his lips twitched, but he caught it before it turned into a full smile. “I can see that. Why are you eating breakfast here?” Suddenly his brows furrowed in concern, voice softening to almost a whisper. “Are you homeless?”

Her hand dashed to cover her mouth as she huffed, holding back a snicker. “No, I’m not homeless. It’s just easier to pack my food so I don’t have to go all the way home after I use the campus gym.”

His shoulders relaxed as he exhaled in relief. “Okay, good.” He meandered over to the coffee maker on the counter behind her. “Still, this is quite early. I take it you’re a morning person.”

She swallowed the next bite. “Well yeah, kinda, but honestly I’m usually still at the gym right now. I just couldn’t stay asleep today. Guess I’m anxious.” Her back remained to him.

Rustling sounds indicated he was loading coffee grinds into a filter. Then he carried the carafe to the sink just over Kayden’s left shoulder to fill it with water from the tap. Silently.

Tense, awkward heat crawled up her neck. She stuffed more food into her mouth to fill the quiet, wondering if he was just ignoring her.

The percolator began bubbling before Kaiser circled back around the table and pulled out a chair across from her. He leaned back comfortably in it, fingers interlaced over his thighs. His intense arctic eyes found hers with an inscrutable expression.

She swallowed hard.

“Why are you anxious?”

Surprised, she blinked. Who talks to a person like that—giving his full intimate attention and eye contact when he could’ve easily just asked from the comfortable distance of the coffee machine? Her heart raced as she glanced back to what little was left of her food. “I dunno. I did just move into a new apartment. I haven’t unpacked yet…It’s probably just that.” Of course, she knew it wasn’t.

One eyebrow piqued. Clearly he was unconvinced. “That doesn’t seem like something that would cause you anxiety specifically about today.”

She huffed a small laugh. “Yeah…you’re right. It’s just that I’m an undergraduate about to be a TA for a professor whose subject is not part of my major. I’m…I know it’s…weird.”

His eyes narrowed. “Has someone said something to you about it? To make you think that.”

She slouched back into her chair. Maybe Damien did say something to him after all. “No one had to: I have common sense.” Her gut grumbled audibly and she rested a hand on it instinctively. Damn sensitive bowels, acting up at a time like this.

Kaiser briefly glanced to her hand. “What does your common sense say?”

“That I don’t belong here. That I shouldn’t be teaching math—I should be mastering CAD or something.” She combed her fingers through her curls with an incredulous scoff. “Wow, why am I over sharing right now?” Her eyes found anywhere else to look as she laughed apprehensively. It was bad enough he was attractive, but now he had to go and be genuinely easy to talk to?

The softest and subtlest of grins perked one corner of his lips. “Kayden, that’s not common sense talking, it’s just normal nerves about having a new responsibility. It’s perfectly fine and even beneficial to go where your skills lead you. Math isn’t all that far out of your realm. You will use it constantly as an architect.”

He remembered my major? The flush of her cheeks barely changed the hue of her skin. Even though she was grinning and feeling less anxious, she still wrapped her arms around her ribs as if to hide.

“Also remember: I have a whole ass doctorate in chemical engineering, and yet I teach two mathematics classes. Undergrad ones.” He smiled reassuringly. “No one tells me I don’t belong here, certainly not myself.”

She scoffed. “No one would dare.”

“Exactly.” He pushed away from the table. “I command respect.” He winked at her. “And you will, too.”

Was he aware of what he was doing to her? Probably not, given that the wink was simply followed by his retrieval of a cup of coffee. She couldn’t even bring herself to finish the last bite of breakfast since her stomach was too full of tiny flapping birds.

As he headed toward the open door, he grabbed the long strap of his bag and looped it back over his shoulder. That friendly sideways grin crinkled the corner of one eye. “Deep breaths. You’ll do well.”

She responded with a skeptical smirk. “Thanks, Kaiser.”

When he headed to his office, she shamelessly admired his firm, plump ass the whole way to his door.