Kayden packed up her belongings with a deep sigh. The students hustled out of the room, while she and Vince mostly took their time.

“Do you want to get together and study sometime this week?” he asked as they descended the steps in the aisle.

“Sure, we could probably squeeze it in tomorrow. Otherwise not ‘til Saturday.”

“That’s okay, I know you’ve got a packed schedule. I’ll see you before then anyway.”

They approached the front of the room together as Kayden slowed. “Yup, see you later.”

Vince waved goodbye as he slipped through the door. By now, he seemed to expect her to linger and talk to Kaiser, so he had stopped waiting for her.

Kayden reached the front of classroom, greeting her professor with a smile.

“So…” She clutched the strap of her tote bag over her shoulder with one hand, unsure of what to do with her free one. She settled on hooking her thumb through the belt loop on her midrise skinny jeans. “I heard you need a new TA.”

Kaiser held his zip-binder between his hip and forearm with one hand, resting his other fingers atop the desk. “And I heard that you happen to be the right one for me.”

That almost-smile melted any discomfort, and her tone fell easily into playful territory. “Yeesh, I hope Justina didn’t talk me up too much. I’m afraid I won’t live up to the hype.”

Kaiser grinned slyly down at her. “I’m confident she talked you up the appropriate amount.”

Why did he have to go and do that: confuse her? Was this flirting? She didn’t mind, but what was she supposed to say in return?

He gestured at the door. “Care to join me for a chat in my office?”

“Of course!” Did he have to ask? They walked back together basically every day anyway.

As they strolled down the hall toward the stairs, the conversation flowed naturally.

“Honestly, I’m kinda surprised you agreed to take me in Damien’s place. I know pretty much nothing about chemistry.”

He snorted barely audibly, as if he couldn’t believe that she thought he wouldn’t take her. “That won’t be an issue. I only need you for trig and calculus.”

“Oh, that’s a relief, actually.”

“I would never put you in a role you were incapable of fulfilling.”

“I wish I had your confidence in my ability to even fulfill this one.”

“Are you joking?”

“Uh… no?”

He yanked open the door at the bottom of the stairs to let her in first, one eyebrow arched high as he gave her an incredulous look. “Literally the first time I met you, you were already taking over for me and teaching other students. Without pay.”

Her laugh echoed in the stairwell as she passed him. “Yeah but that was trig…you saw me hit a few road bumps in calculus.”

A scoff was his reply as they climbed the stairs. “You put way too much pressure on yourself. Nobody but you expects perfection. I wasn’t a savant in anything, myself.”

She found that hard to believe.

He pushed open the door at the top of the stairs and held it out with his arm to allow her through in front of him. As she passed him—admittedly too closely—he met her eyes with a reassuring look. “You improved, and that’s what matters.”

She broke eye contact and bit her lip. Sure, it was true that she aced the midterm and was finally on track to do the same on the final, but something held her back from enthusiastically accepting this offer.

Part of it was definitely her fear of inadequacy. Calculus was way harder than algebra. But the thought of having even more contact with him thrilled her. And that was risky. So it would be better for everyone if one of them backed out of the offer.

He caught up to walk beside her. “Look, not only have you demonstrated graduate levels of understanding in both subjects, you’ve helped others improve too. It’s absurd for you to doubt yourself after all this time.”

She sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess it’s just the pressure of being TA to the university’s rock star professor.” And the pressure to avoid kissing him.

His pace slowed just slightly, causing him to falter behind her as he stared with furrowed eyebrows. “The university’s what?”

“You know, the…” she matched his pace and turned to face him, mirroring his confused expression. “Are you messing with me?”

A small grin betrayed him. “Maybe.”

She scoffed, rolling her eyes and tapping his arm with her knuckles. “Thought so. You know you’re basically famous or whatever.”

Their pace picked back up as they neared the receptionist’s desk. “Please, don’t let my title or fame or ‘whatever’ add any pressure.” He stepped into his office and held the door again. “Have confidence in your abilities, because I certainly do.”

Blushing, she settled into the plush chair across from his desk. “Well… Thank you. I guess I’ll just have to accept that math and I are just the best of friends.” She smiled slyly, provoking a chuckle from Kaiser. Why did she give up this fight so easily?

He flopped into his rolling chair, eyes on his binder as he mindlessly unbuttoned the top button of his light blue shirt, revealing a little more of that wild curly black chest hair. Kayden’s heart thundered in her ears as she gawked at him, lips rolled between her teeth. That was why.

He noticed her expression and followed her gaze to his fingers. He quickly released the button and held up his hands defensively, his eyes also widening. “Sorry! Autopilot—“

“It’s okay!” Kayden mirrored his posture with a smile.

“I promise, I didn’t mean anything. It’s hot in this office, I’m always trying to cool off and—“

“Really, it’s fine.” She tucked her out of control hair behind her ear again and added more softly, even almost seductively, “I don’t mind.” Her grin instantly disappeared and she gritted her teeth with pursed lips, wondering why the hell she would say it that way.

Taken aback, Kaiser perked a single eyebrow as he gaped at her. Someone must’ve passed the window behind her because his eyes darted to it and then back to his desk. Recovering, he brought a fist to his mouth and coughed into it to clear his throat.

“I’ve got the paperwork here for you.” He leaned back in order to open the top drawer and pulled out a single sheet of paper. “All you need to do is fill in the information I didn’t have, and sign and date it.”

Kayden’s muscles relaxed in gratitude for his refusal to acknowledge her more-obvious-than-usual flirtation.

He extended his arm across the desk for her to take the form. “Only if you want the job, of course.”

She eagerly retrieved the page from him, perusing the text and his neat penmanship. “Of course I do, Kaiser. I’d be crazy not to.” No, Kayden, you’re crazy for taking it.

He took a sharp inhale. “Please, call me Misha.”

“What?” She lowered the form to peer up at him. “But you always said you’re used to ‘Kaiser’.”

“None of my colleagues call me Kaiser, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

She actually had noticed, of course. Even Damien referred to him as Misha the first day she met him. But she wasn’t sure she would be able to join those co-workers.

He placed an elbow on the desk, resting his temple on his extended fingertips. “Besides, I’d like to think we’re friendly enough at this point to be on a first-name basis.”

She swallowed hard, fighting a smirk. They definitely weren’t as friendly as she’d like them to be. “Well, okay, then. I’ll do my best to break the habit.” She cleared her throat before standing, pinching the form delicately in her fingers rather than tucking it into her bag and risking damage to it. “I’ll get this done today.” She swung the tote over her other shoulder.” See ya tomorrow.” She smiled and wiggled her fingers his direction in a goodbye as she made it to the exit.

Kaiser returned the wave with a nod of his head. “See you later.”

***

Misha tried his best not to stare at her ass as she swung open the door to leave, but he failed.

When she turned around, it surprised him and he quickly blinked, hoping she didn’t catch his eyes where they were. She raised her eyebrows and nodded to the door handle under her fingers. “Want me to close it?”

“Oh, no, that’s okay, leave it open.”

After she rushed off next door, Misha planted his brow into his palm with a sigh. Had she meant to sound flirty earlier? Why else would she say she didn’t mind him essentially undressing?

It was fine. It was nothing, and he didn’t want it to be something anyway. He was perfectly happy with the trajectory of his working relationship with Kayden.

He wouldn’t mess up his or her career and try to turn this into anything more than a working friendship.

Damien’s enthusiastic greeting drew him from his thoughts. “Hey there math whiz! I heard you’re replacing me after I graduate.”

 “I’m only taking over on the math side...” Her voice tapered to a mumble.

He didn’t really care to listen. There were things to do. But his ears perked up as soon as he heard Damien ask her out for drinks. His heart sped up with a touch of unearned jealousy.

 Kayden must have moved near the open door, because her voice was much clearer. “Oh, uh, you mean, like… a date?”

Damien let out a single ha as if taken aback. “Well, yeah, of course. I think you’re cool and smart, so I’d like to take you on a date. I mean, I’m not going that far from town.”

Misha caught himself wishing she’d turn him down, and immediately winced from his own mental beating, pressing his forehead more firmly into both palms, elbows on the cool desk.

 “Oh. Well, I appreciate the offer. You’re a great guy, so, don’t take it personal, but I don’t date.”

Misha’s brows furrowed as he raised his head from the support of his hands. He peeked out the window but couldn’t see her.

Damien’s voice lowered uncharacteristically, probably due to disappointment. “Oh. Do you mind if I ask why not?”

Her tote bag popped into view. Clearly she was trying to leave the conversation as quickly as possible. “People usually date so they can find someone to have kids with. I don’t like to waste people’s time, especially mine.”

Misha found himself straining his ear toward his open door. Was he really hearing this right now?

Damien let out a single, disbelieving laugh. “Wait, what? You don’t even want kids?” He mumbled something else.

She was almost totally visible at the window now. “Absolutely not. I gotta go, though. See ya!” She scurried out the door and rushed passed the receptionist desk, her duffel back draped across her chest and bouncing wildly off her leg as she escaped.

Once she was out of sight, Misha felt himself grinning as he tapped his desk surface thoughtfully.

Kayden was like him, at least in part.

His face fell. Suddenly he regretted handing her that paper and accepting her as his assistant. More than ever in the last nine months, he wanted her. He didn’t have to stamp down his feelings for her. They could…

No, no. It didn’t matter. He was entering his last year of teaching, anyway. He wouldn’t be signing another contract. He wouldn’t be sticking around. It didn’t matter how much he wanted to get to know her, to give anything a try, even if she hadn’t just scurried off to the dean’s office with the paper that stomped all over that possibility.