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Authors: Emily Caro

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BOOK: Intimate Equations
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Jules followed through on several questions pertaining
to the exam, spending quite a bit of time on the problem of orbital mechanics.
She touched on her next lecture and reminded her students to check their
syllabus.

Then her time was up: “Thank you, people, see you Wednesday.
My office hours are posted as usual, or you can also email me anytime. Get out
and enjoy that sunshine!”

*****

Gathering up her things plus the two folders left over
on the table she headed out the door. As she wended herself in and around
students hanging in the hallway, someone called out to her.

 “
Professor Kinsley? I think you have my
exam paper?” Jules turned toward the man's voice and was met with the same face
of that tall, fit man at the main door this morning.


I'm Sam Lopez; I didn't get a chance to
pick up my folder, sorry.” His gaze was intent and direct. Jules felt that
uneasy sensation again that he was burning a hole right into her. She tried to
cover with enthusiasm.


Sam! Great, I was hoping to chat with you
about your solution to problem six on the exam. Do you have a minute? “

Jules scrutinized Sam's face for some clue as to what
he was all about. He didn't look like your typical math student; he didn't
smell
like a math student. Oil and grass stains covered his Levis. His build was
muscular; his skin bronzed from being outdoors every day. There was nothing
“nerdy” about this guy at all. Jules was puzzled. Something grabbed at her
inside that she barely noticed then, but would remember later. She continued to
study Sam's face with much interest.


Right now?” He hesitated and his jaw
tightened a little but Jules noticed it. The lines of his nose to his forehead
were graceful - almost classical in structure. Jules felt the back of her neck
tingle.

 “
No, I'm sorry but now is not a good time;
I've got to get back to my job. I tried to see you this morning at your office
but you hadn't come in, yet”

Jules averted her eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry. I must have
just missed you”

She avoided mentioning their early morning encounter at
the main door so he would not notice her acute awareness of him. She reached
into her case:

 “Okay, no problem, here is your exam. Well done. You
have the second highest score on this test out of the class. I'm not sure how
you ventured into the solution on six but I'd love to discuss it with you
sometime. You don't attend class all the time do you? I don't remember seeing
you too much?” Jules paused and lied at this point, since she didn't remember
seeing him in class at all.


No. I'm not a full time student. I run my
own business so my schedule is tight, but I really wanted to take this class.”
He paused. And Jules could tell he was having difficulty explaining himself and
the quizzed look she gave him in return made him even more uncomfortable.


Thanks, Professor, I have to run. I'll try
and come by your office again soon. I enjoy your lectures!” And then he
disappeared into a crowd of shuffling students before she could reply. Turning
back to the stairway Jules for some unknown reason felt dizzy, as if she had
just ridden to the top of the mountain in a gondola very fast. She walked down
the stairs back to her office.

The remainder of the day for Jules was uneventful. A
few, panicked students came in with no idea how they were going to pass their
classes. Jules did the best she could to reassure them and suggested to some
that they visit math resources where they could get tutoring for their homework
and labs. She spent some time writing on a paper she was to present at the
Northwest Math and Science Conference in Seattle over the summer. One more
class to teach and it was time to head out for the day.

On her drive home Jules fumbled with the car stereo,
scrolling through her iPod in search of the perfect song. Nothing seemed to fit
her mood, whatever mood it was. Jules sighed in frustration then
gave up and turned it off.

At the stop light the sudden memory of Sam Lopez and
his intense gaze made her inhale and hold her breath, just for a moment. What
was this handsome, dark man doing in her advanced Physics class? He appeared to
be a laborer of some sort; a mechanic perhaps? He was a very smart one whatever
his occupation.

As she pulled into the driveway back home, her older,
next door neighbor was clipping the grass along his side of the walkway.
“Afternoon, Jules!” he called.

She replied, aware at how shabby her lawn looked
compared to his. “Hi there, Dan! Glad to see you out enjoying the beautiful
weather!”

He chatted with her a moment then her neighbor pulled a
small slip of paper out of his shirt pocket. “I know you are a busy lady, so I
thought you might need help with your lawn for awhile, or at least until the
semester is over and you have more time to spend on such things. Here's the
number of the guy I use to come cut my lawn. He fixes 'er up real nice and
doesn't charge an arm and a leg either. He gets it done fast.”

Mr. Connor pulled a handkerchief out of pocket and
wiped his nose: “He always shows up right on time when it needs mowing again.
He'll help you do other stuff too, like landscaping or what not. I hear he's a
real landscape artist. He did all the work down at the new golf course. Well,
it's just a suggestion.”

Jules had lived next door to Mr. Connor for nearly two
years now and she knew this was a bit more than a suggestion. She had seen him
out in the back on his hands and knees using scissors on the grass, so yeah, it
was much more than that; it was a big honking hint.

Mr. Connor was a widower with not much to do except
tinker in his shop and putter about the garden. Jules imagined him out
surveying her yard when she was gone, clicking his tongue in dismay,
scrutinizing her neglect. He didn't believe in anyone letting their lawn go for
any reason. If it looks bad, it IS bad –
Mr. Connor's garden code of
etiquette.

She had a sudden vision of Mr. Connor dressed in a
black suit with a tiny pad and pen, taking note of each and every breach of
code and writing it down in a his little black book. Jules realized that she
was reading way too much into the slip of paper Mr. Connor was handing her.
Geez,
get a grip – he's just trying to be nice.


Oh thanks. I will give him a call for sure.
The yard is crazy wild, isn't it? Sorry about that.”

She made her way into the house and glanced at the
piece of paper. It was just a cell phone number and nothing else besides the
two words:
Lawn Care
scribbled on it.

Chapter Two: Memory of the Heart

 

Jules spent the morning at home. It was turning out to
be another beautiful day. She had stayed up late writing on her presentation
for Seattle since she did not teach classes today. She woke up on her own
without the blare of the alarm clock, padding about the house in her wool
clogs. There was a faculty lunch at 12:30 and office time began at 2:00. She
still had a couple hours before heading to the campus. Jules wandered out to the
porch and sat in her favorite chair. She felt warm and content as the sun rose
higher above the big trees in her front yard. She wrinkled her eyes against the
sunshine which filtered through the broad leaves. She breathed in that singular
newness of springtime aromas. The smell of the damp earth, the early flowers
blooming, the millions of fresh leaves on each tree and every bush.

“If you could define the color green this is exactly
what it smells like.” Jules smiled, holding her coffee cup close to her in both
hands and soaking up the warmth all around her. It was like a soft, huge,
wonderful hug; tender and sweet.

Contentment is the greatest treasure.
She remembered this pithy bit of wisdom from somewhere. Lao Tzu? Perhaps
Buddha. And here she sat in the middle of that marvelous sensation of being
content.

It was a luxury to be here, sitting on her front porch,
(well the bank's front porch) with a good cup of coffee to sip. (Rather than
the sludge they served in the food service cafeterias that one only drank
because you need the caffeine, and then you drank it in fast gulps because it
tasted like cigarettes soak in diesel). It was a curious experience to wake up
rested, (rather than having stayed up night after long night writing labs or
studying for finals). Even after a year and a half it all seemed a novelty to
her. She smiled to herself this morning sitting in the sunshine of the second
most beautiful day of spring.

Here I am living in this great old house
with a good job teaching. I’m being paid to share my passion for mathematics
and do what I love best.
Jules felt grateful for having
arrived.

Since the age of 17, Jules had spent most of her life
attending one institution of higher education or another. She had been a
roaming nomad of campus life for eight years, chasing her degrees on the east
coast, and then at Yale. She never collected much of anything, never attached
herself to possessions nor people, since she never knew where she'd be two
years from now and she didn't want to take anything with her – emotional
baggage didn't have much room in her life.

True, she had made some very good friends during
undergraduate studies at Cornell. Jules had met quite a few nice, interesting
people. She got out some, she dated some. She had submitted to a few, tepid
encounters with the typical college boy here and there, but nothing ever very
serious except one relationship in particular - Cora.

They had met her junior year at Cornell. They were both
taking Math 412 Advanced Differential Equations and the two young women met in
a study group. Some weeks into the term, Cora found out that Jules was turning
twenty-one over the weekend so invited her out to dinner and to a wine-tasting
at a young artist's reception. Jules accepted, oblivious to the fact that Cora
was asking her out on a date. That night, Jules got a little drunk, which
didn't hurt the evening at all; in fact, her lapse of inhibitions enhanced the
novelty of the situation and Cora had no trouble seducing Jules.

What started out as a pensive kiss followed by a
nervous laugh resulted in Jules finding Cora's tongue in her mouth while Cora
undressed her. Jules didn't resist. Soon, Cora's fingers were finding her most
tender and sensitive spot; setting it afire. Twirling her fingers expertly in
and around Jules' deep folds and creases caused her breath to stop. Jules soon
found herself under the influence of Cora's advances.

Jules couldn't think with Cora's fingers touching her
breasts, then her thighs, returning to the center of her desire. All she could
focus on was Cora's fingers massaging her clit. Jules' breath came in a violent
gasp as Cora felt inside her as far as she could, her finger pressed up inside
Jules, all the while searching Jules' lips with her tongue, creating pleasure
in both places. Jules was both shocked and entranced. It was all new to her and
she wanted to find out where this experience would take her. There was no way
she would stop Cora now.

What happened was that early into the relationship
Jules fell in love like a casualty in some distant war zone. Jules had never
been in love before and Cora knew how to touch her, to draw out her passions.
Their love-making was fiery yet tender; Cora knew was familiar with love and
could hold Jules in limbo for just the right amount of time until she came
crashing in on the shore like huge wave falling on sand. The touching, the
sweet whispers; Cora was a master at her art, selfless in her love-making, and
Jules' life was never the same after that first time. To this day Jules would
sometimes catch herself pushing her own tongue upwards, surging a little inside
with the thought of those encounters with her first and only woman.

Jules shook herself and stood up from her porch chair
with a bolt.
Damn it.
She pulled the screen door open and went into the
kitchen to pour herself another cup of black coffee. Frowning at the counter,
she munched on a muffin and turned towards the window. The warmth of the sun,
the rare contentment she felt sitting on the front porch were momentary. Memories
of longing and regret came flooding back.


I love you, Cora.” Jules had whispered to
her friend. “I want you when you are not here. I had no idea what I was
missing. Where have you been all my life?”

Cora smiled, looking down at Jules as they lay on top
of the sheets in her bedroom.

“Waiting for you to do the calculations, girl.”

Cora didn’t seem to react to her proclamation of love for
a long while. Cora stroked her hair without speaking until Jules decided that
Cora had ignored her words, which was typically Cora. Cora nibbled on her ear
lobe whispering her name, drawing out the syllables in one, long breath:

“Julia… you are the sweetest thing.”

Cora put her mouth on Jules' neck and let her tongue
slide downward to her collarbone. Her hand moved up her thigh and into the
folds between her legs. Jules was already wet. Moving downward, her tongue came
to rest on Jules' nipple which was as hard as a wooden bead. Every touch, every
kiss made Jules excited with a wanting she could not explain. It was all so new
and intense. Cora had a dangerous fire in her which attracted Jules. She was a mysterious,
wandering flame never to be defined.

BOOK: Intimate Equations
2.76Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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