On Thurdays, economics was Sanskar’s last class of the day as it ended at six in the evening on that day. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. He couldn’t just forget it. He knew that he had felt something that night and he was certain that Ms. Bose had felt it too.
Sanskar hoped that she would want to talk to him again and he was extra slow with packing up his things after class so that he would be the last one left in the classroom. When he was finally done, he looked up to see Ms. Bose standing at her desk with a bemused look on her face.
“Are you getting paid to go in slow-motion?” She asked jokingly.
Sanskar blushed a little.
“Ummm… I just figured that I could take my time since I don’t have anywhere to be.” He said in a lame attempt to lie.
“I see. Of course.” It was abundantly clear that she looked right through his cover.
“Since you’re so eager on staying in this classroom, why don’t you help me get something from the supply closet, I don’t think I can reach high enough to get the box I need.”
“Sure.” Sanskar replied, and followed her to the other end of the classroom, his eyes glued to her backside.
Every room had a supply closet, a space of about 4 square meters; big enough for some shelves and for about 4 people standing. For some reason all of the closets required a key. There were rumors of hidden drug cartels running out of these closets but they were, of course, all fake, probably.
Ms. Bose put in the key and walked into the small room. “I need that box on the top shelf right there.” She motioned for Sanskar to join her as she pointed at a shelf in the back right corner.
He stepped up to the shelf and was just about to reach up to grab the box when the door slammed shut, making both of them wince and turning the room pitch-black in an instant.
“f**k!” Ms. Bose exclaimed, slamming her fist against the door.
“Wait, can’t we just push the door back open?” Sanskar asked, confused.
“Hah, I wish! No, you need a key, which is on the outside of this stupid door!”
“Why didn’t you take it inside with you?”
“Because I didn’t think this f**king door would slam without a reason! There’s no window open, I don’t understand what made it shut!”
Sanskar stood pressed up against the shelf and was uncomfortable but at the same time very amused as his teacher continued on her rant.
“I feel like these things always happen to me! I hate this stupid school, with its stupid closets!”
Sanskar couldn’t help himself anymore. He started chuckling. “Well don’t blame the closets, it’s not their fault.”
Ms. Bose didn’t say anything, then he could hear her starting to laugh as well.
“Are you still at the door?” Sanskar asked tentatively through his giggles. He still couldn’t see a thing.
“Yes.”
“And you’re sure that it can’t be opened without a key?”
“Positive.”
“How long are we trapped in here then?” Sanskar asked with a little more concern in his voice now.
“Well we shouldn’t have to spend the night, the janitor does his rounds at 9 so I’d say we have about three hours to kill in here.”
“Hm. I don’t know about you, Ms. Bose, but I am going to sit down.” Sanskar said and tried to find an open space on the ground, reaching around with his hands. Immediately he felt his right hand connect with what he presumed to be her leg.
“Oh sorry, I’m just trying to get situated.”
“I don’t think there’s enough room for both of us on the ground, these stupid shelves take up way too much space.” Ms. Bose commented.
“You might be right… Here, I’ll try sitting as far back as I can and I’ll draw my legs up to my chest, and then you should have enough room to sit down as well.”
“Okay, hang on, I’m trying to see where you are… oh there you are, okay, umm… got it, I’m sitting as well.”
“Okay great. I don’t know how long I can sit in this position but let’s try it for now” Sanskar replied.
Then there was silence. Minutes went by as they listened to each other’s breathing. Sanskar was so nervous his palms were sweaty but he finally mustered up some courage. “How about some ‘Truth or Dare’?”
He could practically hear her thinking.
“What a suggestion. I thought we were forgetting all about that incident.”
“It’s not like we’re recreating that night. Or referencing anything that happened. But it will definitely help pass the time.” Sanskar tried.
“You’re braver than I thought you were, Mr. Maheshwari. But I guess you’re right.” She replied after a moment.
“Great. I’ll ask you a question first, alright?” She agreed.
“Truth or Dare?”
“Truth.”
“Do you like me? I mean like as a student.”
“Yeah of course. You’re nice and polite and a very good student, my best I’d even say… Why?”
“Just wondering. Okay your turn.”
“Truth or dare?”
“I will also go with truth.” Sanskar answered.
“Let me see… Okay. How come that you don’t have a girlfriend? Or at least someone to play Truth or Dare with?”
Sanskar was surprised that she would start that topic and then thought about what he should answer.
“I guess I just haven’t found the right one yet. But to be honest, I think the girls my age are way too immature. I mean you know them; they’re in your classes.”
“I get your point. On the other hand you are young as well, there should be someone out there for you, I wouldn’t give up hope yet.”
“The one I want is unavailable.” Sanskar mumbled, more to himself, but he realized that she had heard as well.
“What’s that? Does she have a boyfriend?”
“Not exactly, she’s kinda married, not exactly uhh.. umm.. you could say she is divorced and has a kid.” He replied, biting his tongue immediately after the words left his lips.
Ms. Bose didn’t reply at first and they sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity to him. Finally she spoke.
“Umm.. I guess that does mean she’s unavailable. I don’t think affairs with divorced women are a good way to go. I think she is elder to you, isn’t it?”
“Yeah!”
“Then that’s definitely a bad idea.”
“Oh I know that.” Sanskar quickly replied. “And I would never, ever do anything to jeopardize her, I have too much respect for her to do that.” Damn it, he was giving more and more away.
“Just forget I ever told you about this. Truth or dare?” Sanskar asked, hoping to divert Ms. Bose’s attention.
If she was taken aback by his statement, she hid it well. “You know what, I’ll take a dare.”
Sanskar thought for a second, then realized how uncomfortably he was sitting.
“Okay, this might be a little lame, but my legs really hurt in this position. I dare you to sit in between them, then we can both stretch our legs out.”
Another pause. Then Sanskar heard some shuffling and felt her hands reaching out to grasp his knee. They quietly got situated, Sanskar sitting with his back against a shelf, his legs stretched out on either side of Ms. Bose, who was sitting in the middle, her legs also outstretched towards the door. If she had leant back, she would have touched his chest.
“See? Much more comfortable this way.” He said quietly. He could smell her hair and her perfume. He was in heaven.
“Truth or Dare?” She asked, ignoring his comment.
“I’ll stick with truth.”
“Did your legs really hurt?”
“Of course, I was incredibly uncomfortable otherwise I wouldn’t have asked you to sit so close.”
Silence.
“Alright, I’ll believe it.”
Sanskar decided to let it go.
“Truth or Dare?”
“Truth.”
He decided to ask what he had been thinking about all along. “Did you feel a spark?”
“Did I feel a spark, when?”
“You know, when I did the body shot.”
“I thought we dropped that.” Sanskar noted a slight change in Ms. Bose’s tone.
“Well I don’t have any ideas for questions to ask and to tell you the truth, I have been wondering about that ever since it happened.” Sanskar defended himself.
“I don’t think we should be talking about this.” She said quietly.
“I just want a yes or no.”
“I guess there could have been one.”
Sanskar could feel his heart thumping in his chest. She had felt it, too, he knew it.
Her tone changed back to playful, but it almost sounded forced.
“But you know, I was a little tipsy and you probably were too so who knows if there actually was anything. Let’s move on, shall we? Truth or Dare?”
He wasn’t satisfied with her answer. He wouldn’t pressure her into admitting anything she didn’t want to admit, but at the same time he was fixated on her and wanted to know how she really felt about him. He just didn’t know how to do that.
“Dare.”
“Hm, I don’t really have any idea… Oh wait, you could massage my shoulders, I think that’s good.” Ms. Bose laughed.
Sanskar reached out in front of him until he reached her back. He guessed that she was sitting about six inches away from him. He started rubbing her shoulders in circular motions with his thumbs and while she had tensed up at first, he could feel her relaxing underneath his touch.
“You know, Sanskar, if this whole football thing doesn’t work out, you could definitely become a masseur.” She remarked.
“I appreciate the compliment. How long is this dare lasting anyway?” Sanskar asked and pinched her skin. He was in heaven touching her, but he wanted more of her, the longer he was massaging her for.
“Maybe just another minute.” She sighed.
The rest of the massage went by in silence and as he came to an end, he let his fingers trail down her back until his hands rested on her hips.
Ms. Bose cleared her throat. “Thank you, you can take your hands off of me now.”
“Oh sorry, I got lost in thought.” Sanskar quickly replied as he drew his hands back. “Truth or Dare, Ms. Bose.”
“Ummm…Dare.”
“I dare you to lean back against my chest.”
“Excuse me?”
“Well I can imagine that sitting upright for the next 3 hours can’t be too comfortable.”
“It beats leaning against a student’s chest, Sanskar.”
“You picked dare, now you have to go through with it. It’s not like I’m asking you to sit in my lap.”
“Haha, very funny.” The sarcasm was hard to miss.
Sanskar could feel her scoot even closer to him, and then slowly lean back. It took every bit of willpower he had to keep his dick from rising in his pants as her body made contact with his front. Her head was now rested against his shoulder.
“I don’t really feel like playing anymore.” She said quietly.
“Okay.” He replied. He was more nervous than he could ever remember being around her. He desperately wanted to bring up the incidence again but didn’t want to make her mad. They sat in silence for a few minutes before he decided that now was as good a time as ever.
“Ms. Bose, you’re gonna hate me for what I’m about to bring up.”
“Oh god, Sanskar, are you talking about the shot again? I thought we were done now.”
“I’m really sorry, it’s just that I… I don’t really know how I should say this… I felt something. A spark, like I mentioned before. Maybe something else. And it’s been driving me crazy ever since.”
He could hear her sigh.
“Look, I know that I said before that I might have felt something, too. But I don’t see the point of keeping on talking about this. Again, I shouldn’t have let it happen, it was really inappropriate and I am very sorry.”
“I didn’t mind it being inappropriate.” Sanskar felt his nervousness dropping away slowly. He was well aware of the direction he was leading the conversation in, but Ms. Bose’s presence so close to him was driving him crazy.
He felt her body tense. “I think you’re getting a little risky with your comments, there.”
“I’m just trying to be honest.”
Another pause.
“Sanskar, who is that woman you were talking about earlier? The one you like? Do I know her? Does she teach here?”
f**k, she knows, Sanskar thought to himself. Then again, maybe this was good? She didn’t seem mad yet so maybe there was a chance of his confession getting him somewhere. His tongue didn’t seem to want to formulate words, though.
“Ahhh I don’t think I can…”
“It’s me isn’t it?” Her voice was low as she interrupted him.
Sanskar couldn’t think. He just nodded quietly, but she knew the answer even without feeling him nod. He felt Ms. Bose sit up straight again, instantly missing her touch and warmth.
“Oh, Sanskar.” She sighed.
“I’m so sorry Ms. Bose, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since this course started.”
“Look…Sanskar, I’m very flattered.” She cleared her throat. “But don’t you think that you deserve to be with someone your own age? Someone who likes the same things as you? Someone who isn’t or wasn’t married and to top it off your professor?”
Sanskar hadn’t expected any other reaction. Well, he had anticipated that she would be mad, and while her tone was darker and more tense than usual, she surprisingly didn’t seem to be angry. He swallowed hard and found his voice again.
“Ms. Bose…I don’t think that I can really help the way I feel about you. I know that it’s inappropriate even more so since you are my professor. I am mature enough to understand that. I wasn’t exactly planning on you finding out, to be honest.”
“Well first of all, Sanskar, not only is the crush inappropriate, even you telling me about this is crossing a line… Before you interrupt, I know that I prompted your confession but it wasn’t hard to put two and two together based on what you were telling me.”
“Sorry.”
She continued. “I wasn’t quite finished yet. You know, I did always find you mature for your age, Sanskar. You should use that maturity to get this idea out of your head. I know that what happened last week probably didn’t help with that, but…”
“Now you’re bringing that night up again, Ms. Bose.”
“Aw, come on, Sanskar, give me a break, I don’t know how to handle this situation.” She said defensively. “What do I do? A student just confessed his crush, and this isn’t exactly high school, you’re 21 years old for god’s sake, so it’s not just some innocent thing I’m assuming. And I’m locked in this tiny storage closet with you! This is new territory for me, believe it or not.”
Sanskar was taken aback by her sudden change in tone. He decided to defend himself.
“Again, Ms. Bose, I wasn’t planning on you finding out, I don’t really see what the issue is if I have this fantasy in my head! You are my teacher and nothing is going to happen, isn’t that right?”
Now she genuinely seemed upset.
“Would you for the love of God, please stop telling me about your fantasy. That is the issue, Sanskar, I know about it now, and it’s awkward to be honest, I don’t know how I’m supposed to act around you, knowing you want to f…” She broke off.
“What, Mrs. McCutcheon. I want to what?”
“You know, do things.”
Neither of them spoke for a little while. Ms. Bose broke the silence.
“I’m sorry, Sanskar, I shouldn’t have been so aggressive. I am just truly at a loss here.” She paused, then, after he didn’t reply, added.
“You don’t need to share that with me.” Sanskar replied softly. He tentatively reached out to touch her arm, just briefly, then returned his hand to his lap.
“So, what do you suggest we do about this, Ms. Bose?”
“I… I think it would be best if we just tried to move on. If you could get this crush out of your head, we could just forget this ever happened.”
“So I’m just supposed to ‘unlike’ you? Just like that?”
“Just like that. It certainly would be the best option.” Her tone got tense again.
“Don’t you think I’ve tried? I know that this isn’t ‘right’ but like you said, what happened during that body shot doesn’t really help with any feelings I may have.” Sanskar felt himself getting riled up again.
“And what exactly happened ‘during’ it, huh? I hope you’re not talking about a spark again.”
He took a deep breath. “There’s more than that. I felt how you reacted. You liked it.”
Sanskar couldn’t see her face but there was silence and he was sure that she had turned backward to look in his direction.
“Careful, Sanskar.” Her voice was dangerously low.
He felt his face flush as adrenaline coursed through his body. He wanted her so badly and not being able to see her face and body made it a lot easier to break the rules. God, he had behaved so maturely just a second ago, but now he seemed to be losing control over his carefully thought-over sentences.
“You didn’t think I noticed? How your breath caught in your throat when I licked your neck and how you grabbed onto my arm?” He spoke softly.
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