The Handbook

by H. P. Mallory

  “I mean, you did have a good point about me needing to take this whole business to the next level.”

  “Yep, I did,” she agreed. “So does that mean you’re going to become Derek’s T.A.?”

  “I guess so,” I answered, but I wasn’t convinced.

  “I mean, it would make your seduction attempts much easier if you’re actually able to interact with the guy, right?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s a good point.”

  “It seems I’m full of them tonight.”

  “I’m going to remember this, by the way,” I said as I eyed her narrowly.

  “What are you threatening me with now?”

  “When it’s your turn to take it to the next level, I get a say in who will play the part of your victim.”

  She appeared to think about it for a few seconds, but then she nodded. “Deal.”

  “Deal,” I repeated as I studied her. “From this point forward, we’re in this together,” I said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t want to play the part of your instructor anymore,” I answered as I got up and headed for the bottom drawer of the side table we both shared. Pulling it open and reaching into it, I pulled out the notebook and handed it to her.

  “Why are you giving this to me?”

  “Because I think it’s time that you read it for yourself. That way, you’ll know what’s ahead and can prepare yourself better. Plus, I want us to both be on the same page so you can help me when I need it.”

  “Okay, I can do that,” she answered as she glanced down at the notebook with a smile.

  “I still want to keep this on the down low,” I continued. “So don’t start waving it around at everyone, or leaving it out for anyone to see it.”

  “Of course not,” she matched my serious tone. “I’ll guard it with my life.”

  “Great. It’s yours.” The thought of letting it go completely was a little overwhelming. “Actually, wait, no, it’s ours, but you’re welcome to it.” Then I shrugged. “And who knows, if we both can prove that everything Jane says is true and works, maybe we can tell the other girls about it then. But for now, let’s just keep it between us, okay?”

  “Okay,” she answered with a smile. I studied her as she put the notebook on the table beside her bed and faced her psychology textbook. I continued to stand there, lost in my own thoughts, as I considered what I’d just signed up for. Seducing Derek Anderson … I didn’t know what to think about it. Eventually I made myself comfortable on my bed and returned to my homework. I had a test in the morning and I really couldn’t afford to blow it.

  ***

  NIKKI

  The next day, I was still in shock. I couldn’t believe I’d actually agreed to make Derek the object of my attempted seduction. I mean, what had I been thinking?! But now that the words were out of my mouth, there was no going back.

  I was nervous. That much I couldn’t deny. It was one thing to woo the geek at the library or flirt with any of the handful of guys Dani and I had come across at the various clubs around campus, but to actually put a fully-fledged seduction on Derek? That was another thing entirely. For starters, he was a professor and so much older than I was!

  The very idea that I could fail had me feeling sick to my stomach. The other stuff had been easy—drawing guys in and dangling a string in front of them which had proven more or less easy to get them to bat at. And while I actually enjoyed that part, I was increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of allowing someone to get past a certain point. The truth was that I really didn’t want to fall for someone and be hurt again.

  When I walked down the stairs in my Feminism in Literature class and piled into the line that was forming so I could get my grade on my term paper and my final grade in the class, my heart was pounding. I knew I needed to give Derek an answer to his offer about the teacher’s assistant position, and I wasn’t going to delay any longer.

  When I reached the front of the line, Derek eyed me with a slight smile, and flipping through the papers in his hand, he pulled one out from the middle and folded it slightly as he handed it to me. I immediately opened it and noticed the A written in red ink at the top of the page. Flipping through the pages, I noticed there wasn’t any other writing.

  “And here is your final grade,” he said as he handed me a slip of paper that was folded in half.

  “Thanks,” I said as I started forward, not wanting to get in the way of the rest of the students who were shuffling out of the class, seemingly as quickly as they could. I stepped to the side so I could let the rest of the students pass me and I unfolded the sheet of paper in my hand. A straight A. I unzipped my backpack and placed the slip of paper and my term paper inside. When I faced forward again, I noticed the line now only consisted of four students.

  “Nikki,” Derek said in greeting once the last of the students in line had emptied out of the classroom.

  “I wanted to give you an answer about the T.A. position,” I said as I approached him. He was busily trying to pack his things into his briefcase. I wasn’t sure why, but I was incredibly nervous.

  “Okay,” he said once I didn’t say anything else. “I’m wondering if your mystifying silence means I’m supposed to guess?”

  I laughed but it came out sounding anxious and goofy. “No, you don’t have to guess,” I said. “I wanted to take you up on it and to thank you for thinking of me.”

  “Well, you’re welcome and thank you,” he said as he started for the door. “But I’m in a hurry to get to my next lecture and I can’t talk. Do you want to come by my office at four and we can discuss it?”

  “Sure,” I said as he gave me a clipped nod and an even faster smile and then disappeared down the crowded hall.

  TWENTY-TWO

  DEREK

  Nikki was right on time, just like I’d known she would be. During the time I’d been subbing for the Feminism in Literature class, she was late only once. Yes, Nikki was definitely one of those high-achievers at whom I used to snub my nose when I was an undergraduate. Back in the day, I’d never imagined for a split second that I would have ended up in academia. Chasing skirts and getting drunk had appealed to me much more than being scholarly.

  Well, if I was going to be honest with myself, I had to admit that I hadn’t really changed that much. Chasing skirts was still a favorite pastime of mine, even if the chief skirt that interested me now wasn’t one who should have. Actually, that fact shouldn’t have surprised me at all because I’ve always been the type of person who wanted what I wasn’t supposed to have.

  It was a coldish day so Nikki was dressed somewhat “conservatively” in tight jeans, high black boots and a skin-tight black turtleneck that did little to hide her impressive bust. Yes, she still looked sexy as hell, but I was relieved that her cleavage wasn’t on display and neither were her legs. It just made looking at and talking to her a little easier when I didn’t have to control my roving eyes. My roving mind, on the other hand, was something I had little hope of controlling, and it was already in the midst of imagining what it would be like to see Nikki on her knees with my, ahem, in her mouth …

  “Nikki,” I said to her in greeting as I opened my door and welcomed her into my crowded and small office.

  “Hi,” she answered as she offered me a little smile and took the chair across from my desk. She was holding a brand-new notebook and placed it on the desktop as she fished inside her backpack, pulling out a pen. She opened the notebook and then faced me expectantly.

  “You’re going to take notes?” I asked, unable to conceal my amusement. I closed the door behind me and started for my desk. “You really are a nerd and then some.”

  “Thanks for that,” she grumbled as she frowned up at me. “And, as regards taking notes, last I checked I didn’t have the benefit of a photographic memory, so anything you tell me that’s important needs to be written down.” Then she paused. “Well, that is to say if you have anything of importance to tell me, which is deb
atable …”

  I laughed. I liked this casual acquaintanceship we both shared. I hadn’t been lying when I’d told her I appreciated the fact that she wasn’t afraid of me. It was rare for an undergraduate not to feel some level of submissiveness towards a professor. It was refreshing that such wasn’t the case here. Clearly, Nikki was comfortable and confident in her own intelligence and independence, two things that would serve her well in her career life as well as with me.

  “Ah, come now, Nikki, only important things come out of this mouth,” I responded with a chuckle.

  “Well, that’s arguable, but in the interest of time, I will let it go,” she answered as she glanced around the room, immediately scrunching up her nose as if finding fault with it.

  “What?” I demanded, noticing I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Yes, she was very attractive, there was no arguing that, but it wasn’t just her physical beauty that impressed me. It was more her easy and cool confidence—her ability to challenge me. It wasn’t as though my obvious attraction to her was going to pose any sort of a problem though, as regarded our working relationship. In general, I tended to find myself surrounded by very attractive women, and I’d always been good at divorcing my dick brain from my intellectual brain. Well, with the exception of Rebecca I supposed.

  “Um, someone needs to do some spring, er, summer cleaning in here,” she answered as she brought her blue eyes to mine and frowned. “I don’t know how you can even concentrate with all this clutter.”

  “Yes, well, I’m not much concerned with the state of my office,” I answered. “Let’s talk about more important subjects.”

  “Such as?” she asked as she poised her pen on her paper and then faced me expectantly.

  “Summer session starts in two weeks. If it’s just as well with you, I’d like to take those two weeks to get you up to speed with each of the classes so you’re familiar with what it is I’ll be teaching.” Then I shrugged. “Well, the truth of it is that both of us will be getting up to speed with Sonama’s classes because I can’t say I know a damned thing about either one of them.”

  She nodded. “Which classes?”

  “Before I answer that question, I should probably inform you that I opted to have you assist me only with general classes rather than the core ones,” I started as she glanced up at me quizzically.

  “Why’s that?”

  I shrugged. “I figured we both might get some flak from the English majors who happen to be your peers or older. By focusing on general courses, I thought we might avoid any potentially cumbersome situations, because they tend to draw in the freshmen and sophomores. Otherwise, it might be a bit of a conflict of interest since you’re also studying for your bachelor’s degree. And of course you won’t be able to take any of my classes moving forward.”

  She nodded. “That makes sense, and I’m pretty much done with all of my literature core classes anyway, so it’s basically a non-issue.”

  “Good.”

  She faced me, a question suddenly burning in her eyes. “So, how did you even get this to fly, anyway?”

  “Get what to fly?”

  “Me being your assistant. I’ve never heard of an undergraduate being an assistant to a professor before. I always thought you had to be a graduate student.”

  “Well, yes, that’s been the norm up until now, I guess,” I answered with a shrug. “But, the first thing you should know about me is that I tend to get what I want,” I finished, giving her a smug smile that I knew would elicit an irritated response.

  “Really, Derek?” she asked as she frowned at me. “I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.”

  “Well, I’m sort of kidding,” I said with a laugh as I leaned forward, grabbed my stress ball and started kneading it with my fingers. “Actually, the dean didn’t give me that hard of a time about it.” That was because I’d told him there were only two candidates for the position—Rebecca and Nikki. Of course, I knew there was no way he’d want Rebecca to be my assistant when he wanted her assistance in other ways. Truth be told, there was only one candidate as far as I was concerned, and that was Nikki. There was no way in hell I’d consider Rebecca for the position since she was a psycho bitch, but the dean didn’t need to know that. I’d further sweetened the pot by letting it be known that Nikki would work pro-bono so the school’s wallet wouldn’t be impacted. And that, I believe, had sealed the deal.

  “Hmm, so I guess the rumors aren’t true then,” Nikki said as she studied me with curious eyes.

  “Which ones?” I asked, knowing full well that most of the rumors about me were true and then some.

  “That you don’t get along with the dean,” she answered, eyeing me in that way of hers that made it look like she could see right through me. Even though she was only twenty-one, there was something about Nikki that made her seem much older. The more I pondered that fact, the more I realized that she was probably the only woman in my circle who didn’t seem … impressed with me. It was as though all my charm were completely lost on her.

  Well, you haven’t exactly tried to charm her, either, I reminded myself. If you actually attempted to get her into bed, she’d probably fold just like all the others have. Not that you’re going to attempt it, because you aren’t …

  “I wouldn’t say it’s not true,” I answered with a shrug. “I just made it very difficult for him to refuse,” I finished with a secretive smile.

  “Okay, well, that’s good news then, I guess,” she said with her eyebrows arched. “So which classes will I be assisting you with?” she repeated her first question.

  “Number one: Introduction to Gender, Sexuality and Feminism in American Fiction,” I started with a frown as I flipped up my index finger. “Two: Shakespeare’s Poetry, and three: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Identities.” I took a deep breath. “Can you guess which classes are Sonama’s and which is mine?”

  Nikki threw her head back and laughed so hard, her entire body bounced, including those two glorious breasts that were just screaming at me to rip off her sweater.

  “The last one doesn’t even sound like it’s an English Literature class?” she asked.

  “Who the hell knows what it is,” I grumbled in response. “I have a feeling I’m going to be way out of my comfort zone.”

  “I think it will be good for you,” she answered with a smile. “And I’ve already taken Shakespeare’s Poetry, so that should make things easier.”

  “Who taught it?”

  “Professor Smith.”

  I made a face. “That old goat is such a bore! You’ll find that I’m much more interesting.”

  “And much more humble, too.”

  “An attribute that I freely admit does not characterize me,” I finished with a laugh.

  “Why do I have the feeling that I’m going to regret taking you up on this offer?” she asked, frowning.

  “You won’t,” I said as I dropped my stress ball and leaned back into my chair. “Well, not nearly as much as I regret foregoing Thailand in order to teach Transgender Identity.”

  TWENTY-THREE

  The Femme Fatale Handbook

  Part Two: Putting all of this to use

  Chapter Seven: Be Feminine and Make Him Feel Like a Man

  Contrary to what you might think, men are actually starved for appreciation, acceptance and admiration. Understanding that, the best thing you can be is curious. Ask him questions. Be interested in his ideas, his goals, his dreams, his perspectives. Laugh at his jokes and strive to better understand what makes him tick. When you do all of these things, you create desire within him. You allow him to see himself reflected in your eyes—yes, it’s very narcissistic, but it’s also a fact that the seductress understands extremely well. When Cleopatra seduced Antony and Caesar, she did so by making each of them believe he was capable of amazing things. She appealed to each man’s inner desire to see himself as great and successful.

  One very important point I want to make is that men are attracted to fem
inine women. If you think of all the examples of seductresses we’ve seen, none of them are masculine. Each one uses her femininity to her advantage because she realizes the immense amount of power a woman possesses. In general, women aren’t attracted to men that act like women, so why expect men to be attracted to women who act like men?

  So now that you know the importance of using your femininity, just what does that look like? Well, let’s go back to the definition of seduction. Ultimately, it is the idea that another person can imagine being sexual with you. That’s pretty much it. If you can get him to imagine being sexual with you, or get him to want to be sexual with you, you’re essentially seducing him!

  Show some skin. When a man sees a woman he’s attracted to, he wants to see her naked. So the more skin you can comfortably show off, the more you’re going to mess with his head. No matter how much or how little skin you show, the key here is that you feel comfortable in what you’re wearing.

  Don’t be afraid to touch him. Any femme fatale knows that touching a man during a conversation is a very seductive move. Touch his hand, his arm, his chest, etcetera. Just make sure it feels natural. Nothing should ever feel or appear to be forced or that will shatter the image you’re trying to portray.

  Play up your best features. In order to be the best you you can be, make sure you play up your best features with proper hair, makeup and clothing.

  Your voice is your ally. Think siren here. Try to sound relaxed, smooth and sweet. Try to stay away from shrill and loud.

  Show sexual interest through your gestures, facial expressions and body language—What do I mean by this? Doing little things like biting your lower lip, touching your hair, arching your head back to expose your neck.

  ***

  NIKKI

  “Get the chocolate and the powdered ones,” Dani said as I parked right outside the door of the nearest twenty-four-hour store.