Pleasing.Professor.Petersen.

by Candace Mumford

  " Oh God! I know exactly who you're talking about " Jason said shaking his head in embarrassment recalling one of the many female students who'd come on to him over the years.

  " Yes." Tianna said smiling. " You do realize she told her friend you must be gay not to have taken the bait right? Actually let me state exactly what she said...and please excuse me I don't mean to be vulgar but I believe in when telling or relaying a story, say it exactly as it was said...she said you must must be dick all the way up your ass gay."

  Jason laughed loudly " Tianna I can imagine a lot has been said about me during my time as a Professor here. I'm twenty-seven now but have been staff as a Professor since I was 21. I have few friends amongst my colleagues here and more enemies than I even want to think about.

  " I wont bore you with any of that though. I know you'd like to get to the bottom of your grade. The first thing I want to say to you is this. Don't worry about your grade point average. I assign twelve papers during the course of the semester but only nine of those grades actually count." Jason said.

  "The way I do grades for my class is that there really isn't a need for you to make up anything because you're three papers ahead. When I was a student I always hated to see other students scrambling around to get extra credit, relying on the mercy of a forgiving Professor and some aren't. So I implemented extra credit already into my syllabus as an assignment. I'm surprised you didn't notice that Tianna. I took you for a student who went over everything with a fine tooth comb. I'm also surprised you waited until you got three low grades before asking me about them? I was sure you were the type of student to ask me the first go round." Jason said smiling.

  " Well to be honest with you I was shocked! When you gave me a C on my paper " Romance in Renaissance Harlem " I was floored! Not to mention this D ! I don't even want to think about them right now. I'm not the type of person to look a gift horse in the mouth , one of these days I still want to go over those three papers with you Professor...I mean Jason!" Tianna said so relived she felt like she could finally exhale.

  Jason felt like shit! Jason could now visibly see just how the grades he'd given her had effected her.

  Tianna leaned her head back in the chair just to gather her thoughts as a tear slid down her cheek. " Tianna why are you crying? Was it because of the grades? If you look in the syllabus I explain how I grade..." Jason started.

  " I'm happy...now. I thought this was going to make me lose my scholarship. Especially if I kept getting grades like those. I have to maintain a certain GPA. I went for the best scholarships around because I needed all the financial backing I could get to be able to attend. In turn they expect the best I have to give and C and D grades don't cut it." Tianna whispered.

  " No Tianna you have a solid B in my class. As long as your other grades are fine your scholarship isn't in jeopardy, at least not due to my class." Jason said. " We have two more classes and the semester is a wrap. Do your group presentations, can I assume those will be good?" Jason asked.

  " You can assume. Are you hungry ? All of a sudden I'm starving. Tianna said unable to keep the smile off her face.

  " Sure. I'll treat if you don't mind, I feel bad you've been so stressed out concerning my class." Jason said. God I'm an asshole he thought grabbing his briefcase, I swear God, I'll never do anything like this again.

  That evening when Jason walked into his house he was still thinking about the lunch date he'd had with Tianna,was it considered a date? I don't care what you want to call it ,I had an amazing time with a beautiful woman he thought to himself. Tianna had really opened up to him about herself which was surprising. Jason had told Tianna about how hard it actually was for him growing up and being so smart. How hard it was being as young as he was, skipping grades and never having friends his own age, or any friends at all growing up. Jason's parents never paid any attention to their only sons pleas for a more normal life. They fell on deaf ears. Jason's parents loved showing him off like a circus freak.

  Finally Jason used his smarts in a more realistic manner and aimed to graduate college as soon as he could so that he could take care of himself and he'd accomplished that by graduating college at the age of 19 by 21 he'd earned his masters and was teaching as an associate professor.

  Tianna revealed to him her childhood being raised by a mother who'd basically checked out on her after the death of her father. Jason felt like even more of a heel after he discovered just how hard Tianna was working to remove herself from a bad situation. Tianna reminded him of himself in a lot of ways, though he'd never had to wonder where his next meal was coming from or basically being ignored, he definitely felt like he could relate to her on a lot of levels. I can't wait until the next two weeks are over Jason thought to himself ,when she's no longer my student I will actively pursue Tianna Williams Jason thought to himself. I've never chased a woman in my life...there's a first time for everything though.

  Two weeks later,Tianna was sitting around the table laughing with her two room mates Amina and Mark as they prepared to leave for their respective home states for the summer. " Who breaks up with fine ass Derek Taylor and sits around laughing about the shit?" Amina asked. " Girl did you at least get some first? Is home boy hooping between those sheets? Amina asked.

  "I would not know! I did not partake of the dick thank you very much!" Tianna said laughing. " Look let me tell you something. The boy was dumb! I mean yes he was fine but damn, you see fine all the time around here. I need my men to have to brains to go along with that beauty OK? Don't get it twisted the man of my dreams will have all areas covered you hear me? " Tianna said rolling her eyes. " I will tell you this though...just because a man is tall does not mean he's packing. Hence why my ass was in no grand rush to move things along sexually anyways. No brains and no dick? Uh-uh!"

  " Damn you sisters are hard on a brotha!" Mark said laughing along with his room mates. " Ladies I sure hate to leave you but my ride is here to take me away" Mark said leaning down to give each of them a kiss." I will miss you two dearly this summer but I most definitely need to check on my mom." Mark said picking up his back pack.

  " I'm going to miss you guys over the summer."Tianna said sadly. "Lucky for me they don't last long."

  It was actually their last afternoon together. Both Amina and Mark were going home for the summer only Tianna had refused to go home. Anyplace was better than being under her mother's roof for almost four months so Tianna had nabbed a summer job at a cafe', enrolled in two classes and was able to get an efficiency apartment near campus for the summer.

  " I hate to leave you but I've got to go as well." Amina said hearing her cab honking out front a few minutes later." I love you girl have a great summer."

  "I love you too. Have a good summer." Tianna said. They'd spent the last two weeks getting the apartment ready to give up at the end of the month. In August Tianna since she was staying in the area for the summer, would find them a place for a reasonable rate when Amina and Mark were ready to return for the following school year.

  Tianna locked the place up per their landlords instructions and made her way to the efficiency apartment she'd rented for the summer.

  Part 2

  My GOD! Tianna thought to herself glancing at the clock in the cafe' who the hell drinks coffee day and night like this? I won't complain though the pay sucks but the tips are great...even in this economy coffee is king! Tianna thought to herself with a laugh." Vanessa I'm going to take table sixteens order before I leave for the day. All the side jobs are done on the list so you all should be caught up." Tianna said heading to table sixteen. " Hello, welcome to the Coffee Cabaret may I take your order?" Tianna asked grabbing her pen and pad out of her apron and staring into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.

  "Hello Tianna " Jason said smiling at her.

  " Professor Petersen?" Tianna asked looking at him closely.

  " Please,please call me Jason and I'm not your professor anymore you know."

  " What did you do? Where is your po
nytail?" Tianna said with a small laugh.

  " You don't like it? " Jason said running his hands over his closely cropped dark brown hair.

  " No I love it! You look really,really good... Jason." Tianna said smiling at him.

  " So how is your summer so far Tianna?"

  " Oh! Hold on just a minute Jason. You were the last order I was taking before I clocked out. Let me put your order in, clock out and if it's OK with you I'll come and sit with you?"

  " Sounds great."

  " OK. I'll be back in a few minutes. Someone will bring your coffee right out.....dammit! What would you like ? "

  " A large mug of their Asian Spice Blend would be great." Jason said laughing.

  Ten minutes later Tianna joined Jason at his table." It's nice to see you Jason. I hope I didn't catch you off guard with the hair comment I just almost didn't recognize you." Tianna said taking a sip of her mocha. Professor is looking good ! I can't deny it. Tianna thought to herself trying not to look obvious about checking him out.

  " Well you look good. You always look good though. You're wearing your hair in a twist-out today right?"

  Tianna couldn't help but laugh." I know you're a professor but you know about natural hair styles too? You studied black hair care in college too?

  " Actually yes. I did a little studying. I know a little something about it." Jason said smiling confidently.

  " Hmm. OK. For some reason right now...I'm not going to ask you to go into depth on that! So are you teaching this summer or what?"

  " I'm teaching one class. Other than that I'm relaxing and working on a few manuscripts. I'm actually just about done with two of them. What about yourself? "

  "Well I'm taking two classes this summer and working. My main reason for the two classes is so that I could get ahead. I'm trying to graduate a semester early. So I'm right on track."

  " Tianna would you like to go out?"

  Tianna was shocked " Like on a date? You're my professor."

  " I was your professor. I'm not anymore and please don't enroll in any more of my classes because I'd really like to take you out sometime." Jason said laying it all out on the table. What did he have to lose at this point?

  What do I have to lose at this point? Tianna thought. I'm not his student anymore,he's only a few years older than me and his ass is damn good looking. An added bonus is that Mr. Professor is more than gainfully employed... so what the hell?

  " Well Jason it's Friday night,I'm off for the weekend and lucky for you I haven't made any plans." Tianna said smiling " Do you want me to text you my number and address?"

  " Actually sometimes I'm old fashioned." Jason said pulling out a notepad and sliding it across the table for Tianna to write down her contact information .

  " OK Jason here you go. I'll look forward to seeing you tonight." Tianna said gathering her things to leave.

  " I'm looking forward to it too. I'll pick you up at eight. Is it OK with you if I plan it or would you like to do anything specific?"

  " It's on you Professor Jason. " Tianna said over her shoulder walking away.

  Tianna got out of the shower towel drying her hair. This is very interesting she thought, me on a date with Professor Petersen? I hope we aren't breaking any type of rules or anything. The last thing I would want is for him to be in any type of trouble or anything. Jason knows more about these matters than I do, so I'll just take it he wouldn't have asked if it wasn't cool.

  Hmm. I don't really know where we're going so I'll dress cute but casual. Tianna went to work on her hair first deciding on a cute and simple up-do ,I don't even know where we’re going so no sense doing too much! He got his nerve knowing about a damn twist out ! Tianna thought laughing as she finished dressing.

  At eight o'clock on the dot Tianna heard a knock on her door. When Tianna opened the door she was once again shocked just how good looking Jason was. " You look gorgeous." Jason said smiling. Tianna had chosen to smooth her hair up sleekly on top of her head in a top knot and just went with maxi dress and jazzed it up with large gold hoops , along with a few gold bangles. Tianna went soft with her makeup but did top it off with a deep pink lipstick.

  Jason had on a crisp white shirt, a pair of dark rinse jeans and black leather loafers. Nice ,clean and sexy.

  Understated and fine is what came to Tianna's mind.

  " So where exactly are we going?" Tianna asked grabbing her clutch and locking her door.

  "Well, I hope you like reggae. There's a local spot I like to go to that has really good Caribbean food and a nice band." Jason said opening his car door for her and getting her settled in the car. When Jason pulled out and started driving to the restaurant,Tianna couldn't stop herself from staring at him ...obviously. " You know I would never have taken you for a guy that likes reggae."

  " You didn't take me for any kind of guy. Tianna. Let's be honest. "

  " Don't say it like that! It sounds so bad."

  Laughing Jason said "No it sounds true. I know you don't mean it in a bad way. You're not supposed to see me as anything else, I was your professor. Though I will say a good amount of my students don't give a damn about those type of technicalities."

  " You don't have to tell me. I've heard some of the conversations about you remember? So you're totally cool with this? You don't care if we run into any university staff, students or anyone? Because I'm cool if you are. We're not breaking any rules or anything are we?" Tianna asked suddenly serious.

  " No Tianna we're not breaking any rules. We are both adults. You are no longer my student and even though to be honest with you I've had a crush ...I can't believe I'm even using that word,but that's what it is... so even though I've had a crush on you for two years and wanted to go out with you, no Tianna Williams we are not breaking any university rules. Also just so you know Tianna, I wouldn't give a damn who saw us. As a matter of fact I want you to have such a good time with me tonight they see us together all the time." Jason said smiling.

  " Oh really? We'll see Mr. Professor."

  " You will see. I do want to talk to you about something but not until later." Jason said quickly.

  Tianna's cell phone rang and Tianna quickly looked at the screen and groaned inwardly." Let me take this real fast." Tianna said to Jason.

  " Hi mom. No I'm not sending you any money. Mom when are you going to realize I have needs too? I don't have any money to send you!... you're questioning if I love you because I wont send you any money? Money I don't even have. You're something else mom you know that? It wasn't enough that I delayed going to college a year so that you could still get dad's survivors benefits when they where actually for me." Tianna said her voice raising.

  Jason drove shocked at what he was hearing. It's true what they say you never know what someone is going though until you're in their shoes.

  " Mom this is exactly why I wouldn't come home this summer, I want to live my life to you know. Well I'm sorry you feel that way....I could wish the same as you then, that I had another mother, it sucks to be us doesn't it?" Tianna said hanging up the phone.

  They pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and Jason turned off the ignition.

  "Are you OK?" Jason asked after a few minutes of silence. Tianna just sat there, quietly trying to compose herself." Since you said I could plan the night this is what we're going to do." Jason said getting out of the car and walking to the passenger side." You see this beautiful beach? I'm going to walk with my beautiful date, along this beautiful beach before we go inside." Jason said holding out his hand." I don't want anything upsetting you tonight. So come on."

  " You're full of surprises you know Professor."

  " Jason."

  " You know there isn't anything wrong with me calling you that. You are a professor you know!"

  " I know. But you've had a lot of professors and by the time you're done with college you'll have had a lot more. When it's all said and done though I only want you to remember one Jason Petersen."

  " Well damn. My
mood is better already Jason." Tianna said smiling. "Let's go eat now."

  The entire evening Tianna had an amazing time. They talked about everything. Traveling, the places Jason had visited and the exotic places Tianna hoped to one day see. The food, drinks and band were fantastic.

  " I'd like to know why you're single? You're good looking, have a great job, you're very funny...why are you single or do you actually have a woman somewhere?" Tianna said leaning in for the answer.

  Jason laughed " I'm very single. I don't date a whole lot but I actually was seeing someone for about two years. She started pressing the whole marriage issue. Which I'm not opposed to. Only it has to be with the right woman. She wasn't right." Jason said laughing.

  "Well why not? What was wrong with her after two years."Tianna asked.

  " Well, how can I explain this. I don't want to come right out and say she was a gold digger but basically...she was a gold digger! I may not bother with a ton of women and I can be a little withdrawn at times depending on who it is, but I didn't come this far in life so young being stupid either." Jason said.

  " What did she do?"

  "Well I'll put it to you like this. I do make good money. I do lot of things though. Yes I'm a professor, I've written for some literary journals and various publications and like I've explained I've had a career...not a job since I was 19. So any woman I see myself potentially settling down with, I want her to be just as driven. My ex Sabrina when we got together came across as a woman who had goals for herself. As the relationship went on, it became more about my career than her having her own. I didn't care about doing things for her financially but I started to feel like she put on an act about herself for my benefit you know? Long story short I ended it six months ago. Sabrina was bitter about it but honestly I never talked marriage or any of those things with her." Jason said taking a sip of his Coke.