The TA.

Coupledom

As we walk into the foyer of the dining commons, I try to let go of his hand. Nathan glances across at me and tugs me closer. My shoulder pushes against his.
"Come on," he mutters. "No-one cares."
"Nath, people will care."
"And we'll ignore them," he says. "Swipe your card."
We swipe and step through into the main seating area. We walk together around the food stations. He fixes himself a bowl of fruit n fibre and smiles to himself as I fix a plate with sausage, bacon, eggs and tots. He shakes his head at me but stays quiet as we get orange juice and find a table on the top deck, away from everyone else.
He nudges a foot against mine as we eat.
He gasps quietly, then says, "I can read your work before class now, help you write."
"You already read my stuff before class," I tell him. "But how exactly do you plan on helping me write?"
He smirks, "Okay well I was more planning on distracting you."
"Well tell me more about the distractions then."
He reaches across and teases his fingers through mine.
"Kiss your neck while you work," he mutters. "Reach around, work your clit and watch you shake where you sit."
I bite my lip.
"Fuck you."
"You already did," he shoots back.
I roll my eyes.
And we hear footsteps climbing the stairs. We both turn our heads. We both see Cal's fire red hair. Her cool green eyes land on us. I'm not sure who drags their hand back first.
Cal, who was heading away from us, now turns towards us, her eyes narrowed. She stands a couple feet away and clutches her plate tight.
"Hey guys," she says, "I'd like to say I'm surprised, but I'm not."
"Cal -"
"No, Lannie, don't," she says.
Nathan says, "Cal, don't presume for a second that I was flattering Lannie just to get with her."
"Oh you weren't?"
"No. Lannie's writing is good, better than good. I'm not going to sit here and isolate the construction of her lines and I shouldn't have to. Do I find her ability attractive? Yes. Did I break a rule? Yes. But I am undoing those things. I'm not teaching. You have no more reason to be annoyed with us."
One of Cal's knees shakes. She glances away.
"Cal, let's grab a beer this weekend and talk, okay?"
She nods a little absently and then turns and starts down the stairs.
Nathan lets out a long breath.
"It’ll be alright," he says.
He asks what classes I have today, tells me what classes he has today and what he's writing for Prof Smith. I listen with my chin on my hand and my cheeks pink.
He walks me to class, kisses my forehead and texts me during the break in his class. We text, wave when we cross paths on campus and fall asleep on the phone with each-other.