Nerdgasm (JenLisa)

Chapter 9

Lisa

Jennie's taken up residence in my thoughts, and I don't want her to leave. I should be grading assignments, but the stack in front of me isn't as appealing as thinking about how I feel when I lay my lips on hers—

"Get that dopey look off your face, Lisa. If that's how you look in class, I can pretty much guarantee no students are taking you seriously."

"Hello to you too, Rosé." I fight the urge to wipe a hand over my face as I watch her sit across from me at my favorite study table in the library. "For the record, the students in Professor Kim's class take me very seriously."

"Keep telling yourself that," she says as she makes herself comfortable and arranges her books and laptop to her liking. "Your face says it all. You've got it bad, my friend."

I can't even deny it. "Yeah, I do."

A pleased look crosses Rosé's face at my words. "Aww. I know I give you a hard time and mess with you, but it's so freakin' cute to see how much you like each other. How was your last date? You took her to the clock tower, right?" She leans in and props her chin in her hands, eager for the details.

"Yeah, we went to the clock tower. Besides all the stairs and the couples wanting to make out under the stars, it was a success."

"Oh, stop. I'm sure you were one of those couples making out, so don't knock the others. Besides, you can cross this off your list of things to do."

I feel the warmth seep into my face at her words. "Maybe," I mumble, embarrassed to admit she's right but also pleased because she's right.

"I'm happy for you, Lisa." Her smile and words are genuine, but they quickly turn teasing. "I'm also proud of you. I mean, just a few weeks ago you weren't sure what you'd do if she kissed you. Now, look at you two, sucking face in public places."

"I can't take you anywhere," I groan. Thankfully, her voice is low enough that it doesn't carry over to nearby tables.

"I won't deny that, but you love me anyway. Tell me, what do you have planned next?"

Eager to move off the topic of kissing, I fill her in on tomorrow's plans. "Well, our dates have been pretty active and public, so Jennie suggested we stay in. She mentioned wanting to Netflix and chill, which is fine by me. I'm looking forward to some downtime with her."

"Netflix and chill?" Rosé's eyebrows rise at my words. "Are you ready for that?"

Her asking me if seeing a movie and hanging out is something I'd need to be ready for is odd, but she must be wondering if I can handle being near Jennie in a more intimate setting.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? You and I Netflix and chill all the time." My own brows rise when Rosé coughs and covers the sound with an awkward laugh. "I know it'll be different with her, but it's the same concept."

"It'll definitely be different with her." She laughs. "And I don't know. We both don't have a lot of experience, and I wasn't sure if there was a right time to do that. I'm sure you'll have fun, though."

I chuckle at her words; she must be rustier at dating than I thought. "I know we aren't very experienced, but I think I can handle Netflix and chill, Rosé. It's not that big of a deal."

"Okay, if you say so. I can't wait to hear about this when it's over. I'm assuming the Netflix and chilling will take place at her apartment?"

"Your assumption is correct. Her roommates have something else going on, so we'll have the place to ourselves. It'll be nice to have a relaxing night in. I'm curious to see what movie she'll want to watch, but I'm hoping I can convince her to watch Justice League with me."

"Mmhmm, I'm sure she'll be all over that." She winks at me, but before I can ask her what it was for, she continues. "As much as I love living vicariously through you now when it comes to dating, it looks like you have to get through that stack of papers." She indicates said pile with a nod. "Let me help you, and then we can go home after you drop off those papers, order pizza, and watch Agents of Shield."

"That would be awesome. Thanks, Rosé. You're the best."

She gives me her typical response. "I know."

We both turn our focus to the task at hand, and the easy banter we have while we work helps keep me from counting down to my date tomorrow.

Jennie may want to Netflix and chill, but there's nothing 'chill' about the way I feel for her.

With Rosé's help, we make quick work of getting through everything that needs grading. We took separate cars to school today, so she's on her way home to put in the pizza order while I drop the assignments off at Hee-chul's office.

My shoes echo down the deserted hallway, and I rap my knuckles in a quick staccato against his open door. He looks up, fatigue clear on his face, but his lips quirk up at the corners when he sees me.

"Lisa, do you have a few moments?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just want to catch up and shoot the s**t before we both head home."

I've gotten used to his blunt manner of speaking, and I like how he treats me more like a peer than an assistant. I check the time on my cell and see Rosé texted saying she had to make a pitstop at her dad's before heading home. It shouldn't take long, but I'm happy for the slight delay because I've come to really enjoy my talks with Hee-chul.

"Sure, I can hang out for a few."

"Great, come on in. Have a seat."

I shut the door behind me as I step into his office, taking in the now familiar surroundings as I make my way past the desk I usually sit at. The oak shelves lined with countless books on mythology make me itch to stop and peruse them, and I make a mental note to ask him if I can check out his collection one day. I step around a tall table holding a globe of Ancient Greece and give it a spin before settling into one of the wingback chairs in front of his desk.

"Before I forget, here is the latest round of assignments, graded and ready to disperse. I already entered the grades into the system."

"Thank you, Lisa. You're doing a great job."

"Thanks. Is it still a futile attempt to convince you to do online quizzes instead?" I ask hopefully.

Hee-chul lets out a bark of laughter. "Yeah, that's not happening. Not everyone has a computer, and I don't want anyone cheating. Paper is more honest."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumble, even though I'm just giving him a hard time.

"How's the semester going?"

"It's going well. I really like my classes, and with the exception of this really demanding, archaic professor I TA for, it'd be great." I don't mean it at all, and I'm always slightly surprised by how easy it is to converse with Hee-chul.

"The kid's got jokes," he mutters.

"I'm not a kid." Great, now I sound like a kid.

He smirks and leans back in his chair as he loosens his tie and undoes the top two buttons of his dress shirt. "There, much better," he sighs in pleasure. "And when you're thirty-seven like me and feel ancient around a lot of the student body, everyone seems like a kid. I'll give it to you though, Lisa, you're very mature for your age. You remind me of one of my brothers."

I straighten at his compliment. "Thank you, and thank you?" I'm not entirely sure how he feels about his brothers.

"Ha, it's a good thing," he clarifies. "You remind me of my youngest brother. You're what, twenty-two? Twenty-three?"

"Twenty-three."

"You're even the same age as him. Byron's a good egg; he's a brainiac, kind, and is basically every mother's dream child. One thing's for sure, he didn't give my mother gray hairs like my other brother and I did." He chuckles and pauses, and there's a distant look in his eyes, as if he's reminiscing. "I'll introduce the two of you the next time he visits. I've seen some of the comic books tucked away in your bag and know you guys would get along great. He's in a graduate program at Ithaca College, so he's not too far. Let me guess, you went to IthaCon too?"

I'm a little taken aback that he wants to introduce me to one of his brothers, and I'm surprised he knows about IthaCon. "Guilty as charged."

"I figured. It was all he could talk about for months. Yeah, I'm definitely going to introduce you guys."

"Thanks, that's cool of you. I don't have a lot of friends."

I feel myself flush at the confession, but it's true. Between juggling school, my TA duties, hanging with Rosé, and dating Jennie, I haven't really had time to make new friends.

Instead of a look of pity, Hee-chul gives me a look of understanding. "Their loss. If I've learned anything over the years, it's to nurture the relationships that matter. Don't worry about the people who don't want to be there. Life's too short to worry about what others think, and it's definitely too short to try and make someone like you. You feel me?"

The more time I spend with him, the more I realize he has this uncanny ability to speak to the unspoken, underlying issue that's really bothering me. If I didn't know better, I'd think he has a superpower, his intuition is that strong.

"Yeah, I feel you."

"Speaking of life being too short." He leans forward and clasps his hands in front of him. "How are you feeling about teaching a lesson?"

"Um…not r-ready?"

"Is that a question or a statement?"

"Both?" I try and muster my thoughts. "Part of me wants to teach, but the other part of me still feels a lot of anxiety. When I feel out of control, my stutter gets really bad, and I don't want to have to struggle through a lesson. It's not fair to your students."

"The only thing that wouldn't be fair, Lisa, is to deprive them of a lesson from someone who's competent, knowledgeable, and passionate about the subject matter. I personally think you'd do a great job."

"I think you're kind of biased."

"Trust me, if I didn't think you'd be qualified, I wouldn't offer to let you take the reigns in my class. When I saw your résumé I knew you'd be qualified, but it wasn't until I met you and we had our long talks on mythology that I knew you'd be a great teacher."

Now I'm blushing in earnest at his kind words. "Thank you, that means a lot to me."

He nods as if it's no big deal. "We'll get you to teaching a class eventually. There's no rush, but I hope you know I'm happy to help in any way I can. I know you haven't tried it yet, but I'm calling it now: you'll get a taste for it and will want to teach."

He looks so confident in his words.

"If I decide to go down that route, I'll be sure to thank you. Just don't get a big head about it if you're right."

We both share an easy laugh, and I'm grateful we get along. Most of our conversations are about school, but I enjoy when we touch on personal things as well. He really is becoming a friend of sorts, and I can't help but wonder if this is what it'd be like to have an older brother.

My phone beeps, and I glance at the screen quickly. There's a text notification from Rosé, and I know it's time for me to leave.

"Time to go?" he guesses.

"Yeah, my best friend and I are going to have pizza and binge on some TV shows."

"Sounds like a good time. I better get going as well before I become part of the scenery here."

We say our goodbyes, and as I'm pulling open the door, Hee-chul calls out. "Oh, and Lisa?"

I stop with my hand on the knob and glance at him over my shoulder. "Yeah?"

"My door's always open if you need anything," he reminds.

I give him a genuine thank you and head out, grateful to have someone else I can count on for advice. I doubt anything will come up, but it's comforting knowing he's there for me.