The Desires of Jack O'Hara. [MsBloom x rekhaiyer]

[MsBloom]

Jack O'Hara was just finishing his third cup of tea of the morning. On the old stereo, the kind were you played those thin black discs and had to flip them over half way through, Dvorak's 9th symphony, The New World, conducted by Herbert von Karajan was playing on a reasonably high volume. He was sitting in the burgundy Chesterfield chair in his study going over his first lecture of the semester in his head, English Literature beginner's course. It would pretty much be a repetition of the lecture he started each beginner's course with. A list of books he expected the students to read, a brief speech about the importance of literature and of why we read, a speech that usually included musings on how tv and even to a large extent movies and those streaming services had ruined young people's ability as well as their desire to read. He would muse on the phrase: No but I've seen the movie/tv series. He scoffed a bit at the sheer number of times he had received that reply even from well-educated academics and it still boggled his mind how people could even think that watching a movie or a tv series was even remotely comparable to having read the book or books it was based on.

More importantly though he would, as he did every year, ask his students to talk about themselves and not just about why they were in love with literature or who their favourite authors were but about who they were, about where they grew up, maybe share a fond memory of when they realised the power of the written word. It was important to him to know his students beyond their studies. He had always, ever since he began teaching at his old Alma Mater felt that it was not only his job to educate them but also to be instrumental in shaping their impressionable young minds, in shaping them into functioning well-educated members of society, regardless of their calling. Some had over the years gone on to become teachers, researchers, politicians, even Members of Parliament. Others had become writers, journalists or librarians. And to have that kind of impact he had to know more about his students than such relatively superficial information as could be derived from their essays and post-lecture discussions.

This desire to know his students was also the reason for the dinner party he always held for new students each semester, with a few old students mixed in among them. It was of course also a part of his selection process for picking bed partners for the semester. There was always at least one girl among them he could manipulate into sleeping with him, through charm, attention and little mind games, and if necessary a show of the power that came with his position. He was well aware that over the years more than a handful of his female students had slept with him because they believed it would help them get better grades but ultimately that was not a problem for him. He didn't care why they slept with him and he most certainly did not expect them to fall in love with him. This didn't mean that it was just an itch that needed to be scratched and any woman might do. No, not at all. He was usually quite picky. Despite having just turned 62 a month earlier he was not really interested in anything over twenty five, and preferably without children that might get in the way of the relationship.. He simply couldn't see the charm in so-called milfs. What a stupid word that was, especially since it was often used as a description of older women but a girl of merely 18, or even younger, could be a mother just as well as a woman of fifty could be childless. Also he preferred the women he slept with to be attentive, humble and courtly in their sexuality, one might even say subservient. This did in no way reflect his view on women in general. He had many friends and colleagues who were women, most of whom he had the greatest respect and whose thoughts and opinions he placed no less value in than those of his male friends.

It was half past nine and he needed to shower, get dressed and be in his office at Madingley Hall before ten. The lecture would begin at 10:30 and he had some administrative work that needed to be done before that.

He picked up his walking stick made from Irish Blackthorn with a silver handle and tip and walked to the bathroom where he showered and trimmed his beard before continuing to his bedroom where he put on a bright red t-shirt and a light brown suit. He combed his silver hair and despite the memento from the crash in which he had killed his wife to be and his unborn child he walked the half mile between his off campus cottage to his office.

 

[rekhaiyer]

It had only been two weeks since the twenty-three year old Rekha moved to Rampton, a quaint little village that was about half an hour away from the University of Cambridge, where she had chosen to pursue a post-graduate degree in English literature. The program was two years long and had a reputation for only accepting the brightest in the world. So naturally, Rekha considered being accepted into the program as one of her biggest achievements in life. After she had made all arrangements to travel to the United Kingdom, she had made the mistake of being wide eyed about Cambridge and her future in a foreign country.

However, it had not taken long for her to be brought back down to earth soon after she arrived in the country. On arrival, she had opted to spend a few days in a private room that she found on AirBnB while she looked for her own more permanent place in the meanwhile. But to her horror, she realized that most properties close to the university were way out of her budget. However, she called home for help and one of her family's business partners came to her aid. She wasn't sure how her mother pulled it off but she was instructed to take up residence in a small one bedroom house at Rampton. From what she could tell, it belonged to a man in his seventies named William Ezard who did not live there anymore.

It had taken her a week to get the place up to livable standards and though it was a nice quiet place to live, she had received quite a few strange looks in town given she was the only foreigner in the village that barely had a population of five hundred. Although she had tried to maintain a cheerful demeanor, she had made no real friends so far and most people living there seemed to be polite or kind but also cold and distant at times, just like the country's weather.
Before, long it was time for her to attend the first lecture of her program and she was excited to finally do something useful after two weeks of stress that she had to go through to make her living arrangements as smooth as possible. It was not all doom and gloom though and Rekha was happy about her commuting arrangement. Her house was close to a place where there was reasonable public transport and it only took her an hour of travel plus a couple of minutes of walking to reach her university.

The minutes ticked by without her really noticing it as the bus sped through the highway, mostly passing trees and green scenery en route to the heart of Cambridgeshire, while Rekha idly flipped through screens on her phone, looking up the details of her class for the day. On her personalized page of timetables, she clicked on the day's introduction class and was taken to a page that had a caption in bold that said, "Professor Jack O'Hara", and it had a picture of an older gentleman posing with a cane in his hand and a kind smile playing on his face. Rekha could tell that he had once been a handsome man as she started going through his accomplishments, but quickly getting distracted by the appearance of some beautiful old buildings as the city came into view through the window of the bus. Her eyes went wide when she looked at the architecture, though she had seen the place before.

It wasn't long until she arrived at her stop and a cold breeze hit her exposed skin as soon as she stepped off the bus, which made her adjust her blue scarf to cover her ears better before she buttoned up her grey jacket fully. As the breeze picked up again, she shivered slightly and ran a hand through her loose black hair that went down past her shoulder blades, but was also glad that she had worn her thermals in addition to her light blue shirt underneath her jacket. Quickly stuffing her phone down one of the pockets in her pair of dark grey slacks, she briskly walked towards the university's entrance, ready for class.

 

[MsBloom]

Twenty minutes after ten Jack was done with his administrative duties for the day and since the lecture was to be held in the antechamber of his office for the twelve students that had been selected from hundred of applicants he began preparing a pot of Lapsang Souchong, put out honey, milk, sugar and sliced up a lemon in slightly uneven slices due to his hands no longer being as steady as they had once been. Lastly he laid out some digestive biscuits baked for him by his neighbour Mrs Waters, an elderly lady who lost her husband in the Falklands war who busied herself mostly with baking and tending her garden, and who often left him little baked gifts that he usually shared with his students. He checked his wrist watch. It was twenty five past ten and he opened the door leading to the hall where students were rushing by on their way to their first lectures of the semester. He nodded invitingly at the few students that weren't on the move and gracefully held out his arm to further extend the invitation.

The antechamber was perhaps on the smaller side but with three large sofas and as many armchairs of various ages and designs placed around a low but relatively large table in the center of the room and a large flippable whiteboard on wheels on the fourth end of the table there was more than ample room for twelve students and a professor who liked to move around as he taught, despite the difficulty with which he walked due to his injury. A fireplace was built into the wall between the room he used for his lectures and workshops and his office. It was on the mantle of said fireplace that the fragrant tea was soaking but not quite ready just yet.

"Good morning," he said and leaned with both hands on his walking stick once the students had settled and he had closed the door behind them.
He looked the twelve fresh young face over, seven young men and five young women of which one caught his attention more than the rest, a slim dark haired woman of obvious Indian descent. She had come highly recommended by her university in the former jewel in the crown of the since long collapsed British Empire. She was without any reasonable doubt the most beautiful person in the room and whether or not she was aware of it the brim of pride she emitted suggested that she counted herself lucky to have been admitted to his classes. That would be his opening, his way into her mind, under her skin and ultimately into her panties. Of course none of those thoughts showed in the subtle smile he sent her although she might perhaps have noticed that his eyes lingered just a little bit longer on her than on the other students.
"My name is Professor O'Hara but you may call me Jack, at least within these four walls. As I call your names please do help yourself to some refreshments," he continued and took out a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his light brown suit pants.
"Sue Anne Albright," he called and a tiny blonde girl rose from her seat and headed for the refreshments.

He continued this way until all the students had been called, helped themselves to tea and biscuits, and been seated again. He then walked across the room leaning heavily on his walking stick. The injury was being a pain in the proverbial beehive today which usually meant there was rain coming, and when wasn't there rain coming. It was after all England. He poured a cup with a slice of lemon and some honey in it.

"Introduction to Modern Literature," he then said and sat down in an armchair similar to the one he had in his study at home.
He then went about his little speech making no secret of how he felt about books made into movies or television series. When he was done he, seemingly at random, pointed to Rekha and asked her to say a little something about herself, beyond her obvious interest in modern literature.

 

[rekhaiyer]

The moment she entered her class after getting directions from plenty of people on her way over, she was in awe. She had read and heard about how affluent the classrooms at Cambridge were going to be but nevertheless, she was not prepared for how exquisitely maintained this particular room was.

"Built with stolen money over the centuries I'd guess. I wonder if THAT topic is going to be something that will be explored here.", she thought to herself with a wry smile.

But, she pushed those thoughts aside and was happy about being a little bit early to class. She took a seat in the middle of the room, choosing a spot as close to the board as possible, though she knew that it was unlikely to be used on the very first day.

Once she was seated, she looked around at the ten other other students of varying ages sitting around in the room, some relaxed, some at the edge of their seats and some exchanging smiles quietly waiting for class to begin. After a few moments had passed, a red headed girl with freckles covering her face and barely out of her teens took the seat beside her while making herself comfortable. Rekha gave the bushy haired girl a quick smile and turned her gaze to the professor, who was giving her a soft smile, which she returned as she took her scarf of off her neck to place it across her lap carefully. When she looked up a second later, she noticed that the O'hara still had his eyes on her but it moved away to the others in a flash, which she noticed but didn't think too much about.

Before long, the people around her were coming back to their seats one by one with the snacks on offer and she wondered if they were any good. Finally it was her turn to go up to grab something for herself, which she was only too happy to do. Coming back to her seat, she sat down and took a little nibble out of the biscuit, which she was not a fan of, and wondered if the snack was something that the professor enjoyed or if it was something that he had to eat. A short while later, her eyes were following the professor, who was moving around the class room with some difficulty as he continued to talk. The sight of the older man leaning on his cane made her slightly sad for a moment and that is when she heard him speak for the first time.

Setting it aside, she perked up in her seat as the professor started talking about how adaptation of the written word irked him. If he had not been one of the most acclaimed professors in the world when it came to literature, she'd have filed it away at the back of her mind as the rantings of an old man. But his stature meant that she'd to take some of his words seriously because he had clearly paid his dues and it was only fair. Though she agreed with some of his views, she had hated reading, 'The Lord of the Rings' when she was a teen. She wasn't a fan of how three hundred pages of the book were about describing the landscape and smiled at the professor's opinions, hoping that as the classes went on, she'd have a chance to get her two cents in sometime.

Just as she was beginning to let her mind wander to other things, she noticed that the professor was pointing to her and was asking her to say something about herself. usually, these situations slightly unnerved her and this time was no different as she tried to think of something to say. "Um, hi everyone!", she began with a smile, trying not to give away the nervousness that she felt through her voice.

"I don't know if I have anything interesting to say about myself but my name is Rekha Iyer. I finished my Bachelors in English Literature eighteen months ago and had been interning at a local newspaper to become an investigative journalist back home in India. I helped write a story about animal abuse in an industrial cattle farm somewhere in the southern parts of the country, among five other stories. Now I am here. I still don't know how and I am amazed at the fact that I got accepted into one of the best post-graduate programs in the world when it comes to literature.", she finished with a soft laugh, pretty sure that the rest of the people in that room had done far more impressive things than she had.

 

[MsBloom]

While the Indian woman spoke Jack might perhaps have been seemingly more focused on carefully dipping the biscuit into his tea and taking a bite from it but when she concluded the little speech about herself, her dreams and experiences with an almost starry eyed admission that she was amazed at the fact that they had accepted her into what she referred to as one of the best post-graduate programs in the world, which was of course an entirely correct assessment, he nodded with a pensive expression on his face.
"Investigative journalist you say," he said after having first swallowed the soggy biscuit in his mouth and washed it down with a slurp of tea.
"Out to expose the evils of the world be it Sex-trafficking, corrupt politicians, cops or judges, multi-national corporations profiting from slave labour, money-laundering banks, drug cartels or as you said yourself, the abuse of animals in the food industry," he said with just a hint of subtle sarcasm about the youthful idealism of such dreams.

He had not looked up from his tea cup and he did not so when he continued in a much more serious tone of voice either.
"Another evil upon this world, all these fast food chains that serve nothing but junk made from abused animals and chemical additives. Now make no mistake I am far from a vegan. I do love my meats but I would rather eat nothing but turnips for the rest of my life than to put meat from an industrial meat plant into my mouth."
It was not until he had made this presumably provocative statement that he looked up at Rekha but only to quickly move his eyes to another student and ask the same question. If she was observant enough she might have noticed a discreet fleeting smile as he lifted the tea cup to his lips for another sip.

One by one the other students made similar little speeches. The red head next to Rekha, who introduced herself as Gemma Stone, spoke about her interest in gardening and how she was looking for a small allotment where she could grow her own food. She, unlike Jack, was a vegetarian. Another one of the students a man of about Rekha's age bolstered that he was not only fully intent on but confident that he would some day write the next big masterpiece that professors of modern literature would teach young ambitious writers about in a hundred years, and more. Jack's only response to his soliloquy was to raise his eyebrows and take a bite of his biscuit, point to the next student and then wash the biscuit down with the last of his tea.

While the next student spoke of her wish to work in publishing Jack got up and leaning on his walking stick he went to get a refill which he invited the students to do as well after the tiny blonde who had been the first on his attendance sheet had finished talking about how her dream was to discover the next Ulysses, or In Search of Lost Times, an admirable goal, Jack agreed but also quite unattainable for reasons he was not going to delve deeper into during introductions.

When all of the students had made their little speech Jack nodded and stood up again.
"Lastly I have this tradition where I invite my new students to dinner at my home, along with a few former students. It is if you so wish a gathering aimed at you getting to know me, and each other better and for me to get to know you better, under less academic circumstances than is possible within these four walls."
He leaned on his walking stick with both hands and looked from student to student and once again letting his eyes rest a few moments longer on Rekha.
"10 Church Lane. Saturday at six for those of you who wish to have drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Dinner will be served at eight and this year I am planning to serve Leg of Lamb from a local farmer with roasted vegetables grown by next door neighbour Mrs Waters."
He turned his attention to the redhead next to Rekha and assured her that he would of course prepare a vegan alternative for her and then with a quick glance at Rekha, the woman he had chose to be his special student, at least for the semester, he nodded as if to himself more than to anyone in particular.
"While attendance at this dinner is of course not mandatory I will expect to see you all there."
He then sat down finished his tea and looked at his watch. It was five minutes before noon, right on schedule, and with a smile he briefly informed them of his workshop in creative writing held in the same room on Thursday afternoons and then with a nod dismissed class.
"And don't forget to take a copy of the reading list on your way out," he said as the students began to file out of his class room.

 

[rekhaiyer]

"This isn't how this usually goes. What an ass!", she thought to herself before she quickly forced a smile on to her face after listening to the professor's sarcastic tone, which had her feeling a bit deflated as her social anxiety kicked in thanks to the unexpected turn her little speech had taken, when all she had hoped for was a few kind words in response. Even silence would have been better than the condescension that she had got.

His general demeanor of eating as he spoke down to her just felt like further insult to Rekha, who started to feel anger rise within her, which she was barely keeping a lid on. Although the smile was still on her face, her determined eyes stared daggers back at him. With every passing moment, she was growing more frustrated about the fact that the tea sipping professor did not even bother to look up at her when he spoke.

But she began to calm down slowly when she realised that the older man at least agreed with her about her issues with large scale cattle farming, finally looking at her as he admitted as much. She wondered what his smile was about after he had insulted her as the topic moved on to the other students in the room, leaving the socially inexperienced woman more confused than ever.

As the moments passed, Rekha was pleased to learn the names of her fellow students and thought that Ms. Stone's interest in gardening was fascinating and she made a note to talk to her after class, wishing to see if she wanted to help her explore the county on their days off. When she spoke, Gemma had mentioned that she lived at Cottenham, which was barely a mile away from her place at Rampton, and the way she carried herself seemed like they could be friends.

But Rekha made the mistake of observing his professor again as the others spoke up, once again getting slightly irritated at the way he was seemingly more interested in his biscuits and tea, than what the others were sharing about their hopes for their futures. By then, Rekha couldn't wait for the session to end and started putting her things away in her bag, ready to leave, get back home and cook one of her comfort foods. It had been months since she had last cooked although she was a very good cook. Being a vegetarian, she made another note in her head to stop by the grocery store close to her home to buy some fresh vegetables.

"Maybe some potatoes, carrots and green peas for a spicy stew.", she thought to herself, already checked out of the class mentally. But that's when her idle thoughts were interrupted by the professor's voice again.

"Dear God, he still isn't finished.", she thought to herself while she was forced to listen to his voice again as he mentioned a usual student night of some sort that was coming up at his residence.

"Get to know him? Didn't today's little session tell us all more than we need to know already? Why would anyone subject themselves to this sarcasm and rudeness again?", she thought to herself with a quizzical look on her face, meeting Gemma's eyes who smiled at her nervously, which made Rekha smirk back. It was as if they were both thinking the same thing. But when she looked back at the him, she noticed that Jack's eyes were intently set on her and she looked away in embarrassment and a tiny bit of guilt, hoping that he hadn't caught the looks that she and Gemma had exchanged as he spoke.

Although she hadn't decided if she wanted to go, she immediately checked where the address was on her phone, just in case and groaned quietly at the fact that it was forty minutes away from her house. And when she looked up again, he was once again looking at her after he had said something to Gemma that she hadn't paid attention to, which made her self conscious and somewhat nervous for some reason. She was used to professors in class looking at her but it was usually for her answers or questions. This felt different for some reason and she wasn't sure if she had made him displeased with something that she had done.

As soon as class was dismissed she rushed out of the room, grabbing a piece of paper on her way out that had a list of recommended books to read. Some of the titles on the list were common titles that she had already read years ago so she shrugged and tossed the folded piece of paper into her bag as she walked. On her way to the steps that led out of that building into a park, she noticed Gemma rushing past her and she called out to the woman.

"Hey! Gemma, yeah? I am Rekha.", she said as she held out her hand.

 

[MsBloom]

Still looking through the reading list as she walked slowly down the hall Gemma paused in her steps as she heard the Indian student call her name from behind. She introduced herself and took Rekha's hand.
"What a complete ass, right?" Gemma said and rolled her eyes.
"A bit self-absorbed but what can you expect from old farts that's never seen life outside a college. At least he was kind enough to offer a vegetarian alternative to the poor murdered sheep's child. I'll never understand how people can eat animals."
Gemma shrugged and put the list away in her bag.
"So are you doing anything this afternoon?" she then asked Rekha and suggested that if not then perhaps they could have lunch together.
"There's a really nice Vegan burger place in Cambridge that I've started going to since I moved here," Gemma suggested.

Having dismissed class Jack was free most of the afternoon, there was just a staff meeting after lunch and then some more administrative work that he could just as easily take care of at home. He decided he would go in to Cambridge proper and browse through his usual book stores and then after Sarah Key's Haunted Bookshop have coffee and the Indigo Café next doors. He'd be back at his office in time for the meeting at five and then home, make dinner and have bath. Bath's usually helped with the pain in his knee.

As he walked back home to get his vintage Austin Mini he went over the introductory class in his head, mainly focusing on Rekha's reactions to his attitude towards her. He had noticed her getting annoyed, if not actually angry with him for the way he had talked to her and partially ignored her while at the same time sending her little smiles and letting his eyes linger a bit longer on her than on the other students. The girl who had been sitting next to her had been almost as annoyed at his seemingly dismissive attitude during the introductions but all in all they would get used to his casual style of teaching and learn that whether or not he seemed preoccupied with a cup of tea or seemed lost in thoughts he was paying attention to everything they said and did, including shared looks and rolled eyes.

He had not mentioned it as it was their first class for him but if it did continue he would have a talk with both of them, the same went for the male student who had tried to impose himself on the class. He would have a serious talk with him about proper behaviour and if need be remind the boy that there was only room for one alpha male in a flock and that was him, the professor, and no one else, at least not as long as he still had his wits about him. He would of course not say that to the boy's face but he had ways to make such things clear to the male students trying to move in on his territory with the girls in his classes.

All in all though he concluded that all had gone relatively well and according to plan. He had put her down with a subtle hint of sarcasm but also made her nervous and probably quite curious too with the double message he had been sending her.
"If all else fails," he muttered to himself as he opened the door of his car.
"I'll put the moves on the redhead and put Lady Jealousy into play."
He had tried that tactic before and it usually worked. In this case he was also fairly certain that the redhead was not interested in men as sexual partners.

 

[rekhaiyer]

"Or maybe he just hasn't gotten laid since the second world war.", said Rekha in a dry tone as she played with her hair, giggling at her own lame joke.

It was nice of him to offer Gemma vegan options at dinner, at least, she thought to herself, happy with the fact that she didn't have to worry about food either at the party. After all, while not a vegan, Rekha was a vegetarian herself who stealthily enjoyed a boiled egg or two unbeknownst to anyone else. Her one little secret and a guilty pleasure when it came to food.

"Oh that sounds lovely. I wouldn't mind having a little snack right now before I go home and cook dinner.", she told Gemma before they both started walking out of the building. As they started weaving through the crowd together near the university, Rekha couldn't help but ask, "So what do we do around our dead little suburbs for fun over the weekends? I have spent some already and was mostly bored out of mind.", she told Gemma who laughed in response, but before she could answer, she pointed to the burger place that she had mentioned sitting across the street and they crossed over in a hurry into the warmth of the little shop.

After the two young women had finished their burgers, it was time to part ways but not before Gemma offered to take Rekha hiking over the weekend, which she was only too happy to accept. Having said their goodbyes, Rekha had went home and began making dinner as planned, happy about the familiar smells from home that was quickly filling her kitchen as she hummed a little tune to herself.

She only remembered that she had promised to call her mother when her phone rang with her mum's number on the screen in a video call. Immediately, she answered the call with a swipe of her fingers but was annoyed when she saw her father on the screen sitting next to her mother. As her mother raised her eyebrows apologetically, her father was the first to speak up.

"So, have you investigated a serial killer already? When are you getting your Pulitzer then?", he asked in a sarcastic tone accompanied by a mocking laugh, making her grind her teeth and smile. Now, she remembered why she had felt such hate towards her professor earlier in the day. Completely ignoring him, she looked at her mother. "How have you been ma? Have you started paying his loans off yet? You know the ones you got thanks to his failed restaurant? Oh you haven't finished paying off his shuttered grocery shop loans yet? What a shame."

With triumph, she watched him get off the sofa next to her mother and walk away. "You two really need to talk and make peace with each other. This is ridiculous.", said her mother before they began talking about other things that were more important. Having spoken to her at length about her life in England so far, Rekha finished the call reluctantly, wishing that she could keep talking until she fell asleep instead of eating dinner all on her own.

But soon, she was done with her delicious stew for dinner and she walked over to her bedroom, taking her clothes off and dropping them beside her bed on the floor. Once she was completely naked, she lay on the bed and grabbed her phone from the nightstand, happy to be greeted by a good night text from Gemma. Tossing her phone to the other side of the bed, she flipped over to lay on her stomach, uncomfortable with the light and fluffy pillow that annoyed her.

I'll have to get a sturdier one tomorrow, was her final thought that night before sleep took her.

Rekha was in a wispy room where no one could see any details but she could tell that they were in her private room back home. And from the distant echoes that came from the living room that'd been directly below her room, she could understand that her mother was berating her father, who stood before Rekha, demanding that she do better in school with her report card in hand. His face was shrouded in shadows and she couldn't see him but she could identify that whiny voice anywhere. As he berated her for her grades in math and science, Rekha felt him grab her by the throat to tell her that she was wasting money going to school and slammed her back against the wall roughly. She could only see some gnarly teeth as Rekha's back was against the wall, before she felt herself being pushed down by her father off a window in her room. But at the last moment, his face changed to that of Jack O'Hara and she screamed as she fell desperately flailing her arms to grab on to something.

She woke up in a cold sweat, her whole body damp from the nightmare. She rarely had nightmares but when they happened, they had a habit of being intensely unpleasant. Rekha was already beginning to forget the details when she struggled to think of her nightmare. But it was not dawn yet so she walked to the kitchen, badly needing a glass of water before she went back to sleep.

 

[MsBloom]

On the way into Cambridge Gemma talked about her garden and since it soon became known to her that Rekha was also, at least a vegetarian, and they didn't really have any actual classes before the next Monday she invited the older Indian girl over to her place the day after.
"I grow more than I eat myself and if you would help me around the garden you can pick a little of whatever you want from it. I have carrots, potatoes, cabbages, celeriac, onions, leeks, beet roots."
The list went on as Gemma listed basically every vegetable she grew in her garden and in the small green house attached to it.
"And ..."
She leaned in to whisper.
"Hidden inside the tomatoes I have a small patch of marijuana too. For personal use of course but you are welcome to try it once it's been properly processed."
It was a rather daring sign of trust to place in someone she had met less than three hours earlier but Gemma had a good feeling about Rekha. She was sure they would become good friends, and perhaps more Gemma hoped but said nothing. It was far too soon and she was far from sure how her new friend would react to such a suggestion.

After they had finished their vegan burgers Gemma said she had a few errands to run before going home and the two new friends hugged each other goodbye and while Rekha went home Gemma went to the bookstore she had taken a liking to, The Haunted Bookshop where she had the misfortune of running into the pompous arsehole professor who nodded politely at her with a smile as if that would make up for his arrogant behaviour during the introductory class. He even had the audacity to ask if she would share a coffee with him at the café next door. She declined politely saying she had other errands to run.

Jack nodded in response to the cute young redhead as it was obvious she was simply making excuses to avoid having to have coffee with him. He paid for the three books he had bought and then went next door where he ordered his usual, black coffee straight up, no milk, no sugar, no latte, macchiato, or any of that stuff that his own generation had helped import to the UK from the US, not from Italy, France or Spain where those versions of coffee originally came from, although he did occasionally enjoy an espresso but that was really just black coffee straight up no milk no sugar, just perhaps a bit stronger and with a more clearly defined bitterness to it. he then made his staff meeting and went home.

---

The next day Gemma was busy all morning baking a beetroot cake and harvesting a bit of everything that was ready to be harvested, mostly cabbages, potatoes, and lettuces. She then took out some of the marijuana she had grown the year before. What she hadn't mentioned to Rekha the day before was that the cottage she lived in belonged to her grand mother who was in a retirement home and she had lived there alone for the better part of two years by the time they met. It was a quiet life for the most part which she was perfectly content with. The day went by more or less as she had planned. The two new friends talked about a little of everything, including Gemma putting out feelers to see if Rekha might be into girls, which Gemma made no secret about being as she told her new friend about the only long term relationship she had been in, a girl she had gone to school with but who had gotten a scholarship to go to The Sorbonne in Paris.

The day after that Gemma took Rekha on a rather ambitious hike along the river Cam that saw them leaving early in the morning and not returning until late in the evening and having planned to spend as much of the week leading up to the weekend as possible with her new friend she then showed her around Cambridge, which pubs she liked and which clubs, she had Rekha sign up to the same gym she went to and took her shopping for work out clothes. They went shopping for books on the professor's list and had lunch together every day at the same vegan burger place.

 

[rekhaiyer]

Pleasantly surprised by the younger redhead's invitation, Rekha nodded her head enthusiastically while she took a sip from her cup of chocolate milkshake, finally being relieved about having something to do instead of being stuck at home by herself. And she was excited about Gemma's garden, at first anyway. But as Gemma kept listing the things that she grew, Rekha began zoning out slightly, wondering how big her garden was.

But she perked up at the mention of marijuana, having tried it a few times in college though it hadn't become a habit of hers.

"Aww thank you. It'd be nice to smoke sometime in the cold weather.", she nodded as she said it, suddenly feeling like it'd be pretty nice to explore the areas near their suburbs in the cold weather sometime, getting to know each other better. And Rekha was also grateful for her offer of fresh vegetables from her garden too.

"Oh and the milkshake here is excellent by the way. Good call bringing me here.", said Rekha while she reached over and squeezed Gemma's hand softly. But before long, it was time for Rekha to move on and go home. She had opted for a new internet connection as soon as she had moved into her place and the technician was supposed to set her up with a new connection in the afternoon. Giving Gemma a quick hug, she left the building after paying both of their bills, ignoring the younger woman's protests.

After her nightmare had long left her thoughts, Rekha was bored and texted Gemma in the morning to see what she was doing. After hearing that she was going to be working on her garden with no plans for the day later, Rekha offered to go over to Gemma's place to help and maybe grab lunch while exploring interesting places later in the afternoon. Throwing on a pair of blue jeans and a white sleeveless top, she grabbed her jacket and left her house, starting on the five kilometer walk to Gemma's place, checking the map on her phone every now and then on her way.

And when the topic of partners came up, Rekha chose her words carefully. "I got out of a serious relationship last year with my boyfriend. So I am not sure if I want to go through all those feelings and effort with anyone yet.", she told her with a wry smile. "But, I'd be lying if I said that I haven't had a passing thought or two about women in my life.", she blushed as she giggled slightly. "In fact, when I moved away from my place to attend college, I had to spend three years in an all girls college hostel and we used to play cards regularly at night. For the first year at least, we played a stripping game where the loser had to progressively do...umm...physical things like kissing and what not and I was not very good at cards.", she said as her face grew redder, before adding, "But I got very good at kissing."

She finished talking and Rekha looked at Gemma in a different light while she laughed, Gemma noticing Rekha's eyes roaming over her body. After a few minutes of silence, the two women left the living room and got to work in the garden, the task growing quicker than expected with both of them working. Being inexperienced and clumsy, Rekha made some mistakes while she helped Gemma, which didn't seem to bother the redhead as she quickly fixed her mistakes with a smile. But after a few more minutes, Rekha figured that she was only slowing her down so walked over to sit on the footsteps that lead into Gemm'a home, admiring the view while Gemma worked hard, dirt getting all over her arms and face as she sweated from working.

Eventually, Rekha went into the house to get Gemma a glass of water and a cold wet towel, coming back out just in time to see that the woman was almost finished. Without saying a word, she walked up to her and started wiping off the grime from her skin, starting with her arms before she slowly moved up her neck. Gemma stopped her at that point and took the towel from her hand, thanking her before she started fixing herself up, only to be hit by a gust of wind that made her loose hair fly everywhere. Rekha laughed before she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears when the strong breeze died down.

"Do you think we should head out to town now?", he asked her softly as her thumb slowly left her ear. "Or do you want me to take you out tomorrow?", she asked her quietly, realizing that they were standing too close to each other as she took a step back.

"I am too tired today. We should go out tomorrow.", said Gemma before she walked past her with a weird look on her face. Rekha followed her in and told her that she was heading home before she quickly walked out, feeling a little weird herself.

When they met again the next day, it was as if nothing had happened the day before and they proceeded with their plans. Rekha could tell that the slightly younger Gemma was different in a lot of ways than her when she showed her her favourite spots near Cambridge when Rekha revealed to her that she didn't drink. But as the day went on, Rekha was pleased at having signed up to a gym and was even more excited to have a partner who could keep her on her heels, making sure that she didn't skip sessions like she usually did after a few months of interest.

At last, their day began coming to a close after a whole lot of walking. But they had one last trip to make to where Gemma had parked her car near a friend's place. Without thinking things through, Rekha took Gemma's hand in hers as they walked - by her wrist at first before her fingers slid down, intertwining her hand in Gemma's who surprisingly returned her gesture and they wordlessly started closer together, laughing out loud when Rekha tried making up jokes about Jack's age for no reason.

It only made Gemma look at Rekha quickly. "Speaking of Jack. Do you know what that bufoon did that day after you left the burger joint?", asked Gemma. Without waiting for Rekha to respond, she continued, "So I went to the bookshop around the corner from the shop after you left and I saw him there browsing some books. And he wanted me to join him for coffee! Can you believe it?"

Rekha shook her head in response with a smirk, "The smart move would be to string him along until we get our grades.", she said with a laugh. Soon after though, the two women had reached Gemma's car, a fifteen year old Honda Civic that was running for now but she had apparently bought it used, which meant that it was on borrowed legs at best.

"So today was a fun date, Gemma. Thanks for showing me around.", said Rekha as she placed an arm on the car's driver side window, waiting for Gemma to respond.

 

[MsBloom]

It wasn't that Gemma didn't like the cool moist touch of Rekha washing the grime off of her, nor was it in any way intended as a signal of disinterest in a more intimate relationship, that was the reason why Gemma stopped Rekha's hand as it was starting to explore. No it was hesitation, and like Rekha herself had said before. She was not ready to start investing emotions into a relationship just yet. It was also because no matter how attracted the pale redhead was to her new Indian friend there had never really been any official closure between her and Siobhan, just a sort of: Let's keep in touch, often.
There had also been quite a few intimate video conversations over the summer and she didn't want to act on anything with Rekha before she had at least talked about it with Siobhan who was technically still her girlfriend.

But as they had stood there, close together in the garden Gemma had wanted nothing more than to let Rekha explore her body with that cloth and then grab her, pull her tight and kiss her. This was also why she had declined going into Cambridge proper with Rekha that day. Instead she sat down on her bed after Rekha had left and called Siobhan. She told her all about Rekha and her girlfriend had just smiled and said that whatever Gemma did back in the UK stayed there and mentioned that there was a girl in Paris she too had become infatuated with. So the two made a deal. They ended their relationship most amicably but kept the door ever so slightly ajar for whatever the future might bring.

The next day as Gemma and Rekha met up again Gemma was quite nervous and very unsure of how to find herself in a situation with Rekha similar to the one from the day before. Perhaps at the gym an opportunity might offer itself but none did, at least none that felt entirely natural and it was for this reason Gemma smiled widely when Rekha did take her hand and held it, without a word to explain why or what it meant. It was after all fairly obvious, especially in the light of the events of the previous day. It was also for that reason, as they sat there in her car about to go back home, that Gemma first just sat there looking at Rekha after she had called the day a date. Had it been a date? Yes. In a way she supposed it had been, at least unofficially. Gemma bit her lip and instead of saying anything in response to the inquiring statement simply leaned closer to Rekha and gave her a quick, nervous kiss on the lips.

The next day being Friday the two friends, or perhaps they were more than that at that point, spent the day together at Gemma's cottage, a lot more intimately than they had the first time Rekha visited.

During the days between the introductory class and his dinner party Jack had divided his time between staff meetings, lectures for second and third year students and making preparations for the aforementioned dinner party. He had had the lamb brought to his house in the cuts he had specified and had chose the vegetables he would serve with it from Mrs Waters' garden. He had been into Cambridge to buy the ingredients that Mrs Waters didn't grow, along with the spices he was going to use. He had also chosen the wine he was going to serve and also some beer for those who did not want wine with their dinner. For those that did not want alcohol he was going to make a simple punch made from fresh berries, lemon, mint and sparkling water.