@amarvelousmencgerie
Steve's office hours had ended ten minutes ago, but he'd stayed to wrap up the grading for a last round of essays. Historically, no one ever came to office hours unless it was the day before a paper was due, so he was able to fill the time with his other work. Admittedly, he wasn't doing a lot of working with Kara sitting on the edge of his desk, though he was making a valiant effort to keep his eyes on his computer screen instead of on her hemline. He'd known his TA was going to be trouble from the moment he saw her, but that wasn't a line Steve had ever crossed--or ever even thought about crossing. He tried not to think about it now.
Getting to know her hadn't improved his chances. She was delightful both in the classroom and out, and when she'd gamely volunteered to model for his art classes after a series of no-shows with his scheduled models, he'd been sunk. Part of life model drawing was learning to see nudity as aesthetic rather than sexual, but he couldn't swear he'd learned that lesson with her. She'd invaded every aspect of his work, even his own drawings and paintings, the blonde, angelic muse who showed up in everything he did now. Bucky teased him for it, had even requested to meet her and playfully threatened to make a move if Steve wasn't going to. He had no doubt that was true, but he'd still invited him to his next gallery showing. He thought they would hit it off.
He wasn't sure he'd absorbed a word of that paper, but he typed in a grade and closed out the windows on his screen, logging out and leaning back in the chair with a soft sigh. That was one less thing he'd have to worry about this week. Without meaning to, his gaze slid to the long slim line of her thigh and then flicked away, and he stretched, trying to push any untoward thoughts from his mind. He'd seen her in much less, and that wasn't helping matters. "The gallery showing's set for seven on Friday if you can make it. I'd love to see you there. You are the subject of the centerpiece, after all." There was genuine warmth in his smile. Kara was the subject of a lot of the pieces, the main theme really. But he didn't expect her to rearrange her whole life for him. She probably had plans for a Friday night like most girls her age.
