Chapter 7 – Chapter 7

Two days later, I again visited his office.

"Thank you again for Tuesday," I said. "I really enjoyed it. Claire and your girls are lovely, Jackie."

"Thank you. They are. But," he added firmly, "don't ever call me that again. Ever."

"I was surprised by the invitation."

"Claire said 'you talk about him all the time' and accused me of having a man-crush on you. So, I thought I should de-mystify you."

"Do you," I asked, as coquettishly as I possibly could, "have a man-crush on me?"

"Nay," he answered. "I don't do man-crushes."

"I have a man-crush on you, JJ." I had discovered that his full name was Jackson James Masters, so I wanted to make "JJ" mine, have a moniker for him that belonged only to me, that no one else used.

"I know," he answered, not correcting the moniker, which I took to mean it was okay, that I could have it.

"Oh, do you?"

"Yes, it's as plain as the nose on your face."

"How did you two meet?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"At Harvard. We were the two finalists for Editor-In-Chief. When I got it, she said I could at least take her out to dinner as a consolation. I did. We started dating. She was the first girlfriend I ever had. I mean, I had taken girls to dances in high school and had hung out with a couple of girls at Duke, but I had never really done the whole 'romance' thing until Claire."

"Wow," I thought to myself.

"The same was true of Claire. Her parents were very strict. She went to an all girls boarding school for high school and then to an all girls college, so it was easy for her to focus on studying; there were no boys to distract her. And, at Harvard, all the boys were afraid of her, me included."

"She's driven."

"She is. I mean, she decided that I was to take her out, that we were to date, that we were to get engaged, that we were to get married, that we were to work in New York, that we were to have two children, that we were to go into academia, and that we were to choose Wisconsin over the other offers."

"Well," I laughed, "I bet you can't wait to see what she decides for you next."

"I can't," he laughed back. "I don't know what she'll decide, but I know the decision will be hers and that I'll execute it."

We talked and talked.

I was surprised by how much we talked. I was also surprised when JJ looked at his watch and startled.

"It's past six. I need to get home. I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry."

At the door, he did not extend his hand. Instead, he opened his arms. I stepped into them, and wrapped my arms around him, under his. For the first time, he wrapped his arms around me.

"Hmmm," I said, "you give great hug."

"You do, too."

I felt myself getting hard. To ensure he didn't feel me, I tried to pull away. He wouldn't let me.

"I haven't yet squealed," he said.

I almost fainted.

By the time he made a tiny squeal noise, I was rock hard. Rather than step back from the hug, I turned to the right out of it, hoping he hadn't felt and wouldn't see the erection that was pointing at my right hip.

"Tuesday?" he asked, to the back of my head.

"Tuesday," I answered.

I couldn't wait to get home. So, I ducked into the nearest men's room, went to the last stall, locked it shut, and resolved the erection sticking through my zipper as I stood over the toilet. I was so riled up that resolution — and I — came quickly.

I was surprised to run into Jackson as I was exiting the bathroom.

"Oh, I thought you were gone already," he said, slinging his soft briefcase over his shoulder.

"No, I had to, uh, pee," I said. But, I could feel my face reddening so deeply that he had to know I was lying and why I was lying.

"When nature calls…. " he said as he walked on. When he rounded the corner, I slid to the floor, embarrassment and shame tacking me to the ground.