It was my first year teaching college, and it was the first month. I had already learned all my students names. As I scanned the room, my eyes couldn'... help but wander to the fifth row, far left. Typical, no Stephanie. My eyes continued to the second to last, to Ever's seat. It was usual for her to be late every once in awhile, but not this late. I worried about her, not that I should be. She's just so breathtaking. The soft pale skin, and those full luscious -- "Just knock, Steph." "I know how. At this point, none of that mattered. I was leagues away after a couple hours of walking now. Traveling with a little cluster of traders and families headed back to their farms, through most of the morning I eventually headed south on a side road. I didn’t have a specific destination in mind, I just wanted to get enough distance between myself and Terrydale. If I didn’t dally I could make it to Blackhall or Emberly by early tomorrow afternoon.Honestly things could be a lot worse. It was a. . whatever that is.”I explained the old Earth tradition to Kirim who looked enthralled as Imperial marriages did not involve anything of the like nor, as far as she was aware, did any other Realm.“It’s weird the things you remember,” she finally said.“I usually can’t remember anything until something or other, such as talking to Manny and Herrick about her wedding, seems to jog something loose,” I shrugged.“Still, our little girl gets to shine in front of an audience of trillions,” Kirim. At first I feared I had been "made", but the look on his face was one that I am sure has been on mine many time. He was checking me out as an object of desire. The strangeness of the situation affected me in several odd ways at once. A part of me relaxed knowing that if I could stand this level of scrutiny I was going to be okay - as long as I followed Tanya's careful tips on moving and speaking. There were equal parts of me that were flattered - as a boy no one has glanced upon my form with.