Ellie Stardust and the Hot TA

A hoarse caterwaul echoed down the hallway, only somewhat muted by the bedroom door.

"Ellie!"

Ellie squeezed her eyes shut and counted to ten, determined not to give in to her roommate's childish bullshit.

Three hours after graduation, Molly was shitfaced.

Molly started drinking on the way to the ceremony and hadn't stopped until well after. When Ellie saw her accept a drink from a guy neither of them knew, she intervened. Now, Ellie was biding her time and waiting for Molly's boyfriend, Max, to show up- wherever the fuck he was.

For the last thirty minutes, the girls had been locked in a battle of wills. Ellie considered barricading her inebriated friend in the bedroom but realized that she might need to vomit.

So, Ellie sat in the living room and scrolled through a blur of graduation photos, gnawing her lip at the happy faces. She wondered how long they would be smiling before the college loan bill came due.

"Ellllllllllllllieeeeeeeeee! EL-AN-NOOOOOORR!!"

Ellie slammed her phone down and bolted to Molly's room. She was still yelling Ellie's name when she got to the door.

Ellie flung the door open and shouted, "What?"

Ellie's eyes blinked in frustration. Molly was lying on her queen-sized bed diagonally, stockings half off, clothes twisted, and her arm was lying across her face. She attempted to sit up but flopped back down when it took too much effort.

"Ellie, I need you to return a book for me," she said, flinging her arm in the direction of her mostly barren desk.

"What?"

"I need you to return a book for me. I borrowed it from Ruder, and he just texted me that that he needs it back."

At the mention of his name, Ellie's stomach did a flip, and she backed up toward the door.

"Absolutely not."

"Please, Ellie," she whined. "He needs it."

Ellie pursed her lips and ran her tongue across her teeth, trying to think of a way out of it.

It wasn't just the inconvenience. "Ruder" hated her.

He was Ellie's Astronomy TA during junior year. She only took the damn class because she needed science credits, and Molly convinced her that the course would help her "figure out her place in the universe."

Ellie found out later that Molly met "Ruder" at a frat party six months earlier. When she discovered he was a TA for Astronomy 101, she was determined to get in his class.

No one could blame her. Ruder was freaking hot. He was tall and athletic with blonde, shaggy hair that curled across his forehead in just the right way. Molly waited until the night before class started to tell Ellie why she really enrolled. It wasn't anything new. Until Molly met her now-boyfriend, she sucked poor Ellie into all kinds of schemes to meet men. Schemes that usually ended with Ellie tracking her down in some empty parking lot with a broken heart.

But "Ruder" was different. Ellie managed to stop that romance before it began. Not intentionally, of course.

On the first day of class, the girls sat in the back of the planetarium next to the projection booth, trying not to stand out. As Ellie perused the syllabus, something stood out, and she giggled. Ruder's first name was Walter.

"What's funny?" Molly whispered, shifting uncomfortably in the chair.

"Your prince charming is named...Walter," Ellie sputtered.

She barely said his name before breaking into peals of laughter.

"Shut up," Molly said. "He's hot. Wait 'til you see him. He could be "Elmer" for all I care."

But, she was too far gone. Ellie slapped her hands over her face, hysterical.

"All I can think about is you screaming his name," she choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks. "'Fuck me, Walter. Give it to me, Wally.'"

Ellie was close to hyperventilating when she heard his voice behind her.

"Are you about finished?" he asked through clenched teeth. He was everything Molly described him to be and more. Ellie sat frozen, in equal parts frightened by his tone and stunned by his good looks. Dazzling, brown eyes cut through Ellie, daring her to laugh again.

Self-conscious, Ellie lowered her eyes and gave him a respectful nod, focusing her attention on the front of the room.

And, that was it. Ruder despised her. He took every opportunity to call on Ellie, throwing in some belittling comment in the rare instances she got something wrong.

"Miss Jones seems to think this is an astrology class. Do I need to go around the room asking everyone their sign?"

Molly was furious, of course, and took the first opportunity to jump ship, enrolling in a Bio 101 course in hopes of landing a future doctor.

But, Ellie wasn't so lucky. Every course that filled the requirement she needed was full.

Adding insult to injury, Ruder gave Ellie the absolute worst lab time, 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Even the professor wasn't there, but Ruder showed up every Friday like clockwork to preside over Ellie's misery.

It didn't help that he was so damn fuckable. Seriously, the guy looked like he's sauntered out of a luxury brand ad.

One Friday night, Ellie's lab partner stood her up-as usual-and she was left alone with Ruger. She was struggling with orbital velocity when Ruger strolled down the aisle, his lip looking particularly biteable.

"Having some trouble, Miss Jones?"

"I don't know why you call me that. You're not my teacher."

He took a step back, and Ellie immediately regretted her tone.

"Just offering to help," he grumbled.

"I'm sorry. It's...just," Ellie shook her head. "This equation is kicking my ass."

"Lucky equation," Ruger said. Ellie's eyes snapped to meet his, and his usually steely demeanor gave way to embarrassment. Something about the way he looked made the girl smile.

He looked away and said, "Sorry."

After a brief pause, he added, "Ellie, would you like some help?"

He looked so dejected and unsure; she nodded, "Yeah."

Ruder sat down next to her and scooted so close that she could feel the heat of his body through his khaki pants. He slid his long leg under the table and nudged hers with his knee. Once he effectively "man spread, he pulled the paper to him and reviewed the troublesome question.

"This?" he said. "You know this."

"I don't!"

"You do. Look."

Ruger scribbled down a few numbers, and the solution became obvious. Ellie marveled at the paper.

"Well, shit. I sat here for twenty minutes trying to-"

He kissed her. It wasn't violent or with suppressed passion, but it was powerful all the same. He raked his thumb across the hollow of Ellie's cheekbone, and she moved closer to him, getting as close as possible without actually getting in his lap. When the kiss ended, he pulled back slowly, studying the girl's reaction and dumbstruck at his gall.

His eyes still glazed, he whispered, "Sorry. I'm not supposed to do that."

The room took on a heavy vibe, and Ellie realized that kissing one of his students was probably a fireable offense. She pushed away from him and straightened her back, pretending to be absorbed in the lab assignment.

She cleared her throat and added, "It's OK. I promise. Let's just forget it, OK?"

She must have said the wrong thing because for a brief second, an emotion she couldn't quite place washed across his face, just before his usual animosity returned. He shot out of his chair and threw the pencil on the desk.

"You can figure it out from there. It's easy. A grade-schooler could do it."

He stalked off, and Ellie didn't have another interaction with him for the rest of the semester. He even quit attending the Friday night labs. Ellie hoped to never have another interaction with him again, but that wasn't in the cards, it seemed.

"Fuck, Mol. Can't Max take it?"

"No," she slurred. "Ruder asked for you."

"Me?"

Ellie's blood boiled. Ruder just had to take his last opportunity to boss her around.

"Fine," she grumbled. "Which book?"

"The one sitting right on top."

***

Twenty minutes later, Ellie was parked outside the physics building, preparing herself for Ruder's wrath. Why should she be nervous? It wasn't her book. He wasn't even her TA anymore. She had a degree, for fuck's sake.

The five-story building was almost vacant, and as she made her way down the dark hallway, her arms broke out in goosebumps. During graduation, the school cranked up the air conditioning in every building to compensate for the constant opening and closing of doors. Ellie squeezed Ruder's tome closer to her chest, trying to cover her painfully erect nipples. She didn't have time to change out of the sundress she wore to graduation, and she'd picked it specifically to keep her cool during the long, outdoor ceremony. In the frigid hallway, the sheer fabric swished along her bare legs, tickling and grating her already frazzled nerves.

Ellie ducked her head and picked up the pace, moving at a fair clip down the hall. When she turned the corner, she ran smack dab into Ruder. Her forehead hit his breast bone, and her arms gave way knocking the giant book into her nose. She would have fallen backward, except he caught her.

In slow motion, he righted her and released his grip, his hands hovering just above her shoulders in case she hadn't regained her balance. They stood in complete silence, the air conditioner chilling every cell in her body. Ruger examined her face, and a worried expression formed.

"You're bleeding," he said.

"What?" Ellie snickered.

"Your nose, it's bleeding. Come in here and let me take a look."

Before she could turn him down, Ruder was on his way to the planetarium. She swiped up the nefarious book off the floor and turned to follow him, afraid to touch her now-throbbing nose.

As she walked into the classroom, she said, "You don't have to do this. I'm perfectly capable of getting a tissue."

Ruder was in motion, opening drawers, ripping open gauze packages, running warm water.

Ellie laughed, her full lips irritating her nose in the process. When he saw her wince, he approached and led her to a nearby chair. He pulled up a chair in front of hers and started gently dressing the wound.

Ellie could feel his breath on her cheek as she watched his eyes focus on her injury. Somewhere deep down, she wished he would turn his focus to her that way, be that attentive and captivated by her, not just her weakness.

As if he read her mind, Ruder's eyes locked onto hers. His eyes carried the same intensity as the day she insulted his name, but their expression was different, pleading.

Ellie tried to read his meaning and fell short. Instead, she shivered and broke the trance. Ruder sat back in his chair and took a ragged breath.

"What am I going to do with you, Miss Jones?"

"More like, what are you going to do without me?"

He nodded and looked at the ceiling.

His voice cut through the silence like shattered glass.

"It's my grandfather's name."

"What?"

"Walter. It's my grandfather's name."

"Oh, I should apologize. I...I didn't mean anything by it. .I just sometimes get outside of myself."

Ruder watched her fumble, taking stock of every feature on her face.

He shook his head.

"Nah. It's OK. I shouldn't be so sensitive. It's just...he meant a lot to me."

Silence again.

Ellie wondered if she should leave him to his thoughts when he bolted from his chair and headed toward the control booth.

"Stay right there. I want to show you something."

Ellie lowered her eyebrows and sat back in her seat, holding a damp piece of gauze to her nose, which had stopped hurting by now.

When the room went dark, she straightened her back, momentarily blind and disoriented.

"Just hang tight, Ellie."

She could see the faint light of the projector starting to get brighter as she heard his footsteps. Ellie felt the warmth of his body before she felt his hand on her shoulders.

"I put this together for you," Ruder whispered in her ear, as stars and constellations floated across the dark screen. He sat in the seat next to her, placing a hand on her bare knee.

"What?" she croaked.

"I...uh...I owe you an apology."

"You do?" Ellie said, spellbound by shooting stars and whirling constellations.

"I like you, Ellie-a lot. From the minute I saw you giggling in the back of this room. But, I wasn't allowed to do anything about it, so I took it out on you."

Ellie turned to face him, seeing only part of his dimly lit expression. Ruder's eyes were hopeful and focused as she leaned into to kiss him.

In one uninterrupted move, she slid into his lap and wrapped her legs around his waist. As if waiting for this very moment, his hands were all over her body, sliding up her thighs and working up her back. Ellie pressed her hips into him, feeling the ample evidence of his arousal. She let out a small involuntary moan as he pressed her into him and used the other arm to squeeze her into his chest. Pressed into the crook of his neck, she inhaled and gingerly ran her nose along its curve before sinking her teeth into the soft flesh.

Ruder sucked in a breath and let out a moan. He nudged her head upwards and covered her mouth with his, their tongues fighting to express their need.

Ruder took her face in his hands and pulled back. He gazed into her eyes and studied her face, relieved that he didn't have to hide it anymore. After a few seconds, he tipped his head forward, asking without words.

When Ellie nodded, he lifted her up and carried her to a wide counter in the middle of the space. He laid her down gently and slipped his hand up her skirt, running it across the sheer fabric of her panties and sliding them down her legs.

"Spread your legs," he said. "I want to taste you."

She did as he asked, and he swept her dress above her waist, exposing her bare flesh and the unmistakable scent of sex. Ruder was focused but not harsh as he bent to lick her. He hesitated, and the anticipation sent a shiver through Ellie's body.

She raised her hips to meet his mouth, but he laid a gentle hands on the insides of her thighs and said, "Shhhh."

He ran his nose along the inside of each thigh and then planted a small, chaste kiss on her pussy lips. Ellie shuddered and squirmed at the rush caused by so little stimulation.

Ruder pulled back and ran his thumb across her lips.

He muttered to himself, "So beautiful."

He met Ellie's eyes one last time before dipping between her legs again. This time, he took full advantage of her position, licking and sucking every part of her. She arched her back and raised her hips, trying to get closer to his mouth, coming closer and closer to climax. When he could tell that she was almost there, he slid his hand up the front of her dress and pinched one of her nipples.

It sent her over the edge. Ellie reached down and grabbed Ruder's curly hair with both hands, her legs wrapping around his head as her body spasmed and shook. Once finished, she settled back onto the countertop and sighed.

After a few moments, she sat up, breathless, and looked him directly in the eye.

"Fuck me," she said, with an unexpected and new boldness. "I want you to fuck me right now."

He covered her mouth with his, the lust from her body still warm on his lips. He jerked her off the table and turned her around, unbuckling his belt in a fervor. Ellie felt the rustle of his body unbuttoning his pants and heard the echo of his zipper before she felt their fabric brush against her claves.

Ruder leaned over and pressed his cheek against her shoulder blade.

"I want you, Ellie. I want you so bad-I've always wanted you. Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes," she heaved. "I want this."

As he slipped inside her, she repeated, "I want this. I want this. I want you."

When he was completely inside, Ruder wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her into his chest. His rhythm was slow and sure, the deliberate motion intended to both savor the feeling and prolong the moment.

Ruder rocked in and out of her, taking full possession of her body and using the force of his arms to pull himself in and out. When the feeling threatened to overwhelm him, he laid his cheek against her shoulder and squeezed her tight.

"You feel so good," he quavered, gasping for air. "Fuck."

He ran his hand down the front of her body, between her legs and up her waist. With a flat hand on her belly, he pressed into her more deeply, more rapidly.

Ellie could hear his breath in her ear, the struggle in his moans. His desperation stirred something within her, and she tightened around him. Ruder let out a final strained groan before Ellie felt the warm rush of his cum inside her. She clamped down, squeezing the remaining bits of his essence deep into her.

Ruder relaxed his grip, and it gave way to a reverent embrace. He kissed her shoulder and the crown of her head, breathing in the scent he'd imagined so many times.

"I don't want you to go," he finally said. "I mean, if you are thinking about staying, I-"

Ellie dipped her head into her chest and grinned. She nudged Ruder away and turned to face him, eyes squinting and face full of girlish embarrassment.

"I'm not leaving," she giggled. "Our lease runs through the summer. I got a job at the coffee shop with Molly."

Ruder stood there gobsmacked with his pants around his ankles, managing to reposition his boxer-briefs with little fanfare.

"So, you're staying."

"Yeah. For the summer."

"Oh, my God. I'm an idiot. I thought you were packing your stuff and leaving, that's why I-"

"Well, I guess you went to all this trouble for nothing."

A devious grin broke out across Ruder's face; one Ellie had only imagined in her dreams.

"Well, not nothing," he beamed, jerking his head toward the desk.

"This just means we have more time to explore the universe," she smiled.

"I know where I want to start," Ruder said, wrapping his arms around her. "Everyone's made of stardust, Ellie, but I think you've got a little more than most."