The dumbfounded professor's jaw visibly drops, and he spins around to check if Isabelle is laughing at him only to find that she isn't. He simply sees a straight and honest gaze resonating from Isabelle's eyes. One that understands his confusion.
"You are a Zodiac Animal. Now, which you are, that I don't know, but we can figure it out together," assures Isabelle who is now fixing her hair back up. "Animals are chosen at random, so, no, you don't have a descendant prophecy going on. However, you were chosen because if I don't get you under my control as your goddess, you could cause devastating damages to this city and possibly other cities around us. What damage could a business major professor cause? That I also don't know, but if you were chosen, then I guess it's a lot. It probably has to do something with the animal that you are connected to."
Once she is put together like how she was before, Isabelle approaches her professor who then backs himself against the wall. Only a foot or two of air separates the pair.
"You should have noticed it by now. The weird feelings you get when you look at me sometimes," she resumes, not taking her eyes off of him. Embarrassed, the professor looks away, but this doesn't stop the woman in front of him. "Your mind and body are reacting to me, but only when my powers spill out. I'm working on getting them under control, but as you may have noticed, it's not going so well. I know this is a lot to take in, but you are someone that I can't ignore anymore."
Lifting her hand, she places it on top of Professor Atkinson's chest over his heart. She can feel it racing beyond healthy speeds. "I have to figure out your deepest desire that's in your heart which means that we will be spending a lot of time together now. It also means that what just happened today will happen again."
Isabelle removes her hand from his chest. "Do you have any questions for me?"
"Do I have any questions?" her professor scoffs, still unable to look at Isabelle. "Did you really just ask me that? I have so many questions that I don't even know where to start!"
"Just ask me one, and it will probably answer a few more," Isabelle suggests.
Peeking over, Professor Atkinson slowly gains the courage to face the person in front of him. "You said that we have to spend a lot of time together in order for you to figure out my deepest desire. I don't even know what my deepest desire is. So how will you know when you've found it?"
"I have been told that your deepest desire is directly related to either your animal or your personality. Once I have discovered it, you can say that I gain complete control over you. You won't be able to defy me like you did earlier."
"And we have to have sex in order for you to find it?" he asks as he gazes down at Isabelle's body.
Ignoring what her professor is doing, Isabelle responds, "We have to have sex in order to solidify our ties together once I figure out your desires; nonetheless, it does help in figuring out your animal and desire."
"So then… What's going to happen between us now? We have done something a professor and his student shouldn't do. I could get into a lot of trouble if I'm not able to control the urges I get when I look at you."
Not able to restrain her urge, Isabelle takes one of Professor Atkinson's hands into hers. "You should be fine as long as my power doesn't spill around you. Once I get more control over it, then we can work on you getting more control over yours. If my assumption is right, then your animal is probably one that can cause incredible chaos if it's not reigned in. For a college professor to get an animal, you might be on the predator side of the zodiacs."
"I don't like how that sounds," Professor Atkinson comments, squinting his eyes in slight disgust. He tries to slip his hand out of Isabelle's, but she grips on tightly. "Why do you have my hand?"
Raising it up to her lips, Isabelle lightly kisses the top of it which sends a wave of red over her professor's face while she gazes up at him from between her bangs and laughs. "Because now I'm in your care," she proudly replies with a wide grin. "Let's get along, Professor Atkinson, because it doesn't stop here. We have been given a crazy destiny, so why not ride along with it!"
"Are you out of your mind?!" he exclaims, slipping his hand out of Isabelle's and then grabbing onto both of her shoulders. "How are you so accepting of this? We just had sex, and you're perfectly fine with it?!"
"At least you aren't the one that has to have sex with twelve different men," she claps back with a mischievous grin. "I have been told that I'm hot-blooded and unrelenting, so this destiny that I have going for me is like an interesting challenge that the heavens have created for me. Plus, it's easier to digest when you just accept it."
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a huge contradiction?" the professor sighs in defeat. "This feels so wrong."
"Not really, no." Isabelle swipes her professor's hands from her shoulders and steps back. "If you ever feel the urge come over you when I'm around, you have my consent to act on it," she advises before turning around to leave. "It shouldn't feel wrong now that you have my consent, right?
Before passing the desk, she grabs the three envelopes that are addressed to her. "I'll take your advice and give it some time to decide which company to work for. See you later!"
The professor steps forward and reaches out to say something, but the door to his office closes faster than his words can escape his lips. Alone in his office, Professor Atkinson stares at his hand that's outstretched. A faint pink lipglass mark rests on top of it from when Isabelle had his hand.
"What am I going to do?" he mutters to himself after heading for his desk.
Sitting in his chair, he examines the disaster of papers and pens sprawled out everywhere from when Isabelle was on top of it. "I can still smell her in the room." He drops his head in his hands as he tries to make sense of the rollercoaster of events that happened.
"I still want to touch her."
Surprised by the words that just entered the room, Professor Atkinson jumps out of his chair and smacks himself in the face. "What did I just say?!"
—
Lunch time rolls around, and Isabelle finds herself waiting for Alex in front of the cafeteria. The aroma of the food distracts her from her day, but it isn't long before she's brought back.
"Isa!" Alex shouts as he dashes to her like a bull seeing something move. "Isa! You won't believe what I got!"
Catching her best friend in her arms, Isabelle matches his momentum as he begins to jump up and down. "What did you get?" she laughs while Alex swings her around.
"I got tickets to the Fairmont Vikings basketball game next week!"
"What?! No freaking way! You've been wanting to go to their games since you were little!"
Filled with joy, Alex kisses Isabelle's cheek in excitement before releasing her to continue his giddy jumps of happiness. "One of my coworkers at my part-time job couldn't go to the game because his family is coming into town, so him and his girl asked if I wanted the tickets because I am just about as big of a fan as them."
"That's amazing, Alex!" Isabelle congratulates, admiring her best friend's pure joy. "I'm glad you are gonna finally be able to see them in person."
Shaking his head, Alex jogs over to her. "Not just me. I want to take you with me."
"But I don't know the first thing about basketball," she nervously chuckles. "You should go with someone who would appreciate just as much as you do."
"I don't want to go with anyone," Alex declares in a more serious tone. "I want to go with you."
Frozen from the sudden change in Alex's demeanor, Isabelle can only ask, "Why me?"
Alex gently grabs Isabelle's hand and pulls her around the corner where no one can see them. He then sandwiches her between him and the wall as he blocks her in with his arms.
Seeing no way to escape, Isabelle begins to get nervous that Alex is in his animal state, but as she examines the man in front of her, she notices that he's in complete control.
"Isabelle Meng," Alex says, breaking the silence.
"Y-yes!" Isabelle yelps suddenly without thinking. He hasn't said my full name in years… Surely he's not mad at me… right?
"Will you give me the pleasure and honor of being my girlfriend?"
…
"What?!"