Oh, Ira, Declan thought sadly. She’ll never go out with you with lines like that.
Carrie Giles frowned at him. “Those are love triangles. The girl has to choose one at the end. Only one, and that’s what I’m saying. One man and five women who each get a day or two on the calendar to spend time with him? Believable and in some places socially acceptable if not entirely legal. One woman and two men? She’s either forced to choose, she’s a harlot that needs to be run out of town, or she’s the really good single friend of two gay guys who want to have a baby. I think that’s a huge double standard.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Declan agreed immediately. “And it’s a topic we’re going to be delving into over the next few weeks as we discuss polyandry, polygyny and so on. There does seem to be an explosion of interest in polygamy and, as Miss Giles has rightfully pointed out, it is notably androcentric. That is, primarily emphasizing masculine interests and points of view.”
“Maybe modern women are just too smart to get saddled with more than one man,” a girl in the third row responded.
“Or too busy earning money so the men can stay home and play online poker,” another student laughed. “At least, that’s what my mother says.”
Ira held up his hands and shook his head. “I know when I’m outnumbered.”
Declan smiled. “Smart man. But let’s table this for next time. Today we are going to watch a film, since I know a lot of you are still recovering from last week’s costume rave. I’d like to congratulate you on not destroying school property or getting arrested on the grounds. Though I do hear one video of a young man’s unfortunate journey through a bouncy castle has gone viral.”
The class broke into fits of laughter and he raised his voice. “This is your only break, because we have a lot to cover. It’s a film about two sides of the poly coin. Interviews with a family in Tibet with one woman married to three brothers. And, yes, a modern day family in Utah with one husband and multiple women he considers wives. There will be a quiz this Thursday, so I expect all eyes glued to the screen, phones off and notebooks out. Pay careful attention to the dynamics. What emotional roles are at play? What psychosexual needs are being met, if any?”
“Why can’t we watch Fifty Shades, Professor?” a voice called out.
“Or Debbie Does Polygamy.” Another male voice made everyone chuckle again.
“This class isn’t long enough to discuss why neither of those is an option,” Declan replied dryly. “Ira, can you get the lights?”
He forced himself to walk slowly up the steps, passing the crowded rows of students with a calm he didn’t feel. She was in the very back row today, the only empty row in the lecture hall. As if she were waiting for him.
Trick had called and confirmed she’d heard his declaration. That he’d hurt her—exactly what he’d been trying to avoid by refusing. He needed to apologize and explain himself.
You could have had her come to your office.
And then they’d be alone, instead of surrounded by witnesses who would be shocked if he took advantage of a student during a lecture. He paused by her desk and set a square post-it on her open notebook.
Follow me.
He opened the door that led to the narrow box of a room that housed a single chair and a laptop linked up with a sound system and projector. He didn’t have a teaching assistant this semester, and it gave him the perfect excuse to be in here alone. With her.
Declan started the film and then turned off the lights in his section until the projector’s illumination was the only to be seen in the lecture hall. The sound was at a higher volume than usual, and a few students in the front row jumped when the Tibetan music started to play along with the introduction to their topic.
They’d get used to it quickly, and he needed the cover to keep their conversation private.
The movie was a bit on the dry side for the topic, but Declan found it was good to start more risqué sections with anthropological studies or historical references. It kept the conversations from devolving into the pornographic. Most of the time.
The door opened slowly, quietly, but he heard it. Heard her shut it behind her and walk toward him until she paused at the window-sized opening in the wall that might have revealed her presence.
He scanned the heads of his students to make sure they were all turned toward the screen before moving away from the projector to join her. He didn’t stop until he was a step away from where she was leaning against the wall.