The Grant [750 Words]

Between the line below and 'THE END' is precisely 750 words, the minimum length of a story on Literotica. The idea is to use each of those words judicially to convey something.

This micro-story is based on a writing prompt by Tio_Narratore.

F. S.

I sighed. There it was in black and white.

Dear Prof Roberts,

We regret to inform you that your application for an additional grant has been rejected. NCI funding has been drastically cut, there was a lot of competition, and the panel felt that your submission was neither novel, nor robust enough to be further considered [...]

It went on in this vein for some time, ending with a suggestion to submit other - presumably more novel and more robust - ideas in the future.

"Shit!"

The next thing was horrible to contemplate; I had to tell Midori.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Calm yourself, I thought. You told her there might be bad news, she knows her post doc wasn't guaranteed. Easy to say in my head, to her face? Would she blame me? Had I led her to believe...?

"Shit!"

"You OK, Professor Roberts?"

I knew from the lilting South Carolina accent just who was speaking without looking up.

"Hi, Midori. Come in. Close the door."

Never have a relationship with your Ph. D. student. Never! I thought with increasing guilt. It was a simple rule. The thing is, it didn't really take into account being bowled over by a dynamic, fiercely intelligent, and frankly beautiful woman.

I took a deep breath, telling myself, there is no fool like an old fool. You should know better. Now you have to...

I realized that Midori had been sitting patiently waiting for me to speak. How long had it been? Minutes?

"I'm sorry, Midori. I... I have some bad news."

"Are you ill Professor?" she inquired with a transparent look of concern on her features. We'd agreed on formality while at work, the better to avoid unwelcome attention. But now the honorific sounded jarring.

If anything, Midori's concern for me made things worse. I could never tell whether it was Southern politeness, or Japanese respect for elders. Perhaps each reinforced the other.

"Is it the NCI grant then, Professor?"

She was just so fucking smart. Her mind was crystalline. To someone like me, it made her close to irresistible, though she was also delicately pretty. Beauty and the beast of a brain.

"Yes, I'm afraid so, Midori. I... I didn't do a good enough job of the proposal. I... I let you down. I'm sorry."

And just like that, I was weeping. She was going to hate me, it was the end. The end of an ill-advised and unprofessional affair. But one that had meant everything to me. And now...

Then she was kneeling next to my chair, and her hand was on my thigh and she looked up at me, her own more modest tears forming in the corners of her dark, monolid eyes.

"It's OK, Professor."

"Don't call me that, please." It was heart-breaking.

"It's for the best," she went on, and it was like a knife in my heart.

"You told me, it was uncertain. And the climate is difficult for science, everyone knows that. I appreciate you trying."

Midori's kindness and understating were ripping me up inside. Why? I bowed my head and sobbed.

"Hey, Prof... Hey," she corrected herself. "I think it really is for the best. You see..."

Something in her tone made me look up abruptly, and I saw a half smile on her thin, ruby lips.

"I... I hope you aren't angry. When you told me there could be a problem. Well, I really wanted to stay at Cold Spring, and..."

"And...?" I asked a tiny shred of hope forming in my chest.

"And I spoke to Professor Ramirez, and he..."

"You got another position. Oh thank God, Midori."

"Yeah. I said I wanted to stay at Cold Spring. But I didn't say why. I mean, I love the place, and the work. But I also love... I mean..." Her pale skin was now bright red.

Wordlessly, I pointed at my chest.

"Yeah," Midori replied. She moved up and kissed me. "And, well, we could be official, right? If you like. There is no rule about dating, or cohabiting with..." she has turned a deeper red now, "... if that's what you'd like, of course... someone's else's post doc, is there?"

I stood and lifted my lover to her feet, embracing her tightly. "I'd like that very much. Are you sure it's what you want, Midori? I'm practically a fossil."

"Don't be so silly. Thirty-six isn't old. And yes, it's what I want. I want you, Jane."

And we kissed as if we'd never kiss again.

THE END