Thread: It was just one... (Bevatoria and skittish_butterfly)

Elizabeth's love affair with her cookie was finally snapped by the annoying voice of its baker. She blinked rapidly, like she'd zoned out for a bit, taking a moment to get her mind off the flavor of the cookie still on her tongue, the way it made her just feel all warm all over -- the best cookie she had ever had for sure. If Elizabeth were one for petty monetary endeavors, she might have asked him for the recipe right then and there and started a business baking them in bulk and most likely gotten rich. But Elizabeth lived to change the world, not to wallow in its shallowest pursuits. Grant, she suddenly realized, was staring intently right at her, like he was waiting for some kind of response. To what? Oh, what he'd said. Some question or suggestion. She frowned for a moment, struggling to hook her memory back up, feeling uncharacteristically slow and annoyed about that. Maybe she needed another cookie. Her eyes glanced at the plate, but then back to Grant, waiting for her... answer? She started to remember his words, as if she'd been listening to three conversations at once and had to play the babble back in her head to remember it all and pick out his exact words, but of course that was easy for her. Elizabeth's eyebrows shot up as his whole statement, his whole crazy sentence came back to her. What had he said to her? It was too ridiculous, she must be remembering it wrong. But she ran it over in her head again and again. He had just told her she could only cum when he said she could. Insane. And crass and crude. So inappropriate, especially having her alone in the kitchen. What kind of girl did he think she was? Forget that, was there some kind of girl that would be ok with the way he'd just spoken to her? Her eyes widened with puzzlement, looking at him like he must be insane. Finally she just burst out laughing uncomfortably right in his face. You... ha... you can't be seri... She trailed off. He wasn't laughing with her at his own typically awful Grant-ism. You, uh, you're talking to me like that? Like I'm one of your porno website babes or whatever garbage it is you fill your head with instead of science? ME!?!? It was disgusting. And you're my... at least technically my... supervisor! As much as it galled her, officially speaking it was true. To the extent she collected a small stipend for her work in the lab and had to report to Grant, he was Elizabeth's supervisor. This is just... it's, it's sexual harassment! Elizabeth had scarcely paid attention to the seminars about it freshman year. She was quite used to regular harassment -- for her scientific interests and temperament -- but never imagined herself actually being sexually harassed. It wasn't she thought she was too ugly for it, just that she knew the way she dressed, the way she carried herself, the people she associated with, it just wasn't the kind of thing that should happen to a girl like her. Still Elizabeth never really thought of herself as the lawyering-up type. But, calling a spade a spade, she was pretty sure she had Grant by the short hairs now. This was harassment. Disgusting, sexually ridiculous, wildly insulting sexual harassment. Elizabeth slapped him across the cheek just to make sure her opinion on the subject was perfectly clear. Her palm stung more than she expected, so she slapped him the second time with her other hand, a little lighter so it wouldn't sting as much. Remember the part where I we shouldn't risk a possible friendship by dating? Well you can forget that too, buddy. Not that she ever really wanted his friendship to begin with. And it'll be a cold day in hell, really really cold, before I would EVER have ANYTHING to do with you like... like... that... It turned her stomach to think of him imagining such things about her to even bring it up. Frankly, it was none of his or anybody else's business what she did when she was alone and too busy to find time to bother with stupid boys. None of anybody's business, but most definitely none of his, and she made sure her eyes made that clear. She looked at the cookies again, so ready to stomp out for maximum effect, but thinking maybe just one more would be enough to get her through the night's research without having to bother with dinner. No, be strong, show him. Glaring at him. You are a miserable human being to speak to me like that, your party is horrible, I wouldn't want to be here within a mile of you after what you just said, but before I go, just one more. She reached for the plate with her fingers, thinking maybe of snagging two by accident. He owed her at least that much.