The upscale bar that you found yourself in wasn’t overly crowded for a Friday night, and as you walked up the stairs in your heels and favourite little black dress, you found your way to the second floor where live music played in front of candlelit tables and booths, and the drinks were poured heavy handed. A man sang Leonard Cohen on stage, accompanied by a live band as you found a seat.

‘if you want a lover, i’ll do anything you ask me to. And if you want another kind of love, I’ll wear a mask for you’

they say that drinking alone is when you know your life is hitting rock bottom, and in your case, tonight it was true.

‘if you want a partner, take my hand, or if you wanna strike me down in anger…’

To put it bluntly, it wasn’t just normal college stress, it was…your whole life basically. your finger had been mindlessly tracing your glass in front of you, when you had the feeling of eyes on your back. You turned, slowly, and you spotted him: Jonathan Levy. Sitting alone at a booth behind you, staring.

‘Here I stand…’

Jonathan and you knew each other, you had taken one of his classes as an elective basically your whole college career so far, and recently, as his teaching assistant, the boundaries of ‘student and teacher’ were beginning to be pushed. The tension was brimming, the personal anecdotes becoming long, late night talks in his office, or even worse, at his home. neither of you had done anything that hard-crossed that ethical boundary yet, but you had both began avoiding one another, knowing that if you spent even another a moment together, something unethical would occur.

And yet, in the dull golden light, seeing you all done up and your sad, puppy-dog expression, the ethical boundaries of your relationship were the furthest thing in his mine, replaced with care, concern, and swelling, yearning feeling in his chest he thought had disappeared years ago.

‘im your man…’