The Hedonist Read Online Free

Hugo Sawther. Sawther was a strict Mormon-raised man who rarely spoke to Stevens. Stevens felt that Sawther was weary of him because he was perhaps too friendly towards his students. Dr. Sawther believed professors and other professionals should behave as if there were a barrier between them and those below them.
    “What a stick in the mud,” Stevens always thought before shrugging it off.
    After a brief meeting in which Stevens spoke with the Department Chair about how he should handle attendance count, he headed to his office to wind down.
    Stevens threw his briefcase to one side of the room, removed his jacket, loosened his tie, and plopped into his favorite leather chair. He had a small refrigerator placed next to his desk which contained bottles of water and a few snacks. Despite the campus being “officially dry,” he was still weighing the option of stock piling his fridge with vodka and olives.
    “Maybe next semester,” he chuckled to himself.
    A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.
    “Come on in!” Stevens said.
    In walked Lauren Styles, her glowing expression unchanged.
    “Hello, Dr. Stevens. Just wanted to stop by and say hi.”
    “Lauren, glad you could make it! Please… take a sit.”
    “Cool, thanks.”
    “Tell me a little bit about yourself.”
    “Well I’m from a small town you’ve probably never heard of and this is my second semester here.”
    “Great, so you’re 18… 19?”
    “Yeah, just turned 19.”
    “Then happy belated birthday. I remember being that age. But to be honest, I haven’t really changed much since those days.”
    “Really?” she asked with intrigue.
    “Yeah, I haven’t changed a bit. I mean, this job is just my way of remaining perennially adolescent. I just hang out kids like you and make a decent wad of cash. Talk about nice perks.”
    She laughed with great interest. “Too bad more professors aren’t like you.”
    “I’m one of a kind, Lauren.”
    She looked around his room and then back at him.
    “And you dress really nice. I love that tie.”
    “Oh, this old thing? It’s merely vintage Versace,” he said while holding up his blue and gold tie grasped by his index finger and thumb.
    “Wow, that’s a pretty expensive brand,” she said shyly.
    “Truth be told, a girl as gorgeous as you doesn’t need brand names like I do. I mean, without these snazzy clothes I’m hideous!”
    She began laughing and was quite won over.
    “I appreciate the compliment,” Lauren told him.
    In fact, she loved the attention he was showing her. A man she perceived to be of status was showing an interest in her and she couldn’t have been happier. She was now eager to spend more time with him.
    They spoke for about an hour and she blushed with every commendation. He went all out with the compliments, making her laugh and smile with each line he delivered. The greatest feeling was knowing that of the hundreds of students he taught, he was most interested in her. Finally Lauren told him that she had another class to attend.
    “Oh, Lauren, before you go… I was wondering if you’d perhaps like to have lunch with me sometime.”
    “That would be great, Dr. Stevens,” she said, grinning from ear to ear.
    “And call me ‘Shawn.’ All of my friends do.”
    “Okay, Shawn. Great!”
    A few days later, he invited her out to lunch. It went the same as their office meeting went. He made her feel great and she sang him praise of adoration in return.
    “You’re incredible… You’re amazing… You’re cool… smart… funny,” she told him each time they met. Just as when he worked at the community college, the reverence of young people was what fueled him.
    Lauren met with him after each class and each time he seemed sweeter than the last. They exchanged phone numbers and began communicating even more often than before. Back at her apartment, Lauren would not stop talking about Stevens to her roommates.
    “What else is going on between you two?” one of her