My Krampus

By Juana Salsa

Allison has had a crush on her PhD thesis advisor, Professor Eder, for years. When he offers her a chance to continue working with him after graduation, she's thrilled.

Tobias Eder has long harbored romantic feelings for his lovely and clever student. Now that Allison has finally graduated, he hopes to transform their relationship.

Despite their amorous feelings, neither Allison or Tobias can overcome their nerves to make a first move. Things only become more complicated when Tobias discovers his old Krampus costume and begins to court Allison in disguise.

Will Allison and Tobias find a way to be together?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Juana Salsa
• Release date: Mar 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9780463631607

Juana Salsa

Juana Salsa is a research and development consultant PhD. In her spare time, she writes. Juana lives across from a farm in rural America with her husband, two kids, two cats, dog, and three hermit crabs. She hopes you will enjoy her stories.War Really Sucks - help it suck a little less:Help war survivors:https://www.icrc.org/https://www.maginternational.org/Help children:https://www.savethechildren.org/https://www.unicefusa.org/Help refugees:https://www.rescue.org/https://www.unhcr.org/

Book preview

Chapter One

(Allison)

Congratulations, Doctor, My PhD advisor said, smiling.

Thank you!

I was shaking with nerves and my voice broke a little. I'd kept it together through my whole defense, but now I was falling apart.

We were very impressed with the quality of your research, Ms. Avery. Or, I should say Dr. Avery, Professor Eder continued kindly.

My whole body grew warm, basking in the approval of this group of academics. Each of my committee members shook my hand as they left the room, until only myself and my advisor remained.

Professor Eder stood up and walked over to me, making my heart pound, but no longer with nerves. Now it was with arousal. I'd tried very hard to ignore how handsome my PhD advisor was for the last five years, but it hadn't worked. He still made my stomach flop when he stood near me.

Today, he wore dark jeans, a size too large as always, and a navy-blue button up shirt, tucked neatly into his waist band. His graying hair was tied back in a short ponytail, revealing the receding hairline over his temples. My mouth went dry as I looked up at him, my eyes flitting over his thin apricot-colored lips that quirked up in a small smile above his salt and pepper goatee. I met his eyes, deep green and decorated with wrinkles that spoke of many years of laughter.

Have you found a job, yet? he asked, kindly.

Not yet, Professor Eder, I said quietly.

Please, call me Tobias, we are equals now.

I frowned; I certainly didn't feel like an equal. My degree was barely five minutes old, and he had decades of experience.

Alright… Tobias, I tried out the name, hesitantly. Then you should call me Allison.

Very well, Allison, he said, my name on his lips caressed my yearning heart. I'm taking a sabbatical to do some research at my old alma matter in Austria, Technische Universität Graz. It'll be just a year, but I've secured a position for a post-doc in the same department. I'd like that post-doc to be you.

I sucked in a breath and glanced up at Professor Eder's face again. No, Tobias now. If he wanted me to call him that, I had better work on it, even in my head.

Me? Are you sure? I asked, my stomach fluttering with excitement.

I had always wanted to go to Europe. And more than that, I wanted to spend more time with Tobias.

Of course, he smiled, the wrinkles on his cheeks masquerading as dimples.

I would love to go to Austria with you, to work with you, I said, breathless with excitement.

Excellent. I will prepare the paperwork. Do you have a passport, I hope? The semester starts October 1st.

I nodded. I had gotten a passport several years ago when I'd dreamed of using it. But so far, I hadn't had the chance.

Tobias put his hand on my shoulder familiarly. I stilled; I could not remember him ever touching me before. Not once in the five years I'd been his student, as we bent our heads over papers together and examined troublesome equipment together, had he touched me. There had always been an invisible barrier, and now it was gone.

I hope you'll like my country, he said, before removing his hand and stepping out of the room.

I closed my eyes and savored the feel of that hand, the warmth that I could still feel on my shoulder. I should have said, no. I should have found a job and started a new life and left this impossible infatuation behind. But all I wanted in my heart was to be close to him longer, to breath in his musky scent, to admire the veins that bulged on his weathered hands, to listen to his deep voice explain obscure concepts with ease.

I was in love with my professor, and I had been for years.

Chapter Two

(Tobias)

I whistled softly as I left the young new doctor. I had a lot of paperwork to get done, and I was more excited about it than I had any right to be. I had been keeping careful track of Ms. Avery's, no Allison's PhD progress. I'd timed my sabbatical just right and worked hard to secure a post-doc position for one of my students, always intending it to be for her.

It was best for a new doctorate to work in a different university if they didn't go right into teaching or industry, so I couldn’t very well offer her a post-doc position in my lab here. That certainly would not have helped her career.

I had not expected her acceptance of my proposal to be quite so quick, though. I'd figured I'd have to really sell TU Graz and Austria in general. Had she already heard of my sabbatical plans and researched it ahead of time? That would be like her, to be so efficient and well-prepared.

It really didn't matter, though. I was getting what I wanted, which was more time with my loveliest and most intuitive student. I hadn't felt so enamoured with a woman since my divorce ten years ago. I felt like a young man again, driven by lust and irrational emotion.

I had refrained from courting her for years, as my infatuation built slowly. It wasn't simply university rules that had held me back, I absolutely despised any hint of inequality in romance. There wasn't much I could do about my age, but I could work to make sure she felt she was my equal in all other ways. We'd made one small step forward on that today, I grinned to myself. And I had just bought myself a year abroad to get the rest of the way there.

I settled into my desk chair and pulled up the documents to be completed on my computer. I put together the papers that would need Allison's input and emailed them to her, emphasizing that she'd have to complete them this week. Then, I got started on my own pile of documents.

Twenty minutes later, my computer pinged, indicating a new email.

~~~~~

Professor Eder,

Thank you for the documents. I am already working on them. The visa application needs an address where I will be living in Austria. Is there assigned post doc housing, or do I need to find an apartment? Any help in this matter is much appreciated.

Thank you,

Allison

~~~~~

I groaned at her continued use of the honorific, professor. I must break that habit! I couldn't feel right about pursuing her if she acted like I was her superior. How could I know if her feelings were genuine or compelled by my perceived power?

Still, this question of accommodation gave me an idea. I ruminated on it for five minutes before I picked up my cell phone and made a video call.

Warum rufst du mich so spät an? An irritated voice answered in the dark.

The middle of the night? I glanced at the clock guiltily. Yes, it was midnight in Austria. Oh well, my sister would be fine, and I needed an answer now.

I need a favor, Leni

Oh, do you? My sister switched to English, knowing I preferred it over German since moving to America thirty years ago.

I need you to evict whoever is living in your rental so that the post-doc coming with me can move in there. I said firmly.

I can't just evict someone for no reason, brother!

It is not for no reason. I want my colleague to have a safe place to live that is near campus. I argued.

Ah, then why don't you simply put an extra bed in your room? Are you too good to share a room now?

I can't share a room with her! I exclaimed.

Oh, her is it? Leni suddenly sounded much more interested.

She turned on a light and I could see her face clearly now.

Yes, my colleague is a woman. So now you understand why you should rent the attached unit to her.

Tell me, brother, is she beautiful?

That is irrelevant, I admonished.

I want to see her or I'm not doing anything for you, you old goat!

If only it had occurred to me sooner to get my sister to clear out the rental for Allison, I reprimanded myself. Maybe with more warning, Leni would have been