My life has officially split into two parallel universes of psychological warfare.
Universe One: Professor Lewis turning every lecture into my personal academic Hunger Games, complete with intellectual bloodsport and the kind of eye contact that makes me question whether clothes are actually necessary.
Universe Two: Mystery Man turning my phone into a confession booth where I apparently spill every dark thought Iβve ever had about wanting someone to take control of my perpetually responsible existence.
Tonight, Iβm sprawled on my bed at 11:47 PM, staring at my phone like it holds the secrets to my rapidly unraveling sanity.
Private Room Service: Youβve been quiet tonight.
Me: Recovering from another day of academic humiliation.
Private Room Service: Your professor again?
Me: Yeah, he has this way of making me feel simultaneously stupid and turned on. Itβs psychologically disturbing.
Private Room Service: Is it the authority that appeals to you, or the challenge?
I stare at the question, my pulse quickening. Weβve been dancing around this topic for weeks now, but tonight feels different. More direct. More dangerous.
Me: Both, probably. I spend my entire life being the responsible one, making decisions, taking care of everyone else. Sometimes I want someone else to be in control for once.
Private Room Service: What kind of control?
My fingers hover over the keyboard. This is territory Iβve only explored in the dark romance novels I hide on my Kindle, in the late-night fantasies that leave me breathless and slightly ashamed.
Me: The kind where I donβt have to think. Where someone else makes the decisions and I justβ¦ submit.
Private Room Service: Submit how?
Me: God, you really want me to spell it out?
Private Room Service: I want you to be honest. Complete honesty, or we stop here.
The ultimatum sends heat straight through my core. But also? Perfect opening. Time to see if Mr. Mysterious actually gives a shit or if I'm just convenient entertainment.
Me: Sometimes I just want to be told what to do. How to move, what to wear, when to speak. I want someone to see through all my careful control and just⦠take it.
Private Room Service: Have someone in mind who could give you that?
Oh, subtle. He's practically gift-wrapping himself for me.
The obvious answer is sitting right there in my contacts under "Private Room Service", the man who had me coming apart against a club wall with nothing but his fingers and that commanding voice.
But where's the fun in the obvious?
Me: Actually, yeah. My literature professor.
Let's see what buttons I can push.
Me: Sometimes I imagine him after class. Keeping me after everyone else leaves. Making me stay bent over his desk while he corrects my "inadequate" analysis. Or on my kneesβ¦
The typing indicator appears and disappears. Appears again. Disappears.
Got him.
Private Room Service: Your professor, huh.
Me: Gorgeous looking man. Dark hair, ashy temples, eyes that could strip paint. The way his black shirts clung tightly to his muscled arms⦠yummy.
Private Room Service: Interesting choice.
That careful neutrality is trying way too hard. I can practically feel him gritting his teeth through the screen.
Me: Are you jealous, sweetheart?
Private Room Service: I don't do jealousy.
Liar. That response came lightning-fast.
Private Room Service: But Iβm not interested in fantasy, princess. If you want to truly surrender, youβll need to prove it.
The use of a pet name makes my skin prickle.
Me: Prove it how?
Private Room Service: Tomorrow morning, youβll come to campus without panties.
I stare at the message, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Me: Excuse me?
Private Room Service: You heard me. No underwear. All day. Every class, every interaction, every momentβyouβll remember that youβre bare under that pretty little skirt of yours.
Me: Thatβs insane.
Private Room Service: Thatβs surrender. The choice is yours.
Me: What if I get caught?
Private Room Service: By whom? Are you planning to advertise your compliance?
Me: No, butβ¦
Private Room Service: But nothing. This isnβt a negotiation. Itβs a test. Pass or fail.
I set my phone down, hands shaking. This is totally crazy. This is the kind of thing that gets people arrested or expelled or worse. But God help me, Iβm already imagining it.
The risk, the secret, the way Iβll feel every time the wind catches my skirt.
Me: And if I do this?
Private Room Service: Then weβll see how serious you are about letting go of control.
Me: This is blackmail.
Private Room Service: This is a choice. Make it.
I stare at the phone for ten full minutes before typing:
Me: Fine.
Private Room Service: Good girl.
***
The next morning, I stand in front of my closet like Iβm preparing for war.
Which, in a way, I am.
I settle on a black skirt that hits mid-thighβnot too short to be obvious, not too long to be safeβand a fitted white blouse that suddenly feels too revealing even though Iβve worn it a dozen times.
The absence of underwear is immediately, overwhelmingly apparent.
Every step across the quad feels like an announcement. The morning breeze catches my skirt, and I have to fight the urge to hold it down.
Iβm hyperaware of everythingβthe way the fabric moves against my bare skin, the way I have to be careful sitting down, the way every male gaze feels like X-ray vision.
By the time I reach Professor Lewisβs lecture hall, Iβm wound tighter than a spring.
I take my usual seatβthird row, centerβand immediately regret every life choice that led me here. The wooden chair is cold against my bare thighs, and I have to cross my legs carefully to maintain any semblance of modesty.
Professor Lewis enters like he owns the world, and today that ownership feels more personal than ever. His eyes sweep the room in their usual predatory survey, and when they land on me, something flickers across his face.
Recognition? Suspicion? Or am I just projecting my guilt onto his perfectly neutral expression?
βToday weβre discussing power dynamics in institutional settings,β he begins.
Of course we are.
βMiss Hale,β he says, and my entire body goes rigid. βSince you seem particularlyβ¦ alert this morning, perhaps youβd like to start us off.β
βIβ Whatβs the question?β
βThe question is whether institutional power inherently corrupts, or whether it simply reveals existing character flaws.β His eyes donβt leave mine. βYour thoughts?β
I shift in my seat, acutely aware of the way the movement affects my bare skin against the chair.
βI think power dynamics are more complex than simple corruption,β I manage. βSometimes people seek power because they crave control, and sometimes they have control thrust upon them.β
βInteresting distinction. And which do you think is more dangerous?β
The question feels loaded with meaning I canβt decode.
βThe ones who crave it,β I say. βBecause theyβll use any means necessary to get it.β
βEven submission?β The word hangs in the air between us like a challenge. My pulse races.
βEspecially submission,β I reply, surprised by my own boldness. βBecause submission given freely is the most powerful gift you can offer someone.β
The silence in the room is deafening. Professor Lewisβs expression is unreadable, but something in his eyes makes my breath catch.
βVery insightful, Miss Hale.β His voice is softer now, almost intimate despite the lecture hall full of students. βPower and surrender are indeed two sides of the same coin.β
I spend the rest of the lecture trying to focus on anything other than the way he looks at me, the way his words seem to carry double meanings, the way every shift in my seat reminds me of my complete exposure.
My phone buzzed as I walked out of class into the hallway.
Private Room Service: How does it feel?
My hands shake as I type back:
Me: Like Iβm losing my mind.
Private Room Service: Good. That means youβre finally paying attention.
Me: To what?
Private Room Service: To what you really want.
I look up to find Cleo waving at me at the end of the hallway, motioning that she is heading to see her fuck buddy. I gave her a thumbs up.
Private Room Service: This is just the beginning, princess. Are you ready for more?
Me: Yes.







