My Secret Little Flirtation

Well, you know how it is in academia, everyone knows your business whether you like it or not. So here's my secret flirtation that I've been keeping under wraps for months now. My TA, let’s call him Alex, is young and charismatic; the students love him, and I’ve caught myself daydreaming about his sharp intellect and that charming smile more often than professional boundaries dictate. We’ve exchanged a few winks in the corridor and had an unusually lengthy chat during office hours, which I justified to myself as purely academic. Of course, it's not really about the work, it’s about how we both know there are lines being crossed here. The real kicker is that my fiancé hasn’t been overly attentive lately, so naturally, a little flirtation with someone who doesn't have any claim on me seems harmless enough, right? But now every time Alex looks at me expectantly during department meetings, I can feel my heart skip a beat, maybe it’s time to lay off the flirty glances and focus on why I'm actually engaged.