Love Uncharted

by Berinn Rae

  “Yes, Mrs. Cooper, that’s my latest book,” JJ answered loud enough for the woman to hear.

  “Kenn let me talk to her right now, and don’t you dare tell your mother no.”

  He rolled his eyes and panic flooded his face. JJ, however, remained calm and even enjoyed the moment. She motioned for him to give her the phone. “Oh, really? Well, thank you … Oh, you are? Well, I’m not sure … Oh, I see …”

  JJ gave her teaching partner an amused look, shrugging her shoulders as she continued to listen. “Why, of course, I’d be delighted to do that. Sure, I’ll get that from Kenn.” She clicked the cell phone closed and handed it back to him.

  “What was that all about?”

  “Two things: Your lack of a love life and an autographed copy of my book.”

  It wasn’t difficult to sense Kenn’s embarrassment as he sank deeper into his chair. JJ laughed. “You’ll have to give me her address. She’s a fan.”

  He straightened up a little. “Is everyone a fan?”

  “According to my royalty checks and several reviews I’ve read, no. If that comforts you at all.”

  “I did come in for one other reason,” Kenn continued, apparently determined to remain on track. “I was hoping — ”

  Chapter 20

  “Uno! Uno! Uno! One! One! One! We’re number one!” Enthusiastic voices echoed throughout the hallway.

  Kenn snapped his head toward the door. A group of young men, one of whom was dressed as the football team’s mascot, were trooping around like soldiers on a five-mile hike. Following close behind were a group of lightly clad cheerleaders. All were festooned in the school colors, lavender and lime green.

  When the group arrived at JJ’s door, the mascot stopped. Not expecting the sudden end of the march, the rest of the pep squad bumped into one another, causing a domino effect. The cheerleaders then crashed into the pep squad. The mascot, a six-foot tall hand with the index finger pointed upward, indicating the “Number One” casually said, “Hi, JJ.” The costume muffled the voice, but there was no mistaking that English accent. Blake! Alex then announced. “See, this is JJ Sprightly, author of among other books, Love’s Revenge. She’s my cousin.”

  The mascot took his top knuckle off the extended index finger to reveal his head. The static electricity created by the headpiece made his now unruly curly mop of hair an even worse mess. Seeing who was in the costume, Kenn reflexively bubbled with laughter. JJ gave him what she hoped was a don’t-encourage-him look. But Kenn didn’t seem to get the hint, and his laughter became nearly uncontrollable and contagious. JJ started giggling; Blake feigned indignity.

  “I’ve got … to go …” Kenn said, barely able to speak he was laughing so hard. He made his way through the group like Moses parting the Red Sea.

  Blake’s new friends, all members of the men’s pep squad, dispersed quickly. So did Alex’s fellow cheerleaders. “See you at practice,” Alex told one, as they exchanged hugs. She then walked into the office, Blake following her, looking down at her long, bare legs. Bam! His costume — the side with the three fingers folded down — hit the doorway and buffeted him to the other side of the door, where the thumb portion of the costume promptly scraped it.

  “Not to worry,” he said. “Not … to … worry.” He sidled unsteadily into the office thumb first.

  He bent to sit in the chair. He couldn’t. Those darn curled three fingers were wider than the arm of the chair. He finally placed his headpiece on the desk so he could maneuver a little easier. JJ stared at his head-sized fingernail realizing how disturbingly lifelike it was.

  Blake continued to try to wiggle the palm and other fingers in under the arm of the chair.

  “No one informed me of the hazards of the job before I signed on to be Ulysses Uno.”

  “Ulysses? You mean this finger actually has a name? In all my years here I never realized he had a name.”

  “The student body just recently voted for the name,” Blake said flatly. “It beat out Uriah quite handily.”

  “I bet it did.”

  Alex had already settled in her chair, crossing her legs, making her short outfit look even shorter and accenting her shapely limbs. “Look, I’m finally a cheerleader,” she said arms spread upward. “I don’t think I was ever one before. Was I?” She looked at JJ questioningly.

  JJ shook her head. “No. No, you never were.” Alex sat up taller in her chair and straightened her shoulders. JJ couldn’t help but notice how proud she was.

  “We debut Saturday afternoon at the football game,” Blake said proudly. He had finally given up trying to sit. “Are you going to the game?”

  Not waiting for an answer, Blake took Ulysses’ head from JJ’s desk, held it to his side as if it were in a military helmet, fingernail facing JJ, and stood next to Alex. He glanced over at the love of his life, dressed in such a tantalizing costume. JJ read his face and had no question about what the pair would be doing when they arrived home tonight.

  Chapter 21

  “Do you hear that?” Kenn asked as he and JJ walked down the hall toward their classroom for the second session.

  She nodded. “Sounds like it’s coming from our room — and it doesn’t sound good.”

  The moment JJ walked into the doorway she discovered how “not good” it was. It was like a bad science fiction movie: The Attack of the Fans.

  “JJ, sign my book!”

  “Sign mine first; I need to get to class!”

  About 30 coeds, all armed with pens and one of JJ’s novels, swarmed around her like bees around a hive. The group pushed Kenn aside to get as close to the romance author as possible. Three to four young women at a time stuck books and pens in her face. Even if she’d wanted to sign the books, she couldn’t. The wall of girls (at least that’s what it seemed to her) kept pushing her back. JJ was at a loss at what to do. What if they start tearing my clothes off? No, they wouldn’t do that. Would they?

  At first, Kenn only watched the bizarre scenario. It wasn’t every day a history professor got treated like a rock star. After a few moments, he stepped in to quell the riot. Maneuvering the eager coeds away from the door by squeezing himself between JJ and several of the students closest to her, JJ finally was able to enter the room. Then Kenn announced that she would be delighted to do a book signing at the Physics Café at 3 P.M. “Ladies, as much as Dr. St. Clair would love to take time now, we do have a history course to teach.”

  JJ looked at him nodding her approval and mouthed “Thank you.”

  He winked at her and she thought her heart would melt. Then she chastised herself for having that reaction. He is not my knight in shining armor. Book signing? 3 P.M.? Physics Café? Alex and Blake sat up straighter in their front-row seats, looked at each other and immediately whipped out their cells phones — presents from JJ who figured it was wise to try to stay in contact with them as they roamed the university. Each of them texted furiously, then discreetly stashed them away, and redirected their attention to the front of the classroom.

  Some young ladies weren’t pleased with being put off, but Ken assured them they would get individual time with JJ at the signing. Curiously, many of the students who accosted her were not even taking her course; those who were reluctantly took their seats.

  “That was quick thinking on your part,” JJ told Kenn once the front of the room cleared. “Now, all I need is a partner to join me at the signing to keep the peace. You seem to be perfect for the job.” She wasn’t quite sure why, but she had a lingering, if baffling, need for him to join her. But she knew his thoughts on romance novels and their authors, and she was sure he wouldn’t be a part of such a frivolous undertaking.

  “Sure,” he answered immediately. “I’d love to. But only under one condition.”

  “Oh, and what’s that?”

  “I finally get to buy you that coffee I offered when I met you at that book signing.”

  That disastrous meeting had all but faded from her memory. Chuckling, she answered, “I guess i
t’s only fair. I was pretty hard on you that day.”

  Alex was especially attuned to the teachers’ conversation. She wrapped her arms around her love and gave him a spontaneous and long kiss. “Did you hear that sweetheart?” she whispered in his ear. “They’re going to the café together.”

  “Yeah, those two and more than two dozen young women wanting her autograph. That’s a romantic date.”

  • • •

  Alex and Blake followed on Kenn’s invitation. (Like they weren’t going to tag along anyway?) When the foursome arrived at the Physics Café, they were stunned. A line straggled out the door. It looked as if the café were giving something away.

  The four of them wound their way through the crowd.. Alvin ran up to them. “It’s about time you got here,” he said, looking directly at JJ. “I thought I was going to have a riot on my hands.”

  Astonished, Kenn looked around. Every booth and table was filled with young ladies holding one of JJ’s books.

  “But I can’t complain,” Alvin added. “They’re all buying something. This is going to be the best day yet for the store! I just wish I would have known you’d planned this.”

  JJ explained that it wasn’t planned. “There were fewer than 30 students in the classroom when I agreed to this. I don’t know how all of this happened.” She surveyed the crowd and out of the corner of her eye saw Alex guiltily shove her cell phone in her pocket.

  “I just texted the other cheerleaders,” Alex said. “They all love your books and — ”

  “It’s not completely her fault,” Blake said quietly. “I texted the men’s pep squad and they spread the news to their girlfriends and others.”

  “Well, good work guys,” Alvin said. “JJ, I’ve got you all set up here at this table. I’ll bring three more chairs for the rest of you. And order anything you want, all four of you. My treat.”

  JJ looked at Kenn as they strode over to the table. “That means you still owe me a coffee. I’m going to make sure you pay up, professor.”

  “I’d be honored to buy such a renaissance woman not only coffee but a quiet meal as well. And I emphasize quiet.”

  Alex nudged Blake in the ribs. “Ouch! What was that for?” Kenn looked at the two. JJ glared at them. “They’re getting closer to becoming a couple, did you hear that?” Alex whispered. “Hopefully, that means we’re getting closer to going home.”

  “Not before Saturday’s game!” Blake seemed genuinely panicked. “We’ve got duties here. Friends here.”

  Alex looked appalled. “What do you mean? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it happened before Saturday?”

  Seeing her hurt and genuine disappointment, Blake immediately agreed. “Of course it would, sweetheart. But one date — one proposed date — doesn’t make a romance. We still have our work cut out for us.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  “And then that’s assuming that’s why we’re still here. I haven’t stopped thinking of methods to get us home.”

  “That’s what worries me,” Alex said softly.

  • • •

  Alvin approached Blake and Alex before they could take their seats.

  “Excuse me, but could I speak to you for a moment?”

  Blake raised his eyebrows. “Me?”

  “Yes,” Alvin reassured him. “I’d like to talk to both you and Alex.” Blake shrugged as both he and Alex slowly rose from their seats. “Do you think we’re in trouble?” Alex whispered.

  “I’m not sure, love. But he doesn’t look too upset, just serious.”

  The café owner led them to the kitchen. While not extremely quiet, the location did provide some privacy from the crowd. “Do you think you can duplicate that text marketing success you had with this event?”

  “Text marketing?” For a moment, Blake had no idea what he was talking about. Then it hit him. “You mean texting a group of people to plan the creation of an apparently spontaneous event?”

  “Exactly!” Alvin exclaimed. He waved his hands as he talked. “If you even think you can, I’d like to hire you both as the café’s new marketing team. My partners and I are too busy actually running the café to get heavily involved in the marketing. But if you could produce this type of result, even once a month or so, I’d see to it that it was worth your time and effort.”

  Blake and Alex stole excited glances, each nodding yes. “Of course! There’s really nothing to it,” Blake said, straightening his shoulders back and thrusting his chest out slightly. “A piece of pie!”

  “That’s cake, darling. A piece of cake.”

  “Great! Ted! Simon! Got a minute?” Alvin motioned for Alex and Blake to join him as he walked over to two men standing across from each other at the workstation. Simon was putting croutons on a Three Geeks Salad as Alvin approached to make introductions. “Blake and Alex have agreed to do our marketing work,” Alvin said.

  “That’s great! You guys have a real gift for marketing.” Simon passed the salad off to a food runner who was waiting to deliver it. Then he examined the Philadelphia Experiment Cheesesteak. “Laura, it’s ready to be de-particlized,” he said.

  Laura, slim, short with dark-hair pulled back in a pony tail, took the sandwich from him, placed it on the small work area in front of her, and picked up what appeared to be a large water gun.

  “What’s that?” Blake asked.

  “That’s our de-particlizer. We use it on every Philadelphia Experiment Cheesesteak. We named the sandwich after the movie. You know the one where the government attempted to de-particlize an entire aircraft carrier in World War II. One minute the ship was there; the next moment it was gone.

  “Ted created this gun in his junior year of college. It’s obviously not strong enough to make an aircraft carrier disappear. Heck, it even has problems making onions vanish. But sometimes we get lucky. We turn it on the sandwich, and it’s supposed to de-particlize the onions. It just doesn’t always work when we want it to. If you get a sandwich without onions and they reappear while you’re eating it, you get a free cappuccino.”

  Alex appeared a bit wary of the contraption, but Blake walked right up to the employee using it to get a closer look. “Any chance of trying this baby out?”

  “Sorry, no! It takes very specialized training to handle this baby. It’s a very sensitive piece of scientific equipment.”

  Laura finished de-particlizing the sandwich and placed the gun down. The onions didn’t disappear. “I’m going to run this out now,” she said.

  Blake immediately picked up the gun and began wielding it about in all directions. “Blake!” shouted Simon and Alvin simultaneously. They both ran over to disarm him. “That’s not a toy. You could do serious damage with that thing,” Simon said.

  Alvin grabbed it from him clicking the safety lock in place.

  “Sorry! It looks cool!”

  “I’ll get you two a couple of lattes to start you off,” Simon offered, clearly a little shaken. “Why don’t you go out and sit with JJ and Professor Cooper?”

  • • •

  It seemed like JJ was signing her name in record time. Yet, through it all she kept smiling. In fact, the event appeared to energize her. Kenn watched her with a bit of a smile on his face.

  He leaned over to Blake and said, “She appears to love doing this.”

  Blake nodded. “It’s probably the ultimate honor for an author. To know that readers enjoyed your creation,” Alex said.

  Kenn nodded thoughtfully, as if the idea had never occurred to him before.

  Alex and Blake busily began talking about how they could create events for the café. They didn’t appear to notice how closely the two professors were sitting or how that block of ice that had surrounded them was quickly melting.

  Chapter 22

  “Ahem. Are you too busy to stop for a moment?” Kenn stood at the doorway of JJ’s office, hands in his pocket, rocking on the balls of his feet. She was behind the desk reviewing her conspiracy book for the next class session.


  “Never for my partner in conspiracy … I mean teaching.” JJ smiled up at him. A warm flush engulfed her body. Yeah, it’s good to see him. “Come on in and sit down.”

  She closed the book, leaned back in her chair, and put her hands behind her head. Kenn readily stepped in and sat in one of the receiving chairs in front of her desk.

  Their team-taught class was progressing better than JJ could have predicted, especially considering her original opposition to it.

  Not only that but she felt she personally enjoyed Kenn’s company. She had already acknowledged her sexual feelings for him. And now she discovered she liked him as a person, which opened up a whole other can of worms in her book. Sexual feelings she could easily blame on hormones. But to like him as a person constituted a deadly combination. She should know. She was the romance author. This may open the way for —

  “Look what I snagged,” Kenn waved two tickets in the air.

  “Elton John and Billy Joel in concert? On the same stage, at the same time?”

  “No!”

  “Tickets to see Paul McCartney, then?” she teased.

  “Not quite. But there is some form of music involved.”

  “Okay, I give.”

  “This Saturday’s football game against Ohio College at Defiance.”

  JJ held up tickets of her own. “They look remarkably similar to these?” The pair laughed. Every instructor at the university received a minimum of two tickets with the instructions to attend as their professional life depended on it.

  “Even though you have tickets of your own, and at the chance you may have already asked the man of your dreams to go with you, I’m going to stick my neck out … ” Kenn paused, pursing his lips. Then with what seemed like the speed of a Tommy gun in one single breath: “Would you be kind enough to accompany me to the football game Saturday afternoon?” He released a long and slow exhale.

  He looked into JJ’s eyes then ran his hand through his hair. “Of course, if you already have plans for the game …”