“Are you ok?”
I nodded and offered a small smile. “I will be. Thank you. But let’s get out of here. This definitely qualifies as out in public in a non-learning situation.”
He shook his head and typed while I walked around the car to get into the driver’s side. I unlocked the doors and he climbed in, still typing. I waited until he was finished.
“Oh, I’m learning a lot. I’m learning that we definitely need to do a better job taking care of our teachers. I’m learning what it’s like to be so responsible that you truly only purchase what you can afford to buy. And I’m learning more and more every day what an amazing woman you are and how lucky I am that you are my teacher. And my friend.”
I smiled up at him and tried to express to him just how much I appreciated him and how much I agreed with his statement. The car started on the first try and the stereo came blaring on. We both jumped and reached to turn it down at the same time. Once it was at an acceptable decibel I realized that it was Blackened’s latest hit, ‘Tryin’ Me.” Our eyes met and he raised his eyebrows. I turned it up a bit and pulled away from the curb.
“It’s so weird. I haven’t ever heard you speak. I don’t think I ever have. I don’t remember ever hearing an interview or anything. But I have heard you sing.”
He raised an eyebrow at me and gestured for me to continue.
“What? You want me to admit to you that I fall asleep to your music at night?”
His smile fell and that hungry look was back. I just winked at him and kept driving while he fell back in the seat, squirming.
When we pulled up in front of my apartment complex I was further pleased with my purchase and the fact that I’d done it on my own. The car handled great, sounded great, and was comfortable to drive. It was a stick, which I hadn’t driven in a long time. Danny pretended not to notice the few times I rode the clutch.
“Well, she’s not bad. Still not from this century, but close! She’s no Pinto, but I think she’ll do.”
He laughed and started typing. “Forgot to tell you. My mechanic wants your car for parts. I’ll text his number to you so you two can come up with a fair price. Seems there’s still a market for those antiques.”
“Yeah, antique is a nice way of putting it,” I snorted. “Thanks for understanding about this morning. I really needed to do this on my own. As much as I wanted you to be with me, I needed to do it by myself so I wouldn’t doubt my ability to do so. Does that make sense?”
He typed, “just don’t want you to think you are alone anymore.”
I bit my lip and said, “Well, I did have Cosmo come down and look at it before I said yes.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Cosmo to the rescue,” he whispered and climbed out of the car.
“Well,” I said when we were back in front of my place. “We have a dilemma. You have two vehicles here and we need to get them back to your place. Are you ready to start working?”
He nodded and typed, “how bout you follow me in the Range Rover and I’ll bring you home tonight.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure we shouldn’t include riding alone in cars together to our list?”
He smirked and typed, “I’ll bring you on my bike. Bring pants and boots.”
I crossed my arms and gave him my best teacher look. “And what educational category does a motorcycle ride fit into?”
He scrunched up his face in thought and whispered, “I’ll think of something by then.”
I shook my head and said, “Fine. Let me run upstairs and grab my things. And before you ask, no, you cannot come up because alone in my apartment is DEFINITELY on the list.”
He grabbed his chest and gave a pained look.
When I got upstairs, I took a minute to collect my thoughts. Danny wanted me. Was willing to wait for me. Was pretty freaking terrific. Was probably going to break my heart. I was almost 27. It was probably about time I took a chance on someone.
I packed up my teacher materials and stuffed in a pair of jeans and a pair of old cowboy boots in a bag. I took a deep breath for courage and the strength to resist temptation and locked up behind me. Downstairs temptation straddled a Harley with a half helmet and shades on. I was so done for.
Chapter Eight
Patricia was waiting for us when we got back to Danny’s place with a wicked smile on her face.
“I wondered when you two would get back. How are the studies going?” She was standing with Nora in the kitchen. The two of them were obviously up to something.
“He’s doing great. He’s already earned close to twenty credits.”
She looked impressed. “Good for you, Danny. I’m so glad. But I wonder if you could tell me what you were studying on Sunset Boulevard last night.”
Danny and I looked at each other and he gestured for her to continue.
“Oh, I was just curious about the pictures of you on the fan page this morning. I’m assuming that was Jesse with you. Those legs of hers are easily recognizable.” She winked at me.
Danny grabbed my hand and ran for the bar and his computer. He booted it up and Patricia followed with Nora, laughing. When he pulled up the page he sat back and frowned. There was a picture of us climbing into the cab. He was waving with one hand and smiling. His other hand was holding mine as I folded myself into the backseat. About a mile of leg was showing.
“Whoa,” he whispered. “Better hope Cosmo doesn’t see this.” I elbowed him and he just laughed more.
“Relax, Jesse. You can’t see your face, or even your hair, but your legs... I’ve already gotten calls from several modeling agencies wondering which of their clients deserve credit for the picture,” Patricia said, trying to ease my embarrassment. I groaned loudly and flopped down onto the chair, my head resting on the bar. “On a serious note, the two of you should be more careful if you are out in public together. The press might not understand the relationship.”
“We ran into each other at a show. I was just seeing her home,” he whispered. He was telling the truth, but we both knew there was more to the story than that.
“Whatever the case may be, more pictures like this could be a problem.” I looked at Danny and he nodded, knowing we might need to let them know about our rules.
“You’re right, Patricia, and Danny and I discussed some ground rules if I’m going to continue as his teacher.” I glanced at him and his ‘gimme’ look had me rolling my eyes.
“We’ve agreed we should have a chaperone-” He nudged me and shook his head. “Ok, we’ve agreed we shouldn’t be alone together while we work.” I looked to him to be sure he agreed and he nodded, motioning for me to continue with that shit-eating grin. “And we agreed to no more outings unless it is an officially scheduled field trip like the one we have planned Sunday to the Museum of Tolerance. And no touching outside the student-teacher relationship. This means too much to Danny for there to be any accusations of impropriety.” He kicked my chair. “What,” I asked.
He typed something out for me to read.
I read out loud, “And your job is too important for people to think you are abusing your student.” He snickered and I smacked him with a folder. “I’ll show you abuse, Mr. Black.”
Nora and Patricia were shaking their heads at us.
“Oh dear,” said Patricia. “Jesse, when I hired you I honestly had no idea this would be a problem. I mean, Danny barely spoke to anyone above a growl, even when he could talk. I’d never guess that he could actually have fun.”
He was gaping at her. He started typing furiously on his phone, his tongue poking out again. God that made my toes curl. When he finished typing he held it out to me to read it.
“Danny says that he never growled and he was, too, fun.”
Patricia and Nora laughed.
I raised an eyebrow at him and noticed that he seemed to be genuinely bothered by this. “Danny? Are you ok?”
He shook his head and snatched his phone back from me. “No, I’m not ok! Do people actuall
y think that about me? Am I that much of a dick?”
I shrugged and said, “He wants to know if people really think that about him and is he that much of a, do I really have to use that word?”
He waved a hand at me and started pulling at his lip. He was really upset.
Patricia and Nora seemed to pick up on this and Nora walked over to him. Putting her arm around him she said, “Danny, we love you. But you gotta admit you’ve been a little high strung, especially since you started having trouble with your voice.”
Patricia nodded and said, “I just meant that you’ve been distant, and rightfully so. You’ve been through hell the past couple of years. I’ve been your manager for a long time now and I know...” Her eyes darted to the two of us and she smiled nervously. “I’m sorry Danny. You know I just want you to be happy. You try to make everyone else happy. It’s your turn.”
He looked between the two women who had obviously known him longer than me and I could see him coming to terms with past behavior. He rubbed his hands over his head and his eyes got a little wet. Nora kissed him on his cheek and stepped away.
“I’ll just be in the kitchen. I was going to do some cleaning in there and then take care of the bills so I’ll be around, you know, to supervise.” She put her fingers in quotes for that last part and Danny made an attempt to laugh. It didn’t reach his eyes.
Patricia slung her purse over her shoulder and made to leave. “Listen you two, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s only my business because I want to make sure Danny is protected in all of this.”
I nodded. “I appreciate that and I’m sorry if my being with him last night caused any problems. I didn’t mean for my legs to cause such a stir.”
He did laugh that time and I finally took a breath. I’d been so worried about him. Patricia stepped over and kissed him on his cheek, too. He held her hand and pulled her closer to whisper in her ear.
“Of course. I’ll take care of it. You just get to work and don’t worry about anything else. I’ll take care of the other thing, too. Just focus on getting well. Bye you two.” She waved and sashayed out of Danny’s house, her perfume lingering.
Danny was a mess sitting there at the bar. “Danny? I really want to give you a hug right now.”
He just looked lost and held his arms out weakly. I walked to him and took him in my arms. He squeezed me tight and I felt his shaky breaths against my shoulder. We stayed like that for a long time. When he finally loosened his grip I stepped back and looked down at him.
“Better?” He smiled and nodded. “Good. Let’s get to work.”
For the next few hours we finished up US History, stopping only to have dinner and have a celebratory glass of apple juice. After that, I graded his essay for Fahrenheit 451 with him and we went over his statement to the jury for Of Mice and Men.
“Danny, this is solid work. I’m happy to grant you four credits for the first semester of English. Six more to go and you’ve finished a year!”
He sighed and rolled his head around on his neck.
“We should quit for the night. You need sleep and I’m about to drop over here.” He looked alarmed and I shook my head. “I’m fine, just tired. It was a little difficult to fall asleep last night.”
He grinned at me and nodded. I started to gather my things and he touched my hand.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
I frowned and asked, “For what?”
He looked pensive for a moment and then started to type. “For always sticking up for me. For being so supportive of me. For making this nightmare completely bearable, even enjoyable. For the hug. For your smile. For... I can keep at this all night, but you need sleep.”
“You’re welcome, for all of it. It’s easy. You’re easy to stick up for because you’re worthy. It’s easy to support you because you’re doing such a great thing and working so hard at it. I’m sorry that this is a nightmare for you. I’m enjoying it, too. I think we can officially take hugs off the list. It's perfectly acceptable for a teacher to hug a student who needs it. Unless it’s someone as gorgeous as you, that’s just a sin for anyone...”
He grinned. “Go change so I can take you home.”
I frowned. “Hey Danny? I’m not sure I’m physically up for the bike tonight. I so want to ride with you but my hands...”
He took my hands in his and rubbed his thumbs lightly over my swollen knuckles. His eyes were pained when they found mine. I gave a weak smile.
“I’ll be fine. I just need to take some medicine and get rest.”
He let go of one and typed on his phone without letting go of my other hand. “I really want to kiss them and make it go away. That’s probably on the no touch list, though, right?”
“I think kissing of any kind is a no no, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
He reluctantly let go of my hand and helped me pack my things. He slung my bag over his shoulder and held up a finger before he went to the kitchen.
He came back a minute later with Nora. “Guess I’m riding with the two of you.”
She was looking at Danny with so much love and admiration, I was grateful he had her in his life. We piled into the Range Rover and I insisted on riding in the back. When we pulled up in front of my place Nora sucked in a breath.
“Whoooeee, you brave, girl! I have lived in a lot of scary places in my day, but this one just might be worse.”
I rolled my eyes. “It just looks rough. The scariest thing here is just what debauchery is going on in my neighbor’s apartment.”
We all shuddered and laughed. Danny held his phone out for me to look at. “I want to walk you up,,but I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ll wait ‘til I see you get inside. Ok if we meet at the museum tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that would be great. Goodnight Nora... Danny.”
He gave me a breathtaking smile and I didn’t want to look away. But I did. I trudged up the steps, kicking a bra and panties out of my way as I made it to my door.
What a topsy-turvy day! I was exhausted and could barely stand up long enough to get undressed. I collapsed on the bed with Danny’s smile still on my mind.
Chapter Nine
I woke up late and rushed to get ready in time. I found some eggs in the fridge to scramble up and practically inhaled them. I threw on a navy blue, sleeveless, fitted dress with matching heels, barely taking time to run a brush through my hair and over my teeth. I skipped down the steps, grateful the undergarments were gone, and jogged over to my new ride.
The Museum was about a thirty-minute drive and I was worried I was going to be late. I was never late this often in my life! It seemed I wasn’t keeping on top of everything like I thought. I parked on the street and jumped out of the car, pausing only to feed the meter, as I didn’t need a ticket to pay for!
I ran up the street towards the Museum and into the lobby at 9:00 on the dot. I was struck dumb by the sight before me. Danny was there standing next to one of the docents. He was wearing a Brooks Brothers suit in charcoal with a black button down underneath. Italian loafers rounded off the outfit and with his glasses on, you’d never take him for a rock star at first glance. He turned when heard me approach and greeted me with a handshake. So formal!
“Good morning, Ms. Martin,” the docent said in greeting. “Mr. Black checked the two of you in already. Here is your badge. We’ll be starting the tour now.”
Danny took in my appearance and bit his lip. He pulled out his phone and typed, “Was worried I was in the wrong place. You look stunning, Ms. Martin.”
“I’m sorry, Danny. I hate being late. For some reason I overslept this morning. I promise, I’m usually way more punctual than this.”
He just shook his head and smiled, motioning for me to go ahead of him.
I turned to whisper to him, “Since when do you wear glasses?”
He smirked. “Like them,” he whispered back.
Oh, yeah. I liked them. “I do.”
He laughed and whispered, “Woke
up late, too, and didn’t have time to put contacts in.”
I’d had no idea. Danny in glasses was even more unbearably handsome. This was getting ridiculous.
I’d been to the museum twice before and being the history geek I was, I let myself be overwhelmed by the stories. I took in all of the artifacts and effects meant to make the experience more visceral. Danny had a serious look of concentration on his face during the entire tour. He was obviously deeply affected by what he was witnessing. When the tour was over he pulled out his phone and typed, “did you want to grab some lunch in the cafeteria?”
“That would be great.”
We each selected food from the cooler and Danny insisted on paying. I found us a table and he brought our tray over. For a while we just sat quietly and ate. When Danny had finished half of his sandwich, he typed on his phone.
“That was intense. I knew it would be but it’s left me feeling really troubled.”
I nodded solemnly. “I felt that way, too, the first time I went through. But when I came, I was with a group of teachers and it was part of a workshop. All of our costs were paid for by grant money. We sat together afterwards and brainstormed ways we could bring the idea of tolerance to our campus with lessons and activities involving the entire student body. The first group I visited with didn’t have a very successful brainstorming session, but the second group did. We put together some great lessons and even ran small groups with the kids when we returned. I love their program here. It’s sobering but inspirational.” Danny stared at me and I felt myself blushing. “What is it?”
He smiled shyly and typed, “You are so beautiful. Even more so when you are talking about teaching. How could they even think of letting you go?”
I was touched by what he’d written. “It’s not up to the district. They have to go by seniority, and right now everyone who has seven years or less of service credit is getting pink slips. It’s like that all over the state. They’ve already cut back to bare bones. We wouldn’t even have summer school for my program if it weren’t for your generous donation.”
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