It’s just…Class starts in twenty minutes.” And there it was again. I was that stupid teenage girl who couldn’t find the right words to put in her mouth.
He smiled and I couldn’t help notice how straight his teeth were. “What about dinner?”
“I can do dinner.”
“I’ll pick you up at six.”
Josh was true to his word. When the clock turned exactly to six, a jet-black sports car rolled into the school parking lot. Some of the students who had stayed behind for extra-curricular activities turned and pointed at the car. Josh stepped out, dressed more casually but every bit as dapper as he looked when he first showed up.
I tried to hide my face walking to his car. Some of my students whistled and yelled “Yeah, you go Ms. Johnson!” There were disapproving and envious looks from some of the other teachers. I caught a glance of Sandy. She had this unreadable look on her face. I couldn’t tell if it was disbelief or jealousy.
“You’ve made quite a scene.” I whispered.
“Let the peanut gallery have what they want.” He smiled and opened the door.
“When did you become such a gentleman?” I asked when I sat down.
“About ten years ago.” Josh started the engine and backed out of the parking lot. The scent of his cologne wafted over. It was enough to leave tiny wisps of scent but not overpoweringly nauseating like so many of my students. I drank his scent and felt it flow through me. I remember reading in a book somewhere that smell was from small particles of whatever it was that I smelled. So, in a way, I had little bits of Josh inside of me right now.
I was fine with that.
“Mind if I turn on the radio?” I leaned over to get a bit closer.
“I don’t like radios. Here.” Josh pulled out a CD.
“The Best of Bach. Interesting choice.”
“Makes for good driving music. Plus, nobody can criticize your music choice.” He grinned. “Nobody important, at least.”
“I guess.” I brushed his finger when I took the CD from him and felt a rush shoot through my body. The familiar notes of the Bach double rang out in the car. Memories flooded back. This was the last song that we played as a duet in our senior year. The familiar progression of notes seemed to turn time itself back and for a brief moment, I felt like I was in high school again.
“You remember my amazing skills as the second soloist?”
“Oh, please.” I scoffed. “You rushed through the entire second half of the piece. I had to cut out notes to keep up with you.”
He looked at me with his puppy dog eyes. “I was kind of hoping you’d forgotten by now.”
“Josh, it was the highlight of my high school musical career. How could I forget?”
He turned his attention back to the road. “You’re right, Stacey. How could you forget...” His voice trailed off. Then, as if by accident, he patted my leg.
Warmth gushed through my body and I felt something wet between my legs. Josh was still looking at the road. There was something different about his face. More lines around the corners of his eyes, for starters. But it was more endearing that way. He looked older, more sophisticated. His warm hand still rested on my leg and I silently wished that it would move higher.
“We’re here.” He said.
Looking into his eyes, I finally realized what had changed. A fire of confidence burned behind those eyes. There was a new intensity there and I felt something stirring inside myself the more I looked into Josh’s mesmerizing eyes.
“What? Is there something on my face?” He asked and I felt my face flush.
“No.”
He opened the door again and held out his arm for me to take. It was one of the more upscale restaurants in town and I balked at the thought of how expensive dinner was going to be.
Josh seemed to have read my mind and he said. “Hey, didn’t I already tell you that I wasn’t going to make you