Page 20 of Thinking It Over

Me: No reading. Caught up with Ian though.

I considered telling him my excitement about Mom but held back. We’d shared enough that he knew aboutmy dad’s passing, but I hadn’t shared the severity of Mom’s struggles.

There was a long pause before his next message arrived.

Austin: That’s great. I know you’ve been worried about him. I hope everything is okay.

I smiled as I messaged back.

Me: Thanks. He’s okay.

When his next text arrived, my eyes shot open.

Austin: Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience. This is the ideal life.

This guy….

Me: Did you just quote Mark Twain?

I was tempted to add a handful of question marks for good measure, but I held back, the English teacher in me wincing at the thought. It was enough that I used LOL.

But seriously, a man quoting authors or literature directly at me, and I couldn’t be certain how long my heart would remain my own.

Austin: Quite possibly. See you tomorrow. I can’t wait.

Me: Me neither. Rest easy.

I placed my phone on my bedside table and sprawled back on my bed, eager for tomorrow to arrive.

The coast was clear,so I slipped into the staff shower room to wash the day off me. It had been a full-on day trying to get kids to not roll their eyes back in their heads so far that I’d have to call 911 when I tried to convince them that Shakespeare had been a radical genius. And trying to get one of my classes to understand the intricacies of an extended metaphor could quite possibly have driven me to drink.

But I’d survived another day. More than that, I’d enjoyed it, felt the thrill of the buzz when Bobby was able to explain the difference between a possessive apostrophe and one used for omission. That small light that seemed to flicker and click into place made the countless explanations and examples worth it.

After agreeing on our date, it took till the next day for me to realize in truth: there wouldn’t be enough time to get home, clean up, and return in time to pick Austin up. This had led me to scope out the staff facilities, one of which was a shower room.

It didn’t take long to hose myself down and get me smelling fresh. Dressed in my favorite black Levi’s, a brand my dad had totally got me appreciating, and a pale blue button-down, I headed to my car, noting I wasn’t the last to leave, so there was no need to worry about security.

Music played quietly in my car, helping to ease thenerves finding their way into my system. I figured nerves were a good thing. It meant I cared enough about Austin to try my hardest to ensure he had a good night. After walking Penny, we’d head to a family-owned pizza place in the next town over.

Aware that this small town had a rumor mill that spread quicker than lies on Twitter, I’d been a little anxious about staying too local. It would mean a forty-minute drive to the restaurant, but I hoped we’d have more semblance of privacy by doing so.

As I pulled up outside of Austin’s, I immediately grinned at seeing both Penny and the man himself waiting on the porch. “Hey,” I greeted as I stepped out.

His gaze roamed my body as he headed down the steps toward me, and I made my way closer to him. With no idea of the right way to greet him, relief settled through me when he leaned in and planted a small kiss on my mouth. Despite the briefness, I still closed my eyes, savoring the touch. A content sigh slipped past my lips before he pulled away.

“You look really good,” he said as he angled back a little, eyes landing on my bright red rain boots. He grinned. “Expecting rain?”

I grinned back and gave a small shrug. “It rained yesterday, and I didn’t want to wreck my shoes or jeans on our walk.”

“Red’s definitely your color.” He reached for my hand, and we turned, both of us focusing on Penny, who was clearly struggling to contain herself on the porch. With her tail wagging dangerously fast, I was concerned she was going to do herself damage. “Come on then, Penny. You’ve been super patient,” Austin said.

She bolted over immediately, pushing herself through my legs and pulling a snort from me. “You’re eager for a walk, huh?” I said, bending to give her some fuss. She wriggled manically. “Better not keep you waiting then.” I straightened, my eyes landing on Jasper, whose soft gaze was directed my way.

“I thought we’d take a walk around my property instead, if that’s okay? We’ll do a couple of laps, throw her a ball.”

“That sounds good to me.” It would mean less time wasted in the car and meant we’d be able to head to dinner a little earlier. It also meant fewer distractions apart from snuggles with Penny and ball throwing.

“Let me grab my own rain boots.” Wriggling eyebrows were sent my way as he laughed and jogged over to the porch.

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