She nodded subtly. “And mine. I wanted it, Aiden. Badly. Maybe it’s just the newness of it all. I’ve never been a rule breaker of any kind. I wanted it to happen, just like it did. Except maybe without Mr. Farmer barging in. But for some reason, I left feeling ashamed.”
“I’m the one who should be ashamed of myself.” I dropped my hand from her face and laid it on hers in the middle of the table. “I will do better at school. We’ll be more careful and keep it out of the classroom.”
“The pit might be little safer,” she offered.
Nothing we did at school would ever be safe. But I wasn’t ready to declare that here and now and risk losing what small piece of her I had. “I wish we had more time for nights like this.”
Her face took on a dreamy expression as she glanced around, admiring the ambiance. “Me too. Between Ethan’s baseball schedule and the coffee shop and the museum, it feels like I barely have time to breathe.”
I gave her hand a squeeze. She linked her fingers with mine.
“If I wasn’t coaching hockey, I’d be more available.” I could quit. I was about to offer to do just that.
She shrugged. “For what? The only nights I have off I’m taking Ethan to and from baseball practice. It’s not like you can come sit with me. There are moms there who know who I am. It’s a small town. I’m willing to bet they’ve already heard about the hot new history teacher.”
A blush brightened her face, sending a heat flare through me as well.
“The hot new history teacher is only interested in you, Emersyn. So they’re out of luck.”
Our food arrived, her pasta and my scallops. She moaned seductively after her first bite. I felt her pleasure down to my groin.
“You like?”
Hey eyes shone like diamonds. Pleasing her pleased me in a way I’d never experienced.
“So good,” she gushed after she’d swallowed. “Aiden, this is amazing. You have to try it.”
She fed me a forkful. It was pretty damn good. I was proud of myself. I’d only been here once for a hockey team celebratory dinner a few years ago. I was glad she was enjoying herself. She didn’t get to often enough.
When she fed me another bite, I leaned forward and kissed her wrist.
“I don’t know when or how, but I promise, some day, we are going to have more time for nights like these. Nights for your pleasure and nothing else.”
“And what about your pleasure?”
“That’s dessert, sweetheart.”
The meal was incredible, surpassed only by watching her indulge in the chocolate lasagna I convinced her to order for dessert.
We’d talked about everything from our childhoods to our current jobs, even doing our best impressions of our professors at Southeastern.
I purposely avoided the interstate on the drive home, making our trip and our conversation last as long as possible.
“If you could have anything in the world right now, what would it be?” I asked her.
“Just one thing?”
I shrugged. “As many things as you want. Make me a list.”
“A cure for Lupus. Something to make Ethan take his algebra homework more seriously. And an art studio where I could work anytime, day or night.”
I couldn’t do much about the first two items on her list, but I had some thoughts about the third one.
“What about you?”
I shifted my eyes from the road to glance at her. “What about me?”
“Tell me what you want more than anything.”