Page 35 of Rewrites of the Heart

“Sorry, no. You have to be trained to use this. It’s a very sensitive scientific piece of equipment.”

Laura finished the de-particlizing 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 at the same time. “That’s not a toy. You could do serious damage with that thing.”

Blake reluctantly put it down. “Sorry. It looks wicked.”

“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?”

Blake and Alex quickly returned to their stations behind the table. Blake took the chair next to Kenn. He watched as JJ signed her name in record time, made small talk with each fan, and sent them off, visibly elated. And through it all she kept smiling. In fact, the event appeared to be energizing her.

Kenn must have noticed the same thing because 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.”

Kenn nodded as if he were considering the comment.

Blake felt Alex tug at his sleeve. “Look how close the two of them are sitting. We should be home in no time at all.”

Chapter 26

“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 studying her conspiracy book.

“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, leaning back in her chair, putting her hands behind her head. He readily stepped in and sat in one of the receiving chairs in front of her desk.

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

She was surprised to discover she personally enjoyed his company. While it was a welcomed development, it frightened her as well. She had already acknowledged to herself sexual feelings for him. And now she discovered she liked him as a person. That opened up a whole other can of worms in her book. Sexual feelings she could easily discount. She chalked that one up to hormones. But to enjoy him as a person? Now there was a deadly combination.

“Look what I snagged,” he said, as he waved two tickets in the air.

She leaned forward in her chair and quirked an eyebrow. “Tickets to see 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. What are the tickets for?”

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

She picked up a set of tickets from her desk. “Do they look anything like these?”

They laughed. Every instructor at the university received a minimum of two tickets with the instructions to attend as if their tenured professional life depended on it.

“It comes with the territory, doesn’t it?” Kenn asked. “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 he asked 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 her eyes then ran his hand through his hair. “Of course, if you already have plans for the game…”

The whole scenario shot chills up and down her spine. How could she possibly say no to such a wonderful man?

“I’d be honored to go,” she said quickly.

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