He sauntered around to my side of the bar, still eating his sundae, and when he got close he whispered, “You only call me Mr. Black when I’m in trouble. Do I make you nervous, Ms. Martin?”
I was sitting on a barstool and he’d moved next to me with his back against the counter, almost touching me with all that amazing skin. I tried to formulate a smart response and failed. I spooned another bite of ice cream into my mouth and looked straight ahead.
“I wouldn’t say nervous. I’d say it comes dangerously close to crossing a line that could cost me my job.”
He had been about to take another bite and stopped with the spoon halfway to his mouth. He put his spoon back in his bowl, set it down on the counter and walked out of the kitchen.
Great! As much as I couldn't admit it, he was right, he did make me nervous. He had me thinking all kinds of thoughts that could get me fired! I'd continue to be the stuffy teacher. I had to. I put my spoon back in the bowl and walked around to rinse it out in the sink.
Danny returned with a clean shirt on and walked back to his bowl of ice cream. He finished eating it, watching me intently. My eyes were drawn to his mouth with each bite. I shivered and it had nothing to do with the temperature of the ice cream. I'm sure he wasn’t trying to provoke me, but damn if I could have been that spoon! When he finished, he put his bowl in the sink and turned to me.
“I’m sorry, Jesse. I would never want to jeopardize your job.”
I smiled up at him and said, “Thanks. Although I may not have one for long anyway if the budget situation doesn’t get any better.” I glanced at the clock and saw it was after 10! “I should go,” I said. “What time would you like me here tomorrow?”
He looked down at me, thoughtfully, almost like he was really seeing me for the first time. “Is noon, ok again? I promise I’ll be on time.”
I nodded and turned to go back to gather my things outside and noticed that Nora had brought everything in and packed it up for me by the door. I smiled and walked over to retrieve it.
“Let me walk you out,” Danny whispered from behind me.
I turned to find him only a few paces away. I shook my head, praying he didn’t insist. “No, I’m fine. See you tomorrow.”
I brushed past him and tried not to sprint out the door. I hurried to my car and tried to pull away before he could follow me, but the damn Pinto needed a little sweet-talking before she’d start. Once she did, I barely avoided peeling out as I sped away from Danny’s house.
The scene back at the apartment complex was calm, even for a Sunday night. The guys were all in Cosmo’s apartment, playing one of their more mellow songs. I tried to slip past, but Cosmo spied me.
“Jesse Baby! Hey! Come in for a bit, have a late night snack! We were just going to watch a movie.”
I stepped up to the doorway, careful not to touch anything.
“Thanks guys, but I’m tired. I need sleep. I’m working tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” asked Sam. “It’s Memorial Day! Isn’t that like illegal or something? How come you’re working? When I went to school, we didn’t go on Memorial Day!”
I shook my head. “I’m working as a home instructor for a guy who’s trying to earn his diploma. I don’t think holidays apply in this case. Good night, guys!”
They shouted their goodbyes, but Cosmo came outside. “You didn’t make the show last night. Everything ok?”
I nodded as I unlocked my door. “Yeah, sorry. I was working with my student until late and I was tired.”
Cosmo knew about my condition and frowned. “You need your rest, baby. Don’t push it, hear me?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Dad. And thanks for the new mat. Oh, and thank Jinx for the fruit basket. I’ve got breakfast for a couple of days now.”
He wasn’t convinced I was ok, I could tell by his expression. “You sure you’re ok? I could come in for a while.”
When Cosmo was sober, he sometimes hinted that he wanted to be more than neighbors. When he was drunk he was too silly to take serious. I looked up at a very sober Cosmo with a determined look on his face. He was in his usual shirtless state with shorts on and he was standing so close to me, I could feel his breath moving the wisps of my hair. I knew what my answer had to be. I sighed with resignation.
In a few years he would either make it big with his band or he wouldn’t, and if he didn’t, he’d probably spend the rest of his years managing this apartment complex. That was ok for friend material, but if I were to get involved with him I’d end up living here for much longer than the FDA would probably approve of. He had a lot of qualities a girl could fall for. He just wasn’t for me.
“Cosmo, you are a good friend to me, my best friend. If you came in and something happened to ruin that, I don’t think I could handle it. I come with way too much baggage anyway,” I joked, hoping light was the way to go with this.
Cosmo stepped closer to me and pulled me into a hug. Thankfully, Sunday was shower day and he smelled pretty damn good.
“You’ve got great baggage, Jesse. And I’ll always be your friend. I just hate for you to be alone so much.”
Well, shit. So much for light. I wiped at a tear and pulled away from him. “I’ll be fine. Goodnight, Cosmo.”
He was wise beyond his years and I could see in his eyes that no, he didn’t think I’d be fine. He shook his head. “Goodnight, baby. I’m next door if you need me.”
I thanked him and slipped inside before I lost it. I got ready for bed and put on my headphones. I couldn’t resist playing Blackened tonight. Danny’s voice sang me to sleep and in my dreams, I pretended that I wasn’t his teacher and wondered what might have happened if I hadn’t told him to put a shirt on today.
Chapter Four
I slept late the next morning, not getting up until ten. It felt good. I was obviously drained from working at Danny’s, but we’d had a productive day yesterday and I was pleased to see he was taking this so seriously. I completed my morning stretches and workout and mapped out how much work we could get done seeing as after today we’d have less time together. I had to be back at school tomorrow, I had dance classes tomorrow night... I didn’t want to stress. I wanted a good plan of attack to get me through to the next weekend in one piece.
While I was showering I thought back to his meeting with his band mates. They were obviously concerned about him, but I was really bothered that Bronson would push him into trying to work. If this were any other surgery, he’d be expected to be home resting, not working in a studio. I’m sure they hadn’t gotten to this point in their career, though, without an immense amount of pressure. Well, I wasn’t going to pressure him. He was putting enough pressure on himself.
I got out and dried off. I braided my hair into a French braid today to keep it out of my face and I dressed in a dark turquoise, roomy, knit sundress that clung slightly to my frame and hung to my ankles. A little less formal than what I had been wearing, but more comfortable since the weather was warming up considerably. I told myself that the change in attire had nothing to do with Danny. I told myself I wasn’t having the thoughts I was having about him. I snagged a couple of pieces of fruit for the drive and slipped into my sandals. I was out the door by 11:15, praying no traffic or car trouble would make me late.
The Pinto cooperated when we left my apartment and I was minutes away from Danny’s house when the knocking in the engine got louder.
“Please, just make it up the hill! Please? I promise. Soon you can have your eternal rest... JUST NOT HERE!” Sometimes begging and pleading did the trick. We made it the rest of the way with no more complaints.
I hurried up the drive and met Nora coming out.
She shielded her eyes from the sun. “That your car, sugar?”
Shit. Busted. “Yep, she’s a classic. Are you headed out?”
She nodded. “I’m seeing my sisters today. Danny told me to go. He’s treating us to the spa!”
“That sounds amazing. Have a great time!”
She wav
ed as I headed inside. “You too, and make sure he stays quiet. His throat was bad this morning.”
I nodded to her and went through the front door. I could hear the piano as soon as I closed the door. Danny had a huge grand between the living room and the dining room, in front of his wall of glass. I set my stuff down inside the kitchen and walked around the back of the dining room so he’d see me and I wasn’t sneaking up on him.
He didn’t look up when I walked in, just kept playing a haunting tune. I stopped next to the piano and watched with rapt attention as his fingers flew over the keys. The tune quickly switched to the Peanut’s theme and I giggled. He looked up at me and gave me a big smile, one that said he was glad I was here and hoped I was feeling better. How I knew that I'm not certain except that with him barely talking, he really let his expressions and smiles speak for him.
“Good morning. I hope you rested last night.”
He nodded. He stood and gestured for me to go outside to our patio classroom. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at him. Today’s uniform was a white, short-sleeved button down shirt, the top three buttons open, and a pair of navy board shorts. I sat down at the table and saw he’d written me a note.
“Ms. Martin,
I finished the third credit of Creative Writing last night using the other short story you’d pulled. The Scarlet Ibis was profoundly sad. It spoke to me, how one boy slipping in his responsibility for one moment in time could lose everything. I don’t want to be that boy. That’s why I want to do this. I’m grateful that you are here and I promise I’ll be on my best behavior from now on.
I know we have a lot to do and I will work hard this week. I guess I won’t see you tomorrow or Thursday. Is it too much for us to meet Wednesday? Just for a bit? And then if we could meet Friday and one of the days on the weekend that would be great. I don’t want to wear you out and I’m afraid I’ll do that if I make you come every day. I know your job comes first right now.
I’m also going to try to be better about not talking. I was in a lot of pain last night. I thought maybe we could text, though, since I can do that faster than I can write? Would that work? And can I call you on the days you aren’t here if I have questions?
We shouldn’t have any distractions today and Nora left us food in the fridge. I want you to go home early today so you can rest. You looked way too tired last night. We both have to take care of ourselves, right? Or no diploma!
Thanks, Danny
“Uh, there’s a lot in your note. Want me to start at the beginning?” He nodded, blushing a little. “Ok. That’s great that you finished last night, I’ll look forward to reading it. It was a very sad story, but I like it because it’s about realizing the people we love are fragile, they can be gone in an instant and we must always treat them as such. It’s just such a horrible lesson for a kid to have to learn, don’t you think?”
He was staring at me intently, and he gave a slight nod.
“And thanks for being on your best behavior. I don’t expect miracles. You are who you are and this is your house.” Unless he did it again and I couldn’t help but reach out and touch...
“Ah, the schedule looks fine and yes, you can call me or email me on the days we don’t meet. I have lunch from 12-1 and I’m off at 3:00. But I don’t have texting on my phone.
He frowned, holding out his phone and gesturing for me to show him mine.
“Oh, it’s an old flip phone. I just didn’t want to pay extra for texting. No one would text me anyway,” I laughed, trying to pass it off. “And good about taking care of yourself. You don’t want to hurt yourself, Danny. I know how important your voice is and I don’t want you to take chances with it, ok?”
He nodded, still frowning. He got a text right then, held up a finger and then read it. He blanched at the screen and gave me a funny look.
“What is it?”
He shook his head and held up a finger again. He was typing furiously on his phone and walked toward his office. When he came back, he held out his hands to show me he had left it behind.
“Great. Are you ready to start?”
He nodded, but still looked bothered. I didn’t think I wanted to know what was bothering him, but I asked anyway.
“Is there something else?”
He shook his head, pulling at his lip. I blew out a breath, still a little shaken by some of the sentiments in the letter.
“I thought we’d jump into U.S. History today. It’s set up the same as World History, so we’ll start with a pre test.”
He nodded and pushed the computer towards me so I could log in and get him started. He didn’t look up as I pushed it back towards him. He just got to work.
“Hey Danny?” He looked up at me and I asked, “Is it ok if I go back into the library? I wanted to pull a couple of books to look at.”
He frowned and grabbed his notebook. “You can go where you want. You don’t have to ask.”
Ok. He seemed upset. What did I do? I sighed and stood up. “I’ll be back in a few.” He nodded without looking up and I turned to go inside.
The house was so empty and quiet. I didn’t know how Danny could stand it. I made my way through to the library and grabbed a couple of books I’d seen last night that I wanted to look at. I was walking back down the hall when the front door burst open and a woman I instantly recognized started yelling, “DANNY! Where are you?”
When she entered the living room, she spun around and nailed me with a hard look. “Who the hell are you,” she spat at me.
“I’m Jesse Martin. I’m Danny’s teacher.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure you are. DANNY!”
I heard the sliding door in the kitchen slam and Danny stalked towards her, irritation on his face. It was then that I saw a younger girl hesitating in the doorway. Danny spied her and his face broke into a huge smile. He walked toward her with his arms wide open, ignoring the shrieking blonde.
“Hi Daddy!” She had darker red hair than her father, brilliant blue eyes and an adorable sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose. He scooped her up into a hug and she kissed him on his cheek. She was very thin and dressed fashionably, if not a little mature for her age. I put her at about twelve, but she could easily have passed for fourteen.
“I’ve been calling all morning, Danny. Jane needs to get her ice skates because she’s going to a skating party today and she wanted the ones that are here instead of the perfectly fine ones that I have at my place.”
I don’t think this woman could have sounded any more put out.
Brooke Jones had been a promising actress in her early 20’s but after a couple of box office flops in the rom-com genre, she wasn’t A-list anymore. Her divorce with Danny probably hurt her in the tabloids as well. She still looked phenomenal. All that bleached blonde hair and those long legs looked like a few million bucks. Unfortunately, she’d also had a lot of cosmetic work done that had ruined her natural beauty. I was quickly learning that there wasn’t a lot of inner beauty to counteract that.
“Janey, your skates are in the garage, do you remember where,” he whispered at her and she nodded, smiling.
“Daddy, you’re kind of cute when you talk like that.” She turned from him and glared at her mom as she walked past. She gave me a questioning look and then continued past me into the kitchen and on to the garage.
“So why do you have a teacher in your house, Danny? Tired of being a loser without a high school diploma?”
Danny just frowned at her and shook his head. Oh hell no! I wasn’t going to listen to this.
“Ms. Jones, the fact that Danny wants to earn his diploma should be commended, not derided. And I’m guessing you knew he didn’t have one when you married him. Did that not matter to you then?”
She looked shocked that I would dare speak to her. Danny just gawked at me in surprise.
“I found them! Thank you, Daddy! When do I get to come stay here? I want to go swimming!”
He smiled and knelt down to whisper to her.
“Your mom is bringing you on Thursday and you can stay overnight, ok? I’ll take you to school Friday.”
She squeezed him around the neck. “And can we watch a movie in the theater too, Daddy?” He nodded and she kissed his cheek.
“Let’s go, Jane,” Brooke said, shooting me another annoyed look before strutting out the front door.
Danny watched them go and then locked the door behind them. When he turned around, he walked straight over to me and put his hands on my arms. “I’m sorry she was so rude. You didn’t need to hear that.”
I crossed my arms in front of me and raised an eyebrow. “And neither did you! Is she always that horrible to you? She had no right to disrespect you like that! Especially in front of your daughter!"
I was shaking, I was so angry. He smiled down at me, surprised.
“Brooke is Brooke. Thanks for sticking up for me. You didn’t have to. I’m not sure it made any difference other than to put you on her radar, but it was appreciated.”
I smirked at him. “Oooo, she has radar, huh?” I rolled my eyes and walked away from him. I stopped in the kitchen and asked him, “Where are the glasses? Did you want some tea?”
He appeared beside me, still staring at me with that look of wonder. He reached over my head to pull two glasses out. I smiled at him and went to the fridge to grab a pitcher of sun tea. I poured us each a glass and handed one to him.
“Well, so much for no distractions!”
He raised his glass to me and took a sip. I had so many questions, but then we were staring at each other, and I needed to end this little moment. I hoped he would follow me back outside.
Outside he showed me that he’d earned an 80% on the pretest.
“See? You’re doing great! Do you want me to read the sections to you?”
He smiled at me gratefully and grabbed the computer. The next couple of hours were spent with me reading to him, him taking notes and every once in a while he would stop me and write down a question. His questions were more about how the information was written than about what we were reading.
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