the students had brought their own, like Daralyn. Others lined up in front of the food court options.
“Is this a lot like high school?” she asked.
He hadn’t looked away from her profile as she took it all in. Now she looked at him, realized he was gazing at her, and smiled uncertainly, making him wonder what she saw in his expression. He made a conscious effort to add warmth to it.
“Yeah. And no. In high school, the people you’re hanging with are your close friends. You have stuff in common, like me and the football team. Or Les and her fellow science geeks. Thomas…he always seemed to be everyone’s friend, but not, if that makes sense. Though I didn’t get why then, I do now.”
“Why?” She chewed a bite of her sandwich slowly, her attention fixed on him.
“He couldn’t be who he was. A guy who liked guys. So it was sort of a mask. He was a nice guy; that part wasn’t a mask. He was good-looking enough to be popular, so those things kept him from being treated like an outcast.”
“Yes. I can see that.” She put down the sandwich, studied it. “My uncle and father didn’t take me into town much, but I knew the rules when we were together. ‘Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t wander off.’ If I broke the rules, they wouldn’t take me back except for church, not for a long, long time, not that we went that often anyway. So when I met people in town I knew, like Thomas or Les, or you, I had to act the right way.”
He swallowed back the anger her earlier life always incited. She didn’t need that. He responded in a steady voice. “How did you feel like acting?”
“Like I wasn’t there,” she said honestly. Her gaze moved to where his hand rested on the table, traveled up to his shoulder, touched his face and moved away. “I didn’t feel real, so pretending I was felt…uncomfortable. Being in town was different from being at home, which was good, but I was afraid, too, which made me think being invisible would be better. If that makes sense.”
“It does.” As he touched her hand, she brightened.
“Tell me a high school story. Something you did with your friends.”
“You’ve heard all the sports stories, probably more than anyone wants to. Including me.”
His friends had visited a lot in those early days, telling way too many nostalgic stories about being on the football field. Talk about rubbing his nose in it, though he knew that hadn’t been their intent. They just hadn’t known what else to say, and reliving their glory days seemed the best option. He’d known she listened from her room sometimes, the door cracked.
“Something other than sports,” she said.
“Girls?”
She frowned. “No.”
That gave him a boost he’d needed. “Sure?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re teasing me because I don’t have a skillet.”
He chuckled. “Trying. What I really want to do is rip off Joe’s legs so I can have a fair fight for your interest. I don’t have any cool books about the history of the Constitution.”
She looked as if he’d dashed cold water in her face. “What?”
He waved a hand. “I’m kidding.”
“You think he was…”
“I think you’re a beautiful woman who’s really interested in what he’s teaching. He’s going to test the waters. He’s an adult, you’re an adult.”
“No. I’m going to go give this back to him.”
“Hey, Daralyn.” Startled by her reaction, he managed to snag her wrist before she jumped up. “You’ve done nothing wrong. Neither has he. It’s just normal guy-girl stuff. If he asks you out, you just say—”
“I’m with you. I belong to you.”
Talk about being caught off balance. He hadn’t seen that one coming, let alone the force with which she blurted it out.
She stopped at his reaction, took a breath. “I’m so sorry. I interrupted. What were you about to say?”
“I was about to say…” He was neck deep in treacherous waters, with no clue about all the dangers that lay within them, so he spoke carefully. “That if you were interested, you’d say yes. If not, you’d tell him you’re not, that you just really like his class and what you’re learning in it.”
She stared at him. “You… I don’t belong to you?”
“Daralyn, why do you think you belong to me?”
“Because you touched me…that way. You’ve kissed me.”
“Yeah, but you can choose to be with me. When a guy kisses you, it’s not like a brand or something.”