Page 92 of A Class of Her Own

He’d been chatting with Ford and some other businessmen for the past half hour. I hadn’t minded. In fact, I’d liked watching him in that element as I’d never caught a glimpse of him in a professional role. He was funny and charming, quick with a witty phrase but also able to talk shop. It was another piece to the puzzle of who he was, and, so far, every new piece I discovered only made me like him more. I’d left the group no more than five minutes before, wanting to end the year with my own thoughts.

As I looked back over the past months, I couldn’t help but catalog the major course shift that had happened in recent weeks. I was ending the year a different person, and I knew I couldn’t credit myself with every adjustment that had taken place. I’d thought it before, and the thought circled back, that with Brooks there were possibilities. I could be a whole person with limitless potential.

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you made a tragic picture over here by yourself looking at the stars. But the reality is that you look peaceful and beautiful,” he said quietly, turning his face to press a light kiss to my cheek.

I leaned back more, resting my head against his shoulder. “It hasn’t been a terrible night.”

A chuckle vibrated in his chest. “The karaoke room was a little touch and go.”

I laughed, remembering him accepting Ruby’s invitation to partner with her and the horror on his face when he realized that Ruby had choreography in mind. It was an image I’d never forget, and, while they’d won the prize, it had clearly scarred him for life.

“I probably should have warned you.”

“I might not have believed you.”

I laughed again. “When it comes to Ruby, please know that regardless of how odd it sounds, we aren’t making it up.”

“You laugh more these days,” he whispered against my cheek.

It was something I hadn’t really noticed but was certainly true. I felt lighter with him around. The crowd around us was chanting the last of the countdown now. “Ten, nine, eight, seven . . .” Brooks spun me in his arms, and I lifted my own to wrap around his neck.

“I toyed with saying something cheesy right now, but I think it might taint your view of me, and things are going so well,” he said in a low voice.

“It doesn’t hurt to try,” I replied with a teasing grin.

“Being with you is the best start to a new year I’ve had in a long time.”

I smiled. “That wasn’t too bad.”

Our eyes held as the others around us counted down the last two seconds, and then he was lifting me slightly up, and I was closing my arms tighter around his neck until we were kissing like two people who had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Something new I learned about Brooks the next day was that if you gave the man an inch, he was going to try to take a mile. I’d received no less than three phone calls and ten text messages asking me to come out and play that day, but I had to turn him down for several reasons.

One: school started back up the next day, and I was planning to spend the day in my classroom prepping everything. School rooms did not run themselves, and it wasn’t an excuse to not spend time with him.

Two: my heart was no longer a recognizable piece of my body, and I needed some space without his eyes and curly hair and hands and lips . . . yes, those lips needed to be far away from me . . . in order to process and prepare for the next logical steps in our relationship. Steps I was ready to take, yes, but without jumping in willy-nilly. I’d agreed to date him but not to totally lose myself.

Three: January 1st was the day I planned out my year, and I had a date with a journal and a still-unfinished vision board.

Brooks finally stopped pestering me after I promised I’d have dinner with him that night -- with the understanding that this teacher had an early curfew.

I wasn’t the only one back at school that afternoon. Other teachers and office staff had arrived after sleeping in. The lunchroom was even lit up as food was delivered in preparation for students returning. I went around my classroom wiping things down and clearing out any garbage that I’d forgotten about. I put up a “Happy New Year” bulletin board with spaces for the children to hang their own mini-vision boards we’d be making and prepped out my lesson plans for the week.

Around four o’clock, some internal clock had me heading for Ruby’s nurse office. I hadn’t actually spoken with my friends yet today, but I thought there was a chance they’d be there, and if they were, they’d find their way to Ruby, too. It was the best place to meet because no one else went there after school. There were no parents popping in or students who’d forgotten their backpacks. It was small and quiet.

The light was on and the door was slightly ajar when I rounded the corner. So, I tapped lightly and pushed the door open. Ruby was sitting behind her desk, and Hailey was sitting on the exam table. They both looked up with a smile when they saw me.

“Well, hello, Miss Atwood,” Ruby said. “I’m surprised to see you today. I thought you’d be with your new boyfriend.”

“It was certainly a surprise to see Brooks there with you last night,” Hailey said, patting the place next to her. “You seemed to have fun together.”

A silly grin broke out on my face before I could stop it. “Yeah.”

I pictured him in that suit, his arms around me as he told me I was the best way to start the new year. When they didn’t tease me, I snapped out of my daydream and looked around the room. They looked identically delighted and really unsure about mentioning it.

“What?” I grumped.

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