Page 48 of Rewrites of the Heart

Blake craned his head out the classroom door. “They’re almost here. Get ready.”

He and Alex had planned this moment the night before, when Alex had received a text with a heads up that the photo would appear on the front page. She had wanted to do something special to celebrate the moment. Blake took the ball from there.

He hurriedly sprinted back to his seat, his hair bouncing all the way. Alex gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

JJ and Kenn walked into the room.

The students erupted. “Way to go!” “History professors rock.” “History profs do it better!”

In addition to a variety of imaginative slogans, many of the students whistled and cheered. They ended their antics with a standing ovation. Neither professor looked appreciative. The room fell silent for a moment.

“Look behind you,” a student cried out, breaking the painful silence. The pair turned at the same instant. Copies of the front page ofThe Daily Digitcovered every inch of the chalk board.

“I’ll get these down right now.” Kenn took deliberate steps toward the wall. Alex began to sob, and Blake wrapped an arm around her. “It’s all right, love.”

“Blake Teesdale. Come help me with these. Now.” The intensity of Kenn’s words brought Blake to his feet immediately and he scrambled to get to the front of the classroom, his hair wildly bouncing as he sprinted forward.

After the pages had been torn down, Blake meekly walked back to his seat. Alex instantly kissed him. “I thought it was a good idea, if that helps.”

Blake smiled and nodded. “Regardless,” he said, “I do believe we may be in trouble with JJ tonight.”

He and Alex were unusually silent through the rest of the hour.

****

JJ unlocked the back door, and as she walked through the kitchen, she casually dropped her purse and messenger bag on the table.

She padded into the living room, dropped down on the couch, and kicked off her shoes. And she waited.

It didn’t take long. She knew it wouldn’t. After all, she knew their schedules well. Alex and Blake entered quietly, speaking to each other in whispers. She figured they knew what was in store for them when they got home. It sounded as if they tip-toed through the kitchen and attempted to glide through to the bedroom without being detected.

“Wait one minute,” she said. The pair froze at the entrance of the hallway between the kitchen and the dining room.

“Aren’t you going to stop to talk?”

“Lots of homework tonight,” Alex offered.

“Got to work on that essay for your class,” Blake said. “And then we have to prepare for the next event for the spontaneous text marketing business for the Physics Café. Busy. Busy. Busy.”

“You have time for this,” she said, rising to her feet. She hoped that by standing up it made her look more authoritative despite her diminutive stature.

“Did you two have any hand in the orchestrating the ‘pep rally of love’ today in class?”

Blake nervously ran a hand through his hair and stared down at his shoes like a little boy caught filching cookies from the cookie jar. Alex shuffled her pack back from one shoulder to the other. Neither one said a word. Neither of them would meet her eyes.

“I thought so. Please don’t ever do that again,” she said, as she sat back down.

Blake’s gaze immediately shot up. “No lecture?”

Alex walked into the living room and dropped her backpack on the chair. She glanced at JJ sideways, as if perhaps the worst was still to come. “No reminder of how we’re meddling in your personal affairs?”

“Not this time.”

They relaxed, and faint smiles crept over their faces. Blake walked into the living room and sat on the edge of the couch. Alex dropped next to him, placing her hand on his thigh. His face brightened.

“This doesn’t mean I’m not furious,” she said. “And totally embarrassed. But I’m not going to dwell on it any longer.”

Blake stood up to go. “I just have one question,” he said. Alex rolled her eyes.

---