“Mr. Cooper?”
“Depends on who’s asking.” I’m not sure it’s her. I only talked to her for a minute before, but the voice sounds familiar. I take a swig from my water bottle while Steve watches me like he’s watching a movie and waiting for the big scene. Now he needs a big bowl of popcorn.
“Uhm, it’s Ren—err—Renate. Renate Silva. We, uhm, we met last—”I’m grinning ear to ear while she rambles, until she lets out a heavy sigh of regret. Shit, that’s not good.“Look, the smart board is nice. I mean, like super nice. I appreciate the gesture, but I can’t take it. There are policies against gifts like that and it’s not fair to the other teachers. I hope that makes sense. I don’t want to sound like I’m not grateful because, I, you know, I am.”
“Shit, I’m sorry, Renate.” Even in my panic, her name rolls off my tongue in a way that feels both weird and… right. I want to whisper it in her ear as she wakes up next to me in bed. I’ve been hanging out with Steve too much.
“I didn’t expect you to answer. I assumed this whole thing had been planned by my sister as a messed up joke.”
“No! No, not a joke. I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble. I should have known better. I, you know, I thought flowers were too old school for a…a woman like you.”
“Oh! Uhm, it’s okay.”The softness in her voice acts like a muscle relaxer and I’m melting into the bench.“You wouldn’t know that kind of thing unless you worked as a teacher. I feel terrible because I do like it. The kids loved it, too. I didn’t tell them you sent it.”
“I’ll get that taken care of as soon as I can, I promise.”
She’s silent, and I’m pretty sure she’s hung up on me until I notice a kid’s voice somewhere in the distance.
“I uhm, did you get… no, you have my number so yeah, obviously, you got the card. Duh.”
“I did. I, look, Mr. Cooper, can I ask you something?”
“If I answer your question, will you answer mine?”
“Yes. I think they’re kind of, well, related.”
“Okay, shoot.” I’m trying to act natural and even Steve rolls his eyes at how bad I am at this. The tabloids would eat this shit up if they could see it.Hollywood Mega Star Crashes and Burns Asking Teacher Out!Steve adds to my anxiety when he starts making a choking gesture and falling to the floor. Jackass.
“Why do you want to have dinner with me? And don’t try the ‘why not’ or some other snarky answer. Give me a genuine answer.”
“Why?” My date hinges on how I answer this, so I take my time to come up with the right way to say it and pray I don’t fuck it up. “You… strike me as a confident, independent, beautiful woman and you treated me like a normal human being at the school the other night. I don’t get that too often. I’m hoping you’ll let me apologize properly both for running into you and for chickening out that night. I’m hoping for a chance to make it right.”
“Chickening out?”
“I, uhm, lied the other day. I didn’t get lost looking for the bathroom when I bumped into you.” I have to close my eyes as Steve throws his hands in the air and walks away like he doesn’t know me. “I wanted to, well, to talk to you. I’d been watching you on and off from the bleachers and, I…well, I didn’t put two and two together and figured out who you were until after. I’d like the opportunity to get to know you. If you want to, anyhow.” That all sounded so much cooler in my head. Steve makes a crash and burn gesture across the room, complete with explosion sound effects.
“Mmm,”she hums and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad, but either way it makes me remember her lips, full with a bit of a pout to them and red like rubies—but soft. Maybe more like roses? I suck at poetry, but she has prettier lips than most leading actresses I’ve worked with.
“So? Did I give a satisfactory answer to your question, Ms. Silva?” The way my dick twitches when I say her name tells me I have a teacher kink. Well, a kink for a specific teacher, that’s for sure. God, the things she’s done to me in my daydreams today. I couldn’t help but imagine what we could do together. Especially with the height difference—I’m at least a foot taller than her. Probably more.
“Maybe.”
“Oh,maybe?That’s sneaky.” I laugh before dropping my voice, wishing I could see her face. “So let me ask you this. Do you like magic?”
“Magic?”
“I’d like to take you to the Magic Castle for dinner. If you’d like to join me, fantastic, send me your address and I’ll pick you up at five tonight.” I stop, giving her a moment to think about it, before adding, “If not, well, I’m glad I got to talk to you again and I wish you all the best. Oh, and Ren?”
“Yes?”she answers in a breathy voice.
“Text me the color of your dress. See you at five.” I hang up, my heart hammering so hard in my chest it hurts. Fuck, that might have been the wrong move. I flop back onto the weight bench and stare at the ceiling. I had set my sights on going super smooth, but I went mysterious. Now, I’ve come off looking like a total asshole.
No matter what she decides, I need to take care of this smart board situation for her. I call my agent so she can tell me I’m a moron before we come up with a solution.
“Hey, Cynthia. Can we get some kind of deal with a company that makes those smart board things for classrooms?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The cool high tech dry erase boards. Chalk boards on crack! I dunno, Google it. I need, uhm, I need enough for every classroom at Hollywood Tech and Arts. It could be some kind of tax write off or something? I dunno. I need to make it happen. We can even use Jamie’s art school thing as a cover if we need to.”
