Teacher's Pet

Chapter 2

An entire week had passed since the last time I saw Noah. I didn’t want to ask my co-workers if he had maybe come in when I wasn’t there so I just shrugged it off. I walked out of work to take my lunch break. I always sat at the outside tables of the coffee shop that was next door. I went to put my earphones in when I heard someone come up behind me.

 “Listening to anything good?” I turned around and looked up to see Noah.

“Oh hey, um well yeah good to me. I was in the mood for some eighties rock so I just clicked on that station.” 

“So big hair and eyeliner is your thing huh?” Noah said with a slight chuckle.

“Oh you know it. I just love a man who spends more time on his hair and make-up than I do,” 

“Do you mind if I join you? I don’t want to ruin your quiet time.” 

“Sure. My lunch just started so I’ve got some time.”

Noah walked over and sat at the chair directly across from me. He had on a white T-shirt and dark blue jeans. The white shirt showed off his naturally tan complexion.

I managed to pull my eyes away from his body before he could notice.“Hey your gig is coming up. Are you excited?”

“Yeah I am. We’ve worked hard over the years and are finally starting to book gigs where we’re actually getting paid! And just being out there in front of people playing our songs... it’s the best feeling there is.” His energy was contagious and I couldn’t help but smile as he was talking. I caught myself before I went all dreamy on him. 

“Years you said. How long have you guys been playing?”

“We met in the dorms our freshman year of college so almost eight years.”As the words left his mouth I choked on the sip of smoothie I had just taken. 

“Eight years! That’s um, well that’s a long time.” I said.Noah sat there a couple of seconds looking at me. 

“So I take it you did the math in your head which caused you to choke? So just to clear this up I’ll be twenty-six in January.”

“For the record, I didn’t choke because of your age -” 

“Oh really?” He interrupted.

“Yes really.” I mocked him. “I choked because I can't believe how good you look for your age. I thought you were maybe twenty-two.”

 Noah started laughing “Liar. But it’s ok. You paid me a compliment, kind of. So tell me. Now that you know what an old man I am do you want me to leave?”

 I watched as his eyes went from my face to my chest. I realized very quickly that I sat there in my fitted ribbed tank top and it was the first time he had seen me outside of my work shirt. That thing was so big on me and it did a good job of hiding my full D cups. They were both a blessing and a curse. When he once again made eye contact with me I gave him a sly smile.

 “No, I’ll let you enjoy the view for a little while longer.” I said.

His eyes went big with shock. Then he let out a low grunt. “Mmmm I see I might have underestimated you. Let me take you to lunch next week.”

“My day off is Wednesday.” I reached over to the table next to us and grabbed a pen that was left there. I placed Noah’s hand in mine and wrote my phone number on his palm. “Text me where and what time.” I stood up and started walking back to work. The whole time feeling Noah’s eyes on me. What the hell was I getting myself into?

Saturday night rolled around and it was time to celebrate me and my mother’s birthday. My father had rented out one of the local halls that were big enough to accommodate our entire family plus friends.  My dad was Irish-Catholic and was one of ten siblings. My mom came to America with my grandparents and her five other siblings when she was fifteen. So even though I was an only child I never really felt alone. At the party after everyone had eaten the music started up. I took the opportunity to step outside with Hannah. 

“Man I love my family but I swear they are the reason I love silence so much.”

 “I would kill to have even one cousin so I can’t say I understand what you mean.” She shrugged.

Hannah was my complete opposite in every way. Maybe that’s why we worked so well as friends. She got to experience my big loud family and I enjoyed the quiet calm of hers. She was an OCD neat freak to the extreme and most of the time you couldn’t see the floor of my room. She was scared of dating and s*x where I rushed towards it and couldn’t wait to experience everything boys and s*x had to offer. I watched as Hannah sipped the glass of champagne I had grabbed for us. 

I sat down and looked at my phone. I had a text from Noah. I opened it and there was a picture he had taken from the stage of the crowd. Under the picture, he texted “Crowd would be even better if you were here watching”. I smiled down at the message and shut off my screen.

“What are you smiling about?” Hannah asked me.

 “I um, I gave that guy Noah my number.”

"Oh my god, Franks please don’t tell me you’re actually going through with this. Did you tell him your real age?”

“No, not yet. He asked to take me to lunch and if we hit it off I’ll tell him. If we don’t then what’s the point.”

“You really think you’re not going to hit it off with him? Seriously? You’ve talked about this guy so much I could probably sketch him from memory and I’ve never even seen him.”

“Ugh ok. I get it. I promise I’ll tell him. If there’s a second date. I’ll tell him. Promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that. I mean you're eighteen now so it's not like it's illegal. But it could still be kind of weird for someone his age to date a girl in high school. He deserves to know.”

I took the glass of champagne out of Hannah’s hand, finishing the rest in one sip. A couple of more of these and maybe I’ll get the courage to text him the truth tonight. Or not.