Page 31 of The Write Place

I take a deep breath and pull the door open. Daniel is standing there in charcoal gray slacks and a light blue button-down shirt that brings out the blue in his eyes. It’s unbuttoned a little at the top, and his sleeves are rolled up, showing his forearms. When he sees me, he blinks a few times as if he’s collecting himself. He doesn’t say anything for a minute, so I float my arms up from my sides and let them fall.

“You said wear something nice?” I say it as more of a question. Suddenly, I feel completely stupid for calling Jenny into this.

She appears at my side, raising a warning eyebrow at Daniel. “Evans,” she says tersely. He looks at her in surprise.

“Green.” He clears his throat. “I take it this is your handiwork?”

She simply walks past him to her car, leaning in as she passes and speaking quietly. “She’s a gem, Evans. I just polished her up a little bit.” Then she calls as she gets into her car, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

“Is there anything you wouldn’t do?” I call after her, and she laughs as she starts her car and pulls out of the driveway. We watch her leave and then I gesture toward the dress. “Is this… not what you had in mind? I can change or…” or curl up in a hole for the rest of my life and die of embarrassment.

He shakes his head quickly. “No, not at all. You look… you are…” he starts a few times, then settles, “It’s perfect. Shall we?” I smile and unclench my hands at my sides as he offers me his elbow. I take it and he leads me to his car, opening the door for me. When he comes around to his side, I raise an eyebrow at him.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this feels like a date,” I tease as he starts the car.

“Do you want it to be a date?” he asks as he backs out of the driveway, looking sidelong at me.

“No,” I laugh. When he doesn’t laugh with me, I ask, “Do you?”

“It might make things complicated,” he responds. That’s not really an answer, but I decide not to push it. Just have fun, I keep telling myself over and over again. Don’t think too much about this.

When we pull into the parking lot of the restaurant, I glance up at the sign and back to Daniel. “We’re eating here?“ I ask.

“What’s wrong with it? Ken said it’s a nice place.” His eyebrows pinch together, and I laugh.

“It is a very nice place. It is also owned by the McNamara family. As in Justin McNamara.” He’s still looking confused, so I elaborate. “My student, of ‘can’t it be both’ fame.”

“Is that a problem?” There’s no malice in his voice, only the curiosity of someone who isn’t in the habit of running into students when they venture out.

“Not if you don’t mind Justin seeing us. He works here in the evenings after school. And, as we have already established, we definitely look like we are on a date.”

Daniel flashes me a wicked smile and leans toward me a little. “I’m sure your students are already talking, Mac. I’m willing to play if you are.”

I can’t help myself; I giggle, and his eyes sparkle as if he’s pleased at the sound. We get out of the car, and he comes around to offer me his elbow again, but I shake my head.

“I’m not afraid of a little gossip, but that’s feeding the rumor mill a little too much.” I wrinkle my nose apologetically. He drops his arm without any judgment, and he starts making his way into the restaurant. I’m struck by how refreshing it is to have refused something because of my position as a teacher and not been met with judgment or disappointment. I pause for long enough that he turns around, then tilts his head. I blink rapidly and shake my head as if to clear it, catching up to him.

Sure enough, Justin is sitting behind the host podium when we walk in. “Hi Miss Mac, Mr. Evans!” His face lights up when he sees us. “We have your table ready for you, if you’ll follow me.” He grabs two menus and leads us to the very back of the restaurant to a small table in a shadowy alcove lit mostly by candles. It’s probably the most romantic table in the place. I give Justin an are-you-kidding-me? look and his eyes widen slightly. I take in the packed restaurant, and this is the only empty table I can see. Willing to play, indeed, I think as I shrug. I smile kindly at Justin.

“Thank you, Justin, it’s great.” He beams as he places the menus on the table and leaves. We take our seats, and I fight back laughter as our knees brush together under the small table. Daniel lets out a long-suffering sigh.

“Well, this is excellent,” he mumbles sarcastically. “When I said I was willing to play, I wasn’t expecting to end up at the date table.” And then I do laugh.

“It’s really nice, Daniel. Truly. Very…” I trail off, then decide to tease a little, “romantic.”

He rubs his hand back and forth a few times over his smooth jawline. “What are the odds our little buddy did this on purpose?” The way he says “our,” as if he takes ownership of the students, too, melts my heart a little.

I tilt my head back and forth. “Fifty-fifty, probably. Teenagers do think Parent-Trapping single adults is either hilarious or helpful.”

“Would he be going for hilarious or helpful at this moment?”

I consider, then respond. “Helpful. You saw how eager he was for us to be happy when he seated us.” Daniel nods, and his knee bumps mine under the table again, only this time, he doesn’t break the contact. Neither do I. Our eyes meet, and I suddenly feel very warm. A corner of my mouth tilts up a little.

“Is this okay?” His expression is open and sincere, but the little line between his eyebrows suggests he’s unsure.

“Yeah, Daniel. It’s okay,” I say softly. I press my knee into his, and his shoulders relax slightly. I’m about to tease him again about this not-date when a waiter brings over a bottle of wine, opening it at our table.

“Oh, we haven’t ordered wine,” Daniel says.