Chapter Seven
"You were totally about to hook up with him," Vishal says as we walk to my car.
The air tonight is cool, but sticky. The humidity this time of year is gross.
I ignore the teasing comment and unlock my car.
"There can't be anything wrong with it. He's definitely old enough to consent and it isn't like he's fresh out of high school where you possibly would have taught him. "
"I will drop you off at the airport tonight," I threaten.
He doesn't take my words seriously— because they aren't actually serious— and gets into the passenger seat.
After Vishal left the bathroom, the mood was over and I came to my senses.
I think Nelson did too, because he took a solid step back and was the first to leave the bathroom.
I had to adjust myself in my slacks before walking back across the restaurant to the table. Nelson was already gone.
"You could do worse than him," Vishal says casually. "He's a bit… scruffy, but has a cuteness to him."
I groan, because he's exactly right. Nelson's earnestness to learn the material I'm teaching, on top of the small gestures, like loaning me his shirt, gives him an air of sincerity which is rare to see so openly in someone.
I might have a little crush and I might have definitely thought about pushing that peck of a kiss into a bathroom hookup, but I'm glad we were interrupted.
I'm not sure how we would have been able to be in the classroom after that.
I can see the silent laughter in Vishal's eyes when I glance over at him.
My cheeks burn with being called out so accurately and it doesn't help that the sun is still another hour from setting so my best friend can see it.
I whip my hand across the space between us and smack him in his chest. That pushes out another round of laughter from him and I go back to driving.
My apartment isn't too far from the restaurant. We were planning on going to the one that Nelson had suggested, but after Vishal's business meeting went long, we decided to grab something locally. I'm glad we did; the guys really are fun to hang out with.
"Good morning, Katie. Tracy." I greet the two friends as they walk into the classroom.
They give me a quick nod before turning to sit at their usual desk.
I glance around, most of the class is already here.
Nelson is not. I shuffle the quizzes once more on my desk, hoping that I really didn't screw things up and he feels awkward.
I thought about emailing him over the weekend, but I don't want anything in writing on an official school email.
At eight-oh-five, I stand up and move to shut the door. I stick my head out and have to tamp down a smile when I see Nelson walking down the hall. I step fully into the hall and move to keep the doorway clear. "Everything okay this morning?" I ask. He's always been the first one here so far.
"Yeah." He says it with a sigh that signals things definitely aren't okay. "One of the calves got out of the enclosure and I had to hunt her down this morning. Not a fun time playing is that mud or shit."
I see William turn his head at the comment. He's sitting at the first desk closest to the door. At first I thought maybe my brief talk about the rules had changed his view, but I've come to realize it's the fastest way out of this class as soon as I dismiss them.
"Alright, let's get started." I address the class as I grab the quizzes on my desk.
"Scores were collectively higher on this quiz than the first one, so congratulations on that.
A few of you still need to make sure you're reading the questions correctly before answering.
I walk around and place each quiz face down.
"Again, if you have any questions for me regarding the quiz, I will be here for a while after class to answer them.
For now, let's get into the final section before the test on Thursday. "
I boot up my computer and get the slideshow ready before connecting my laptop to the projector.
We go slide-by-slide. I make sure to give enough time for those that are taking notes to get everything down.
Nelson isn't the only one that writes notes by hand, but there are a handful that don't take notes at all.
The rest are typing on their laptops. If they're actually typing or doing something else, I'm not sure.
When eleven o' clock hits, everyone is packed up and heading out the door.
I'm slightly disappointed that no one has stayed behind to ask questions.
Outside of Nelson, that is. I nod to the last of the students before closing the door and walking over to Nelson's desk.
He has his quiz out, but I see the way he's avoiding my eyes and tapping his fingers on the tabletop.
He's nervous and I know I'm the reason. I move the chair a bit further away from him before sitting down. He notices the move and sighs.
"I'm sorry."
We say the words at the same time, eyes meeting as the room goes quiet again. I speak first.
"I shouldn't have crossed the line on Friday. I'm sorry if I've made things uncomfortable."
He tilts his head just slightly. "It's my fault. I could have just walked around you instead of leaning over like that."
"We can go back and forth on this, blaming ourselves, but how about we just say it happened, we're glad nothing more happened, and move on?"
Nelson nods once, but is back to avoiding my eyes. "I can do that."
"Did you have any questions about the quiz or the material we went over?" I change the subject and see his shoulders relax a bit.
"The material today, no." He turns his quiz around and taps on question three. "This, though, I don't get where I went off on it."
I spend the next ten minutes explaining the difference between what he wrote and what I was looking for.
As I coach him with questions instead of just giving him the answer, he comes to the right conclusion.
It gives more solidity to my theory and I try to think of a way to bring it up to him.
It isn't until he's packing up that I ask.
"Nelson?" I look up at him. He's standing now and I'm still in my chair.
"I know you've mentioned before that you aren't a great test taker and you've shown me that you know the material.
I feel like you just get tripped up on the writing portion.
" He nods and I can see him swallow while staring intently at his bookbag.
"Would you consider doing an oral quiz?"
"What?" His face is full of shock, his mouth hanging open, and I can see a transition from embarrassment to… anger? "I'm not… I know we almost kissed on Friday, but I don't… "
His stammering words finally click in my brain and I stand up, holding out a hand. "Oh god, no. Nelson, an oral quiz is just where I read the question to you and you tell me the answer. Like we just did. It's not… Oral."
I want to laugh at the misunderstanding, but I bite the inside of my cheeks to stifle it. He's still staring at me, but I can see the gears cranking.
"Oh, wow. I've obviously never heard of that before. Is that allowed?" He slings his bookbag onto his shoulders and adjusts the straps.
"I can make it allowed," I say. "It's not a big deal, really. I figured I would offer it to you because you clearly know the answers. I've done it for students in the past. We can at least try it and if you don't prefer it, we can go back to this way."
"Wouldn't it be a distraction for others?"
Oh, there's that cuteness Vishal hit on on Friday. I offer a quick smile and shake my head. "If you have the time, we can do it after class like this or we'd just go in the hallway while everyone else is taking theirs."
"We can try it," he says. "I'm not sure if it will help or not."
"Don't be so hard about yourself, Nelson.
You know the material. Some people are just wired to be a speaker over a writer and vise versa.
It's become a more involved thing in the high school, but just because someone's graduated, doesn't mean they don't need help in higher education and the real world, too.
I can promise you that the work I did for my family's company wasn't without help, so I try to offer any help I can if a person is willing to accept it.
We'll talk about it on Thursday. For now, enjoy your day and hopefully no more animals get out of enclosures. "
"Yeah, I have to spend the rest of the day mending the fence so I'm hoping not."
I don't know why that piques my interest— Actually, that's a total lie. I'm immediately bombarded with a vision of Nelson working in the heat, sweaty, muscles… The next words out of my mouth are said before my brain can yell shut up.
"Do you need any help?"
I see the confusion on Nelson's face. The tables have turned and I see him fighting back a smile. His eyes give me a once over and I feel the need to puff out my chest a bit.
"You? Help on the farm? Can you even lift more than, what, thirty pounds?"
"Okay, ouch." I stand up and definitely feel the need to prove myself now. "I will have you know that I can regularly bench press a hundred and twenty pounds. It might be a bit below average, but I'm not useless."
"Honestly, out of sheer curiosity to see you live out a city-boy-turned-country moment, I'm going to take you up on that. Do you want to follow me or ride with?"
"I don't think I'm in the right clothes for this," I say, backpedaling now that he's offered.
"Oh, you're not getting out of this. Here in the South, when someone offers help, they don't take it back after it's been accepted."
"The South my ass," I mumble under my breath. "We're in Kentucky."
"You can join us for dinner as payment," Nelson said. "Come on, let's go. I can loan you a shirt, but I hope you aren't attached to those pants."
"What about my shoes?" I call after him. He's already to the door. I'm wearing loafers. I have a pair of tennis shoes in the car, but I'm not about to offer that information.
"Got another pair in the car?" Nelson asks as if he can read my thoughts.
We stare at each other for a second before I sigh and nod.
His laugh fills the room and I gather my things before following him out of the classroom and to the parking lot.
The sun is hot out and I can feel sweat already beading at the back of my neck by the time we make it to my car.
I glare at Nelson as I take off my suit jacket and loafers.
I slip into my tennis shoes and make sure the car is locked up before following Nelson to his truck.
"I've never seen someone regret an offer of help so much," Nelson says, but he's definitely laughing at me in his head. I can see it in his eyes.
"Where I grew up, offers of help are usually met with a cordial decline and we go our separate ways."
Nelson opens the passenger door for me and I get in. He doesn't immediately shut the door. I would much rather go ahead and skip the teasing I know is about to happen and blast the cool air. "You looked so sincere in offering. I couldn't possibly turn you down and crush your dreams."
"I'm starting to regret knowing you," I say, but there is no malice in my voice.
He has the audacity to give me a wink before shutting the door.
I stare at him as he walks around and gets in behind the wheel.
We don't talk much on the way out of the city.
I watch the businesses and houses slowly spread out until it's more land than buildings in general.
I can feel myself relaxing the further we get out of the city.
"That's the third time you've sighed in five minutes," Nelson says when we're close to his farm. I vaguely remember where we are from my drives this way. "Are you tired or really not wanting to do this? I can turn around."
"I didn't even realize I was doing that," I say honestly. "I'm in this now, so no backing down. It's just a whole different vibe out this way. More relaxed. I know the city isn't that big, but even back in Chicago I didn't get out much to the smaller towns and such."
"You won't be relaxed for long," he says. "But I promise the food you'll have after will be worth it."
"Oh, I don't need to stay for dinner." I turn my head to look at Nelson. He glances my way for a second before turning back to the road. "I can get a ride back after we're done."
"That's funny," he deadpans without looking at me.
"What is?"
"That you think we're going to be done before the normal dinner time."