25. Chapter 25 Theo
Chapter 25 Theo
K issing Staley Monroe is the definition of being in love.
You kiss her once, and you’re tossing the L word around like it’s nothing. Are you Pablo Neruda with his green ink pen?
Dams are known to reduce the risk of flooding, yet my emotional walls do not typically fissure. Now, they’ve burst wide open into a full-on cascade, crashing into every protected crevice of my sacred heart.
After scrolling through the thirty-plus emails cluttering my inbox, I find my last correspondence with Staley and hit reply.
Staley,
I hope mushroom risotto and salmon are to your liking. What’s your favorite flower? After dinner, we could go for a walk.
Theo
PS: I can still smell your sunshine on my skin.
PPS: Pretend I showed up with flowers at the library when I asked you out.
Sent. My guts roll with immediate regret. I shouldn’t have added the postscript; she’ll think I’m coming on too strong, but I could argue that making her come in a library study room is a bit strong too. Staley is all I think about. I wonder what she’s doing, who she’s cuddling, and if dating me makes her as excited as it does me. The weight of my uneasiness throws me back in my chair, the springs groaning in solidarity.
Grading papers is the best form of distraction I have right now. Without a doubt, Professor Graham will insist that they be done before the weekend’s end anyway. Most of these papers are awful; too many writers try to rhyme words with orange, and there’s not enough red pen for this job.
Theo,
Dinner sounds great. I don’t have a favorite flower.
Staley
PS: Is sunshine a euphemism for something?
Her reply warms every part of me. I need a green pen.
Staley,
About being proper. I respect you and never want you to think I’m abusing my power as your teaching assistant or putting you at risk of losing your job. I know you said you’re perfectly comfortable keeping me as a cuddle client, but I cannot separate myself from paying you for a service where I’m also enjoying your company. I won’t cross that line again, and I hope, if given the opportunity, I’ll prove to you how much I mean that.
I want to do this right.
Theo
PS: The sunshine? Let’s say I rarely inflate my words to hide what I mean. Feel you, taste you—you’re on my skin.
This is fun. Flirting back and forth in the one format I’m the strongest and quickest, which ramps my confidence. I daydream about other dates I might plan for us and what new things I can learn about her. I’m nothing more than a man who has had the taste of a woman. Staley is all mouth and quick with the comebacks, but I think it shocks both her and me how easily I can get her to slow down and listen to directions with the sound of my voice—stuttering or not.
This could be something if we let it be.